カテゴリー: Town

ー一橋大学の建物にはたくさんの魔除けがひそんでいます。獅子の魔除けや鳥の魔除け、狼の魔物などを建物の下や柱、出入口などに見つけることが出来ます。本部の車寄せの玄関ドームの左右にある雌雄の獅子は、雄が口を開き雌が口を閉じており、 “あうん”の形式を取り入れています。また図書館は狼とワニの合の子といった、摩訶不思議な化け物に満ちています。これは国立駅舎同様、校舎がロマネスク様式で作られているため、この空間を守る守護神（カーゴイル）を必要としたからだそうです。 

ーLook closely at the historic buildings of Hitotsubashi University, and you will discover a hidden world of ancient protectors. Mysterious sculptures of lions, mythical birds, and wolf-like beasts are tucked away beneath rooflines, along pillars, and above grand archways.

At the main administration building’s carriage porch, a pair of male and female stone lions guard the entrance. Interestingly, they incorporate the traditional Japanese concept of “A-un” (the cosmic beginning and end)—the male lion on one side holds his mouth open (“A”), while the female on the other keeps her mouth firmly closed (“Un”).

Meanwhile, the university library is covered with even more bizarre, imaginative creatures, looking like a strange cross between a wolf and a crocodile.

Just like the original Kunitachi Station, these campus buildings were designed in the grand Romanesque architectural style. Because of this European heritage, the architects adorned the structures with these guardians—similar to the gargoyles of Western cathedrals—to spiritually protect the educational spaces from evil.

**鈴木正男さん
「そうだな　あの頃の富士見台はなんにも無かった」桜の木を植えた造園業「植繁」の鈴木正男さんは、当時を思い目を細めながら話しはじめました。「まだ郵便局もなかったし、まわりは桑畑や原っぱがずっと続き、まるで畑の中に木を植えているみたいだったな」1969年富士見台団地の入居に合わせ、市道の両脇に209本の「ソメイヨシノ」が植えられました。それが今では、春になると淡いピンクの花のトンネルとなり、大学通りの桜並木とともにすっかり桜の名所となっています。鈴木さんは、自分が植えた桜の木を見上げ、「腕よりも細かったのが、こんなに太くなって、いっぱい花を咲かせてくれるのでうれしいね」と両手で抱えきれないほど大きくなった幹を撫でていました。桜の樹齢は45年余、今が盛り、今年の大いにみんなの目を、そして心を楽しませてくれそうです。 

出典：第19回くにたちさくらフェスティバル実行委員会「桜を植えた男たち」(1996年）より


“That’s right. Back then, there was absolutely nothing in Fujimidai.” Mr. Masao Suzuki started his story with a warm smile as he looked back on the past. He runs “Ueshige,” the landscaping business that planted the cherry trees. “There wasn’t even a post office yet. The area was just a long stretch of mulberry fields and open fields. It felt like we were planting trees right in the middle of a farm.”　In 1969, to match the opening of the Fujimidai apartment complex, 209 Somei-Yoshino cherry trees were planted along both sides of the city road. Today, every spring, they form a beautiful tunnel of pale pink blossoms. Along with the trees on Daigaku-dori, it has become a famous cherry blossom spot.　Looking up at the trees he planted, Mr. Suzuki gently stroked a trunk that had grown too wide to hold in his arms. “They used to be thinner than my arm,” he said happily. “I am so glad to see them grow this big and bloom so beautifully.”　These trees are now over 45 years old and are currently in full bloom. This year again, they will surely delight everyone’s eyes and touch their hearts.

Source: From “The Men Who Planted the Cherry Blossoms” (1996) by the 19th Kunitachi Sakura Festival Executive Committee

ー広い大学通りは飛行機の滑走路でした。大正時代の後半、箱根土地開発株式会社（現・国土計画）はこの国立の他にも、当時軽井沢の別荘地分譲を手掛けていて、そのお客様に対するサービスとして、国立と軽井沢を結んで一日一回、飛行時間30分の定期航空路を開いていました。使用する飛行機は、陸軍から払い下げてもらった単葉機。その飛行機は箱根土地開発本社（現在の多摩信用金庫国立支店）の裏においてあり、谷保の子供にとっては羨望の的でした。

ーDid you know that the wide and beautiful University Avenue (Daigaku-dori) was originally designed to double as an airplane runway?

In the late Taisho era, the innovative Hakone-Tochi Development Company was simultaneously developing the high-class resort area of Karuizawa, alongside this new town of Kunitachi. As a premium and futuristic service for their wealthy clients, the company launched a daily scheduled flight connecting Kunitachi and Karuizawa, cutting the travel time down to just a 30-minute flight!

The aircraft they used was a vintage monoplane decommissioned and purchased from the Imperial Japanese Army. When it wasn’t soaring through the skies, the airplane was parked right behind the Hakone-Tochi headquarters (where the Kunitachi branch of the Tama Shinkin Bank stands today). For the local children of Yaho, this real-life flying machine parked right in their neighborhood was the ultimate object of envy and wonder. 

ー赤いかわらのトンガリ屋根、ベージュ色の壁に設けられた大きな明かり窓。大正15年4月に開業した当時、東京でも1、2を誇るモダンな駅舎でした。箱根土地開発（現　国土計画）がこの駅舎をふくめこの地を宅地開発し、当時の一区画200坪で分譲されました。野外音楽堂も造られ、週末にはクラシックの演奏会などが催される学園都市が出現しました。開業当時「だれが乗るやら降りるやら」と新聞に書かれた田舎駅も、今では一橋大学や桐朋学園の学生たちを含めて一日10万人以上利用するようになりました。

ーWith its iconic pointed red-tiled roof and a large, elegant skylight set into beige walls, the original Kunitachi Station was a architectural marvel. When it first opened its doors in April 1926, it proudly stood as one of the most stylish and modern railway stations in all of Tokyo.

The area was developed by the Hakone-Tochi Development Company, which divided the land into generous residential lots of about 660 square meters (200 tsubo) per family. They even built an outdoor music hall where classical concerts echoed on weekends, giving birth to a high-class, European-style university town.

In its earliest days, surrounded by quiet fields, a local newspaper jokingly mocked the remote station, writing: “Kunitachi Station—who on earth will ever get on or off here?”

Today, that cynical joke has been completely rewritten. Fueled by the vibrant energy of students from the prestigious Hitotsubashi University and Toho Gakuen, this once-lonely country station has blossomed into a bustling landmark, now serving over 100,000 passengers every single day.