かさがみ
人生が儚いというのは今時流行らないかもしれない。平均寿命が延び、八十で死んでもそれほど珍しくない。これだけ生きられれば何回失敗してもやり直せるし、視野を相当広げられそうだ。と言っても私はゴールへ近づいているのにそうはならない。
だがこんな社会はつい最近になってから可能になったのであって、昔からずっと続いてきたわけではない。かつて我々の社会では、病気や怪我であっけなく彼岸へ渡ってしまうことが多かった。
日常で栄養のあるものを十分に摂れるとれるわけでも、上手に休息を取れるわけでもく、子供がチフスやコレラによる感染症で重症化することも珍しくなかった。さまざまな不調が起っても、滅多に良い医者に診てもらえるわけでもなく、自分に適した薬をしっかり調合してもらえるわけでもなかったので死亡に至ることもあった。かくして、家の存続を心配して子供を多く産むという傾向があったほどである。
「かさがみ」は「瘡神」としっかり表記する例もあるし「笠神」と書かれることもある。「かさ」は「かさぶた」の「かさ」に共通しそうだが、ここでは神にまで昇華しており、深刻な名と言ってよかろう。
そう、ここでの「かさ」は「天然痘」や「梅毒」による「瘡（かさ）」だろう。天然痘は『日本書紀』敏達紀にも登場しており、古代から現代に至るまで、権力者から庶民に至るまで罹患している。「梅毒」も弥生時代にはすでに本邦に入っていたと推測されることがあり、それ以来我々を苦しめてきた。
近代に入って、天然痘については種痘が発見されほぼ克服されてきたし、梅毒についても患者の減少と共にペニシリンの発見後治療法が確立されてきた。天然痘にしても梅毒にしても感染症であり、病気として解明され、薬も整備されて誰しも無用な心配をしないで済むようになった。
今回「かさがみ」を取り上げたのは地名として残っていることがショックだったからで、これらの感染症がどれほど人を苦しめてきたのか事実として目前に突きつけられた気になった。
感染症などの流行り病でも一般に薬師如来や牛頭天王などへ平癒祈願するのであり、郡上でもあちこちに薬師堂や祇園社などがある。「かさがみ」の地名が残っているのは、或いはこれらの感染者を隔離した場所を指しているかもしれない。
旧郡上郡に当たる旧東村でも「かさがみ」という地名があるらしい。これらの流行と共に隔離施設があったことを示しているとすれば、治療法が確立できていない時点とは言え、直視しがたい事実である。
我々の歴史の根幹にこれを戒めとして据えなければなるまい。 髭じいさん
Kasagami
The idea that life is fleeting may not be fashionable these days. The average life expectancy has increased, and it is not so rare for people to die at the age of 80. If you can survive this long, you can try again no matter how many times you fail, and it seems like you can expand your horizons considerably. That doesn’t happen even though I’m getting closer to my goal.
However, this kind of society has only recently become possible, and has not continued for a long time. In the past, in our society, it was common for people to quickly cross over to the other side due to illness or injury.
Children were not able to eat enough nutritious food or get enough rest on a daily basis, and it was not uncommon for children to become seriously ill with infections such as typhoid fever or cholera. Even when people suffered from various illnesses, they were rarely able to see a good doctor or get the right medicine for them, which sometimes led to death. As a result, there was a tendency for women to have many children out of concern for the survival of their families.
In some cases, ”Kasagami” is clearly written as ”瘡神 Kasagami,” and in other cases, it is also written as ”笠神 Kasagami.” ”Kasa” seems to have something in common with the ”kasa sore” in ”scab”, but here it has been elevated to the level of a god, so it can be said to be a serious name.
Yes, the “kasa” here is probably the ” kasa sore ” caused by smallpox or syphilis. Smallpox is also mentioned in the “Nihonshoki” Bidatsuki, and from ancient times to the present day, everyone from those in power to the common people has been infected. It is sometimes assumed that syphilis had already entered Japan during the Yayoi period, and it has been plaguing us ever since.
In modern times, smallpox has been almost completely eradicated with the discovery of vaccination, and treatment methods for syphilis also have been established after the discovery of penicillin as the number of patients has decreased. Both smallpox and syphilis are infectious diseases, and now they are understood as diseases, and medicines have been developed so that no one has to worry about them needlessly.
I chose ”Kasagami” this time because I was shocked that it remained as a place name, and I felt like I was faced with the reality of how much these infectious diseases have made people suffer.
In the case of epidemics such as infectious diseases, people generally pray to Yakushi Nyorai and Gozu Tenno for healing, and there are Yakushi-do temples and Gion-sha shrines all over Gujo. The place name ”Kasagami” still remains, or it may refer to the place where these infected people were isolated.
It seems that the former Higashi Village, which was part of the former Gujo District, also has a place name called ”Kasagami”. If this indicates that isolation facilities existed along with these epidemics, it is a fact that is difficult to face directly, even though no treatment has yet been established.
We must set this as a commandment at the foundation of our history.
Higejiisan
