記憶を辿る 2話
– 死ぬまで挑戦 –
– Challenge until I die.
株式会社 山城 三代目 稗 真平 / 1977年6月30日生
1970年当時、日本は高度経済成長期の真っ只中。
生業だった縫製業もイケイケドンドンで、業績は右肩しか上がらない状態だったようだ。そんな中、今でいう京都の田の字地区で生を受けた私は、待望の長男ということもあり、全家族からの愛を傍受しスクスク育っていった。
Yamashiro Corporation Shinpei Hie, 3rd generation / June 30, 1977
In 1970, Japan was in the midst of its period of rapid economic growth.
The sewing industry, which was my occupation, was booming, and business performance was only improving constantly. I was born in what is now known as the Tanoji district of Kyoto, and as the long-awaited eldest son, I grew up receiving love from all my family members.
大きな掌から、滑り台のようなもので母のお腹に入った記憶がある、訳はないが、近所の街並みの多くは記憶している。いまの富小路三条にある会社の前には、コロラドという喫茶店、生地を業者に売る卸の店や紳士服、そして居酒屋に旅館が並んでいた。後に蕎麦屋やケーキ、雑貨に自転車屋といったように変わっていった思い出も、別の機会に綴っていこうと思っている。
I remember that I entered my mother’s stomach with a kind of slide from someone’s large palm…just kidding, but I do remember much of the neighborhood. In front of the company in what is now Tominokoji Sanjo, there was a coffee shop called Colorado, a wholesale store that sold fabrics to suppliers, a men’s clothing store, an izakaya, and a japanese style hotel. I would like to write another time about the memories that later changed to soba noodle shops, cake shops, general merchandise shops, bicycle shops, and so on.
山城を70年前に創業した祖父は、元々着物地を扱う営業マン。
手に覚えのある祖母がレザージャケットやシャツを縫製し、生計を立てていたが思うように生活は向上しなかったようだ。転機が訪れたのは、得意先だった竹村商店(現アズ)からのお声がけがきっかけだった。
小千谷ちぢみなどに代表される麻を使った楊柳素材。
これが本家本元になると思うが、それを模したエンボス加工(型押し加工)が生まれ、麻だけでなく綿生地にも応用が効くようになり、小ロットで高級品だった下着が一気に量産化されるようになった。これがクレープ肌着と呼ばれる物で、一般層に楊柳生地の下着がクレープ肌着として広がっていったのだった。
My grandfather, who founded Yamashiro 70 years ago, was originally a salesman dealing in kimono fabric.
His grandmother, who had a good hand, sewed leather jackets and shirts to make a living, but her life did not seem to improve as much as she would have liked. A turning point came when Takemura Shoten (now Azu), a former client, approached him.
Willow fabric made from hemp, as typified by Ojiya chijimi and other fabrics.
The embossing process, which was originally modeled on this fabric, was developed and applied not only to hemp but also to cotton fabrics, and underwear, which had been a luxury item in small lots, was mass-produced at once. This was called crepe underwear, and underwear made of willow fabric spread to the general public as crepe underwear.
そのクレープ肌着の旗手メーカーとしての竹村商店があり、繋がりのあった祖父が誘いを受け、縁もゆかりもない大分県に工場を構えるまでに至るのである。この時の祖父は齢50を越えていた。なんとか現状を突破したいという思いでいっぱい、関西弁でいう必死のパッチだったんだと思う。
意を決してからは時流を上手く掴み、現在の京都本社、国東と武蔵にある2工場だけでなく、人は死ぬまで挑戦なんだぞという教えも後世に残してくれた。余談だが、大分に移住してからの祖父は才能を開花させ、シニアゴルフトーナメントで優勝したりするバイタリティも発揮している。
Takemura Shoten was the flagship manufacturer of crepe underwear, and my grandfather, who had a connection with Takemura Shoten, accepted the invitation and set up a factory in Oita Prefecture, which he had no connection with. My grandfather was over 50 years old at the time. He was filled with a desire to somehow break through the status quo. I think it was a desperate patch, as they say in the Kansai dialect.
Once he decided to do so, he successfully grasped the current trends and left not only the current Kyoto head office and two factories in Kunisaki and Musashi, but also the lesson to future generations that one should always take on challenges until one’s death. On a side note, after moving to Oita, my grandfather’s talent blossomed and he even won a senior golf tournament, showing his vitality.