「生活図画事件」と写真集『A RED HAT』について ：髙橋健太郎

2017年6月から北海道旭川市在住の菱谷良一さん（現在98歳）、そして北海道音更町在住の松本五郎さん（現在99歳）のところへと通い、彼らの日々の生活にレンズを向けている。その日常はとても穏やかで、本を読んだり映画を観たり、絵を描いては友人たちと談笑したりひ孫さんたちと遊んだり。そんな彼らは2人とも学生時代に同じ学校で美術部に所属しながら教師を目指していた。

それがある日突然、刑務所に入れられる。
1941年9月20日早朝、旭川師範学校美術部の学生であった菱谷良一（当時19歳）と松本五郎（当時20歳）は学生寮で起床寸前のところを特別高等警察に治安維持法違反容疑で逮捕される。当時の美術部では熊田満佐吾先生（東京美術学校卒、現東京藝大）の指導のもと、より良い生き方を模索するため教科書通りに絵を描くのでなく、生活や社会の実態をよく観察しそれを絵にする美術教育が行われていた。しかしそれらの絵は突然、反国家的であり共産主義的だとして犯罪の証拠とされる。2人は何か強い思想を持って描いていたわけではない。結局1942年12月26日まで旭川刑務所に入れられる。そしてこれが「生活図画事件」と呼ばれている。

出所後の1943年2月11日、菱谷良一さんは妹さんの赤い帽子を被り、自画像を描いた。

「80年近くを経て、もはや写真では捉えられない出来事を、それを体験した人たちの現在の姿をとおして写しとろうと試みている。困難で切実なその試みは、時間の流れにあらがえない私たちに、だからこそ忘れてはいけないものがあるのではないかと問いかける。」

太田 愛（小説家・脚本家）（『A RED HAT』に寄せて」より）

「彼らの今の平穏な生活を撮ることの意味を考えることは逆に、一世紀近く生きてこられた彼らの人生の中であの時経験せざるを得なかった生活図画事件を異質な出来事として私に突きつけてくる。」

髙橋健太郎（あとがきより）

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

The “Life Painting Case” and the Photo Book “A RED HAT” : Kentaro Takahashi

Since June 2017, I have been visiting Ryoichi Hishiya, now 98, who lives in Asahikawa City, Hokkaido, and Goro Matsumoto, now 99, who lives in Otofuke Town, Hokkaido, and have focused my lens on their daily lives. Their everyday life is very peaceful, reading books, watching movies, painting, chatting with friends, and playing with their great-grandchildren.

Both of them belonged to the art club at the same school when they were students, but both of them wanted to become teachers. And then one day, all of a sudden, they were put in prison.

In the early morning of September 20, 1941, Ryoichi Hishiya (19 years old at the time) and Goro Matsumoto (20 years old at the time), and some other students of the art club of Asahikawa Teachers’ School, were arrested by the Special Higher Police on suspicion of violating the Peace Preservation Law when they were about to get up in their dormitory. Under the guidance of teacher Masago Kumada (a graduate of Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, now Tokyo National University of the Arts), the art club at the time was taught to observe the realities of life and society and draw pictures of the actual situation in order to seek a better way of life, rather than following their textbooks. But those paintings were suddenly found to be evidence of the crime for being anti-national and Communistic; the two were not painting with any strong ideology. They eventually ended up in Asahikawa Prison until December 26, 1942. And this is called the ” Life Painting Case”.

On February 11, 1943, after his release from prison, Ryoichi Hishiya put on his sister’s red hat and painted a self-portrait.

“Takahashi attempts to capture events that can no longer be captured in photographs after nearly eighty years, but through the current state of the people who experienced them. It is a difficult and urgent endeavor, and it raises the question of whether there is something we who can not see the passing of time, should not forget.”

 Ai Ota (screenwriter/novelist) (from “In response to ‘A RED HAT'”)

“In contrast, to think about the meaning of photographing their peaceful lives now, confronts me with the emphasis on the Life Drawing Case that they were forced to experience at that time in their lives as an unusual event, despite having lived for nearly a century. “

Kentaro Takahashi (from the afterword)