みなさまこんにちは、スタッフYでございます。

 

いつも愛車に乗り込みますといつも今日は何の日かと朝から言ってくれるのですが、今朝は「おはようございます、今日は“金シャチの日”です。」とのこと。思わず朝から笑ってしまいました。

 

毎日何かしらの記念日があって興味深いのですが、今日は「金シャチの日」。先日のスタッフHの金についてのつぶやきに引き続き、本日はとても名古屋っぽい「金シャチの日」についてつぶやいてみたいと思います。

 

 

 

 

あらためて、8月22日は「金シャチの日」に制定されているようです。

由来としては、名古屋市の市章が「八」であることと、鯱鉾（しゃちほこ）の形が「2」という形に似ていて、名古屋城の天守の左右に2つずつあることが由来らしいのですが、「名古屋城」（愛知県名古屋市中区）と聞くと、真っ先に金色に輝く「金のしゃちほこ」を思い浮かべる方も多いので、この定着度は完璧ですね。

 

そんな名古屋城の金のしゃちほこですが、財政難の尾張藩に改鋳されて金が剝がされたり、明治時代には名古屋城と金鯱は取り壊されることが決まったこともあったり、1945年（昭和20年）の太平洋戦争の際には空襲により天守とともに焼失したりと、その歴史は波乱でありました。ですが創建当時の名古屋城の金のしゃちほこは、多くの人の目を奪い東海道を行く人々からも称えられた存在だったようであります。その名声は全国に広まっていき「金鯱の輝きで熱田の浜に魚が集まらない」という歌ができたほどだったようです。東海道を行き交うみなさんの憧れのシンボルだったのでしょうね。

 

時代が変われど、その気持ちはよくわかります。車などで名古屋城近辺を通り過ぎる時は必ず金の鯱鉾を探してしまうのは私だけでしょうか笑。なんだかんだいい気分になれますので、金鯱を探して眺めている姿はきっと江戸時代の人と何ら変わらないようですね笑。

 

そんな金のちゃちほこ、尾びれを潔く天に向け陽の光を浴び、輝きを放って屋根に乗っている姿はなんともカッコいいですし、バランスがいいなあといつも思うのですが、調べてみますと、実は正確には左右対称ではないようです。

 

金シャチは雌雄一対でして、天守閣北側の金鯱が雄、南側の金鯱が雌であります。しかも雄の方は、高さ2.621m重さ1,272kg、ウロコの枚数112枚。雌の方は、高さ2.579m重さ1,215kg、ウロコの枚数126枚だそうです。重さもウロコの枚数も雌雄で異なっているようで、知らなかった…。（これで明日から学校や職場で自慢してもらってもいいです笑。）

 

いうまでもなく金メッキなどではなく表面に金板が張り付けられた構造でして、創建時の金シャチにはじつに慶長大判1,940枚分（大判1枚165g・品位68%）の金が使われたと言います。純金量に換算するとなんと220kg程度に相当するそうですから、（ただしそののち幾度か改修されています。）この力の入れようは、徳川家康がこの名古屋城にかけた権力の象徴、政治的思惑などなどいろいろなものが伝わってきますね。

 

また、昭和20年には戦火で消失するという憂き目にも遭っていますが、現存する金シャチは昭和34年に大阪造幣局の協力により再建されたものでして、こちらは18金（純度75%）の金板が雌雄合わせて88kg（純金量換算で66kg）使われております。とはいえ相当な重さなのですが、創建当時の220kgの重さの金鯱が棟上げされる様子が、当時どんな様子だったのかも気になります。

 

 

それではごきげんよう。

 

 

 

 

Hello everyone, this is Staff Y.

 

Whenever I get into my car, he always tells me what day it is in the morning, and this morning he said, “Good morning, today is ‘Kinshachi Day’. This morning he said, “Good morning, today is ‘Kinschachi Day’. I couldn’t help but laugh this morning.

 

It is interesting that every day has some kind of anniversary, but today is “Kinshachi no Hi” (day of the golden killer whale). Following Staff H’s tweet about gold the other day, today I would like to tweet about “Kinshachi Day,” which is very Nagoya-like.

 

Once again, it seems that August 22 has been designated as “Kinshachi Day.

The origin of this day seems to be that the city emblem of Nagoya City is “8” and that the shape of a Shachihoko (a mythical mythical mythical fish-shaped spear) resembles a “2” and there are two of them, one on each side of the castle tower of Nagoya Castle. This is a perfect example of how well established the castle is.

 

The gold shachihoko of Nagoya Castle has had a tumultuous history, including being recast and stripped of its gold by the financially strapped Owari clan, the decision to tear down Nagoya Castle and its golden shachihoko during the Meiji period, and its destruction by air raids during the Pacific War in 1945, along with the castle tower. However, at the time of its construction, Nagoya Castle’s golden Shachihoko (ornamental ornaments) caught the eyes of many people, and was even admired by those traveling along the Tokaido Highway. Its fame spread throughout the country, so much so that a song was composed, “The fish don’t gather on the beach at Atsuta because of the shachihoko’s brilliance. It must have been a symbol of longing for the people who passed by on the Tokaido Highway.

 

Although the times have changed, I understand the sentiment. Am I the only one who always looks for the golden shachihoko when I pass by Nagoya Castle in my car? It puts me in a good mood somehow, so I am sure that the sight of people looking for and admiring the golden shachihoko is no different from people in the Edo period lol.

 

I always think it is really cool and well-balanced to see such a golden shachihoko on the roof with its tail fin gracefully pointing to the sky, basking in the sunlight and shining brightly.

 

The golden shachi are a pair of male and female, with the male on the north side of the castle tower and the female on the south side. The male is 2.621 m tall, weighs 1,272 kg, and has 112 scales. The female is 2.579 m tall, weighs 1,215 kg, and has 126 scales. I did not know that the weight and the number of scales are different between the male and female…. (Now you can have them brag about it at school or at work starting tomorrow lol.)

 

Needless to say, it is not gold-plated, but has a structure with gold plates attached to its surface, and it is said that 1,940 pieces of Keicho Oban (165g per piece, 68% grade) of gold were used for the Kinshachi when it was built. In terms of pure gold, this is equivalent to 220 kg of gold (although the building was later renovated several times). The amount of effort that went into the construction of Nagoya Castle is indicative of the power and political considerations that Tokugawa Ieyasu had for the castle.

 

The existing Kinschachi was reconstructed in 1959 with the cooperation of the Osaka Mint, and the gold plate weighs 88 kg (66 kg in terms of pure gold), including both male and female gold plates of 18k gold (75% purity). It is quite heavy, but it is also interesting to see how the 220kg gold shachi were raised on the mune at the time of the foundation of the shrine.

 

By the way, it is said that the ornament of shachi or or shachihachi on a mune ornament was meant to ward off fire as well as to add dignity and aesthetics, which is why there were many castles with orchids on their keep throughout Japan. The golden orchid originally appeared at Azuchi Castle, and was also placed on the keep of Osaka Castle, Fushimi Castle, Sunpu Castle, etc. However, all of them were damaged by fire or destroyed. However, all of them were lost due to fire or destruction, and the only one that can be seen today is the golden shachi at Nagoya Castle.

 

These days, the golden shachi has become a cute character in souvenirs and other items, but when you see the golden shachi still standing, shining brightly and towering over the buildings, even after such a long history, your perspective changes a little. The sight of the golden shachis standing tall and shining on the building’s ridgepole changes one’s perspective a little bit. I hope they will continue to be an object of admiration as they shine from the roof of Nagoya Castle, both in the past and in the future.

 

I hope that they will continue to be a source of admiration for Nagoya Castle.

 

 

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