1923年（大正12年）9月1日の大地震は、東京・横浜に未曽有の被害を与えた。総世帯数に対する被害世帯の割合は、東京市は約7 割、横浜市は約9 割と高く、古代以来、木造建築に親しみ、地震と火事には慣れていたとはいえ、多くの人々は悲しみにうちひしがれた。それでも、中には破壊された都市を前に、新しい都市を夢見る人もいた。時事新報経済部記者の下田将美は、震災の2 か月後に発行された雑誌『女性』のなかで、「今度の大地震は（中略）永い目で見れば新生の大東京の為に禍ひは同時に幸ひだつたとも云へる」とし、江戸以来の都市・東京の近代化への機会と述べている。そして、震災後の帝都復興事業も、単なる復旧事業ではなく、こうした前向きの志をもとに公共施設や社会事業施設を整備した市民を主役とする近代的都市をめざして進められたといえる。
住宅復興事業は、1924年（大正13年）5月に創設された財団法人同潤会が担った。同潤会の役割も、単なる住宅復興ではなく、「庶民復興再生の恒久施設」（『同潤会十年史』 p25）としての住宅を計画・実践することだった。その前向きの姿勢は帝都復興事業と通有し、一般市民の住宅として、木造住宅7000戸とアパートメント・ハウス1000戸の建設が予定されていた。このアパートメント・ハウスとは、わが国に導入されたばかりの新しい住宅形式で、「僅少なる土地に大なる延坪を含み得る（中略）居住効用と能率とを考慮した最も簡便なる近代的諸設備と而して耐震耐火の完全なる構造」（『同潤会十年史』 p48）の高層住宅建築で、まさに、新生帝都・東京にふさわしい都市型住宅であった。ただ、その建設数の少なさからも窺えるように、同潤会の役割は量的な確保ではなく、豊かで合理的な生活の場となる理想的なモデルハウスとしての住宅の建設であった。それ故、配置計画・住棟計画および住戸計画は、極めて多様で、そこに実験的性格が見て取れる。また、同潤会では、居住者の生活調査を通して住まいのもたらす役割などを検証することも同時に行っていた。そこには、住まいと生活の関係を科学的に見ていこうとする姿勢が見て取れるのである。
同潤会では、1927年（昭和2年）になると新たに都市郊外で木造分譲住宅事業を展開した。この分譲住宅事業は、創設時の事業予定にはなかったが、当初の木造住宅事業を変更し、当時の一般人の持ち家志向の動きをもとに実践したものであった。その結果、同潤会の住宅供給の方法は、都心部では賃貸による共用空間を利用するアパート生活、都市郊外では分譲による個人所有の木造庭付き一戸建て住宅というように、住み手が選択できる幅の広いものへと発展していったことが分かる。それは、同潤会が多様な住棟計画や住戸の間取りを提示することを通して、人々に自らの住まいと生活について考えることを求めたことを意味しているように思われるのである。与えられたものではなく“どのような生活を求めるのか”、と自ら思考する自由とその実現性に、おそらく、同潤会は“近代”の住まいの有様を見ていたと思われる。人々の住まいへの飽く無き興味こそ、住文化を発展させる力となることを同潤会は我々に伝えているのではあるまいか。
The Great Kanto earthquake on September 1st in 1923 inflicted unprecedented damage on Tokyo and Yokohama. The ratio of damaged houses to the total number of houses was about 70% and 90% in Tokyo and Yokohama, respectively. Although people had been acquainted with wooden buildings since ancient times and were used to earthquakes and fires, many people were prostrated with sorrow.
Still, there were people who dreamed of a new city as they watched the destruction in front of them. Masami Shimoda, an economic editor of Jiji Shimpo, said in a magazine called “Women” published two months after the quake that “the recent big earthquake was *snip* for the sake of the brand new greater Tokyo area in the long run, and the evil, in retrospect, might have been good fortune.” She said it turned out to be a chance for Tokyo, a city since the Edo period, to be modernized. The Reconstruction Project of the Imperial Capital after the quake was not a mere reconstruction project: It was aspiring to realize a modern urban city where inhabitants had a starring role and community facilities and social activity facilities were in place based on such a positive vision.
Dojunkai Foundation, which was established in May 1924, assumed the housing reconstruction project. The role of Dojunkai was not merely reconstruction of housing either. Its role was to plan and implement housing as “permanent facilities for reconstruction and revitalization of ordinary people.” (“10 Year History of Dojunakai” p.25) This positive outlook was shared by the Reconstruction Project of the Imperial Capital, and 7,000 wooden houses and 1,000 apartment houses were planned to be built as housing for the general public. The apartment house was a new form of housing that just got introduced to this country back then. It was a high-rise apartment building “that took account of utility and efficiency *snip* to realize large floor space in a very small lot, having the simplest yet modern facilities that is earthquake resistant and fire retardant.” (p.48, “10 Years of History of Dojunkai”) It was indeed urban style housing suited for the newly born imperial capital. As we could tell from the small number of it that was built, the role of Dojunkai was not to quantitatively secure housing but was to build ideal model houses that could turn into rich and reasonable places to live. Therefore, the layout plan, housing complex plan as well as dwelling unit plans were quite versatile, indicating its experimental nature. Dojunkai was also looking at the roles that housing played through living surveys of residents. It shows their approach of looking at the relationship between housing and lives scientifically.
Dojunkai expanded its scope of business and started selling wooden houses in 1927. This business of selling houses built for sale was not part of its business plan when it was incorporated. They modified their wooden house business and implemented it based on the trend of people wanting to own their houses. As the result, we could tell that the way Dojunkai supplied housing was such that it provided a rental apartment life in the central city area where common space was shared, whereas in the suburb, it sold a single detached wooden house with a backyard. It is evident that it had evolved into something that covers a wide scope where options were given to residents. It seems as though Dojunkai was trying to make people think about housing and lives by showing a variety of housing complex plans or housing layouts. It seems to me that Dojunkai saw the state of “modern” housing in the freedom of thinking “what kind of life do we seek” and the feasibility of it. Maybe Dojunkai is telling us that people’s insatiable interest in housing is what becomes the force to develop housing culture.