土曜日の朝、隣人と一緒に掃除できますか？

土曜日の朝。
７時に起床。７時１０分朝食。７時４０分着替え。
８時。箒と塵取りを両手に玄関を出る。

「おはようございますー」

既に同じ社宅の面々が同じように箒と塵取りをもって社宅内の共用階段や社宅前のスペースを掃き掃除していた。

2024年、東京ではほとんど絶滅した「土曜の朝の社宅清掃」がここには残っている。社宅に住むほとんどの男性メンバーは同じ部署で、平日もよく顔を合わせているが、彼らの妻や子どもともこの清掃時間には互いにあいさつをし、子ども同士は遊び、親たちは世間話をする。平日は眼鏡をかけスーツを着ている同僚も、寝ぐせのある頭でTシャツ姿だったりする。
建物際に根強く蔓延る雑草をむしり取り、敷地内のごみを拾い集める。けっこう汗をかく。

仙台の街は私が生まれ育った街で、勝手になんでも知っていると思っていたが、東京での７年ほどの社会人生活を送ったあとで、改めて仙台で暮らし始めると、逆カルチャーショックを受けた。
引っ越し当初は、令和の時代にこんなライフスタイルが残っているのか…とあっけにとられたものだった。

この社宅は既婚の社員のみが入居できる、いわゆる家族寮というやつで、築４０年以上だが、改修を重ね、30歳代前半～後半の若い家族が住んでいる。しかもほとんどが本社で採用された社員で、一度は東京で暮らし、ジョブローテーションの一環で仙台市にある支店に異動してきたメンバーだ。

私の務める会社歴史ある大企業だ。だからこそ社員のほとんどは昭和を生きてきたおじさんだ。私たち平成生まれは昭和のおじさんにまだ慣れているし、そんなおじさんたちに一言物申せるギリギリの世代だと思う。

なぜなら我々が生まれたとき、すべての大人は昭和の時代を生きてきた。そして自分たちはその人生のほとんどを平成カルチャーのなかで育ち、コロナをくぐりぬけ、令和という今を生きている。

我々は多様なライフスタイルにも寛容で、昭和生まれの考えも、自分よりも年下の子たちの気持ちもなんとなく分かる。（どちらの世代のことも分からない、とも言える。）
そんな彼らがこの土曜の朝の社宅清掃を受け入れ、いきいきと雑草をむしっている姿には、どこか不思議さを感じざるを得ない。

社宅の運営を行っている総務部や建物管理会社が決めたルールとはいえ、なんとなく休日に顔を合わせてみんなで清掃するのが気持ちが良いのだ。子どもたちが一緒に走り回る姿も幸せに満ちている。

今の若者たちが生活に中に求めているのはきっとこういった満足感なのではないだろうか。完全なご近所さん（つまり完全な他人）とのお付き合いはかなりハードルが高い。しかし、年齢が近く、会社も一緒の同僚と私が、掃除という一つのゴールを目指す。しかもそこまで厳密に達成する必要はなく、なんとなくみんなで掃除をする。掃除に集中すればほとんど顔を見なくてもよい。それがちょうど良いのではないだろうか。

東京で生活していたとき、マンションの隣室の人の顔はほとんど分からず、近くのコンビニのおばさんや八百屋のおばあちゃんと話をしていた。子どもの成長をお互いが楽しみにし、地域の情報が自然と集まった。全くの他人ではない、掃除や買い物といった生活の中で自然な距離感で関わる人々とのコミュニケーションこそが私たち（少なくとも私）には必要なのだと思う。

東京ではそこそこ文化的な街で暮らしていた。そこには、子どものことを載せたinstagramやTik Tokがバズるとか、それで子どもが芸能事務所からスカウトされるとか、そういったことにのめり込む親もいた。当たり前だが、これは子どもを介した他者とのコミュニケーションとは全く異なる。子どもの情報を切り売りしてどこかの市場に流しているだけだ。親は一時の満足感を得るだろが、子どもの笑顔はどこか不自然だ。社宅清掃で見られる笑顔とはまったく違う雰囲気だ。

古臭いルールで運営されてはいるけど、30歳代の家族たちがなんとなく満たされている土曜の社宅清掃。1周回って新しい景色なのかもしれない。

Saturday morning.
Wake up at 7 o'clock. Breakfast at 7:10. Changed at 7:40.
8 o'clock. I head out the door with a broom and dustpan in hand.

"Good morning."

Members of the same company housing were already sweeping the common stairs and the space in front of the company housing with brooms and dustpans.

In 2024, ``Saturday morning company housing cleaning,'' which has almost become extinct in Tokyo, will still be here. Most of the male members who live in company housing work in the same department and often see each other on weekdays, but their wives and children also greet each other during this cleaning time, the children play with each other, and the parents make small talk. . My colleagues, who wear glasses and suits on weekdays, sometimes wear T-shirts with curled heads.
Weeds that are persistently spreading around buildings are pulled out, and trash is picked up on the premises. I sweat a lot.

Sendai is the city where I was born and raised, and I thought I knew everything about it, but when I started living in Sendai again after spending about seven years as a working adult in Tokyo, I experienced a reverse culture shock. received.
When I first moved here, I was taken aback by wondering if this kind of lifestyle still existed in the Reiwa era.

This company housing is a so-called family dormitory that only married employees can live in. It was built over 40 years ago, but it has been repeatedly renovated and is now occupied by a young family in their early to late 30s. Furthermore, most of the employees were hired at the head office, and they had previously lived in Tokyo and were transferred to the branch in Sendai as part of their job rotation.

The company I work for is a large company with a long history. That's why most of our employees are old men who lived in the Showa era.

Those of us born in the Heisei era are still used to the old men of the Showa era, and I think we are at the very edge of our generation to have something to say to them.

When we were born, all adults lived in the Showa era. We grew up in Heisei culture for most of our lives, survived the coronavirus, and now live in the Reiwa era.

We are tolerant of diverse lifestyles and can somehow understand the thoughts of those born in the Showa era and the feelings of children younger than us. (You could also say that I don't understand either generation.)
I can't help but feel something strange about the way they accepted the job of cleaning company housing on Saturday mornings, and were enthusiastically picking weeds.

Even though the rules are set by the general affairs department and the building management company that operate the company housing, somehow it feels good to meet up and clean together on holidays. The sight of children running around together is filled with happiness.

I believe that this kind of satisfaction is what young people today are looking for in their lives. It is quite difficult to get into a relationship with a complete neighbor (in other words, a complete stranger). However, my colleagues and I, who are similar in age and work at the same company, are aiming for one goal: cleaning. What's more, it doesn't have to be achieved so strictly; somehow everyone can clean together. If you concentrate on cleaning, you hardly need to look at your face. I think that's just right.

When I lived in Tokyo, I could hardly recognize the faces of the people in the apartment next door, and I would talk to the lady at the nearby convenience store or the lady at the greengrocer. They were both looking forward to their child's growth and naturally gathered information about the area. I think it is necessary for us (at least for me) to communicate with people who are not complete strangers and who we interact with in our daily lives, such as cleaning or shopping, with a natural sense of distance.

In Tokyo, I lived in a fairly cultural town. There were also parents who were obsessed with the idea that Instagram or Tik Tok posts about their children would go viral, or that their children would be scouted by entertainment agencies. Of course, this is completely different from communicating with others through children. All they do is sell off children's information and send it to some market. The parents may feel momentary satisfaction, but there is something unnatural about the child's smile. The atmosphere is completely different from the smiling faces you see when cleaning company housing.

Although it is run by old-fashioned rules, cleaning company housing on Saturdays is a way for families in their 30s to feel fulfilled. One lap may be a new scenery.