| Research Abstract |
The cleaning of a residence is a basic work that is important not only for enjoying beautiful and clean life, but also for managing the maintenance of the residence though routine checking and minor repairing inside and outside the house by the hands of the dweller. In recent years, however, although the life extension of housing is challenged, housing itself as well as living style have widely changed, which has reduced the intensity and frequency of cleaning. This study aimed to clarify what kinds of techniques residents used and how these techniques have been transferred up to now. For these purposes, the author collected articles in monthly magazines published since the Meiji Era, and grasped the actual state of the maintenance management of housing and awareness on housing mainly on cleaning in traditional residential districts, in order to clarify changes due to the age, cleaning tools, and approaches. The author also clarified the techniques useful for the future maintenance man
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agement of housing, as well as the matters that should be took over in modern life as living culture.
(1)Cleaning observed in monthly magazines :
The monthly magazines chosen as the objects are "Jutaku (residence)" and "Fujinnotomo (friend of housewives)." The former covers 28 years since the launch in 1916 up to the closing in 1943, and the latter covers 81 years since the launch in 1908 up to the end of the Showa Era in 1988. The author collected articles related to the maintenance management mainly on cleaning, and analyzed the described contents.
Collected articles are 64 articles from "Fujinnotomo" and 42 articles from "Jutaku." The following trends were found in "Fujinnotomo." (1)In middle-class households, persons in charge of cleaning shifted from maids to housewives. (2)The cleaning places in the house were mainly living rooms, and before the popularization of vacuum cleaners, the cleaning in the order of dusting, sweeping and wet-rag wiping was repeated before breakfast every days. Focus was placed on beautifully polishing the house. (3) Cleaning in the magazine was written from the viewpoint of emphasizing the management of time and labor, and focus was placed on cordially spending daily life, and beautifully and cleanly living in the house. The following was found in "Jutaku." (4)Rational methods to reduce labor costs were sought, such as using vacuum cleaners in place of hiring maids
(2)Domestic cleaning in traditional residences :
The areas chosen as the objects of surveying were major traditional building preservation districts such as Mino City, Gifu Prefecture, Tondabayashi City, Osaka Prefecture, and Fukiya in Takahasi City, Okayama Prefecture, as well as Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City, where traditional living habits strongly remained. The survey was conducted on totally 14 households during 1985-1987. The survey results ware as follows. (1)Daily cleaning was carried out mainly on daily used rooms, and the span of daily cleaning area tended to decrease. As the tools, not only vacuum cleaners, but also lightweight familiar brooms, dusters, and rags were continuously used. Except for "Kadohaki (house-front cleaning)" in Kyoto, cleanings for 10-90 min were carried out after breakfast. Husbands and wives often cooperated. (2)Domestic cleaning was considered to be a duty and the use of outside labor was never thought of. (3)Since the interior and exterior lumbers of the surveyed houses were made of solid lumbers, habitual cleaning that continued from the newly-built age generated the luster of lumber, which made it easy to remove stains. The appearance of carefully living houses made us feel the importance of the succession of lifestyle habits. Less
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