Women's Clothing Reflecting Society
The 1951 Photographed by an American Military Doctor
Ishinomaki, Omachidori Street
Jan. 28th, 2018
This picture is of the neighborhood on the north side in front of Kankeimarumototen on Omachidori Street (currently Aitopia). It can be seen from the clothing of the passersby that it was either spring or autumn time. Captain Butler stood in this spot and took several photos.
One can see that the shops on the west side of the street are Tokyoyahakimonoten shoe store, the stallholders in tents pitched in the empty lot in front of the Ishinomaki Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hamayayohinten Western goods, and Kameshichigofukuten Japanese cloth store. On both sides of the street are a forest of banners, and if one looks at the end of the street he will see all of the people in front of the street stalls; it is surprising to see so many pedestrians here.
To the North side of Tokyoya[hakimonoten] are the Ishidakanamonoten hardware, Marunao, Somayakaguten furniture, Kankeimarushoten, Sutoaramonoya variety, and Tanshobo shops, etc. The models in these successive shots are women glimpsed in the streets of Ishinomaki. Amongst them are a young woman, a lady with her child, and some sisters. It seems that Captain Butler, who visited many places, noticed the different appearance and clothes of women in various areas (urban districts, farming villages, and fishing villages), industries, and occupations.
Most men wore western clothes, but women mixed Japanese and Western clothes. The three good friends that can be seen [in this photo] if they are still alive would be in the latter half of their eighties, wouldn’t they? The woman with the white sweater and skirt has good taste, but it’s a pity that she is wearing geta (traditional wooden Japanese clogs).
This was a year when nylon socks were in vogue, but throughout the country everything was in short supply so shoes were a valuable. It was a time when even though people wanted things they just could not get their hands on them.
The following year Omachi and Omachiginzadori Street charged ahead of other towns and began installing asphalt roads. There were memorial sales, and in both name and substance [the area] fully developed as a shopping district. (Local historian Seiji Henmi)
※The 1951 that an American Military Doctor Captured Kawahiraki and Tachimachidori Street
http://ishinomaki.kahoku.co.jp/news/2018/01/20180121t13006.htm
<Please let us know if you have any information>
You can browse the published photos on the photographer’s eldest son, Alan Butler’s, website “Miyagi 1951”. https://www.miyagi1951.com/
Please feel free to contribute any information regarding these photos to Mr. Henmi at 090(4317)7706.
米軍医が撮った1951＜３＞ 石巻・大町通り
写真は、石巻市大町通り（現アイトピア）の観慶丸本店前の北側付近。通行人の服装から、時期は春か秋ごろとみられます。バトラー大尉はこの場所で立て続けに数カットの写真を撮影しています。
通り西側店舗は東京屋履物店、石巻商工会議所前の空き地にテント掛けの露天商、はまや洋品店、亀七呉服店が見えていて、道路両側に「のぼり」が林立し、通りの先を観察すると露店前の人だかり、人通りの多いことに驚きます。
東京屋北側は石田金物店、丸直、相馬屋家具店、観慶丸商店、須藤荒物屋、耽（たん）書房などの店舗。数カットのモデルは石巻の街で目にした日本人女性のうち、若い女性、子ども連れの婦人や姉妹たちです。各地を訪れたバトラー大尉は、地域（町場、農村、漁村）、産業、仕事内容などによって女性たちの服装や容姿が違うことに気付いたようです。
男性の大半が洋服ですが、女性は和服と洋服が混在しています。仲良しの３人組に見える女性たちは、健在であれば８０代後半になるでしょうか。白セーターとスカート姿の女性は際立つセンスの持ち主ですが、足元の履物がげたであることが残念です。
この年はナイロン靴下が流行した年ですが、国内中で全ての品物が不足して靴は貴重品。欲しくても手に入らない時代でした。
翌年、大町・大町銀座通りは他町に先駆けてアスファルトの道路舗装に取り掛かり、記念売り出しを実施、名実ともに市内の繁華街として発展を遂げます。（郷土史家・辺見清二）
※米軍医が撮った1951＜２＞ 川開きと立町通り
http://ishinomaki.kahoku.co.jp/news/2018/01/20180121t13006.htm
＜情報をお寄せください＞
掲載された写真は、撮影者の長男アラン・バトラー氏のウェブサイト「Ｍｉｙａｇｉ １９５１」で閲覧できます。https://www.miyagi1951.com/
写真に関する情報は辺見氏 ０９０（４３１７）７７０６ にお寄せください。