外国人の増加と共にその数を増やし始めたゲストハウスであるが、外国人が日本に増え始めたのはいつごろなのだろうか。1980年以降の日本の経済国際化進展により外国人人口が増えはじめ、特に85年Ｇ5（先進国蔵相会議）以降は円高の影響を受け、日本とアジアの経済格差、賃金格差が拡大し、それにともない外国人労働者が日本に急増した。住宅確保に困る外国人の為の下宿屋が“外国人ハウス”と呼ばれ、何時からか“ゲストハウス”と呼ばれるようになったが、それが何時からなのかは定かでない。
さて、私が外国人へ住居の斡旋を始めたのは78年のことである。ちょうどニューカマー（特別永住者と区別して80年ころから急増する外国人のこと）が増え始めた時期である。その当時、すでに“イングリッシュハウス”と呼ばれる“外国人ハウス”はあったが、それは、ただ単に外国人がそこに住むから“外国人ハウス”と呼ばれていたようであった。このような形態の住居を、外国人自身はどう呼んでいたのだろか。想像するに適当な呼び名が無いため“ゲストハウス”とでも呼んでいたのではないだろうか。
ところで、現在のゲストハウスには賃貸借の一つとしての定義があるのだろうか。ゲストハウスを日本語訳すると“迎賓館”となるが、現在運営されているもので程度の差こそあれ、とても迎賓館などと呼べるものはない。仮に“ゲストハウスはどのような賃貸借か”を定義するとすれば、通常の賃貸借と違って礼金などの契約一時金、退室時の煩雑な敷金精算、そして連帯保証人の必要のない簡便な賃貸借で、建物が共用設備の多い共同生活スタイルの賃貸借。そして、今までの日本の賃貸住宅には無かった、“異文化共生のコミュニティーハウス”とでも表現したいような賃貸借住宅ということになるのだろうか。
しだいにその数を増やし市場で認知され始めたゲストハウスだが、いまだにその定義がなされてなく、その存在自体が曖昧である。意外性や可能性、そして非日常性が特徴のゲストハウスであるが、一般賃貸借に比較して整備されていないところも多い。今後の課題としては、何らか統一した基準やルールを定め、今後益々増える多くの外国人そして日本人に、快適に住んでもらえるよう安全で安心できるゲストハウスの運営を目指していく必要があるようだ。
Issue of Guesthouses Part 1: Guesthouse or Boarding House?
As the number of foreign visitors to Japan increases, so does the number of guesthouses. But when did the increase in foreign visitors to Japan begin? It began in the 1980s with Japan’s international economic advancement, and particularly after the 1985 G5 summit, when the strong yen resulted in a widening gap in economic and wage levels between Japan and Asia, leading to a rapid increase in foreign workers in Japan. Boarding houses were established to provide accommodation for foreigners who had difficulty securing housing, and at some point, they began to be called “guesthouses,” but it is unclear exactly when this happened.
As for myself, I began to mediate accommodation for foreigners in 1978, just as the number of “newcomers” (foreigners who began to rapidly increase in number around 1980, distinct from permanent residents) started to rise. At that time, there were already “boarding houses” called “English Houses,” but they were simply called that because foreigners lived there. I wonder what foreigners themselves called this type of housing. Perhaps they called it “guesthouse” because there was no suitable name for it.
By the way, is there a definition of guesthouses as a type of lease? In Japanese, guesthouses are translated as “greeting houses,” but there are currently no guesthouses operating that could be called greeting houses, although there are some differences in degree. If we were to define what type of lease guesthouses are, it would be a simple lease that does not require a key money, the complicated settlement of a security deposit upon vacating, or a guarantor, and is a rental lease with many shared facilities for a communal living style. It could be said to be a rental housing that aims to express the idea of “multicultural coexistence community house” that has not existed in traditional Japanese rental housing.
Although guesthouses are recognized in the market and their numbers are increasing, their definition remains undefined and their existence ambiguous. Guesthouses are characterized by their surprise, possibility, and non-daily nature, but many of them are not well maintained compared to general rental leases. As a future challenge, it is necessary to establish unified standards and rules and aim to operate guesthouses that are safe and secure, providing comfortable living for the increasing number of foreigners and Japanese people.
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