publication
REKIHAKU
No.101 A Witness to History
A photographic introduction to items from the collection
Vocational Lineages and Faith in Vocational Founders
Kawara scrolls and other writings are the focus of attention in historical scholarship of social class systems and the history of hamlets. Research on the lineages of metal casters and other vocations is known and established. In recent years, research concerning lineages and chronicles from the modern historical period have also become very popular.
The lineages of itinerant merchants which were read at fairs were featured in the Medieval Merchants Forum held at the National Museum of Japanese History. These works should be called merchant legends.
In terms of content, they are regarded to be in the same genre as fairy tales.
In the field of ethnology, the lineages which were carried by groups of craftsmen and performers have been gaining attention since before World War II. Faith in the founder who was presumed to have originated a particular vocation or art, whether factual or fictional, is termed faith in a vocational founder. From this perspective, the National Museum of Japanese History is collecting the lineages of certain craftsmen and performers.
Image number 2 is a portrait of Shotoku Taishi with an ink bottle and a carpenter's square before him. This hanging scroll was used as an image of worship at "Taishi-ko" (Taishi gatherings). The Taishi-ko were gatherings where craftsmen such as carpenters, plasterers, smiths and barrel makers gathered to venerate images of Shotoku Taishi and confer about payment settlements and other matters over food and drink. Shotoku Taishi was an important figure in the history of temple and shrine construction, and thus became an object of worship for craftsmen working in that field. This is considered to be the origin of later Taishi-ko.
Image number 3 shows the single scroll "Bansho no okori" (The origin of carpentry) and a set of three scrolls; "Gyokujo kanjo junshi" (The words of praying to the gods), "Bansho kinshi daiji" (The start of cutting), and "Bansho joto daiji shidai" (Completion of a building), which were used in building ceremonies. The three scrolls were bequeathed from the first year of Enkyo (1744).
Image number 4 shows the single scroll "Yanebuki kyokan" (Permission to thatch roofs) which was owned by a roof thatching craftsman from the Aizu region of Fukushima Prefecture. It contains poems and lines from Shinto purification prayers and the Sumi and Iraka festivals. Roof thatching was one of the occupations in which men from the Aizu region left home to work in during their home region's harsh, snowy winters. Five years were spent apprenticing under a master known as a toryo. When the training period was completed, the toryo transcribed copies of his scrolls and presented these copies to the apprentice. These scrolls were used in celebrations, called Gushi Matsuri in Aizu, following the completion of thatching a roof.
Images number 6 and 7 show logging ceremonies of the people of Soma who lumbered the forests there. They depict ceremonies worshipping mountain gods and lineages were read at these ceremonies.
Image number 8 shows a reproduction of the "Yamadachi konpon no maki" (Hunter's lineage) from Sawauchi village, Iwate Prefecture that was passed down among mountain-dwelling hunters of the Tohoku region. The scroll depicts the legend of the origins of hunting and faith in the mountain gods. Banjiban Saburo, a famous master archer who lived in the foothills of the mountains of Nikko, who helped the ruler of Nikko by driving out the Akagi myoujin (a troublesome deity). Banjiban's deed led to the official recognition of hunting activity.
Craftsmen who made wooden bowls and trays using a lathe were called kiji-shi and their craft and groups were known as kiji-ya. Until recent times, they lived a transient lifestyle moving from place to place to procure materials. There is a legend that they received their methods from the imperial prince Ononomiya Koretaka (images 9, 10), who they revere as the founder of their craft. They carried a special permit known as gorinji to support that legend. The gorinji guaranteed the freedom to move about in the mountains and freely gather materials. The gorinji served the same function as the mountain hunters' lineages. |
Image number 5 shows the history of a yashi (medicine merchant). The yashi were peddlers who sold medicines at street stalls and revered Shinnou as their patron. Yashi were said to have sold thirteen types of medicine, but they were not limited to that amount. These medicine peddlers had to apply for and obtain sales licenses at the borders of each province to which they traveled. Therefore, a great number of these types of lineages were created. The museum's main collection also includes one scroll each of "Jusan yashi yuisho" (Lineages of thirteen yashi), and "Kogu akindo sadamegaki" (Lineages of medicine peddlers).
The "Kyoto Katsura-hime yuishogaki, goshuki" (Kyoto Katsura princess lineage record) is a valuable lineage of Kyoto's Katsura princesses, known for presenting offerings of "ayu" (fresh water trout).
The museum's main collection also contains the lineages of various performers including the "Maridensho" (3 volumes, with a Kannei Era date) and "Kemari shinzo kakefuku" (Portrait of the gods of kemari scroll) (image 1), "Yamato manzai kyuki" (Record of Yamato manzai), "Shinshu Iida haruta uchifumi" (Record of Haruta-uchi celebrations in Iida, Shinshu) and others.
Toshio Fukuhara
Ethnological Research Department
National Museum of Japanese History
