2024.11.14
伝検通信（メルマガ）週刊メールマガジン「伝検通信」 第32号
週刊メールマガジン「伝検通信」第32号をお届けします。
今週号から弊会副会長で文筆家の白洲信哉さんによる連載「多様なるジャパン」をスタートします。月1回のペースで、伝検の学習分野からさまざまなテーマを取り上げていただきます。
「クイズで肩慣らし」は前回クイズの答え・解説と、芸能分野からの出題です。
今月２９日から実施する２級および３級の第１回伝検の受験申し込みを受け付けています。公式テキスト、２級受験者向けオンライン講座の販売もスタートしています。ぜひお申し込みください。
伝検申込サイト https://denken-test.jp/
目次
・ 「多様なるジャパン」 第１回 土器文化
・ 「クイズで肩慣らし」第３２回（芸能）＝「歌舞伎衣装」
・ 伝検協会だより
「多様なるジャパン」 第１回 土器文化
白洲信哉＝文筆家、日本伝統文化検定協会副会長
豪華な装飾が施された火焔型土器
最終氷期後の急速に進んだ温暖化により、大陸から切り離され、定住を始めた縄文人。彼らが編み出した世界最古といわれる土器、その文様の変遷から日本版新石器時代を縄文時代と呼ぶ。かの四大文明のはるか前、約1万6000年前から3000年前までの１万年間以上もの途方もない長期にわたる独自の文明、土器文化が花開いたのだ。最盛期は読者もよくご存じの粘土状のひもを貼り付けた立体的で豪華な装飾を施した大型の火焔（かえん）土器や土偶が作られた縄文中期。これほど豊かな造形美を誇る器は世界に類例はないが、ではなぜ用途以上の過激な表現を施したのであろうか。
例えば青森県三内丸山遺跡は、縄文前期から中期まで約1700年間も継続した巨大集落だ。大人数がひと所に長期定住することで人間関係が濃密になると、共通したデザイン性のあるモノが仲間意識の証しとなっていく。縄文土器に地域差があるのも、各集落の自由な発想から生まれた文様美であり、「無文字時代」には、集団生活の伝達手段でもあった。その上、土器は料理道具としても画期的だった。深鉢の発明により肉や魚、木の実を煮炊きすることで温かい食べ物を食せるようになる。しかも生では食べられなかったものも、火を通せば灰汁（あく）が抜けて柔らかくなり、食材の幅も広がり、大型魚類の脂は貯蔵するなど、より多くの自然の恵みが土器の出現と共に得られた。つまり、食生活に大きな安定をもたらし、その日暮らしから解放された大切な生活道具だったため、縄文後期にはベンガラや水銀朱を塗った赤色の器が現れるなどますます呪術的感性が加わってきたのだ。
だが、縄文中期をピークに寒冷期に入り、主食だった堅果類の生産量は減り、人口は減少に向かう。富が減少し余裕がなくなればマインドも変化し、土器の装飾も弥生の後期にはシンプルに、何より稲作の普及により社会構造が大変化し、安定的に収穫を得るために計画をたてたり、秩序が求められたりするようになると、自由な発想が失われてくるのは世の常である。人口分布も東から西へ、また記紀の神話に代表される新たな技術をもたらした渡来人に縄文人が混ざり合い、鉄器や籾（もみ）をためておく壺など新製品が生まれた。大事なことは縄文と弥生時代は対立するものでなく、長期の古層を排除することなく生かして、不要なものには上書きしてきたことだ。土器の技術も須恵器と混ざり素焼きの器は備前などに引き継がれ、桃山時代に、楽焼がろくろでなく手捻りなのも、縄文へ回帰することで誕生したと言ったら言い過ぎであろうか。
白洲信哉（しらす・しんや）＝1965年東京生まれ。細川護熙首相の公設秘書を経て、執筆活動に入る。その一方で日本文化の普及に努め、書籍編集デザインのほか、さまざまな文化イベントをプロデュースする。骨董・古美術専門誌月刊「目の眼」編集長(2013-2018年）。父方の祖父母は、白洲次郎・正子。母方の祖父は文芸評論家の小林秀雄。主著『骨董あそび』（文藝春秋）／『白洲次郎の青春』（幻冬社）／『白洲家としきたり』（小学館）／『かたじけなさに涙こぼるる』（世界文化社）／『旅する舌ごころ』（誡文堂新光社）／『美を見極める力』（光文社新書）ほか多数。編書『天才青山二郎の眼力』／『小林秀雄 美と出会う旅』（新潮社）／『朱漆「根来」 中世に咲いた華』（目の眼）ほか。
「クイズで肩慣らし」第３２回（芸能）＝「歌舞伎衣装」
～伝検公式テキスト（好評発売中）の分野ごとに出題します～
絢爛豪華な歌舞伎衣装
第３２回
問題：歌舞伎の女方が身にまとう華やかな衣装は、歌舞伎観劇の楽しみの一つです。歌舞伎演目「助六由縁江戸桜（すけろくゆかりのえどざくら）」に登場する花魁（おいらん）「揚巻（あげまき）」が着用する衣装に見られる、前で結んだ大きな帯の名前は何でしょうか。（答えと解説は次号で）
日本酒の味わいが引き立つお燗
【前回の問題と答え・解説】
問題：秋も深まり、燗酒（かんざけ） がおいしい季節となりました。日本酒を温めて飲む「燗」 の習慣が始まったのは、何時代でしょうか。
答え：奈良時代
解説：「燗」の習慣が始まったのは、米と麹を用いた醸造法が確立された奈良時代といわれています。当時の書物には、菊の節句から桃の節句にかけて日本酒を温めて飲んだという記録があります。その後、平安時代に貴族社会で広まり、江戸時代に大衆化しました。江戸時代後期には徳利（とっくり）の普及により、燗酒が一年中楽しめるようになりました。
伝検協会だより
▼伝統的工芸品の普及を目的に、石川県金沢市で１１月８～１０日の３日間開かれた日本最大級の工芸イベント「ＫＯＵＧＥＩ ＥＸＰＯ ＩＮ ＩＳＨＩＫＡＷＡ」に参加してきました。今年のメインテーマは「工芸の底力・復興の翼～石川から未来につなぐ、日本の美技」。今年元日の能登半島地震と、同半島を襲った９月の記録的な豪雨災害からの復興を強く意識しており、馳浩石川県知事は関連式典のあいさつで「（イベントを通じて）輪島塗など能登の産地を応援していきたい」と語りました。
▼小学館のライフスタイル月刊誌「サライ」１２月号に、
▼伝検のPR動画をこのほど、You Tubeチャンネルで公開しました。京都を舞台に撮影し、
編集後記
伝検通信３２号をお届けしました。今月末の試験に向けて準備を進めている方もおられると思います。協会だよりにある伝検のPR動画、ちょっとした空き時間に見られます。ぜひご視聴ください。
【English version】
Weekly e-mail magazine “DENKEN TSUSHIN” No. 32
We are pleased to present the 32nd issue of our weekly e-mail magazine “DENKEN TSUSHIN”.
Starting with this week's issue, we will begin a series of articles entitled “Diverse Japan” by Shinya Shirasu, vice president of DENKEN and a writer. The series will be published once a month and will cover a variety of topics from DENKEN's field of study.
In “Let's Practice with Quizzes,” we will provide answers and explanations to the previous quiz, as well as questions from the field of performing arts.
Registration for the first DENKEN test for Level 2 and Level 3, which will be held on the 29th of this month, is now open. The official textbooks and online courses for Level 2 test takers are also on sale. Please apply now.
Denken application website: https://denken-test.jp/examination/
Table of Contents
・Japan in Diversity No.1 Earthenware Culture
・Let's Practice with Quizzes No.32 (Performing Arts) = ”Kabuki Costumes
・From the Denken Kyokai
Japan in Diversity
1st Earthenware Culture
Shinya Shirasu = Writer, Vice President of Japan Traditional Culture Certification Association
Gorgeously decorated flaming earthenware
The Jomon people were cut off from the continent by the rapid global warming that followed the last ice age, and began to settle in the area. The Jomon people are said to have created the world's oldest earthenware, and the Japanese version of the Neolithic Age is called the Jomon Period because of the changes in the patterns on the earthenware. The Jomon people were a unique civilization and earthenware culture that flourished for a tremendously long period of more than 10,000 years, from about 16,000 to 3,000 years ago, long before the four major civilizations of the world. The heyday of the Jomon culture was the Middle Jyomon period, when large, three-dimensional, ornately decorated Kaen earthenware and clay figures with clay-like strings pasted on them were produced, as readers are well aware. There is no other vessel in the world that boasts such a wealth of formative beauty, but why did they use such radical expressions beyond their intended use?
The Sannai-Maruyama site in Aomori Prefecture, for example, is a huge settlement that continued for approximately 1,700 years from the early to mid-Jomon period. As human relationships grew closer through the long-term settlement of large numbers of people in one place, objects with a common design became evidence of a sense of camaraderie. The regional differences in Jomon earthenware are also a sign of the beauty of the designs that emerged from the freedom of each community, and in the “era of no writing,” earthenware also served as a means of communicating about group life. In addition, earthenware was also revolutionary as a cooking tool. The invention of deep bowls made it possible to cook meat, fish, and nuts to make hot food. Moreover, the invention of earthenware allowed for a wider variety of foods to be used, including foods that could not be eaten raw but became tender after being cooked over a fire to release their lye, and the fat from large fish could be stored. In other words, earthenware was an important tool for daily life that brought great stability to the diet and freed people from the daily grind, and by the late Jomon period, red-colored vessels coated with bengara or mercury vermillion appeared, adding an increasingly magical sensibility.
However, the Jomon peaked in the mid-Jomon period and entered a period of cold weather, which led to a decline in the production of hard fruits, the staple food of the people, and a decline in the population. As wealth decreased and people became less comfortable, minds began to change. The decoration on earthenware became simpler by the late Yayoi period, and the social structure became more difficult with the spread of rice cultivation, which required planning and order to ensure a stable harvest. The distribution of the population shifted from east to west, and the Jyomon people mingled with the foreigners who brought new technology, as represented by the myths of the Kiki period, and new products such as ironware and pots for storing unhulled rice were born. What is important to note is that the Jomon and Yayoi periods were not in opposition to each other, but rather made use of the long-established layers without eliminating them, and overwrote those that were unnecessary. Earthenware techniques were mixed with Sue ware, and unglazed earthenware was taken over by Bizen and other pottery makers.
Shinya Shirasu = Born in Tokyo in 1965. After serving as public secretary to Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, he began his writing career. At the same time, he has worked to promote Japanese culture, editing and designing books and producing various cultural events. He is the editor-in-chief (2013-2018) of the monthly magazine “Eye of the Eye,” which specializes in antiques and antiquities. His paternal grandparents were Jiro and Masako Shirasu. His maternal grandfather was the literary critic Hideo Kobayashi. His many publications include “Kotto Asobi” (Bungeishunju), “Shirasu Jiro no Seishun” (Gentosha), “Shirasu Kakei to Shikkori” (Shogakukan), “Katajikenasanasai Nada Koboruru” (Sekai Bunka Sha), “Tabisuru Tongue Gokoro” (Bunshodo Shinkosha), “Bi wo Kikomeru Riki” (Kobunsha Shinsho). Edited books: “Genius Aoyama Jiro's Eye Power”, “Kobayashi Hideo: A Journey to Discover Beauty” (Shinchosha), “Shu Urushi ‘Negoro’: Flower that Bloomed in the Middle Ages” (Me no Gan), and others.
Let's Practice with Quizzes the 32nd (Performing Arts) = “Kabuki Costumes”
～Questions will be given for each field in the official DENKEN textbook (now on sale).
Gorgeous Kabuki costumes
Question: The gorgeous costumes worn by female kabuki actors are one of the pleasures of kabuki theater. What is the name of the large sash tied in front worn by the oiran (courtesan) “Agemaki” in the kabuki play “Sukeroku Yukari no Edozakura”? (See the next issue for the answer and explanation.)
Warming sake to enhance its flavor
Previous Question and Answer / Explanation
Question: As autumn approaches, it is the time of year when kanzake (heated sake) is delicious. In which period did the custom of heating sake to drink it warm begin?
Answer: Nara Period
Explanation: The custom of heating sake is said to have started during the Nara period (710-794), when the brewing method using rice and koji was established. Books of the time record that sake was heated and drunk between the Chrysanthemum Festival and the Peach Festival. Later, it spread among the aristocracy during the Heian period (794-1185) and became popular during the Edo period (1603-1868). By the late Edo period (1603-1867), with the spread of tokkuri (sake cups), heated sake could be enjoyed all year round.
From Denken Kyokai
▼With the aim of promoting traditional crafts, we participated in KOUGEI EXPO IN KANAZAWA, one of the largest craft events in Japan, held in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, from November 8 to 10, 2012. The main theme of this year's event was “The Power of Crafts, Wings of Recovery: Japanese Arts and Crafts from Ishikawa to the Future. Ishikawa Governor Hiroshi Hase said in his speech at the related ceremony, “I would like to support Noto's production areas such as Wajima-nuri (Wajima lacquerware) through this event.
▼The Japanese Traditional Culture Proficiency Test was introduced in the December issue of “Sarai,” a monthly lifestyle magazine published by Shogakukan. Under the headline “Challenge and you will acquire Japanese culture that enriches your life,” the two-page article includes information about the DENKEN test and a mock test on the magazine (answers and explanations are available on the official DENKEN website).
▼ We have recently released a promotional video for Denken on our You Tube channel. Filmed in Kyoto, the 5-minute version features a greeting from Tadahiro Chikanori, Chairman of the Association, and introduces the Kyo-yuzen and Kyo-yaki studios, while the shorter version allows you to try out the questions to test your skills.
editorial post
We have sent you Denken Tsushin No. 32. Some of you may be preparing for the examinations at the end of this month. You can watch the DENKEN PR video in the MISHOP newsletter in your spare time. Please take a look.
カテゴリー: 伝検通信（メルマガ）