The manipulation of tree bark can be found in many parts of the
world. In Japan, too, it is widely distributed through Kyushu to Hokkaido.
However, in Japan the skill concerning bark manufacturing has
not been taken up carefully as a subject of study. For this reason its
whole picture, that being its historical source as well as its cultural
genealogy is not always detailed.
We need some detailed indexes to make comparisons between
different peoples, and regions. Also, studying material of different ages
in a certain confined region can tell us much about various cultural factors
concerning the use of bark. For that reason it is more important to
systematically accumulate many facts about the use of bark in a certain
people and a certain region. From this point of view, I decided to look
into folk bark products in Eastern Japan. I wanted to study Eastern
Japan's products regarding the accumulation and manufacturing of
bark.
In the first chapter, based on an interview with an elderly man, I first
explain how bark was torn off in traditional Eastern Japan. It is largely
classified into "the way to tear off" and "whole tree stripping." The
former is classified into three ways: one is "tearing off vertically" used to
get thin, long bark, another is "tearing off horizontally" used to get wide
ones, and the other is "tearing off spirally," to get thin, long bark when
tearing off is not impossible or when bark will be used for spirally wound
objects. Secondly, I examine various kinds of bark products using the
above methods. Next I explain the bark process skills, for example
-to join both edges of bark together after shaping in a circle, to join
both sides together folding in two, to shave off and produce various
shapes, to join four sides together spread and folded up, to knit, to
assemble, to wind, to cover, and to use in free form. Finally I introduce
actual recent folk material using the above processes.
In the second chapter, I relate modern examples to Jomon remains
in Eastern Japan and to various other areas. By analyzing the skill,
(such as, cutting bark like a tape, knitting, assembling, winding, bundling
up, twisting, spreading out, joining in a circle, shaving off producing
different shapes), comparison is possible. The two tearing off techniques
(horizontal and vertical) used for products can be easily found in the
Jomon Period. As well, there is a great possibility that "tearing off
spirally" had existed. Tearing off bark and various process skills are
remarkably similar to modern folk examples. Further, it is unclear if
the "whole tree stripping" process existed in the Jomon Period. Since
the Jomon Period, the bark culture has successfully continued in Japan.
東日本における樹皮利用の文化 : 加工技術の体系と伝統
KH_018_2_002.pdf
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