| Title: |
Chohoshu |
| Collector: |
Yamanaka Kyoko (1850-1928) |
| Date: |
1914 |
| Description: |
32cm × 24cm, 4 books |
| NDL call no. |
ki-betsu 7-9-3-2 |
Attaching a noshi, a kind of emblem originally consisting of dried awabi
(abalone) and paper, at the topside of a package when we send a gift at
the fortunate event, is an old custom in Japan. (For more information about
noshi, please click here.)
Chohoshu is a collection of real noshi by Yamanaka Kyoko (1850-1928),
a noted researcher of folklore and old objects. This noshi collection seems
to come from his academic interest in folklore, although we cannot deny
the possibility that it might be a product of his favorite pursuit.
Chohoshu consists of four books of Japanese binding. Each book
has approximately 30 sheets and in all, over 400 noshi are mounted. The
binding is thought to have been done by Kyoko himself and we can see a
note at the end of one book, which suggests that these books were completed
on a hot day in August 1914.
Front
cover of Chohoshu
Not all of the collected noshi were taken from the gifts received
by Kyoko, but some were, and indicate his personal connection with other
distinguished people of his time, such as Shimizu Seifu (1851-1913), a
researcher of toys, and Matsuura Takeshiro(1818-1888), an explorer of Hokkaido
(the northernmost prefecture of Japan). It also includes slips of paper
on which images of noshi are printed, possibly attached to a little gift
and distributed by chat artists, actors or musicians. Seeing the noshi
with provincial features, we can follow in the footsteps of Kyoko in his
life.
Right:
"Noshi-gami" used in a town in Suruga (part of present-day Shizuoka prefecture)
Left:
Noshi used by a school for girls of noble families, one with a phrase from
the Bible
(Kyoko was a Chiristian).
In addition to the noshi of classical style using slivers of dried abalone,
the collection shows various designs of noshi which became popular in later
times; noshi using a yellow tip of paper instead of abalone, the so-called
"noshi-gami", a paper on which picture of a noshi is printed, and even
those represented simply by writing "no-shi" in hiragana (the Japanese
syllabary) on paper. We can also find a noshi which has leaves of seasonal
plants instead of the abalone. In general, we may say that the designs
of a century ago reflected the seasonal changes more sensitively than those
of today. Noshi-gami once attached to daily commodities such as a bottle
of soy sauce might be interesting for people who are interested in history
of commercial design.
The NDL bought Chohoshu on May 28, 1930.
| About
noshi
"Noshi" is said to have been a contracted word
for "noshi-awabi", which is made by shaving a shelled awabi (abalone) into
ribbons and drying them in the sun. Since a long time ago, though we cannot
clearly tell when it takes its rise, Japan has had a custom of attaching
"noshi-awabi" when people send gifts or congratulatory presents to others.
The reason for attaching a noshi was, according
to some folklore researchers, to symbolize the immunity to evil things:
the sender's pure mind and the harmlessness of the gift. In the past, Japanese
people seldom ate animal products and even avoided them on sorrowful occasions
such as mourning. Animal products were associated with the happy events,
and as a representative of them, noshi-awabi, once perceived as "the best
gift", were attached to the gift they send to show their goodwill. In addition,
there is a legend that awabi provides perpetual youth and longevity. That
might have also affected the rise of this custom.
Today, the original significance of noshi-awabi
has been lost, but the custom survives. A typical noshi is composed of
a narrow piece of yellow paper, which is a substitute for noshi-awabi,
folded in a special way in a piece of white-and-red paper to form a hexagon.
Very often, noshi is replaced by a "noshi-gami", a piece of paper on which
an image of noshi is printed, or the word "no-shi" in hiragana (the Japanese
syllabary) are printed. We use a noshi for a happy event, not for a sorrowful
one, just as in the past.
Reference;
Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth, Japan
encyclopedia, Cambridge, Mass. /London, 2002
Ajio Fukuda et al., Nihon Minzoku Daijiten,
Tokyo, 2000 |
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