| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
SHINTANI Takanori NATIONAL MUSEUM OF JAPANESE HISTORY, Folklore Department, Prof., 民俗研究部, 教授 (80259986)
UENO Kazuo NATIONAL MUSEUM OF JAPANESE HISTORY, Folklore Department, Prof., 民俗研究部, 教授 (80062008)
THKAHASHI Satoshi NATIONAL MUSEUM OF JAPANESE HISTORY, Hisory Department, Prof., 歴史研究部, 教授 (80163260)
SENDA Yoshihiro NATIONAL MUSEUM OF JAPANESE HISTORY, Archaeology Department, Assistant, 考古研究部, 助手 (70226695)
SHITARA Hiromi NATIONAL MUSEUM OF JAPANESE HISTORY, Archaeology Department, Assoc.Prof., 考古研究部, 助教授 (70206093)
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| Research Abstract |
The purpose of our survey was to assess and record the present state of the common communal burial grounds called "Go-Graveyards" which exist at large in the Nara Basin. We have completed survey maps of the tombstones existing in the Hiraoka Gokurakuji Graveyard in Shinjo Town and the Nakayama Nenbutsuji Graveyard in Tenri City, both in Nara Prefecture, which maintain their relatively original appearance. We have also made a full record of the form, size, type of the tombstones as well as the inscriptions on them.
At the Nakayama Nenbutsuji Graveyard, the number of tombstones existing was so significant that we could not complete the work with our initial budgetary capacity.
Fortunately, however, the Grant-in-Aid of the Mitsubishi Foundation has enabled us to continue our research to the end.
As of today, the Hiraoka Gokurakuji Graveyard serves still as the common graveyard for 11 villages. The total number of the tombstones existing amounts to 2059. Among the tombs whose age has been con
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firmed, there are 18 tombs which date back to the 16th century ; 73 to the 17th, 125 to the 18th, 102 to the 19th, and 747 to the 20th century, respectively. The number of the tombstones increase remarkably toward modern times. However, among the tombstones whose age has not been confirmed, there are 230 tombstones which are assumed to be of the 15th to 16th century, or even much earlier. It is clear that the origin of the graveyards may well date back to the medieval age. In the 16th century, all the tombstones were dedicated to individuals ; whereas in the 17th century, the number of tombstones dedicated to conjugal pairs increased. In the latter half of 18th century, the tombs dedicated to ancestors at large appeared ; and, lastly, during the Taisho Era (1910's), family graves became the main trend.
Likewise, the Nakayama Nenbutsuji Graveyard comprising tombs of 8 villages is also still in use today. The total number of tombstones there amounts to 9406. Among the tombstones whose age has been confirmed, 2 tombstones originate in the 15th century, 40 in 16th, 1225 in 17th, 2344 in 18th, 1163 in 19th, and 1674 in 20th. Most of them date back to the beginning or the mid 18th century. Among the tombstones whose age has not been confirmed, many tombstones are assumed to originate in the 15th to 16th century or earlier. Here, too, the origin of the tombstones may surely date back to the medieval age.
At both graveyards, we studied the evolution of the tombstones in terms of style and material, the mode of utilization of the graveyard by each of the villages concerned, their burial customs, and their relationship to the temples. Thus, we have obtained significant data for the study on the origin and the evolution of the communal graveyard called "Go-Graves" in the Nara Basin. Less
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