Material culture research on East Asian court crafts on the basis of a relative cultural history perspective

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K00930
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 03010:Historical studies in general-related
• Research Institution: Tokyo National Museum
• Principal Investigator: INOKUMA KANEKI 独立行政法人国立文化財機構東京国立博物館, 学芸研究部, 室長 (30416557)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 物質文化 / 東アジア / 宮廷 / 工芸 / 礼制 / 有職

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The Chinese court, which was the centre of the East Asian cultural sphere, maintained a Confucian order and embodied its ideals through a system of rituals. The ritual system is closely related to material culture as it refers to standards of form and design for architecture, utensils and clothing according to status. The ritual system then spread to courts throughout East Asia, where it became a universal norm that transcended time and space, forming the outer court, the official space of the state. On the other hand, the inner court, the private space of the sovereign, was formed by crafts reflecting the climate and lifestyles and customs of each region and ethnic background. Therefore, it has been confirmed that the court crafts of the outer court represent the common standards of East Asia, while the court crafts of the inner court represent the underlying culture of each region and ethnic group, making them appropriate materials for examining each court in relative terms.

Free Research Field

工芸史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

東アジアの宮廷工芸（宮殿・調度・服飾）の研究については、従来のような年代・様式・技法などに関心をおく美術史的見地ばかりでなく、宮廷の儀式・行事における身分・立場・状況などを表象する物質文化として理解する観点が重要であることを示した。東アジアの宮廷工芸には、礼制に基づく共通規格とともに、各宮廷の背景にある風土・社会・制度・習俗などを反映した相異特色も現出するので、相対的に検証するうえで好資料となるという観点を示した。本研究は、諸文化を相対的に論じる文化相対主義的歴史観に基づくため、その研究成果は、諸文化の相異特色について合理的に理解し、今日的課題である多文化共生に資する歴史研究となるであろう。