著者

佐藤 健太郎

出版者

関西大学東西学術研究所

雑誌

関西大学東西学術研究所紀要 (ISSN:02878151)

巻号頁・発行日

pp.47-65, 2012-04

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Milk and its by-products are naturally nutritious food, and people in ancient Japan enjoyed tasting them as foods, drinks, or medicines. On the other hand, milk and its by-products were closely related to the philosophy of Buddhism and were often supplied at Buddhist rituals. There have been many studies on ancient diets including milk and its by-products and we have obtained useful knowledge on nutritious foods in ancient Japan. Among the milk products, "So" (蘇), a type of dairy product made from layers of milk skin, has been re-produced, and Japanese people enjoy it as it was enjoyed in the ancient diet. Based on previous studies, in this article the author describes the use of milk and its by-products as well as the contribution system of offerings in ancient Japan. The newly found research materials including Kouninshiki's lost writings' formula (弘仁式逸文) that describe "So" (蘇), wooden plates (木簡), and clay pots (墨書土器) are used for discussion. Since materials useful for studying the contribution system of offerings (蘇) in the Heian Era are unavailable except for 延喜民部式貢蘇条 (a Japanese book of laws and regulations), the contribution system of offerings (蘇) earlier than Engishiki (延喜式) is not known. Thanks to Kouninshiki's lost writings' formula, the contribution system of offerings under regulation called Kouninsikisei (弘仁式制) has been clarified. By comparing the contribution system of offerings called Engishiki with that of Kouninshiki, every aspect of change, i.e., difference in systems and any historical factors for transformation, have been reviewed. It is not clear when the contribution system of offerings was changed from Kouninshiki to Engishiki, but it is certain that the contribution system of offerings (蘇) apparently existed until 887 (the 3rd year of Ninna) according to Kouninshiki.