著者

白石 太一郎

出版者

国立歴史民俗博物館

雑誌

国立歴史民俗博物館研究報告 (ISSN:02867400)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.108, pp.93-118, 2003-10

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古墳時代前期から中期初めにかけての4世紀前後の古墳の埋葬例のうちには,特に多量の腕輪形石製品をともなうものがある。鍬形石・石釧・車輪石の三種の腕輪形石製品は,いづれも弥生時代に南海産の貝で作られていた貝輪に起源するもので,神をまつる職能を持った司祭者を象徴する遺物と捉えられている。したがって,こうした特に多量の腕輪形石製品を持った被葬者は,呪術的・宗教的な性格の首長と考えられる。小論は,古墳の一つの埋葬施設から多量の腕輪形石製品が出土した例を取り上げて検討するとともに,一つの古墳の中でそうした埋葬施設の占める位置を検証し,一代の首長権のなかでの政治的・軍事的首長権と呪術的・宗教的首長権の関係を考察したものである。まず,一つの埋葬施設で多量の腕輪形石製品を持つ例を検討すると,武器・武具をほとんど伴わないもの(A類)と,多量の武器・武具を伴うもの(B類)の二者に明確に分離できる。前者が呪術的・宗教的首長であり,後者が呪術的・宗教的性格をも併せもつ政治的・軍事的首長であることはいうまでもなかろう。前者の中には,奈良県川西町島の山古墳前方部粘土槨のように,その被葬者が女性である可能性がきわめて高いものもある。次に両者が一つの古墳のなかで占める位置関係をみると,古墳の中心的な埋葬施設が1基でそれがB類であるもの,一つの古墳にA類とB類の埋葬施設があり,両者がほぼ同格のもの,明らかにB類が優位に立つものなどがある。それらを総合すると,この時期には政治的・軍事的首長権と呪術的・宗教的首長権の組合せで一代の首長権が成り立つ聖俗二重首長制が決して特殊なものではなかったことは明らかである。また一人の人物が首長権を掌握している場合でも,その首長は大量の武器・武具とともに多量の腕輪形石製品をもち,司祭者的権能をも兼ね備えていたことが知られるのである。An especially large number of examples of bracelet-shaped stone articles have been found among burial sites situated inside tombs dating over a period of about four centuries from the Early Kofun (Tumulus) period through to its early Middle period. Each of the three types of bracelet-shaped stone articles ― made from stone used for hoes, bracelets and wheels (kuwagataishi鍬形石・ishikushiro石釧・sharinseki車輪石)― can be traced back to the shell bracelets made of shells from the South Seas during the Yayoi period. They are regarded as artifacts that symbolize priests whose occupation was to worship Japanese gods (kami). Accordingly, people who were buried with an especially large quantity of bracelet-shaped stone articles are understood to have been chieftains with a magical and religious character. This paper examines examples of large quantities of bracelet-shaped stone articles excavated from one burial site inside tombs, and investigates the positions of such burial sites inside the same tomb, and examines the relationship between political-military chieftainship and magical-religious chieftainship that existed at a certain time in the history of chieftainship.First, an examination of examples of a large quantity of bracelet-shaped stone articles from single burial sites reveals that they fall into two distinct categories: those that are accompanied by virtually no weapons or armor (Type A), and those that are accompanied by large quantities of weapons and armor (Type B). It goes without saying that the former are chieftains with a magical-religious role, while the later are chieftains who played a political-military role combined with some magical-religious elements. Of those that fall into the first category, there is an extremely high possibility that the people who were buried were women, as exemplified by the clay coffin from the front section of the Shimanoyama tomb in Kawanishi-cho, Nara Prefecture. Next, an examination of the positional relationship where both types are located inside the same tomb shows that where there is one centrally positioned burial site inside the tombs, some articles belong to Type B and some belong to Type A, in one tomb there are Type A and Type B burial sites, one where both are virtually equal, and one where Type B clearly has a dominant position. When synthesizing this information we find that during this period a dual religious-secular system of chieftainship comprising a combination of political-military chieftainship and magical-religious chieftainship was not a special phenomenon at all. What is more, in instances where one person held the chieftainship, that chief possessed both large quantities of weapons and armor together with many bracelet-shaped stone articles, indicating that the chief possessed a priest-like power as well.