Historical Materials No.17
NARA NATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE THE WOODEN TABLETS FROM THE NARA PALACE SITE III
English Summary
NARA, 1980
PUBLICATIONS ON HISTORICAL MATERIALS, VOLUME XI, SUPPLEMENTUM
CONTENTS
Part 2: Commentary
page
Preface 3
Table of Contents 7
Index to Part 1: Plates 9
List of Illustrations and Tables 15
General Text
Chapter I Introduction 3
Chapter II Locations of structural features where wooden tablets were recovered 12
1) Excavation Area 6ALS/6ALT 17
2) Excavation Area 6ALS 29
3) Excavation Area 6AAG/6AAH 32
4) Excavation Area 6AAI 35
Chapter III Remarks on the Shoshi-mon 小子門 (formerly Ikuha-mon) gate 48
1) The wooden tablets of the Shoshi-mon and the gate transit system 48
2) The Shoshi-mon and other palace gates 56
Tablet transcriptions and interpretations
1) Wooden tablets excavated from the following features in Area 6ALS/6ALT 63
Drainage Ditch SD4951 - locations II, III and I
Drainage Ditch SD5100 - locations IV and V
Drainage Ditch SD5050 - location VII
Drainage Ditch SD4999
Drainage Ditch SD5200
Disposal Pit SK5104
Disposal Pit SK5241
Disposal Pit SK5116
Disposal Pit SK5008
Disposal Pit SK5014
Wall SA5152 - postholes
Wall SA5186 - postholes
2) Wooden Tablets excavated from the following features in Area 6ALS 134
Drainage Ditch SD4951
Drainage Ditch SD5775
3) Wooden tablets excavated from the following features in Area 6AAG/6AAH 138
Drainage Ditch SD3410
Drainage Ditch SD4571
Drainage Ditch SD4335
Disposal Pit SK4455
4) Wooden Tablets excavated from the following features in Area 6AAI 145
Drainage Ditch SD4951
Drainage Ditch SD1250
Drainage Ditch SD3410
Drainage Ditch SD3911
Drainage Ditch SD3905
Index of tablet contents by word category and tablet number xxvii
English Summary i
ILLUSTRATIONS
page
1. Map of the Nara Palace site 8·9
2. Maps of the relationships of the various features in the four excavation areas 13
3. Map of the features in Area 6ALS/6ALT 19
4. Photograph of Drainage Ditches SD4951, SD5100 and SD5050 20
5. Circumstances of recovery of wooden tablets at Drainage Ditches SD4951, SD5100 and SD5050 21
6. The juxtaposition of the four drainage ditches and Bridge SX5640 in the southwest portion of the eastern palace extension 31
7. Excavated Drainage Ditches SD3410, SD4571 and SD4335 33
8. Map of the features in Area 6AAI 36
9. Excavated intersection of Drainage Ditches SD4951 and SD1250 38
10. Circumstances of recovery of wooden tablets from Area 6AAI 39
11. Pottery bearing inked inscriptions from Area 6AAI 43
12. Shoshi-mon wooden tablets from Area 6ALR 49
WOODEN TABLETS FROM THE NARA IMPERIAL PALACE SITE III
English Summary
This report is third in a series entitled “Wooden Tablets from the Nara Imperial Palace Site.” Each report is divided into two parts, the first consisting of plate photographs of the tablets and the second consisting of commentary and interpretation of the tablet inscriptions. The latter contains transcriptions of all the identifiable characters written on the tablets and thus can be used independently of the photographs themselves; however, for original research on character forms, alternate interpretations, and calligraphic styles, the plate photographs are recommended.
The two previously published reports dealt with wooden tablets in the order in which they were excavated; in contrast, this report deals with tablets excavated from three excavation areas (6AAG/6AAH, 6ALS/6ALT and 6ALS) in the western reaches of the eastern palace extension and one excavation area (6AAI) near the intersection of East First Avenue and Second Street, Higashi Ichibo-oji. Nijo-oji 東一坊大路, 二条大路 in the southern palace precincts (Fig. 1). Although these four areas were not excavated in order, it is convenient to discuss their remains together because the contents of the wooden tablets excavated at these places are related and there are thought to be some connections between the structural features at the four areas. Areas 6AAG/6AAH and 6ALS/6ALT adjoin each other while Area 6ALS is nearby; Area 6AAI is slightly separated from the above three, but the features found there are the southern extensions of features excavated in the other three areas.
These four areas were excavated in conjunction with the construction of the Nara Bypass of National Highway Route 24, as were the north and south portions of Excavation #22 reported in the second volume of this series. The excavations were carried out in order to confirm the size and scope of the eastern edge of the Nara Palace site; the results showed that the eastern boundary was 250 meters further east than originally thought. The numbers and dates of the areas investigated are given in Fig. 2.
1271 wooden tablets were recovered from these excavations, and 855 of those are presented in this report, excluding only those fragments where a minute portion of inked characters remained. Among the 855, those wooden tablets whose contents could be de ciphered and transcriptions published here in the Japanese text number a total of 5:3. The classification of wooden tablets according to shape and contents follows those categories presented in the second report of this series. From this volume on, notes on the kind of wood and wood-splitting methods are included on the left side of the list of the measurement and shape recordings.
The text of this summary is divided into sections, each dealing with one excavation area. First, the features from which the tablets were excavated will be described and then some of the outstanding tablets will be commented upon. The numbers of wooden tablets excavated from each area are detailed in Fig. 2.
1) Excavation Area 6ALS/6ALT
This area is located in the southwest corner of the eastern palace extension, and its excavation clarified the existence of a south-facing gate built with foundation stones positioned on Eastern First Avenue. This gate was formerly thought to be the Ikuha-mon 的門; however, with the discovery of two tablets from this excavation area inscribed with the gate name of Shoshi-mon 小子門, it became known that the latter was the gate’s correct name. It is estimated that this gate was built during the Jinki 神亀 (724-729), and its size was 5 間 across by 2 間 deep (ca. 21 x 10 meters). From the gate ran an east-west boundary wall which formed the southern border of the eastern palace extension. Before the gate and the eastern palace extension were built, it was thought that Eastern First Avenue ran along the eastern side of the palace precincts; however, this excavation revealed that the avenue never extended north of the gate but turned east into Second Ward Central Street, forming an L-shaped intersection.
Within this excavation area, wooden tablets were recovered from twelve different structural features, but the majority came from the ditch SD4951, SD5100 and SD5050, forming the eastern outer moat and the western drainage ditch along the Eastern First Avenue. An excavated size of the diches varies according to the particular phase of construction. In general, they are approximately 1.2 to 3.5 meters wide and 20 to 80 centimeters deep.
Among the most noteworthy tablets from this ditch are those which clarified the name of the Shoshi-mon gate. Formerly, the only information concerning this gate was contained in one line in the official chronicle of the period, the Shoku Nihongi 続日本紀.
Nothing of the location and nature of the gate was known, but now it is clear that the Shoshi-mon was one of the gates to the palace, and this provides clues not only to the positioning of gates around the palace but also to the transference of the gate names to the Heian Palace in Kyoto.
On one of the tablets inscribed with the name Shoshi-mon was also written the name of the government office Zotodaishi 造東内司, the office established temporarily for the construction of the area inside the palace known as the Todai 東内 (Eastern Compound). From notes in the Shoku Nihongi, it was thought that the Todai was built during the first to third years of the Jingo-Keiun 神護景雲 era (767-770), but the location was uncertain. The discovery of this tablet has strengthened the possibility that the Todai was located in the eastern palace extension, although it is still unclear whether the compound was coincident with the entire extension or not. In the T’ang Dynasty Chinese capital of Ch’ang-an, the Tamingkung 大明宮 was called the Dongnei 東内 (Jap. Todai); therefore, the Todai at the Nara Palace may also have been part of the palace grounds, like the Tamingkung. This tablet is invaluable in considering the layout of imperial residences within the Nara Palace precincts.
Other important wooden tablets from this excavation area include those concerning the Tonomori-no-tsukasa 主殿寮, the office responsible for the maintenance of the palace lanterns and the palace cleaning, and the Moitori-no-tsukasa 主水司, the office in charge of drinking water. Among the tablets referring to the latter are those which name Sarara 更浦 and Tsuge 都祁 as location of himuro 氷室, underground storage rooms for preserving ice into the summer.
Finally, there is one tablet which bears a phrase that is hypothesized to be a portion of the Ishitsuryo 医疾令, a low on medical treatment in the Taihoryo 大宝令, a legal code promulgated in 701.
The above tablets were all recovered from the outer moat/western avenue ditch; in addition to these, more tablets were discovered in a disposal pit SK5104 near the gate. The latter carried a message that five carpenters were being dispatched from the head office to the construction site office where the gate was being built.
2) Excavation Area 6ALS
This area is on the north side of the Shoshi-mon excavated in Area 6ALS/6ALT and forms the westernmost portion of the eastern palace extension. The features found in the eastern and western halves of Area 6ALS are different in nature, the former having many buildings while the latter was occupied by a drainage ditch. Wooden tablets were excavated from two locations in the western area containing the ditch; one of these was in the northern extension of the ditch (SD4951) described above, the outer palace moat and western ditch of Eastern First Avenue, and the other was in a ditch (SD5775) which joined this flowing diagonally from the northeast. The former ditch divided the palace precincts proper from the eastern palace extension, and a bridge SX5640 was located on its southernmost reaches.
Noteworthy tablets from this .excavation area consist only of those bearing semmyotai 宣命体, a Japanicized form of writing.
3) Excavation Area 6AAG/6AAH
This excavation area is on the west side of the first area described above (6ALS/6ALT) and is located just inside the eastern boundary wall of the palace. This wall turned toward the east and joined the Shoshi-mon in an L-shape; it is at this point that the extension of the palace precincts to the east has been confirmed.
The results of this excavation were several clusters of buildings which could be divided into compounds. These had been rebuilt at least five times. Also, wooden tablets were recovered from the three to four meter-wide main canal (SD3410) in the eastern part of the palace, running north-south along the west side of the eastern boundary wall; from two north-south ditches neighboring the main canal on the west (SD4571, SD4335); and from a disposal pit SK4455 near the western edge of the excavation area. The most important tablets contained messages concerning the replacement of the bag in which keys were kept, and tax tallies for goods brought in from the Katagata county 方県郡 of Mino province 美濃国, now part of Gifu prefecture.
4) Excavation Area 6AAI
This area is located about 200 meters south of the Shoshi-mon, including the intersection of Eastern First Avenue and Second Street, and the southeast corner of the palace precincts. The natures of these two thoroughfares as well as the conditions in the southeast corner of the palace were clarified through excavations here. In two places - southwest of the intersection in Block 16 of the East First Ward on Third Street, and southeast of the intersection in Block 1 of the East Second Ward on Third Street remains of the ward com pound wall, buildings and wells were discovered. Moreover, the southern extensions of the same ditches (SD4951, SD3410) which appeared respectively as the eastern outer moat/avenue ditch in excavation area 6ALS/6ALT and as the main eastern drainage canal in excavation area 6AAG/6AAH were uncovered in this area. The latter flowed into the southern outer moat, which formed the north-side canal along Second Street, which in turn flowed into the canal on the western side of Eastern First Avenue. Wooden tablets were mainly found in these three ditches, but some came from the ditch SD3911 on the east side of Eastern First Avenue and the ditch SD 4006 on the south side of Second Street.
The tablets of this area are thought to date from the end of the Nara period, judging from the era inscriptions and tablet contents. Of particular interest are those tablets concerning the Togubo 春宮坊, the office affiliated with the residence of the crown prince and which looked after his daily care and duties related to his position. In addition to inscriptions of Togu 春宮, there are fragments bearing the names of Takumi-no-tsukasa 主工署, and Komizu-no-tsukasa 主漿署, both divisions of the Togubo dealing respectively with building construction/iron-working and the preparation of food and water for the crown prince's residence. From this same site are pieces of pottery bearing the inked characters bo 坊 and takumi 主工.
In the Heian Palace of Kyoto, the crown prince’s residence was located east of the Dairi 内裏, the imperial residence compound, but its position at the Nara Capital is uncertain. The tablets and pottery relating to the Togubo were all recovered from ditches and it is probable that the tablets floated down from upstream; therefore their location in the ditch does not fix the location of the Togubo. Nevertheless, the tablets have increased the possibility that the Togubo and crown prince’s residence of the late Nara period were located in the eastern palace precincts.
Other wooden tablets from this excavation area include ten examples relating to the Konoefu 近衛府, Ejifit 衛士府, and Emonfu 衛門府 responsible for the protection of the palace precincts, the escort of important bureaucrats and guarding the palace gates. These tablets are quite numerous in comparison to those of other contents. The latter have inscriptions of construction materials and summons to construction experts, and from these it is estimated that building activities in the palace took place upstream in the terminal Nara period.
Fig. 1-a Grid Plan of the Nara Capital: City Streets
The major thoroughfares (大路 oji) of the Nara Capital are named in Japanese according to their direction, 条大路 jo-oji running east to west and 坊大路 bo-oji running north to south. In English, the former will be designated as streets and the latter as avenues. The streets are numbered from one to nine beginning in the north. The northernmost thoroughfare is designated as the Northern Boundary Street (北京極大路 Kita Kyogoku-oji), but it is also the first street of the capital; when referred to by number, therefore, it must be differentiated from the regular First Street by prefixing north or south to the name, eg. South First Street. The avenues are numbered the same in both direction from the central thoroughfare, Suzaku Boulevard (朱雀大路 Suzaku-oji). In Japanese, the capital sector is prefixed to the name to differentiate avenues of the same number, eg. 左京一坊大路 Sakyo Ichibo-oji or 東一坊大路 Higashi Ichibo-oji. The latter is the form used in the English translation, eg. Eastern First Avenue. In addition to North First Street, the original boundaries of the capital were formed by Ninth Street, and Eastern and Western Fourth Avenues, all of which may be referred to by their boundary names. The divisions of the city formed by this grid of streets and avenues are called wards 坊 bo (see Fig. 1-b).
At least three interward thoroughfares (坊間大路 bokan-oji, 条間大路 jokan-oji) have been recognized as major ways through the city. These have been named Second Ward Central Street, and East and West First Ward Central Avenues, the number designating the ward row or column through which they run and the name indicating their direction.
Fig. 1-b Grid Plan of the Nara Capital: City Wards
The city wards (坊 bo) of the Nara Capital are identified in Japanese by row (条 jo) and column (坊 bo) coordinates, eg. 8jo 3bo. Since the columns are numbered the same in both directions from Suzaku Boulevard, however, there are many wards with the same coordinates; therefore, their position in the capital sectors (左京 sakyo, 右京 ukyo) is an essential part of the identification, eg. Sakyo hachijo sanbo.
In English, the wards are specified by naming their distance (the columnar bo number) from Suzaku Boulevard on any east-west street. The ward so named is always positioned on the north side of the specified street, eg. the East Third Ward on Eighth Street.
Fig. 1-c Ward Street and Block Layout
Each ward is trisected by three small streets (上官小路 jokan-koji) and avenues (坊間小路 bokan-koji). Their directional names are an English convention and cannot exist in Japanese. Except for the three large innerward thorough fares described in Fig. 1-a, it is thought that the ward streets and avenues were not continuous between wards but existed only within the ward compound walls. The divisions created by the ward grid are called block (坪 tsubo).
Fig, 2 Excavation Area Numbers, Dates and Numbers of Wooden Tablets
Area 6AAG/6AAH Excavation #29 1961 115
Area 6AAI Excavation #32 1965-1966 639
Area 6ALS/6ALT Excavation #39 1966-1967 491
Area 6ALS Excavation #43 1967-1968 26
昭和五十六年三月三十日 発行
平城宮木簡三 解説
奈良国立文化財研究所史料第十七冊
