Historical Materials No.18

NARA NATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE WOODEN TABLETS FROM TTE FUJIWARA IMPERIAL PALACE SITE II

English Summary

 

Nara, 1980

 

PUBLICATIONS ON HISTORICAL MATERIALS, VOLUME XVIII, SUPPLEMENTUM

 

CONTENTS

Part 2: Commentary

 

Page

Preface                              1

Table of Contents                                          5

List of Illustrations and Tables                                     6

General Text

Chapter I Introduction                               3

Chapter II Locations of structural features where wooden tablets were recovered                      15

1) Excavation Area 6AJF                        15

2) Excavation Area 6AJH                       32

3) Excavation Area 6AJB                        33

Appendix   Remarks on wooden tablets relating to Kannuhi 官奴婢, government slaves                          40

Tablet transcriptions and interpretations                    40

1) Wooden tablets from feature SD1901-A (drainage ditch)                            49

2) Wooden tablets from feature SE2270 (well)                     64

3) Wooden tablets from features SD170 (drainage ditch), SD2300 (drainage ditch), and SE2310(well)                65

Index to tablet contents by word category and tablet number                            xix

English summary                             i

 

ILLUSTRATIONS

page

1. Distribution map of Kori 評 (county) names                         10·11

2. Map of locations yielding wooden tablets                             12

3. Map of the Fujiwara Palace Site                             13

4. Map of locations near the Daigokuden 大極殿 Imperial Audience Hall yielding wooden tablets                17

5. Stratigraphic profile of drainage ditch SD1901-A                 19

6. Drainage ditch SD1901-A                         20

7. Roof tiles inked with county 評 names                   21

8. Inked picture of human figure                                22

9. Pottery with inked characters                                 24

10. Map of city divisions Jobo 条坊 in the Fujiwara Capital                     28

11. Map of feature locations in the vicinity of the Fujiwara Palace                       34

12. Map of wooden tablet distribution in features SD170, SD2300 and SE2310                35

13. Stratigraphic profile of drainage ditch SD170                     35

14. Stratigraphic profile of drainage ditch SD2300                    37

15. Map of locations yielding wooden tablets concerning slaves, Nuhi 奴婢                       38

 

TABLES

Page

 

1. Numbers of wooden tablets discovered in each excavation area                     8

2. Numbers of wooden tablets from each feature tabulated according to content category                         8

3. List of county 評 names                            9·10·11

4. Chronological list of wooden tablets from Fujiwara Palace                 14

 

WOODEN TABLETS FROM THE FUJIWARA PALACE SITE II

 

English Summary

 

 This report is second in a series entitled “Wooden Tablets from the Fujiwara 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 first report in this series dealt with all the wooden tablets excavated from the palace and the surrounding Fujiwara Capital by the Nara National Cultural Properties Research Institute between 1969 and March of 1977 1. This report deals with the wooden tablets excavated from the same area between April 1977 and March 1979. A total of 1132 tablets, including fragments and shavings, were unearthed during that time; excluding those on which little of the inscription remains, the remaining 541, whose inscriptions can be deciphered, are photographed and interpreted in this report. These wooden tablets were excavated from five structural features in three excavation areas (Fig. 1). Area 6AJF adjoins the Daigokuden 大極殿, the Imperial Audience Hall, on the north; Area 6AJH is located in Ukyo Shichijo Ichibo, 右京七条一坊, the West First Ward on Seventh

 

1 Wooden tablets have also been excavated from Fujiwara Palace Site by the Nara Prefecture Kashihara Archeological Research Institute. These tablets are reported in “Fujiwara Kyuseki Shutsudo Mokkan Gaiho” 『藤原宮跡出土木簡概報』 and “Fujiwarakyu”, Naraken Shiseki Meisho Tennen Kinenbutsu Chosa Hokoku V. 25 『藤原宮』〔奈良県史跡名勝天然記念物調査報告〕第25冊 both published by the Nara Prefectural Education Department in 1968 and 1969, respectively.

 

Fig. 1 Grid Plan of the Fujiwara Capital

 

昭和五十六年三月三十日 発行

藤原宮木簡二 解説

奈良国立文化財研究所史料第十八冊

 

このページの先頭へ

上に戻る