Historical Materials No.8

NARA NATIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE THE WOODEN TABLETS FROM THE NARA PALACE SITE II

English Summary

 

NARA, 1975

 

PUBLICATIONS ON HISTORICAL MATERIALS, VOLUME VIII, SUPPLEMENTUM

 

NARA PALACE EXCAVATION AND RESEARCH REPORT VIII

 

CONTENTS

page

Chapter I Introduction                                3

Chapter II Excavation Sites Where Wooden Tablets Were Recovered                                           8

1 Excavation Site Area 6ABX, 6ABY (inside the Suzaku-mon Gate 朱雀門, the main entrance to the palace)                                   8

2 Excavation Site Area 6ADF (inside the Sei-men-Ogaki 西面大垣, the western boundary wall of the palace)                                   9

3 Excavation Area 6AAO (government offices or bureaus to the north of the Imperial domicile)                                           10

4 Excavation Site Area 6AAC-H (Higashi-Omizo 東大溝, the principal north to south drain running through the eastern part of the palace)                                         13

5 Excavation Site Area 6AAC-V (Sake-no-tsukasa 造酒司, the government office for brewing rice wine)                                           16

6 Excavation Site Area 6AAE, 6AAF (government offices to the east)                             19

Appendix The Sake-no-tsukasa and the Daijosai 大嘗祭, the ritual ceremony held at the accession of an Emperor                                           36

1 The Sake-no-tsukasa and Wooden Tablets                                         36

2 The Daijosai and the Wooden Tablets relating to the Sake-no-tsukasa                                      49

Descriptive Text

Wooden tablets excavated from Area 6ABX, 6ABY (Drain Site SD1900)                        59

Wooden tablets excavated from Area 6ADF (Disposal Pit Site SK1979)                          64

Wooden tablets excavated from Area 6AAO (Disposal Pit Sites SK2101, SK2102 and SK2107)                              66

Wooden tablets excavated from Area 6AACH (Drain Sites SD2000 and SD2700)                        92

Wooden tablets excavated from Area 6AACV (Drain Sites SD3035, SD3050 and Well Site SE3046)                                     119

 Wooden tablets excavated from Area 6AAE, 6AAF (Drain Sites SD3410, SD3414 and SD3236, Wooden Fence Site SA3237, Disposal Pit Site SK3241, Drain Site SD3297, Structure Site SB3322, Wooden Fence Site SA3362, Disposal Pit Sites SK3310, SK3329 and SK3339, Well Site SE3230, Drain Sites SD3206 and SD3194, Disposal Pit Sites SK3195, SK3196, SK3201, SK3210, SK3213, SK3264 and SK3265, Wooden Fence Site SA3205, Disposal Pit Site SK3283, Wooden Fence Site SA3178, Drain Sites SD3154 and SD3155, Layers Resulting from the Readjustment of Land for Construction Near SD3154, Drain Sites SD3170 and SD3128, Disposal Pit Site SK3158, Drain Sites SD3245 and SD3257, Disposal Pit Sites SK3305, SK3306, SK3137, SK3139 and SK3142, Drain Sites SD3136 and SD3134, Wooden Fence Site SA3099, Disposal Pit Site SK3124, Accumulated Soil Under Foundation Platform of Gate SB3116, Drain Sites SD3113 and SD3109, Wooden Fence site SA3106)                                       173

Index                                               xxiii

English Summary                           i

 

WOODEN TABLETS EXCAVATED FROM THE NARA IMPERIAL PALACE SITE (II)

 

 This report is a continuation of the previously published volume entitled “The Wooden Tablets from the Nara Palace Site (I)”. There we discussed the wooden tablets excavated by the Fifth Excavation Survey of 1961, when wooden tablets were first found at the Nara Palace Site, through to the Thirteenth Excavation Survey of 1963. 1925 objects were included. The area excavated was to the north of the Emperor’s domicile, an area in which the Daizenshiki 大膳職, the government bureau in charge of the preparation of food for the Emperor and government officials, and other offices of the Kunaisho 宮内省 or Imperial Household Ministry were found.

 The present paper takes up from that point and covers 922 wooden tablets excavated between February 1964 and July 1965 in the fourteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth, twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-second north and twenty-second south excavation surveys of the Nara Palace Site. In 1964 the work teams in charge of the Nara Palace Excavations were re-organized and expanded in scope. The surveys carried out at that time had as their primary object the task of ascertaining the true size and scope of the Nara Palace Site. This was partly to obtain data for designating it as a national historical site for purposes of preservation and also because it was urgent to ensure that the construction of the then-pland National By-pass Highway, which would have run even with what was then believed to be the eastern boundary of the site, would not destroy any of the Nara Palace. The survey was also intended to ascertain by archaeological methods the scope of the Nara Palace Site, which earlier scholars had deduced roughly from documents and the geographical contours of the area.

 As a result of the survey it was reconfirmed that the southern and western boundaries of the Nara Palace were just as had previously been supposed, but completely new facts came to light regarding the location of the eastern limit. In the north and south twenty-second surveys, the area hitherto supposed to he the Higaski-Ichibo-Ojl 東一坊大路, the first of the six great avenues running north to south to the east of the Suzaku-Oji 朱雀大路, the central avenue, was found to contain the remains of clusters of government offices, wells and drainage ditches. This gave us new knowledge, widening the scale of the palace further to the east. Later surveys revealed that the eastern limit of the Nara Palace was 250 meters further east than had been thought.

 The classification as to shape and information recorded on the wooden tablets that was used in “The Wooden Tablets from the Nara Palace Site (I)” will be used in the present report as well. First we will deal with the excavation sites in which wooden tablets were found and then discuss a few of the wooden tablets themselves. Descriptions are given for each excavation area.

Wooden tablets were found in seven excavation areas, as shown in the accompanying chart.

 

Investigation Number

Area Investigated

Sites at which Wooden Tablets were found

Number of Wooden Tablets shown in the Plates. Figures in ( ) show the total number of tablets found

(1) 14                  6ADI Nan-men Ogaki 南面大垣, the southern boundary wall of the palace                    SD1250                                           0 (7)

(2) 16 17              6ABX, 6ABY Suzaku-mon Gate 朱雀門, the main entrance to the palace                       SD1900                                           7 (9)

(3) 18                   6ADF Sei-men Ogaki 西面大垣, the western boundary wall of the palace                       SK1979                                           10 (19)

(4) 20                  6AAO Government offices to the north of Imperial domicile                                             SK2101 SK2102 SK2107               151 (522)

(5) 21                  6AAC-H Higashi-Omizo 東大溝, the principal north to south drain running through the eastern part of the palace              SD2000 SD2700               140 (292)

(6) 22N                6AAC-V Sake-no-tsukasa 造酒司, the government office for brewing rice wine              SD3035 and three other sites         327 (582)

(7) 22S                6AAE, 6AAF Government offices to the east                                                                     SD3410 and 60 other sites             297(518)

total  922 (1942)

 

(1) Excavation Area 6ADI                            Excavations in this south-western corner of the palace site were carried out in order to ascertain the scale and location of the outer moat along the southern wall of the palace. Seven wooden tablets were found along with other wooden objects in the bottom layer of accumulated soil in the moat. These tablets were in an extreme state of decay and could not be read, so they have been omitted from this report.

(2) Excavation Area 6ABX, 6ABY                This survey was carried out in order to discover the layout of the Suzaku-mon 朱雀門 the main gate of the Nara Palace and of the portions of the palace just north of it. The gate was found to be 25.3 meters or five span across and 10 meters or two span deep, measuring between the outmost pillars. Just north of the Suzaku-mon Gate was found filled in drainage' ditches that ran on each side of an old north to south road. This road was built by the government in the seventh century and when the Nara Palace was built later became the datum line in its plan. The drainage ditches were filled in the process of building the palace. That portion of the road north of the Suzaku-mon Gate became part of the palace yard. Nine wooden tablets were found in the western ditch. It follows that these wooden tablets go back to the time before the construction of the Nara Palace or to the period when it was under construction. The tablet found here revealing the most noteworthy information was a Kaso 過所, a passport or transit certificate. At that time people were required to have such a transit certificate showing their status when leaving a province. This transit certificate was carried by farmers from Omi 近江 province going to Fujiwara-kyo 藤原京,  which was the capital, city before Nara. It can be dated to the time between 701, the first year of Taiho 大宝, and 715, the first year of Reiki 霊亀, from the method of transcribing the official rank of the farmers’ master. The tablet states that one man and woman passed with a seven year old brown male horse carrying baggage.

 The reason that this tablet was thrown into the ditch was very likely because before the building of the Nara Palace, this area was the northern entrance to Yamato 大和 Province, present day Nara Prefecture. There must have been a provincial barrier here that would have been the last point at which the two farmers would be examined.

Until this find, we had no actual example of the transit certificates of ancient Japan. They were known of only by the format stipulated for them in the laws of the time. The discovery of a transit certificate datable within narrow limits now makes it possible to investigate the transit certificates of ancient times with reference to a concrete example.

(3) Excavation Area 6ADF             This survey was conducted in a long narrow area along the inside of western wall of the palace to locate the position of the wall precisely. Traces were found of an old bed of the Akishino River prior to the building of the Nara Palace. Most of this river bed was filled in at the time the palace was built, but a long narrow depression of some depth remained. Wooden tablets were recovered from disposal pit in this depression along with mouthpieces of a bellow, slag and other artifacts relating to iron-working. These tablets were badly decayed fragments and most were impossible to decipher, but several could be, including one inscribed with the names of various kinds of nails.

(4) Excavation Area 6AAO             This survey was of a supplementary nature, undertaken to the north of the Imperial domicile. The site is in the approximate center of the northern block outlying the Imperial domicile. Here were the facilities in which the officials close to the Emperor and the ladies of the court carried out their daily duties. Wooden tablets were recovered from a cluster of disposal pits in the eastern half of this area. The site of these disposal pits was the filled in moat of a tomb mound. Traces of building here were few and except for a well most of it was vacant land.

 The most important tablet found here was a document bearing the date 729, the sixth year of Jinki 神亀, relating to the manufacture of metal door fittings. It records in detail the numbers, size and amount of iron used in the manufacture of six kinds of metal door fittings. Other tablets from this area include several documents giving the names of kinds of wood used in building, showing that work must have been going on in the palace area during the above period.

(5) Excavation Area 6AAC-H                      This survey was carried out along the outside of the eastern outline of the Imperial domicile. Twenty-two meters east of the corridor of the outlying eastern quarter was a large north-south drain lined with rounded stones. Wooden tablets were found in this drain. The drain was 2.6 meters wide and 1.5 meters deep. The sides were lined with rounded stones about 30 cm. in diameter pilled up seven high. This was the basic drainage ditch for the eastern palace area. This survey only investigated a small part of it. Accumulated soil in the drain could be distinguished into six layers. Wooden tablets were found in all layer. The top layer revealed tablets dated 783, the second year of Enryaku 延暦, which is toward the end of the Nara period, while the lowest layer near the bottom of the drain gave up tablets dating back to 729, the first year of Tenpyo 天平, in the first half of the Nara period. We therefore consider that the drain was built during the early phase of construction of the Nara Palace, and that subsequently soil and sand were allowed to accumulate so that by the end of the Nara period it was in such condition that it no longer served the purpose of a sewer drain. Among the information given on the wooden tablets we find the name of the Imperial Household Ministry which was in charge of procuring supplies of goods for the Imperial domicile and names of government offices under it. We take this as showing that these offices were located near this drain.

(6) Excavation Area 6AAC-V                       This survey was carried out in the north-eastern part of the palace area. Two wells were found close together. Of these, one was rectangular, being 5.15 meters east to west and 3 meters north to south and was completely enclosed in a building. The drains leading from the two wells both ran south and joined together. Water overflowed to the west of the drain, leaving a large depression. A large number of wooden tablets were excavated from this depression. The contents of the tablets largely consist of orders and reports relating to the Sake-no-tsukasa 造酒司, the rice wine brewing department of the Imperial Household Ministry and of tallys to be attached to the rice paid to the government by the several provinces surrounding the Kinai 畿内, the central provinces. This rice was the chief ingredient of wine. If we consider also that the abovementioned wells were here and that large Sue ware wine jars were excavated from this area too, we must suppose that this is the site of the Sake-no-tsukasa. This is one of the few cases in the excavation of the Nara palace in which we can be sure of the location of a government office. Notable among the contents of the wooden tablets are the large number concerning the Daijosai 大嘗祭, ceremony which was held after the accession of the Emperor Shomu 聖武, in 724, the first year of Jinki 神亀. Several tablets bear the date first year of the Jinki when the ceremony was performed and others list the names of plants offered to the shrine on the first day of the ceremony.

(7) Excavation Area 6AAE, 6AAF                This survey was carried out on the western side of the eastern extention of the Nara Palace. The purpose of the survey was , as stated before, to judge the possibilities that would be entailed by the construction of the proposed National By-pass Highway. In this area, wooden tablets were found sporadically in about 50 sites consisting of holes for the pillar posts of buildings, drains, wells and walls. In exceptional cases 30 to 40 tablets were found at one site, but most sites held only a few tablets. The most noteworthy were tablets recording matters relating to the Nuidono 縫殿, an office that controlled women working in the Imperial domicile and the sewing of clothing for persons of high rank. There are documents that report the name of persons taking the night watch in the Nuidono to their superior officers and detailed documents reporting the amount of cloth used in the clothing worn by the Emperor and court aristocracy. The area also yielded the dated wooden tablet found so far at the Nara Palace, a tally for tribute rice with the date 709, the second year of Wado 和銅. There are also documents listing the number of workers assigned to gather wood. Some were par of the laborers recruited two from each village from all over the nation for government work, others were slaves owned by the government. These documents show that some such persons had escaped even before beginning their work.

 

奈良国立文化財研究所史料 第八冊 別冊

 

平城宮木簡 二 解説

平城宮発掘調査報告VIII

 

奈良国立文化財研究所

 

昭和五十年二十五日 発行

平城宮木簡二 解説

奈良国立文化財研究所史料第八冊

 

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