Jar - jar

It is also written as "bin". It is a ceramic container with a large mouth and a deep bottom, and was used in ancient times to hold sake and soy sauce, and later widely as a container for water. Usually, a small vessel with a smaller mouth than a jar is called a "tsubo". However, in archaeology, a deep bowl-shaped earthenware vessel with a deep mouth and a large mouth is called an "ongei" regardless of its size. Jars are considered to be the first earthenware made by humans, and pointed-bottomed and round-bottomed jars were widely distributed among the fishing and hunting peoples of northern Eurasia, and were used as cooking vessels by placing them directly on the hearth as pots and kettles. In Japan, Jomon-style earthenware was centered on deep bowl-shaped earthenware jars from the beginning, which were initially pointed and round-bottomed, and later flat-bottomed. The appearance of a jar-shaped neck with a narrow neck only came later. There were two styles of Yayoi pottery in parallel: jar-shaped for storage and pot-shaped for cooking. In ancient times, pots were called Yuka, Mika, and Hotogi depending on their purpose and size, with Yuka (Yuka) being used for rituals and Mika (Kon) being mainly used for brewing sake, and both of these were large pots. On the other hand, Hotogi (Can) was a small tiled ware used to hold hot water and other liquids. Pots were used to store and produce liquid beverages such as water, sake, vinegar, soy sauce, and oil, but they were also used to store and process salt, pickled plums, and pickles, as well as containers for indigo juice and fertilizer, and as coffins to hold the dead. However, from the end of the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period, the technique of kneading tubs developed, and barrels and casks, which were convenient for transporting and storing liquids such as sake and oil, appeared, replacing the heavy and easily damaged traditional jars and pots, and jars were gradually used for limited purposes such as storing water until modern times. Today, with the development of glass, enamel, ironware, etc., the use of jars is almost nonexistent.

[Mizuo Miyamoto]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

瓶とも書く。口が大きく底の深い陶磁器の容器で、古くは酒・しょうゆなど、後世は広く水を入れる容器として用いられた。普通、甕より口の小さい小形のものを壺(つぼ)という。ただし、考古学では、形の大小にかかわらず深くて口の大きな深鉢形土器を甕とする。甕は人類がつくった最初の土器とみられ、北方ユーラシアの漁猟民族の間では、尖底(せんてい)・円底の甕が広く分布し、煮炊き用の容器として、そのまま炉にかけて、鍋(なべ)・釜(かま)に利用された。日本でも縄文式土器は最初から深鉢形土器の甕が中心で、初め尖底・円底で、のちに平底ができた。口頸(こうけい)のつぼんだ壺形の出現は後期になってからである。弥生(やよい)式土器には貯蔵用は壺形、煮炊き用は甕形という二つの形式が並行して行われた。甕は古くはその用途・大きさによって、ユカ、ミカ、ホトギとよばれたが、ユカ（由加）は祭事に用い、ミカ（瓺）は主として酒を醸すために用いられ、これらはいずれも大甕が使用された。一方、ホトギ（缶）は小さな瓦器(がき)で、湯水などを入れるのに用いられた。甕は水・酒・酢・しょうゆ・油など液体飲料物の貯蔵・製造用具として使用されたが、塩・梅干し・漬物などの保存・加工用具のほか、藍(あい)汁・肥(こえ)だめの容器、また遺骸(いがい)を納める棺としても用いられた。しかし、鎌倉末期から室町時代にかけて桶結(おけゆい)技術が発達し、酒・油など液体の運搬・貯蔵に便利な桶・樽(たる)が出現するに及んで、重量が重く、かつ破損しやすい在来の甕・壺の類にとってかわり、甕はしだいに水の貯蔵など限られた範囲に使用されて近代に至った。現在では、さらに、ガラス、ほうろう、鉄器などの発達によって、甕の使用はほとんどみられなくなっている。

［宮本瑞夫］

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