Mosquito net - Kaya

Japanese: 蚊帳 - かや

A type of bedding. It is also written as mosquito house or mosquito toad. It is hung on top of bedding to protect against mosquitoes and allow for safe sleep. It is usually made of loosely woven hemp, which has a cool feel, but some are made of silk or cotton. It is usually light green in color, but some are light blue, light blue, or shades of gray. The size of a mosquito net is usually made to match the size of the bedroom, and if many people are sleeping in a large room, many niches (small rings for threading strings) are needed to hang the mosquito net. Curved nails are hammered into the nageshi, kamoi, or pillars in the four corners of the room, and round rings attached to the end of the mosquito net's hanging string (round-braided cord) are hung on these. Large, long mosquito nets need to be connected to the kamoi using niches to prevent them from sagging.

According to descriptions in such works as the Nihon Shoki and Engishiki, mosquito nets are thought to have been introduced from China. The oldest painting of someone sleeping under a mosquito net is in the Kasuga Gongen Reigenki, a picture scroll created in the mid-Kamakura period. The composition shows an elderly monk sleeping in a bedroom surrounded by a mosquito net, with a maid tucked under a blind, a lighthouse to collect insects placed on the edge, and moon glories in full bloom in the garden. However, no depictions of mosquito nets being hung are found in picture scrolls from the Muromachi period. Either way, it can be assumed that mosquito nets were used by people of high status.

It was not until the Edo period that mosquito nets began to be used among the common people. Before that, mosquito nets were used, and farmers would burn dried cut grass before going to bed to scare off insects. In humorous books, there is a story about a person wearing a Kagura mask and sleeping inside a carp streamer. Because it was time-consuming to hang and remove mosquito nets, ordinary people used paper nets that were threaded through bamboo poles. Omi (Shiga Prefecture) and Nara were famous mosquito net production areas in the Edo period, and mosquito net sellers can be seen in Santo Kyoden's "Shijikōga." For infants, there is the Horo mosquito net, which was invented from the Horo mosquito net worn by samurai from the Warring States period to protect against arrows. It is made by bending split bamboo into a semicircle and fastening it like a fan with a corner, and stretching the same fabric as a mosquito net over the frame. It is unfolded when in use, and folded up and put away when not in use. A picture of this can be seen in Shikitei Sanba's "Man's Everything Is a False Plan." There is also a mosquito net for beds with a circular frame and ceiling mount, which is widely used in China. The shape of the mosquito net changed significantly in the Taisho era, when seamless ones were developed. In any case, it was used as a summer necessity until World War II. In recent years, however, with the development of air conditioners and electric fans, as well as the widespread use of screen doors and the development of insect repellents, mosquito nets are less often hung.

[Takeshi Endo]

Folklore

There are various folk customs and beliefs regarding mosquito nets. In the old days, mosquito nets were hung from bamboo poles placed at the four corners, and during the day they were pushed to one side, so they were hung on an auspicious day and then put away again. This custom is still practiced today, and it is said that mosquito nets in May are not hung in particular. In September, wild geese were painted on the four corners of mosquito nets, and this was considered a talisman to keep mosquitoes away. Also, hanging mosquito nets as a thunderbolt was widely practiced in many places, but at funerals, the coffin is placed inside a three-cornered mosquito net with one corner removed. This is considered a simplified form of a mourning house, and in most places it is taboo to do this under normal circumstances. Also, in the past, making a mosquito net was considered a big job for a housewife, comparable to building a house for a man in one generation, and it was said that a woman had not fulfilled her responsibilities as a mother until she had made a mosquito net for her eldest son. It was believed that if a mosquito net was not sewn within a day, misfortune would occur, and once it was sewn with the cooperation of many women, it would be hung up and celebrated by women only drinking and eating mochi (rice cakes). This was called "mosquito net celebration," "mosquito net festival," "mosquito net tailoring," "mosquito net tailoring celebration," or "tailoring celebration." On this occasion, in Tamana County, Kumamoto Prefecture, it was said that a millstone and a cat were placed inside the mosquito net, and the cat's head had to be hit to make it cry before it could be taken out, and this was called "mosquito net ridge-raising." Incidentally, the celebration of the purchase of a new mosquito net for a bride, known as "mosquito net celebration," was also held in various places as an important event during the Edo period. In addition, in Nanjo County, Fukui Prefecture, there is a custom called "mosquito net covering," in which two or three men put on mosquito nets and chase women who are dancing during the O-bon festival. In Innoshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, there is a custom called "mosquito net waiting," in which people stay inside a mosquito net and talk all night on June 23rd.

These folk customs suggest that mosquito nets were not simply considered as bedding, but were also viewed as sacred objects with magical powers.

[Mizuo Miyamoto]

"Kitakawa Morisada's 'Ruishū Kinsei Fuzokushi' (1934, Saisei-kaku)" ▽ "Ogawa Mitsunobu's 'Japanese Bedding' (1962, Asahi Textile Equipment Research Association)" ▽ "Mishima Osamu's 'Please Enter the Mosquito Net: A Mysterious Space Resurrected in the 21st Century' (2003, Book Landscape Publishing, Book Sales)"

Mosquito net seller
Mosquito net seller. First scroll (detail) of "Shokuninzukushi Ekotoba" (Illustrated Tales of Artisans). The original is by Kuwagata Keisai (Kitao Masami), and is housed in the Sankyo Denkotoba ( Courtesy of the National Diet Library )

Mosquito net seller

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

寝具の一種。蚊屋、蚊蟵とも書く。カを防いで安全に睡眠ができるように、夜具を敷いた上に吊(つ)って用いる。材料は、涼感のある麻を、ざっくりと織ってあるのが普通であるが、絹、木綿製のものもある。色はだいたいが萌黄(もえぎ)であるが、水色にしたり、浅葱(あさぎ)にしたり、ぼかしにするものもある。蚊帳の大きさは、寝室の大きさにあわせてつくるのが普通で、大ぜいの人が大きな部屋で寝る場合には、蚊帳を吊るためのたくさんの乳(ち)（紐(ひも)を通す小輪）が必要となる。部屋の四隅には、長押(なげし)や、鴨居(かもい)あるいは柱に曲がった釘(くぎ)を打ち、これに蚊帳の吊り紐（丸打ちの組み紐）の先につけた丸環をかけて、吊る。大きく横に長いものは、途中でたるまないよう、乳を利用して鴨居と連結する必要が生じる。

　蚊帳は、『日本書紀』や『延喜式(えんぎしき)』などの記述によると、中国から伝えられたものと推察される。絵画として、蚊帳を吊って寝ている姿は、鎌倉中期につくられた絵巻物の『春日権現霊験記(かすがごんげんれいげんき)』に描かれているものが最古である。蚊帳を吊った寝室には老僧が寝て、侍女は御簾(みす)の下に上半身を入れ、縁には虫を集める灯台が置かれ、庭にはユウガオが咲き乱れているという構図である。しかし室町時代の絵巻物には、蚊帳を吊っている構図はみられない。いずれにしても高貴な身分の人たちの間で用いられていたことが推測される。

　庶民の間で蚊帳が用いられたのは江戸時代に入ってからである。それ以前には蚊遣(かやり)が用いられ、農民の間では刈り草を干したものを寝る前にたいて虫を追い払ったりした。滑稽本(こっけいぼん)には神楽(かぐら)面をかぶって鯉幟(こいのぼり)の中に入って寝る話がある。蚊帳を吊ったり、取り外したりするには手間がかかるところから、民間では乳を竹竿(たけざお)に通して用いる紙帳(しちょう)が使われた。江戸時代の蚊帳の産地は、近江(おうみ)（滋賀県）と奈良が有名で、蚊帳売りの姿は山東京伝の『四時交加』にみえている。乳幼児用には母衣(ほろ)蚊帳があり、これは戦国時代から、武士が矢を防ぐために背負った母衣から考案されたもので、割り竹を半円形に曲げて、扇のようにかなめで留め、その骨の上に蚊帳と同じ布帛(ふはく)を張る。これを使うときは広げ、ふだんは折り畳んでしまっておく。この絵が式亭三馬の『人間万事虚誕計(うそばっかり)』のなかにみられる。このほか、中国で多く用いられる天吊りのついた円形の枠のある寝台用の蚊帳もある。蚊帳の形態が大きく変わったのは、大正年代に入って、縫い目なしのものができてからである。いずれにせよ、第二次世界大戦中までは夏の必需品として用いられた。しかし近年は、クーラー、扇風機の発達、これに加えて網戸の普及と除虫剤の発達などにより、蚊帳を吊ることが少なくなった。

［遠藤　武］

民俗

蚊帳に関する民俗・俗信はさまざまある。蚊帳は古くは竹棹(たけざお)を四隅に立て、これに下げ、昼間は端に片寄せておいたものなので、吉日を選んで吊り始め、また収められた。この習俗は今日でも行われ、ことに五月蚊帳は吊るものではないなどといわれている。9月になると蚊帳の四隅に雁(かり)を書いてつけることが行われ、蚊の入らぬまじないとした。また蚊帳を雷よけとして吊ることは、広く各地に行われたが、葬式のときに一隅を外した三隅(みすみ)蚊帳の中に棺を安置する風などもある。これは略式の喪屋(もや)の形とみられ、平常はこれを行うことを忌む所が多い。また、かつて一枚の蚊帳をつくることは、主婦にとって男が一代に家を建てることに匹敵する大仕事とされ、長男の蚊帳をつくるまでは母親の責任を果たしていないなどといわれた。蚊帳は1日に縫い上げないと凶事がおこるとされ、大ぜいの女たちの協力で縫い上げると、その蚊帳を吊って、その中で女だけの酒盛りをしたり、餅(もち)を食べて祝った。これを「蚊帳祝い」「蚊帳祭り」「蚊帳仕立て」「蚊帳仕立て祝い」「仕立て祝い」などとよんでいた。この際、熊本県玉名郡では、蚊帳の中に挽臼(ひきうす)とネコとを入れ、ネコの頭を打って鳴かせてから出さねばならないといい、これを「蚊帳の棟(むね)上げ」といった。なお「蚊帳(かちょう)の祝儀」とよばれる嫁入り蚊帳の新調祝いも、江戸時代にはたいせつな行事として各地に行われた。このほか、福井県南条郡には盆に2、3人の男子が蚊帳をかぶり、踊りをしている女を追い回す「蚊帳かぶり」の風習や、広島県因島(いんのしま)には6月23日、一晩中蚊帳に入らずに語り明かす「蚊帳待ち」の習俗などがある。

　これらの民俗からは、蚊帳を単なる寝具と考えるだけでなく、呪力(じゅりょく)をもつ神聖なものとする意識があったことがうかがわれる。

［宮本瑞夫］

『喜多川守貞著『類聚近世風俗志』（1934・更生閣）』▽『小川光暢著『日本の寝具』（1962・旭繊維具研究会）』▽『三島おさむ著『どうぞ蚊帳の中へ　21世紀によみがえる不思議空間』（2003・本の風景社、ブッキング発売）』

[参照項目] | 越前蚊帳 | 近江蚊帳 | カ | 蚊遣 | 紙帳

蚊帳売り
蚊帳売。『職人尽絵詞』　第1軸（部分）　原図は、鍬形蕙斎（北尾政美）画、山東京伝詞書国立国会図書館所蔵">

蚊帳売り

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