Scroll book - Kansubon

It is also read as "kensubon." It is an old style of binding for books that was done before the booklet format was adopted. It is made by joining together long pieces of silk or paper horizontally and rolling it around a scroll, and is also called "makimono." It was widely used in China from the Later Han to the Tang dynasty. It was introduced to Japan in the Nara period, and since then, up until the Edo period, this style has been used for many scrolls of sutras and picture scrolls. A single thin rod is usually used for the axis, but after the Heian period, "awasejiku" (a set of two scrolls) that can expand and contract depending on the height of the paper were also used. The end of the axis is made of wood such as rosewood, jewels or stones such as amber, metal, or fangs, and comes in ginkgo, round, square, and other shapes. The beautifully decorated Heike Nokyo sutra from the end of the Heian period represents the pinnacle of scroll books.

[Kazumasa Kaneko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

「けんすぼん」とも読む。冊子形式をとる以前に行われた図書の古い形の装丁である。絹などの裂(きれ)や紙を横に長く継ぎ合わせ、軸を芯(しん)にして巻いたもので「巻物(まきもの)」ともいう。中国では後漢(ごかん)から唐にかけて広く行われた。わが国へは奈良時代に伝えられ、以来江戸時代まで経巻や絵巻物などにこの形のものは少なくない。軸は細い1本の棒を使うのが普通であるが、平安朝以後には、料紙の高さに応じて伸縮できる「合せ軸」も用いられた。軸頭には、紫檀(したん)などの木や琥珀(こはく)などの玉や石、金属、牙(きば)などが付され、その形も銀杏(いちょう)型、丸型、角型などがある。平安末期の善美を尽くした装飾経『平家納経』は、巻子本の極致を示すものである。

［金子和正］

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