Cantera - Cantera

A type of oil lamp. The name comes from the Portuguese word candela (candlestick) and the Dutch word kandelaar. It was probably imported with that name as a Nanban cultural artifact. There are two types of lamps: those that use an open flame and those that have a fireplace, and there are also two types of lamps called canteras. Canteras in the Edo period were made of metal or ceramic and had a mouth like a teapot, and a thick cloth wick was placed in it and vegetable oil was lit. They were used as hand candles or in lanterns instead of oil dishes. Canteras, which became popular as oil lamps in the Meiji period before lamps became popular, came in types that used a wick in a tin or galvanized iron can and lit an open flame, or that were placed in a fireplace, such as a square frame with glass on all sides or a cylindrical frame with a lens at the front, the latter similar to a lamp. There are also those that use carbide gas that were called canteras.

For home use, they were first placed in lanterns instead of oil dishes to provide light at the bedside at night, for outdoor use as hanging lanterns for Obon and festivals, as nighttime lighting for festivals, as fishing lanterns in agriculture, and even in the fishing industry, there were special lanterns used as lighting for night fishing and to attract fish. After lamps became widespread, hand-held lanterns with fireplaces were used primarily as portable lighting devices and played an important role for a long time on railways, ships, coal mines, etc.

[Yoshiharu Kamino]

"Light: Its Types and Changes" by Miyamoto Keitaro (1964, Rokuninsha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

油用灯火具の一種。名称はポルトガル語のcandela（燭台(しょくだい)）やオランダ語のkandelaarに由来。南蛮文物としてその呼び名とともに舶載されたものであろう。灯火具には裸火をそのまま用いる形式と火屋(ほや)をもつ形式とがあるが、カンテラとよばれる灯火にもこの2通りがある。江戸時代のカンテラは金属製あるいは陶製の土瓶のような口をもつ形式で、これに太い布芯(しん)を入れ植物油をともし、このまま手燭のように用いたり、油皿のかわりに行灯(あんどん)などに入れて使用した。明治時代になりランプの普及に先だって石油灯火具として広まったカンテラは、ブリキ、トタン製の缶に芯を立て、これに裸火をともす形式や、これを四方ガラス張りの角型の枠あるいは前方にレンズをつけた筒型など火屋に入れた形式のものがあり、後者はランプと似ている。カーバイドのガスを利用するものにもカンテラとよばれたものがある。

　家庭用には初めは油皿のかわりに行灯などに入れて夜枕元(まくらもと)の明かりとしたり、屋外用にはお盆や祭りの掛け灯籠(とうろう)、縁日の夜間の照明、農業では誘ガ灯などに使われ、漁業でも夜漁の照明や集魚灯に用いた専用のカンテラがあった。ランプ普及後に、もっぱら携行用灯火具として使用された火屋付きの手提げカンテラは、長く鉄道、船舶、炭鉱などで重要な役割を果たした。

［神野善治］

『宮本馨太郎著『灯火――その種類と変遷』（1964・六人社）』

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