Woodworker - Kijiya

A shop run by a woodworker who makes turned wooden objects. They are also called woodturners, potters or wheel-turners. They seem to have separated from woodworking during the 13th century, during the Kamakura period. Some became apprentices to lacquer artisans such as nuriters, while others simply added color or lacquer to turned objects. They were a resident occupation, and used dogwood, birch, horse chestnut, zelkova and magnolia as materials. Many woodworkers established settlements in mountain villages around the country that were blessed with timber, and made everyday items such as bowls, trays, spoons and kokeshi dolls. Woodworkers have a tradition that their ancestor was Prince Koretaka, son of Emperor Montoku, and are said to have originated in Kimigahata and Hirutani in Higashi Ogura Village (Higashi Omi City), Aichi County, Omi (Shiga Prefecture). There are woodworker documents dating back to the Kamakura period, and they retain the unique customs of the craftsmen. People with the surname Ogura or Ogura are associated with woodworkers and are found all over the country. As woodworkers are also called potter's wheels, the tool they use for turning wood is a potter's wheel, one of Japan's oldest craft tools. This wheel is a horizontal, hand-turned wheel turned by one person. A handle (bearing) is set up on both ends of the table, and a wooden axle is passed through horizontally. When the leather or string wrapped around the axle is pulled alternately from right to left, the axle rotates alternately. Several nails or needles are inserted into one end of the axle, the item to be processed is attached to it, and the item is shaped using a blade called a "rokuro-kanna" or supported by another base (tool rest). The person who rotates the wheel itself is a family member or an apprentice. Foot-operated, single-person front-turning wheels came into use in the late 19th century during the Meiji period, and with the start of the Showa period, electricity became widely used, making processing more efficient. Today, manual hand-held tools and fixed tools mechanically attached to the lathe tool rest are used. Turned products are used in a wide range of applications, including architectural decoration, building materials, furniture, toys, sports equipment, machinery and tools.

[Motoo Endo]

"Kijiya" by Sugimoto Hisashi (1952, Nagoya Regional Forestry Bureau / 1973, Bunsendo)" ▽ "Wooden Wheel and Turning Techniques" by Nakamura Genichi (1981, Maki Shoten)" ▽ "Folklore and Folk Crafts Series 88: Folklore of Woodturners" by Hashimoto Tetsuo (1982, Iwasaki Bijutsusha)" ▽ "Woodturners: Light and Shadow - Another Culture of the Forest" edited by the Japan Woodturners Association (1997, Makino Publishing)" ▽ "Woodturner Settlements - Genealogy and Changes" by Tabata Hisao (2002, Kokin Shoin)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

木地の挽物(ひきもの)をつくる木地師の店。木地挽師・轆轤(ろくろ)師また轆轤屋ともいった。13世紀の鎌倉期には木工から分化していたようである。塗師などの漆塗職人の下職になる者や、挽物に簡単な色をつけたり漆を塗ったりしていた者もある。居職(いじょく)であり、ミズキ、シラカバ、トチ、ケヤキ、ホオノキなどを材料としていた。木地屋のなかには、木材に恵まれた各地の山村に集落をつくり、椀(わん)、盆、しゃくし、こけしなどの日常生活用具をつくっていた者も多かった。木地屋は文徳(もんとく)天皇の皇子惟喬(これたか)親王を祖神とする伝承をもち、近江(おうみ)（滋賀県）愛智(えち)郡東小椋(おぐら)村（東近江(おうみ)市）の君ヶ畑と蛭谷(ひるたに)とが発祥地であるとされる。鎌倉期以来の木地屋文書をもち、職人としての独特の習俗を残している。小椋、小倉(おぐら)の姓を名のる者は木地屋にゆかりのある者で、各地に分布している。木地師は轆轤師ともいわれるように、挽物の道具はろくろであり、日本の古い工作道具の一つである。このろくろは横軸で一人挽きの手挽きろくろである。台上の両端に柄(え)（軸受）を立て、水平に軸木を通し、その軸木に巻いた革や紐(ひも)を右・左交互に引くと、軸木が交互に回転する。その軸木の一方の先端に何本かの釘(くぎ)か針を刺し、それに加工するものをつけ、「ろくろかんな」という刃物で、またはそれを別の台木（刃物台）で支えて加工造形する。ろくろそのものを回転させるのは家族か徒弟であった。足踏みの一人挽きの前挽きろくろが使われるようになったのは、19世紀後半の明治時代になってからで、昭和に入ってからは一般に電力が利用されるようになったので、加工は効率的となってきた。今日では、手動の手持ちバイトと、旋盤刃物台に機械的に固定した固定バイトが使われている。挽物製品も建築装飾、建具、家具、玩具(がんぐ)、運動具、器械や道具など多方面となっている。

［遠藤元男］

『杉本寿著『きじや』（1952・名古屋営林局／1973・文泉堂）』▽『中村源一著『ろくろと挽物技法』（1981・槇書店）』▽『橋本鉄男著『民俗民芸双書88　木地屋の民俗』（1982・岩崎美術社）』▽『日本木地師学会編『木地師・光と影――もう一つの森の文化』（1997・牧野出版）』▽『田畑久夫著『木地屋集落――系譜と変遷』（2002・古今書院）』

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