Aya

The modern interpretation is that it refers to the shamon weave, one of the three basic weaves of textiles, but it is also sometimes considered to be a type of patterned fabric in which the ground and pattern are of different weaves due to changes in the combination of warp and weft threads.

The origin of this twill is the oldest in China, and one relic is a piece of silk fabric with a four-ply twill pattern with diamond patterns, rusted on an axe that is said to have been excavated from the Yin Ruins during the mid-Yin period. In the Han period, flat ground twill with raised patterns developed and was sent to the Western world via the Silk Road, and a large number of Han twills have been excavated in Palmyra, Syria.

This technique seems to have been introduced to Japan from southern China in the late 5th century. Rusting twill on metal products excavated from late Kofun tombs was unearthed at Kamezuka Tomb in Tokyo and Sanmaizuka Tomb in Tochigi Prefecture, both of which are flat ground twill patterns. In the 7th and 8th centuries, the introduction of Sui and Tang weaving techniques led to a dramatic development, and Hokkokuji and Shosoin textiles show a variety of twill patterns, including flat ground twill patterns, flat ground twill patterns, and twill ground twill patterns, ranging from simple geometric patterns to pictorial patterns with Western motifs such as Pegasus and lions. This twill production expanded not only to the center but also to the provinces during the Wadō period (708-715). The heavy four-ply twill weave eventually transformed into a flexible three-ply or six-ply twill with long floating patterns. These may fall under the category of Kara-aya, which was successfully produced domestically from the end of ancient times (Meigetsuki). Furthermore, the aya of Toneri, who inherited the traditions of the Oribe no Tsukasa, was famous, and later a za was established and maintained a monopoly on production. Textile production in Kyoto declined after the Onin War (1467-1477), but new weaving techniques from China (Ming Dynasty) were imported, and fabrics such as donsu and rinzu, mainly made with satin weave, increased, while aya decreased, leaving only a vestige of traditional yusoku textiles. Twill fabrics made with modern Western techniques from the Meiji period onwards are treated as twill weaves, separate from these aya.

Also, because aya means intertwining, it is used as another name for the sokou, which opens the warp threads, and the ayadake, which keeps the warp threads aligned during weaving.

[Kadoyama Yukihiro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

織物の三原組織の一つである斜文(しゃもん)組織をさすのが現代的解釈であるが、これとは別に、経(たて)糸と緯(よこ)糸の組合せの変化で、地と文様とが異組織になっている紋織物の一種とすることがある。

　この綾の発生は中国がもっとも古く、遺物として、殷(いん)中期の殷墟(いんきょ)出土と伝える斧(おの)（鉞(えつ)）に銹着(しゅうちゃく)する四枚綾で菱文(ひしもん)を表す絹帛裂(けんぱくぎれ)がある。漢代に入ると平地浮文綾が発展を遂げ、シルク・ロードを通り西方世界へ送られたが、シリアのパルミラでは漢代の綾が多数出土する。

　この技法は中国南部より5世紀後半に日本へ伝来したらしい。後期古墳出土の金属製品に銹着する綾が、東京都亀塚(かめづか)古墳、栃木県三昧塚(さんまいづか)古墳から出土し、いずれも平地綾文綾からなる。7～8世紀には隋(ずい)・唐の織物技術導入により飛躍的発展を遂げ、法降寺・正倉院裂には四枚綾の平地浮文綾、平地綾文綾、綾地綾文綾など多様な綾がみられ、簡単な幾何学文様から、西方的モチーフの天馬(てんま)、獅子(しし)などをもつ絵画的文様まで織り出している。この綾生産は和銅(わどう)年間（708～715）に中央だけでなく地方へも拡大された。ところで、重厚な四枚綾系の組織は、やがて三枚綾、六枚綾系の浮きの長い柔軟な組織へと転化していく。これらは古代末期から国産化に成功した唐(から)綾とよぶものにあてはまるかもしれない（明月記）。さらに織部司(おりべのつかさ)の伝統を引く舎人(とねり)の綾が著名で、のちに座をつくり独占的生産を維持した。応仁(おうにん)の乱（1467～1477）で京都の織物生産は衰退するが、新しく中国（明(みん)）の織物技術が移入され、朱子（繻子）(しゅす)織を主体とした緞子(どんす)、綸子(りんず)などが増加し、綾によるものは少なくなり、伝統的な有職(ゆうそく)織物におもかげをとどめるだけになった。明治以後の西欧近代技術による綾織物は、これらの綾とは別に、綾織として取り扱われる。

　また綾は、交錯するということから、経糸を開口させる綜絖(そうこう)、製織中に経糸をそろえておく綾竹(あやだけ)の別名として使われる。

［角山幸洋］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例