Sashimono - joinery

A small flag with a pole attached to the body in order to indicate one's presence or affiliation in the military camp from the end of the Middle Ages to the Sengoku period onwards. Generally, it is called a flag carried on the back, but there are also flags worn on the waist. In the Rakuchu Rakugaizu Byobu (Uesugi family version), which depicts the customs of the Tenbun period (1532-1555), armored warriors wear all the same flags worn on their waists as later flags, so it is thought that it developed from the koshizashi. On the back of modern armor, there is usually a "ukezutsu" (receiving tube) for holding the flags, and "gatari" (holding pole) and "machiuke" (waiting pole) to hold them, so it is thought that the style of hanging on the back became established in the early modern period. During the Sengoku period, armor was simplified and the effect of the dignified colors faded, and with the adoption of group battle methods, it developed as a sign to clearly indicate one's identity when advancing or retreating in a military unit, and to distinguish one's affiliation and rank. Therefore, regulations regarding sashimono are often found in the battle notices and arrival notices of Sengoku daimyo, as well as in military law.

The basic shape of the flag is thought to be a banner-like flag, but there are also flags shaped like square shiho (four corners), shihan (half of a square), kissaki (a cut end of a banner), shinai (a curved flag), nabiki (a flapped flag), orikake (a folded flag), combinations of these flags such as sanbon daji (a combination of three flags), nihon daji (a combination of two flags), various ezuru (a combination of vines), and flags shaped like various tools such as lanterns, round fans, sacred wands, golden fans, fukinuki (a wind fan), and sakabayashi (a type of sake grove). Some flags are simply colored, but some are decorated with patterns, crests, and letters to create eye-catching designs. Famous examples include the seven lanterns of Miyoshi Magotaro in the "Hojo Godaiki" and the centipede of Takeda Shingen's messenger. Gradually, the lanterns grew so long that they were not carried on the back, but instead were carried by attendants as sashimono carriers.

[Shinichi Saito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中世末期、戦国時代以降、軍陣で、自己の存在あるいはその所属などを明示するために身体につけた竿(さお)のある小旗。一般には背に負ったものを称するが、腰にさした腰指(こしざし)もある。天文(てんぶん)（1532～1555）ごろの風俗を写す『洛中洛外図屏風(らくちゅうらくがいずびょうぶ)』（上杉家本）では、鎧武者(よろいむしゃ)が後世の旗指物と同じものをすべて腰にさしているので、腰指から発達したものと思われる。当世具足の背の部分には、たいてい指物を立てるための「受筒(うけづつ)」、それをさす「合当理(がったり)」「待受(まちうけ)」があるように、近世に至って背に立てる形式で定着したと思われる。戦国時代には、甲冑(かっちゅう)は簡略化し、威毛(おどしげ)の色彩の効果も薄れたため、また集団戦法の採用から、軍団の進退に伴う自己の明示、所属・職階の区別のために発達した標識である。したがって戦国大名の陣触れ状や着到状、軍法には指物についての規定がしばしば示される。

　形状は、幟(のぼり)状の旗が基本と思われるが、正方形の四方(しほう)、その半切である四半(しはん)、幟の端を切り裂いた切裂(きっさき)、撓(しない)、靡(なびき)、折掛(おりかけ)などの小旗、それらの小旗の組合せである三本撓、二本靡、各種の柄蔓(えづる)、あるいは、提灯(ちょうちん)、団扇(うちわ)、御幣(ごへい)、金扇(きんせん)、吹貫(ふきぬき)、酒林(さかばやし)などのさまざまの道具をかたどったものがある。旗は色彩だけのものもあるが、模様、紋章、文字などをも記し、人目をひく意匠を凝らした。『北条五代記』の三好孫太郎の七つ提灯、武田信玄(しんげん)の使番の士の百足(むかで)を描いた指物などが名高い。またしだいに長大になって、背負うことなく、指物持(もち)として従者に持たせる例もあった。

［齋藤愼一］

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