Manuscript - Shahon

Japanese: 写本 - しゃほん

A book that is copied by hand, as opposed to a printed book, or a published book.

[Kazumasa Kaneko]

Japan

It is also called a 'handwritten copy', 'copy', or 'shohon (excerpt)'.

Manuscripts are called various names depending on the method of copying. Those written by the editor or editor himself are called "autographs," those handwritten by a famous person other than the editor or editor are called "hand copies," those that are copied faithfully down to the style of characters and line transitions with the original placed next to them are called "copy copies" or "copy-and-paste" copies, those that are copied without taking into account the style of characters and line transitions of the original without making any mistakes in the content alone are called "mitorigaki" or "tosha" copies, and those that are copied faithfully by placing thin paper directly on the original and copying it exactly as it is with a trace of the original are called "eisha" copies. Some trace-and-paste copies are made using the so-called "double-hooked ink" method, in which the outlines of the characters are copied with a thin brush and then filled in with ink. Copies written by the Emperor are called "Shinpitsuhon" or "Shinkanhon," while copies written by members of the Imperial Family are called "Gyohitsuhon." Furthermore, copies made up to the Bunroku era (1592-1596) of the Azuchi-Momoyama period are especially known as "Koshahon" (ancient copies) (there is also a theory that this includes copies made up to the Keicho and Genna eras (1596-1624) of the early Edo period) and are highly valued.

The oldest surviving manuscript in Japan is the four volumes of the Lotus Sutra Commentary (Treasure of the Imperial Household Agency), said to have been written by Prince Shotoku. The next oldest is the one volume of the Kongojo Darani Sutra (National Treasure) written by the Buddhist monk Horin in 686 (Shucho 1), the six volumes of the Jomyo Genron (National Treasure) in 706 (Keiun 3), and the preface to the Obo Poetry (Shosoin Treasure) in 707. The majority of manuscripts in the Nara period were sutra copies, and there were very few Japanese books or Chinese classics. The sutra copying business was particularly popular during the Tenpyo period (729-749), and many Buddhist scriptures were copied by students at the government-run sutra copying offices. In the Heian period, books were printed using woodblock printing, but copying continued, and examples of copied sutras include the Chusonji Sutra written in gold and silver on indigo blue paper, and the Heike Nokyo Sutra by the Heike clan, the latter of which is famous as a luxuriously decorated sutra with elaborate artistic designs. The making of copies of Japanese and Chinese books began in earnest during the Heian period. There are currently around 40 types of Chinese books and around 150 types of Japanese books, among which are many elegant copies written in cursive kana, such as the Nishi Honganji version of the Thirty-six Manji Collection. From the Kamakura period onwards, publication became increasingly popular, but copying continued to be practiced. The types of Japanese and Chinese books being copied also became significantly more diverse.

What is particularly noteworthy in the history of manuscripts is that important classics of Japanese history and literature, such as the "Nihon Shoki," "Man'yoshu," and "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," were passed down in the form of manuscripts from the Keicho era (1596-1615) until they were published in the form of old movable type.

[Kazumasa Kaneko]

Western

Manuscript (abbreviated MS or MSS) is a word derived from the Latin manu (hand) and scriptus (written), and means "a book written by hand."

[Akira Takano]

Copyist

A person who copies manuscripts is called a scribe. In the Greek and Roman era, copying was done on a large scale using slaves, and it is said that the college of the Temple of Alexandria had a collection of as many as 200,000 scrolls. However, in the Middle Ages, copying became a small-scale job done mainly in monastery writing rooms, and copying became a duty for monks. However, as universities flourished from the 12th century onwards, copying manuscripts became a viable business, and scribes who made their living as scribes were born in university towns like Paris.

[Akira Takano]

Writing materials

In the Greek and Roman era, papyrus was the main writing material, so manuscripts were in the form of scrolls. Scrolls were nailed into columns of a certain width to make it easier to write and read. Writing was usually done only on the front side, and there are few examples of "double-sided manuscripts" that use the back side as well. However, when parchment and vellum made from calfskin became the mainstream writing material, manuscripts took the form of booklets, and this form did not change even in the age of paper. As booklets, they were written on both sides, and since parchment and vellum were strong materials, used characters were sometimes scraped off and reused. This is called a "superscript." Some manuscripts, such as the "Breviary" and the "Book of Hours," are decorated with miniatures or the characters themselves are colored. A manuscript in which miniaturists and illuminators competed with each other is called an "illuminated manuscript."

[Akira Takano]

Font

Initially, uncial typefaces, which were adapted from typefaces used for carving inscriptions, and semi-uncial typefaces, which were slightly rounded, were used. Later, taking into account the characteristics of the era and region, the insular semi-uncial typefaces used in the Book of Kells and the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Carolingian minuscule typeface invented during the reign of Charlemagne in France, the Gothic typeface, and even the humanist typeface that was born during the revival of classicalism were used as typefaces for manuscripts.

[Akira Takano]

Colophon

Title pages are a device from the era of printed books, and so there are no title pages in scroll or booklet manuscripts. Instead, the scribe begins each sentence with an incipit (Latin for "starts here"), ends with an explicit (Latin for "ends here"), and then writes a colophon with the author's name, the date of transcription, and the name of the scribe.

[Akira Takano]

"Kawase Kazuma's 'An Introduction to Japanese Bibliography', revised edition (1972, Kodansha)" ▽ "Sorimachi Shigeo's 'Japanese Classics' (1984, Yagi Shoten)" ▽ "Takano Akira's 'The History of Books from the Viewpoint of Form' (included in 'Collection of Essays: Progress in Library Science Research, Vol. 5, Preservation of Library Materials and Its Measures', 1985, Nichigai Associates)" ▽ "Ancient Books' by F. G. Kenyon, translated by Takatsu Harushige (Iwanami Shinsho)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

印刷された書物すなわち刊本に対し、手で書き写された本のこと。

［金子和正］

日本

「書写本(しょしゃぼん)」「筆写本」「鈔本(しょうほん)（抄本）」などともいう。

　写本には筆写の方法によってさまざまな呼び方がある。編著者自らが書いたものを「自筆本」、編著者以外の有名人が手書きしたものを「手写(しゅしゃ)本」、底本を横に置いて字体や行の移りまで忠実に模写したものを「臨写(りんしゃ)本」「臨摹(りんも)本」、底本の字体や行の移りなどは考慮せずに、内容だけを誤らぬように写したものを「見取書(みとりが)き」「謄写(とうしゃ)本」、底本の上に薄い紙を直接置いて、底本どおりに忠実に透き写したものを「影写(えいしゃ)本」などという。影写本には、細い筆で文字の輪郭を写し取り、その中を墨で埋める、いわゆる「双鉤填墨(そうこうてんぼく)」の方法をとったものもある。天皇の筆写本は「宸筆(しんぴつ)本」「宸翰(しんかん)本」、皇族の筆写本は「御筆(ぎょひつ)本」とよばれる。なお安土(あづち)桃山時代の文禄(ぶんろく)年間（1592～96）までの写本は、とくに「古写(こしゃ)本」〔江戸時代初期の慶長(けいちょう)・元和(げんな)（1596～1624）ころまでを含むという説もある〕と称され、珍重されている。

　わが国における現存最古の写本は、聖徳太子筆と伝えられる『法華義疏(ほっけぎしょ)』4巻（宮内庁御物）であるが、これに続くものとしては686年（朱鳥1）の教化僧宝林筆の『金剛場陀羅尼経(こんごうじょうだらにきょう)』1巻（国宝）、706年（慶雲3）の『浄名玄論(じょうみょうげんろん)』巻6（国宝）、写経以外では707年の『王勃詩序(おうぼつしじょ)』（正倉院御物）が名高い。奈良時代における写本は写経が大部分を占め、国書、漢籍の類はごく少なかった。ことに天平(てんぴょう)年間（729～749）は写経事業が盛んで、官立の写経所で数多くの仏典が写経生によって書写された。平安時代には木版印刷による刊本も出たが、写本は引き続いて行われ、写経では紺紙金銀字(こんしきんぎんじ)の『中尊寺経』や平家一門の『平家納経』などがあり、とくに後者は美術的意匠を凝らした豪華な装飾経として有名である。国書、漢籍の写本作成は平安時代から本格的となる。現存する漢籍は約40種、国書は約150種、そのなかには西本願寺本『三十六人集』など優美な草仮名の写本も少なくない。鎌倉時代以降、刊本はますます盛んになったが、写本は依然として続けられていった。書写される国書、漢籍の種類も著しく多様となった。

　写本の歴史のなかでとくに注目すべき点は、『日本書紀』『万葉集』『竹取物語』など、わが国の歴史や国文学の重要な古典は、慶長年間（1596～1615）から古活字版の形式で出版されるまでは、写本の形で伝えられてきた点である。

［金子和正］

西洋

マニュスクリプトmanuscript（略称MS, MSS）とはラテン語のmanu（手で）とscriptus（書かれた）から発生したことばで、「手で書かれた本」の意味である。

［高野　彰］

写字生

写本の書写をする人を写字生という。ギリシア・ローマ時代の書写作業は奴隷を使って大々的に行われたので、アレクサンドリア神殿の学寮には20万巻にも及ぶ巻子本(かんすぼん)が所蔵されていたといわれる。ところが中世になると写本作りはもっぱら僧院の書写室で細々と行われるようになり、書写は僧侶(そうりょ)の義務となった。しかし12世紀以降に大学が興隆してくると、写本作りが商売として成り立つようになり、パリのような大学町には書写を専業とする写字生が誕生したのであった。

［高野　彰］

書写材

ギリシア・ローマ時代はパピルスが主要な書写材であったため、写本は巻子本の形をとっていた。巻子本は、書いたり読んだりしやすいように一定の幅の欄にくぎられていた。書写は通常は表面だけを使い、裏面まで使った「両面書き写本」の例は少ない。しかし羊皮紙や小牛の皮でつくったベラムが書写材の主流になると、写本は冊子体形式となり、この形は紙の時代になっても変わることはなかった。冊子体であるから両面書きであることはいうまでもないが、羊皮紙やベラムは材質がじょうぶなことから、使用済みの文字を削り落とし、再利用することがあった。これを「重ね書き写本」という。また写本のなかには『聖務日課書』や『時祷書(じとうしょ)』などのように、細密画で飾られていたり文字自体が彩色されていたりすることがある。細密画家とか彩色師が腕を競い合った写本を「彩色写本」という。

［高野　彰］

書体

当初は碑文に彫るための書体から転用したアンシャル書体や、これに少し円みをつけた半アンシャル書体が使われた。その後、時代とか地域の特徴を加味して、『ケルズ本』や『リンディスファーン福音書(ふくいんしょ)』の島嶼(インシュラー)半アンシャル書体、フランスのカール大帝の治世に考案されたカロリンガ小文字書体、ゴシック書体、さらには古典主義の復興期に生まれた人文主義書体などが写本用の書体として使用された。

［高野　彰］

奥書

標題紙は刊本時代のくふうなので、巻子本形式はもちろんのこと、冊子体形式でも写本には標題紙は見当たらない。そのかわりに写字生は文章をインキピットincipit（ラテン語の「ここから始まる」）で始め、エクスプリキットexplicit（「ここで終わる」）で文章を閉じ、そのあとに著者名、書写日、写字生の名前を記した「奥書(コロフォン)」colophonを用意したのであった。

［高野　彰］

『川瀬一馬著『日本書誌学概説』増訂版（1972・講談社）』▽『反町茂雄著『日本の古典籍』（1984・八木書店）』▽『高野彰「形態からみた本の歴史」（『論集・図書館学研究の歩み　第5集　図書館資料の保存とその対策』所収・1985・日外アソシエーツ）』▽『F・G・ケニオン著、高津春繁訳『古代の書物』（岩波新書）』

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

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