Candlestick - Candlestick

A type of candle lamp. It is a stand for holding a candle and lighting it, and was used primarily for indoor lighting or as a nightlight in the bedroom.

Candlesticks were first used in Japan in the Nara period, when they were used as decorations in front of the Buddha along with candles that were imported with the introduction of Buddhism. Moreover, the candles used at that time were made of beeswax imported from China, and were therefore valuable, so they were only used in the Imperial Court and some temples. The word "candlestick" first appears in literature in the Kagakushu of 1444 (Bun'an 1), but it may have been called "todai" before that, or it may have been because the manufacture of wooden candles began in Japan around this time and candlesticks began to spread widely. In the Muromachi period, candlesticks, along with incense burners and vases, were called "three-piece set" and "five-piece set" and were often offered in front of the Buddha, and it also became popular to place them in front of hanging scrolls as interior decoration. Candlesticks offered before Buddhist altars included those made of copper or brass, with a vine growing from the back of a turtle and a candle holder plate attached to its beak, and ceramic candlesticks were also made as interior decorations, with rare Oribe ware candlesticks modeled after the Nanban people of the period remaining. During the Edo period, candlesticks became widespread along with lanterns, and came in a variety of shapes, but were generally made from wood, iron, or brass, and consisted of a long, slender support on a base, with a fire bowl for the candle attached, and a wick cutter attached to the support. Candlesticks called teshoku, which were carried by hand, were also used, and those with a fire bag attached were called bonbori.

It is known that candles existed in China as early as the 3rd century BC, and relics of candlesticks have been excavated from a tomb in Luoyang County, Henan Province, believed to date to the end of the Warring States period. The structures of these candlesticks included a bronze-made high-pedestal tray with a nail in the center, and an oval box-shaped candlestick with a hinged lid on one half and a nail in the center of the open lid. Candlesticks have also been excavated from tombs of the Han dynasty. For example, a cylindrical Ming-style tile candlestick has been excavated from Liaoyang in northeastern China, and a bear-shaped or bird-shaped Ming-style tile candlestick with green glaze has been excavated from inland China.

Meanwhile, in Europe, beeswax was known to the Egyptians and Greeks early on and is said to have already existed as early as the 3rd century B.C., so the candlestick was probably invented towards the end of the Greek period. It is certain that candlesticks existed in Roman times, and although there were only a few of them, we can learn about candlesticks from that time from the Arch of Titus and the ruins of Pompeii. In the Middle Ages, candlesticks made of iron, copper, and bronze were widely used in Christian churches, and in the imperial courts of the 17th and 18th centuries, gorgeous candlesticks made exclusively of silver, ceramics, and bronze were produced and used as interior decorations.

[Mizuo Miyamoto]

"Lights: Their Types and Transitions" by Miyamoto Keitaro (1964, Rokuninsha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ろうそく用灯火具の一種。ろうそくを立てて点火する台で、もっぱら室内の照明や寝室の常夜灯として使用された。

　日本で燭台が初めて使用されたのは奈良時代で、仏教の伝来に伴って輸入されたろうそくとともに、仏前の荘厳(しょうごん)として用いられていた。しかも、当時用いられたろうそくは、中国から輸入の蜜蝋(みつろう)で、貴重品であったから、宮廷、寺院の一部に用いられたにすぎなかった。燭台の語が文献にみえるのは、1444年（文安1）の『下学集(かがくしゅう)』が初めであるが、これ以前はあるいは灯台の名でよばれていたのかもしれないし、また、このころ国内で木ろうそくの製造が始まり、燭台が広く普及し始めたためであったからかもしれない。室町時代に入ると、燭台は香炉(こうろ)・花瓶(かびん)とともに三具足(みつぐそく)・五具足などといって、仏前に供える風が盛んになり、また室内装飾として掛軸の前に置くことなどが流行した。仏前に供える燭台としては、カメの背にツルが立ち、その嘴(くちばし)にろうそく立ての皿が取り付けられた銅・真鍮(しんちゅう)製のものがあり、室内装飾としての燭台には陶製のものもつくられるようになり、この時代の南蛮人をかたどった珍しい織部焼(おりべやき)の燭台なども残っている。江戸時代には、燭台は行灯(あんどん)とともに広く一般化し、各種の形のものができたが、だいたい木・鉄・真鍮などでつくられ、構造は、台上の細長い支柱の上に、ろうそくを立てる火皿をつけ、その支柱に芯切(しんきり)をつけたものであった。また手で持ち運ぶ手燭(てしょく)という燭台も用いられ、これに火袋(ひぶくろ)を取り付けたものを雪洞(ぼんぼり)とよんだ。

　中国では、ろうそくは早く紀元前3世紀に存在したことが知られており、燭台の遺物も戦国時代末と認められる河南省洛陽(らくよう)県の墳墓から出土している。その構造は、青銅製で高台の受け皿の中央に釘(くぎ)の立っているものや、楕円(だえん)形の箱状で蓋(ふた)の半面が蝶番(ちょうつがい)で開閉し、その開いた蓋の中央に釘が立っている燭台などであった。また漢代の墳墓からも燭台が出土しており、たとえば、中国東北部の遼陽(りょうよう)からは瓦(かわら)製明器(めいき)の筒型のものが、また中国内地からは緑釉(りょくゆう)を施したクマ型、あるいは鳥型の瓦製明器の燭台が発掘されている。

　一方、ヨーロッパでも、蜜蝋が早くエジプト人やギリシア人に知られ、紀元前3世紀には、すでに存在していたとされるから、燭台はおそらくギリシア時代末に発明されたものと考えられる。ローマ時代に燭台があったことは確かで、数は少ないが、ティトゥス帝の凱旋(がいせん)門やポンペイの遺跡などから、当時の燭台を知ることができる。中世になると、キリスト教寺院では、鉄・銅・青銅製の燭台が盛んに用いられ、さらに17～18世紀の宮廷では、室内装飾として、もっぱら銀・陶磁器やブロンズ製の華麗な燭台がつくられ、用いられた。

［宮本瑞夫］

『宮本馨太郎著『燈火――その種類と変遷』（1964・六人社）』

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