Stone pillow - Ishimakura

Stone pillows used in ancient tombs. Made from talc, serpentine, or tuff, they usually have a horseshoe- or omega-shaped carving to hold the head of the deceased. They have two or three steps around the edge, holes running through them, and ornaments resembling two magatama jewels placed back to back, known as tachibana, are found in eastern Japan, mainly in northern Chiba and southern Ibaraki. In western Japan, they tend to be simple, with just a horseshoe-shaped carving.

Coffins with a pillow shape carved into the bottom, such as split bamboo sarcophagi and boat-shaped sarcophagi, are called tsukuritsuke sarcophagi. There are also many examples of these with Ω-shaped protrusions. They are found mainly in western Japan, and are particularly concentrated in Kagawa and Kumamoto prefectures. While ordinary stone pillows were produced in the middle and late Kofun period, tsukuritsuke sarcophagi were popular in the early and middle periods.

[Ken Amakasu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

古墳に用いられた石製の枕。滑石(かっせき)や蛇紋岩(じゃもんがん)、凝灰岩を加工、被葬者の頭を受ける馬蹄(ばてい)形またはΩ形の彫り込みがあるのが普通である。縁に二ないし三重に段を造り出し、そこに孔(あな)を巡らし、立花とよばれる勾玉(まがたま)を背中合わせに二つあわせたような飾りを差し込んだものが千葉県北部、茨城県南部を中心として東日本に分布している。西日本には馬蹄形の彫り込みだけの単純なものが多い。

　割竹(わりだけ)形石棺、舟形石棺などの底に枕形を彫り込んだものを石枕造付(つくりつけ)石棺とよぶ。これにもΩ形に突起を巡らす例が多い。主として西日本に分布し、とくに香川県、熊本県に集中している。普通の石枕が古墳時代中・後期の所産であるのに対し、石枕造付石棺は前・中期に盛行する。

［甘粕　健］

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