Light - Touka

Japanese: 灯火 - とうか

A lamp or light. After humans acquired fire, they used its heat for cooking and heating, but also used the light emitted by the fire to illuminate dark places, dramatically expanding the scope of their activities in time and space.

[Yuji Seki]

Foreign Lights

In the past, people had little need to illuminate their homes and settlements, and they could rely on campfires and their burning wood when moving around at night. This is the origin of torches. Various materials have been chosen around the world, including cactus stems in Mexico, beech bark on Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America, and coconut leaves in Polynesia and Micronesia. Malayan-style torches, found mainly on the Malay Peninsula and in the East Indies, are somewhat more processed and are made by hardening the resin of a tree in the Rhizome family and wrapping it in leaves to secure it in place, giving them a strong light and making them resistant to being extinguished by the wind. Bonfires were also used for a long time in various regions, including ancient Egypt, Syria, and Persia.

It is known that before the invention of candles and oil lamps, whole oily fish such as smelts and sea petrels were used as fuel. The use of candles had already begun in ancient Egypt, where they were made by solidifying animal fat or beeswax or by soaking it in fibrous materials. Pliny's Natural History also mentions that the Romans bundled the stems of plants such as papyrus and coated them with beeswax. Candlesticks with a socket to save dripping beeswax and animal fat were made in Egypt in the 4th millennium BC, but the oldest candlesticks in the form we know today are those excavated from Etruscan tombs around the 6th or 7th century BC. In China, something resembling a candle first appeared in documents during the Han dynasty, which coincides with the candle lighting fixtures found in a tomb from the Western Han period recently excavated in Hebei Province. However, the name "candle" first appeared during the Jin dynasty after the 4th century. It is known that candles were quite widespread during the Song dynasty in the second half of the 10th century. A famous plant from which wax can be extracted is the North American bay berry. This plant was often used in the early colonial period because it gives off a fragrant scent when lit and produces little smoke, but because it required breaking a stem to gather the required amount, its use was limited to special occasions such as Christmas. There was a popular belief that if it burned well on Christmas eve, happiness would come in the following year.

Lamps come from animals, vegetables, and minerals. It is said that the Semites, the inhabitants of ancient Babylonia, used petroleum that gushed forth from the ground, but this was rather an exception, and in ancient times, lamps from animals and vegetables were probably the norm. The oldest oil lamp to date is made of sandstone from the Magdalenian period, excavated from La Meute Cave in the Dordogne, France, and belongs to the Late Paleolithic period along with the limestone lamps found in the famous Lascaux Cave. The La Meute lamp has a carved image of a goat on the bottom, and there are traces of animal fat in the saucer. A famous example from the Neolithic period would be the limestone lamps used by miners at the Grimes Graves flint mines in England. However, the lamps used in these lamps were all animal-based, and it is thought that vegetable oils began to be used about 3,000 years ago. Olive oil in particular was very popular among the people of ancient Greece and Rome.

Turning our attention to modern ethnic groups, palm oil is commonly used in tropical Asia, America, and Africa, while kukui oil, which is made from the seeds of an evergreen tree in the Euphorbiaceae family, as well as castor oil and linseed oil, are commonly used in Hawaii, Malaysia, western India, Taiwan, Brazil, and Madagascar. Among these, it has been reported that the Palauans of Micronesia use earthen lamps called amral mbidwur, which are made by soaking a wick made from hibiscus bark or coconut shell fibers in boiled coconut oil. Meanwhile, the stone lamps used by the Eskimos use seal or walrus oil, and moss or plant fibers from the Cyperaceae family are used as wicks.

In modern times, light sources have undergone remarkable changes and developments, from oil to gas to electricity. One example is the gas lamp, which was invented by the Englishman William Muldog in 1798 and took the world by storm. Along with this development, the status of vegetable fuels, which had been mainstream until then, began to decline. However, from a different perspective, we should not forget the role that Japanese bamboo played as the filament for the carbon light bulb invented by the American Thomas Edison in 1880.

[Yuji Seki]

Japanese Lights

(1) Bonfires The first light used by humans was probably a bonfire. In ancient times, it was called niwabi, and appears in the Ama-no-Iwato scene in the Takamagahara myth. Niwabi were also lit at Kagura and Imperial Court festivals, and were long used for ceremonies, military battles, and gatherings by warriors and the general public. Bonfires developed from niwabi, and consisted of a bowl-shaped basket made of woven iron, with split wood such as pine wood stoked on it and hung from the top of a pillar or placed on a tripod. These were also used in Imperial Courts, shrines and temples, ceremonies by warriors, and military battles, and until recent times were also used as fishing fires for fishing activities in various regions.

(2) Torches Portable lighting devices include torches, fire ropes, and paper candles. Torches are made by holding burning wood from a bonfire in the hand, and are made from pine, birch, bamboo, and ramie husks. Fire ropes were primarily used for starting fires, but bamboo, cypress, and the bark of vines were also popular. In the past, paper candles were made from thin strips of pine wood soaked in oil and wrapped around the handle in paper, but later they came to be made from paper strings soaked in oil.

(3) Fat pine Indoor lighting also began with fires such as hearths and hearths, and eventually people noticed that the oily parts of pine trunks and roots burned well. These parts were used to make light, and this became known as tsuimatsu, or fat pine, and later came to be called hide. In the past, fire lanterns were used to burn fat pine, while in early modern farming and mountain villages, hidebachi and matsutogai were used.

(4) Kerosene It is not clear when oil began to be used as a fuel for lighting, but it is thought that this method of use developed from the everyday experiences of ancient people who lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Vegetable-based kerosene was introduced after the introduction of Buddhism and spread throughout the Asuka and Nara periods. At first, people only used oil extracted from the nuts of trees such as hazel, dogwood, Japanese pepper, and camellia, but after cultivated plants such as sesame and perilla were introduced from the continent, it became widespread among the general public. From the Heian to Sengoku periods, perilla oil was mainly used, and it was only after the Edo period that it was replaced by seed oil extracted from rapeseed. Cottonseed oil and nuts such as tallow and tallow tree were also used. As for animal-derived kerosene, fish oil from whale, sardine, herring, shark, pufferfish, cod, saury, and sand lance were used until the 1890s, but because of the smoke and odor, its use was limited to lighting fishing villages and poor homes.

At first, people who burned oil for light began to use wicks that utilized the capillary phenomenon, which led to the creation of a variety of lighting devices. The simplest is the lamp dish, which, as its name suggests, is lit by dipping a wick in oil that is filled in a dish. Lighthouses are these mounted on a stand, and include the knotted lighthouse, which uses a thin wooden or bamboo stick for the tripod, the tall lighthouse with a pole nearly one meter long, the slightly lower kiri lighthouse, and the famous Nemuri lighthouse at Horyuji Temple. In addition to these, there are lighthouses placed in teahouses and other places with square poles and bases called tankei, which are distinguished from lighthouses. The rat-shaped tankei, invented 400 years ago, has a complex structure. A tube is passed through the dry lacquer gray body attached to the end of a pole, and a siphon mechanism is used to skillfully adjust the amount of oil in the tray, keeping the amount of oil constant. Such open flames are designed to prevent them from being extinguished by wind or other factors, and when a frame is attached to the outside of the lantern tray, they are called andon (andon). They are divided into square and round shapes, and square shapes are further divided into square, hexagonal, and octagonal, while round shapes are further divided into cylindrical, spherical, mandarin orange, and jujube shapes. In addition to andon, lighting devices called hyosoku (秉キャンドル・柄キャンドル), which have a protruding part with a hole in the center for placing a wick, and tile lamps (gato), which are bell-shaped ceramic pieces placed over a tray to provide light all night, were also used. An example of a lighting device for outdoor use is the toro (lantern). They are made by stretching paper or gauze over a frame made of stone, bamboo, wood, iron, or bronze, and were originally used to decorate and furnish Buddhist halls, but later became popular as votive lanterns for shrines and temples.

(5) Candles With the introduction of Buddhism, beehive wax candles were imported from China, but in the late Heian period, imports of these candles stopped and were replaced by Japan's unique pine resin candles. After the Muromachi period, the technology for making candles from lacquer, hazel and other nut trees was again introduced from China, and they became widespread during the Edo period. The most representative lighting device for lighting candles is the candlestick. There are many types, including bell-shaped, bowl-shaped, and jar-shaped candlesticks, as well as two- or three-legged candlesticks and multi-light candlesticks used for offerings at shrines. Portable candlesticks are called tesho, and those for the stage are called turaakari. Candlesticks with a cover called a fire bag over the part of the candle that lights the fire are called bonbori. A lantern is a lighting device that uses a thin split bamboo frame covered with paper and is flexible, with a candle placed inside. Initially, it referred to lanterns that simply had paper stretched over a wooden frame, or basket lanterns, which were baskets covered in paper and had a handle. Folding lanterns became popular during the Edo period, replacing andon lanterns. There are many types, including box lanterns that fold up into a box, hanging lanterns that are hung from the end of a stick, bow lanterns that use bamboo stretched like a bow for support, and horse-mounted lanterns used by samurai when riding horses.

(6) Oil Although it is a fuel that has become widespread in modern times, its use was discovered earlier than expected, already in the 7th year of Emperor Tenji (668). It was called Kusozu (water of grass or odour) and was used for lighting mainly in the Echigo region. From the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period, lanterns and oil lamps spread throughout Japan. These lighting devices were lit by dipping a cotton wick in oil and using the capillary phenomenon. The glass tube that covered the wick was called a hoya (fire shed), and because the openings at the top and bottom were narrow, cleaning the soot from the hoya was often a daily routine for children. In 1872 (Meiji 5) in Yokohama, the first gas lamp in Japan was lit under the guidance of French engineer Pregrand, and in 1878, the first arc lamp was lit. Incandescent light bulbs were also domestically produced in 1890, and together with fluorescent lights, which were put to practical use in 1939 (Showa 14), they have occupied a central position in lighting in Japan to this day.

[Yuji Seki]

"Light - its types and evolution" by Miyamoto Kataro (1964, Rokuninsha)" ▽ "Lighting plants" by Fukatsu Tadashi (1983, Hosei University Press) ▽ "Lighting culture research group, edited and published "Folklore of lighting" (1976)" ▽ "The history of lighting" by Irin, translated by Hara Mitsuo (Kadokawa Bunko)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

ともしび、明かりのこと。火を獲得した人類は、その熱を調理や暖房に向ける一方で、火より発せられる光を暗い場所を照らす道具として利用し、自らの時間的、空間的活動範囲を飛躍的に広げた。

［関　雄二］

外国の灯火

昔の人間の生活においては、住居、集落を照明する必要には乏しく、夜間に行動するときは、焚火(たきび)やその燃え木に頼ればよかった。これが松明(たいまつ)の起源である。世界各地でさまざまな材料が選ばれている。メキシコのサボテンの茎をはじめとして、南アメリカ南端のフエゴ島ではブナの皮、ポリネシア、ミクロネシアではココヤシの葉が使われた。マレー半島を中心に東インド諸島に分布するマレー式松明は、やや加工が進んでおり、リュウノウコウ科の木の樹脂を固め、周囲を木の葉で包み込んで固定したもので、光も強く、風にも消えにくい特徴をもつ。篝火(かがりび)も古代エジプト、シリア、ペルシアをはじめ、さまざまな地方で長い間使われた。

　ろうそくやオイル・ランプの発明前には、ワカサギ類の脂肪分に富んだ魚やウミツバメをまるごと燃料として利用したことも知られている。一方、ろうそくの使用は古代エジプトですでに始まっており、獣脂や蜜(みつ)ろうを固めたり、繊維性物質にしみ込ませたりする方法をとった。またローマ人がパピルスなどの植物の茎を束ね、蜜ろうを塗って使ったことは、プリニウスの『博物誌』のなかでも言及されている。燭台(しょくだい)も、滴り落ちる蜜ろうや獣脂を節約する受け口のあるタイプが、紀元前4千年紀のエジプトでつくられているが、今日あるような形となると、いまのところ前6、7世紀ごろのエトルリア人の墳墓から発掘されたものがいちばん古い。中国でろうそくらしきものが文献に現れるのは漢代であり、それは最近、河北省で発掘された前漢時代の墳墓のろうそく用灯火具の出土品と一致している。しかし、ろうそくの名前は、4世紀以後の晋(しん)の時代になって初めて登場する。その後、10世紀後半の宋(そう)代ではかなり普及していたことがわかっている。ろうがとれる植物として有名なのは、北アメリカのベイ・ベリーである。これは点火すると芳香を放ち、煙も少ないことから、初期植民地時代にはよく利用されたが、必要な量を集めるのにはほねが折れるため、クリスマスなどの特別な行事に使用を限定されていた。クリスマスの宵にこれがよく燃えれば、翌年幸福が訪れるという俗信があった。

　灯油には動物性、植物性、鉱物性のものがあり、古代バビロニアの住民セム人は、地面から湧(わ)き出た石油を使ったといわれているが、これはむしろ例外で、古くは動植物性の灯油が主であったろう。最古のオイル・ランプは、いまのところ、フランスのドルドーニュのラ・ムート洞穴より出土したマドレーヌ期の砂岩製のもので、有名なラスコー洞穴でみつかった石灰岩製ランプとともに後期旧石器時代に属す。ラ・ムートのランプの底にはヤギの姿が刻まれ、受け皿部分には獣脂の痕跡(こんせき)がある。新石器時代の例として有名なのは、イギリスのグライムズ・グレイブスのフリント鉱山で、当時の鉱夫が使っていた石灰岩製のランプであろう。ただし、これらのランプに使われていた灯油は、すべて動物性のものであって、植物性油が用いられるようになるのは、およそ3000年前と考えられる。とくにオリーブ油は、古代ギリシア・ローマの人々の間でもてはやされた。

　現代諸民族に目を移してみると、熱帯アジア、アメリカ、アフリカのやし油、ハワイ、マレー、インド西部、台湾、ブラジル、マダガスカルでは、トウダイグサ科の常緑樹の種子の油であるククイ油、さらにひまし油、あまに油がよく用いられている。このなかでも、ミクロネシアのパラオでは、アムラル・ンビドウルと称する土製のランプが使われ、煮詰めたやし油にハイビスカスの樹皮かヤシの殻の繊維を細く撚(よ)ってつくった灯芯(とうしん)を浸して用いることが報告されている。一方、エスキモーが使っている石製ランプにはアザラシやセイウチの油が使われ、コケ類やカヤツリグサ科の植物繊維が灯芯として利用されている。

　近代に入ると、石油、ガス、電気といったぐあいに光源も目覚ましい変化、進展を遂げる。1798年イギリス人ウィリアム・ムルドックにより考案され、一世を風靡(ふうび)したガス灯もその一つだが、こうした動きとともに、それまで主流であった植物性燃料の地位の後退が始まる。しかし、観点を変えれば、1880年アメリカ人トーマス・エジソンにより発明されたカーボン電球のフィラメントとして日本産のタケが果たした役割は忘れてはならないだろう。

［関　雄二］

日本の灯火

（1）焚火　人類が初めて用いた灯火は、おそらく焚火であったろう。古くは庭燎(にわび)とよび、高天原(たかまがはら)神話の天岩戸の場面にも登場する。神楽(かぐら)や宮廷の節会(せちえ)にも庭燎は焚かれ、武家、民間の儀式、軍陣、集会でも長く用いられた。篝火は、この庭燎から発達したもので、鉄で編んでつくった椀(わん)形の籠(かご)にマツなどの割り木をくべ、柱の先に吊(つ)ったり、三脚の上に置いたりした。これも宮廷、社寺、武家の儀式や軍陣などで使われ、近年まで漁火(いさりび)としても各地の漁労活動で利用された。

（2）松明　携行用の照明具には、松明、火縄(ひなわ)、脂燭(しそく)（紙燭）などがある。松明は、焚火の燃え木を手に持って照明としたもので、マツ・カバ・タケ・苧殻(おがら)が選ばれ、火縄は点火用の用途が主であったが、タケ・ヒノキのほか、つる性植物の皮が好まれた。脂燭とは、古くは、細く断ち割ったマツ材に油をしみ込ませ、手元を紙で巻いたものだが、のちには油をしみ込ませた紙縒(こより)をさすようになった。

（3）肥松(こえまつ)　屋内の照明も、地炉(じろ)やいろりなどの焚火に始まり、やがて人々は、マツの幹や根の脂の多い部分がよく燃えることに気づいた。この部分を利用して灯火としたのが続松(ついまつ)で、のちに肥松、ヒデと称するようになった。肥松を燃やすための灯火具に、古くは火瓫(ほべ)が、近世の農山村ではヒデバチ、マツトウガイが使われた。

（4）灯油　いつごろから灯火の燃料として油が用いられるようになったかはさだかでないが、狩猟採集生活を送っていた古代人の日常の体験から生み出された利用法であったと考えられる。植物性灯油は仏教伝来以後に導入され、飛鳥(あすか)・奈良時代を通じて広まった。最初はハシバミ、イヌガヤ、イヌザンショウ、ツバキなどの木の実からとれる油を利用していた程度であったが、大陸からゴマ、エゴマなどの栽培植物が渡来して以来、一般にも普及するようになった。平安から戦国時代にかけては荏油(えのあぶら)が主として用いられ、アブラナからとった種油(たねあぶら)にとってかわられるのは江戸時代以降のことである。このほか、綿実油(めんじつゆ)やアブラギリ、ナンキンハゼなどの木の実も利用された。動物性灯油では、クジラ、イワシ、ニシン、サメ、フグ、タラ、サンマ、イカナゴなどの魚油が明治30年代まで使われていたが、煙と臭気のため、その利用は漁村や貧家の明かりに限られていた。

　初めは油そのものを燃やして灯火としていた人々も、毛細管現象を応用した灯芯を利用するようになり、これがさまざまな灯火具を生み出す契機となった。もっとも単純なものは灯明皿（火皿）であり、その名のとおり、皿に満たした油に灯芯を浸して点火させる。灯台とは、これを台架にのせたもので、三脚部分に木やタケの細棒を使った結(むすび)灯台、1メートル近い竿(さお)をもった高灯台、それよりやや低い切(きり)灯台などのほか、法隆寺の眠(ねむり)灯台が著名である。これとは別に、茶室などに置かれ、竿と台座が角形のものを灯台と区別して短檠(たんけい)とよぶ。いまから400年も前に発明された鼠(ねずみ)短檠は複雑な構造をもつ。竿の先についた乾漆の鼠の胴体に管を通し、サイホン仕掛けで巧みに油を調節し、受け皿にある油量を一定に保つようにしたものである。こうした裸火が風などで消えたりしないようにくふうが施され、灯油皿の周囲に枠を取り付けたものを行灯(あんどん)とよぶ。形から角形と丸形に分けられ、角形はさらに四角、六角、八角に、丸形は円筒形、球形、みかん形、なつめ形に細分される。行灯のほか、ひょうそく（秉燭・柄燭）とよばれ、陶器の中央に灯芯を立てるための孔(あな)のあいた突出部をもつ灯火具や、釣鐘形の陶器を灯火皿にかぶせて終夜灯とした瓦灯(がとう)も使われた。屋外用の灯火具としては灯籠(とうろう)がある。石・タケ・木・鉄・青銅などの枠に紙や紗(うすぎぬ)を張ったもので、初めは仏殿の荘厳(しょうごん)・装飾に使われたが、のちに社寺の献灯として広まった。

（5）ろうそく　仏教の伝来とともに中国から蜜蜂(みつばち)の巣のろうでつくった蜜ろうそくが輸入されたが、平安後期になると、その輸入もなくなり、わが国独自の松脂(まつやに)ろうそくにとってかわられた。室町時代以後ふたたび中国からウルシやハゼなどの木実(きのみ)ろうそくの技術が伝わり、江戸時代にはこれが普及した。ろうそくをともすための灯火具の代表は燭台(しょくだい)である。種類は多く、鐘形、椀形、壺(つぼ)形などのもの、二脚・三脚の多脚形燭台、神社の献灯に用いられる多灯形燭台などがある。携行用の燭台のことは手燭とよび、舞台用のものをとくに面明(つらあかり)という。また燭台の火のともる部分に火袋という覆いをつけたものを雪洞(ぼんぼり)とよぶ。提灯(ちょうちん)は、骨組みに細い割り竹を使い、紙を張り、かつ伸縮自在にしたものの中にろうそくを立てた灯火具をいう。初めは、単に木枠に紙を張ったものや、籠に紙を張り把手(とって)をつけた籠提灯をさしていた。折り畳み式は江戸時代に入って普及し、行灯にとってかわった。その種類は多く、畳むと箱状になる箱（筥）提灯、棒の先にぶら下げるぶら提灯、竹を弓のように張って支えとした弓張(ゆみはり)提灯、武士が乗馬の際に使った馬上提灯などがある。

（6）石油　近代に入って普及した燃料であるが、その利用は意外に早く、天智(てんじ)天皇の7年（668）にすでに発見されている。くそうず（草生水・臭水）とよばれ、越後(えちご)地方を中心に灯火に利用していた。幕末から明治にかけて、カンテラ、石油ランプとして日本全国に広まったものは、この石油に綿糸製の芯を浸し、毛細管現象を利用して点灯する照明具である。灯芯を覆うガラス製の筒を火舎(ほや)といい、上下の開口部が狭いことから、多くの場合、火舎のすす掃除は子供たちの日課であった。1872年（明治5）横浜でフランス人技師プレグランの指導のもとに、わが国最初のガス灯が点灯され、78年にはアーク灯の初点灯に及ぶ。白熱電球も90年に国産化され、1939年（昭和14）に実用化された蛍光灯とともに、今日まで日本の照明の中心的位置を占めてきた。

［関　雄二］

『宮本馨太郎著『灯火――その種類と変遷』（1964・六人社）』▽『深津正著『燈用植物』（1983・法政大学出版局）』▽『照明文化研究会編・刊『あかりのフォークロア』（1976）』▽『イリン著、原光雄訳『灯火の歴史』（角川文庫）』