Bird - Tori

It refers to birds, and can also refer to chickens and pheasants in particular. In Japanese literature, they are one of the landscapes that form the natural beauty of Japan, as in the phrase "flowers and birds" or "flowers, birds, wind and moon." In poems such as "I am only passing the time, caressed by the colors and sounds of flowers and birds" (Summer, "Gosenshu", Fujiwara Masatada). They appeared in literary works from early on, and the "Manyoshu" includes names such as cormorant, nightingale, quail, duck, seagull, crow, wild goose, pheasant, heron, snipe, hawk, plover, swallow, crane, chicken, catfish, skylark, hototogisu, capital bird, nightingale, mountain bird, cuckoo, pheasant, pheasant, eagle, and mandarin duck, as well as many other water birds. In the Kokinshu, the species were also culled, and only the warblers, quails, ducks, geese, pheasants, snipes, cranes, plovers, catfish, morning glory, capital birds, chickens, mandarin ducks, and the "three birds" of the Kokin Denju (Kokinshu) - the rice-carrying bird, the hundred-chicken bird, and the cuckoo - were mentioned. Although they can be found in the mountains and fields, they are more likely to be found near water, and are often used in the form of "ashigamo," "ashitazu," and "hamachidori." The warblers, morning glory, and geese are particularly common, and each appears in more than 10 examples in the Tale of Genji, and they continue to be used as seasonal themes. In the "Birds" section of "The Pillow Book," parrots, mountain birds, cranes, herons, mandarin ducks, plovers, nightingals, and morning owls are specifically mentioned, and although the absence of geese is conspicuous, the opening line of the book says, "When you see a row of geese, they look very small, and it is very charming," so it is not that they are ignored. From around the mid-Heian period, water fowls, whose cries are said to resemble the sound of a door being knocked, were also added. Eggs are called "kahi," "ko," or "kahiko," and those that do not hatch are called "sumori" or "sumorigo," and are often found in waka poetry, stories, and diaries. They are also messengers of the gods, and the doves of Hachiman Shrine and the crows of Kumano Shrine are well known.

[Teruhiko Komachiya]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鳥類のことで、とくにニワトリ、キジをさす場合もある。日本文学においては、花鳥とか花鳥風月とかいわれるように、日本の自然美を形成する景物の一つであり、「花鳥の色をも音(ね)をもいたづらにもの憂(う)かる身は過ぐすのみなり」（『後撰(ごせん)集』夏・藤原雅正(まさただ)）などと詠まれている。文学作品にも早くから登場し、『万葉集』には、鵜（う）、鶯（うぐひす）、鶉（うづら）、鴨（かも）、鴎（かまめ）、烏（からす）、雁（かり）、雉（きぎし）、鷺（さぎ）、鴫（しぎ）、鷹（たか）、千鳥（ちどり）、燕（つばめ）、鶴（たづ）、鶏（いへつとり、かけ、にはつとり）、鳰（にほどり）、雲雀（ひばり）、時鳥（ほととぎす）、都鳥（みやこどり）、百舌鳥（もず）、山鳥（やまどり）、呼子鳥（よぶこどり）、鷲（わし）、鴛鴦（をしどり）などの名がみえ、ほかにも水鳥が多い。『古今集』になると、種類も淘汰(とうた)され、鶯、鶉、鴨、雁、雉（きじ）、鴫、鶴、千鳥、鳰、時鳥、都鳥、鶏（ゆふつけどり）、鴛鴦と古今伝授(こきんでんじゅ)の「三鳥」の稲負鳥（いなおほせどり）、百ち鳥（ももちどり）、呼子鳥に尽くされる。山野にもいるが、水辺にいるという印象が強く、「芦鴨(あしがも)」「芦鶴(あしたづ)」「浜千鳥」などという形でよく用いられる。鶯、時鳥、雁がとりわけ多くみられ、『源氏物語』でもいずれも10例以上用いられ、季題としても継承されていく。『枕草子(まくらのそうし)』の「鳥は」の段では、鸚鵡(おうむ)、山鳥、鶴、鷺、鴛鴦、千鳥、鶯、時鳥などについて具体的に述べており、雁がないのが目だつが、巻頭で「まいて、雁などのつらねたるが、いと小さく見ゆるは、いとをかし」といっているから、無視しているわけではない。平安中期ごろから、鳴き声が戸をたたく音に似ているといわれる水鶏（くひな）も加わる。卵は「かひ」「こ」「かひこ」などとよばれ、かえらないものを「すもり」「すもりご」などといい、和歌や物語、日記などに、しばしばみられる。また、神の使いにもなり、八幡宮(はちまんぐう)の鳩(はと)、熊野神社の烏などはよく知られる。

［小町谷照彦］

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