Rope - rope

A rope made of twisted organic fibers. A product made by twisting several ropes together is sometimes called a "tsuna" (rope). A "himo" (cord) can refer to a rope with a diameter of 8 mm or less, but often also refers to a small, belt-like rope made from clothing material. In Japan, "rope" often refers to straw rope for packing. Straw rope is the most mass-produced straw product, and traditionally it was made at night during the farming off-season (winter) as a side job for farmers, along with other straw products, and was self-sufficient. In some places, the first twisting of straw rope was one of the New Year's events. It was used as is for obi (belts), sashes, shoe straps, well buckets, scrubbing brushes, chairs, curtains and blinds (originally used as a substitute for doors), horse harness parts, reinforcing material mixed into plastered walls, and was widely used for weaving into baskets (fish baskets for submerging caught fish in water), bags (backpacks), nets (for protecting roofs, etc.) Attempts to mechanize production began at the beginning of the 20th century, and in the 1950s machines for making rough rope and machines for making fine rope were invented, and Japan Agricultural Standards (JAS) were established and rope was produced in small factories, but from the 1960s onwards it was replaced by petrochemical strings and ropes, and related uses fell out of use except for use in overwintering in forests. In addition to straw ropes, important items included strong ropes for arresting people (also used to mean punishment), ropes for land surveying (also used to mean land inspection; the origin of the word "nawabari" (rope-hunting)), shimenawa (left-twisted; widely distributed in the northern half of East Asia), fishing ropes (longlines; used for eel fishing in inland waters), gun matchlocks (made from birch or hemlock), and ropes for attaching patterns to pottery.

Many of the world's peoples use plant materials to make rope, but in grasslands, deserts, and snowy regions with little vegetation, mammal skins and other materials are often used. Of cultivated plants, various types of hemp are the most popular, and in addition to cultivated plants such as cotton and palm, bark and other materials were also collected and used. There are two types of twist: right-handed (S-twist, where the material is held in both hands and the right hand is always forward) and left-handed (Z-twist), and there are two ways to connect the rope: by tying it or by untying it and twisting the fibers together. Common uses include hanging, connecting, and transmitting power, and there are many examples of use in clothing and housing, transportation equipment, hunting and fishing nets and traps, lassos for hunting equipment and weapons, and as material for mats and bags. Specialized uses include ropes used in games and songs, ketsujo (knotted ropes) (Okinawa, ancient Inca) in which the length and number of knots are used as substitutes for letters, and ropes used for magic tricks (rope cutting, rope escape).

[Akira Sasaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

有機質の繊維を撚(よ)ったロープ。複数の縄を撚り合わせた製品を綱(つな)とよぶことがある。紐(ひも)は直径8ミリ以下の縄をさすこともあるが、衣料素材を用いた帯状の小索をさすことも多い。日本では縄が荷造り用の藁(わら)縄を意味することが多かった。藁縄は藁加工品中の最多量産品で、伝統的には農間余業として夜間、農閑期（冬期）に他の藁加工品とともにつくって自給した。藁縄の初綯(な)いが正月行事の一つだった所もあった。帯、襷(たすき)、履き物の緒、井戸のつるべ、たわし、椅子(いす)、のれんおよび簾(すだれ)（本来は扉の代用）、馬具部分、塗り壁に混ぜる補強材などにそのまま用い、編んで籠(かご)（とった魚を入れ水に沈める魚籃(びく)など）、袋（背負い袋など）、網（屋根の保護用など）などに広く利用した。製造機械化の試みが20世紀初めから始まり、1950年代には荒縄をつくる縄ない機と精縄をつくる縄仕上げ機が考案され、日本農林規格（JAS(ジャス)）を設けて小工場で生産したが、1960年代以降、石油化学製品の紐、縄類にとってかわられ、樹林越冬用を除き関連用途も廃絶した。藁縄以外では、じょうぶなつくりの捕縄用の縄（刑罰の意にも用いた）、土地測量用の縄（検地の意にも用いた。縄張りの語源）、注連(しめ)縄（左撚り。東アジア北半に広く分布）、漁労用の縄（延(はえ)縄。内水面ではウナギ漁用）、銃の火縄（カバ、ネズコ製）、土器の文様をつける縄などが重要であった。

　世界の諸民族の縄の材料には植物質が多いが、植生の乏しい草原、砂漠、氷雪地帯では哺乳(ほにゅう)動物の皮などを原料とすることが多かった。栽培植物では各種のアサがもっとも有力で、ワタ、シュロなどの栽培植物のほかに樹皮などを採集して用いた。右撚り（S撚り。両手に材料を挟み右手がつねに前に出るようにもんでなう）と左撚り（Z撚り）の二つがあり、つなげるのには、結ぶのと、ほどいて繊維を撚り合わせる方法の二つがある。つるす、つなげる、動力を伝えるなどが一般的用途で、とくに衣料や住居の部分、運搬用具部分、狩猟または漁労用の網や罠(わな)、狩猟具または武器の投げ縄、莚(むしろ)や袋類の材料などの利用例が多い。特殊な用途には、ゲームと歌の発達した縄とびの縄、長さ・結び目の数などを文字代用とした結縄(けつじょう)（沖縄、古代インカ）、手品（縄切り、縄抜け）用の縄などがある。

［佐々木明］

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