Broom - Broom

A tool used to sweep up dust and dirt. There are many types of brooms, made from materials such as palm, hornwort, fern, moso bamboo, and bird feathers, and they are divided into zashiki brooms, jizai brooms, soto brooms, and small brooms (hand brooms) depending on where they are used. Zashiki brooms include grass brooms made from broom grass and palm brooms made from palm bark. Grass brooms are strong and suitable for tatami mats, and are also known as "Tokyo brooms," and are popular in the Kanto region. Palm brooms are soft to the touch and can pick up even the finest dust, making them suitable for chemical floors, and are mainly used in the Kansai region. The head of the self-broom can bend freely from side to side, making it suitable for cleaning stairs and gaps in furniture, while the short-handled fern broom is mainly used for sweeping entranceways and flooring. Bamboo brooms and rakes are used for raking up fallen leaves and sweeping gardens, and small brooms made from broom grass are known as "koujin brooms" and are suitable for dusting sofas and curtains and cleaning narrow spaces.

[Abe Ayako]

As the word "hahakimochi" (broom-holder) appears in the Kojiki, the word was originally called "hahaki." The Shosoin Repository contains a broom from the Nara period called the "Nenohinomenotogi broom," which was used for sericulture ceremonies. It is made by bundling together the stems of the kouyabouki plant, which belongs to the Asteraceae family, and tying the base with a leather cord. It is decorated with small glass beads and has no handle. There are also many folk traditions, and there have long been beliefs about childbirth, such as stroking the stomach of a pregnant woman with a broom or placing one in the delivery room to ensure an easy delivery. This comes from the ancient custom of letting crabs crawl into the delivery room, and the use of brooms for this purpose, and is said to be due to the belief of ancient people who linked the crab's shedding of its shell with the renewal of the soul and body. In addition, there are also traditions such as standing the broom upside down when sending away guests who have stayed for a long time, or stepping over a broom as a punishment. Along with brooms, dustpans have also been around for a long time. They are made of wood or paper, but they share the same shape as brooms in that they have hardly changed at all.

[Kazuko Koizumi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ちりやごみを掃く道具。箒は種類が多く、素材もシュロ、ホウキギ、シダ、モウソウチク、鳥の羽などがあるが、使用場所によって座敷箒、自在箒、外箒、小箒（手箒）に分けられる。座敷箒にはホウキグサをとじた草箒と、シュロ皮を用いた棕櫚(しゅろ)箒とがあり、腰が強くて畳に適している草箒は、「東京箒」ともいって関東地方で好まれている。また棕櫚箒は、当たりが柔らかく、細かいほこりまで吸い取るため化学床にも適し、おもに関西方面で多く使用されている。首が左右へ自由に曲がる自在箒は、きめの細かい階段や家具のすきま掃除などに適し、外箒には玄関やたたきを掃くため、短柄(たんえ)のシダ箒がおもに使われる。また落ち葉をかき集めたりする庭掃き用には竹箒や熊手(くまで)が使われ、ホウキグサを用いた小箒は一名「荒神(こうじん)箒」とよばれているが、これはソファーやカーテンなどのほこり取りや、狭い場所の掃除などに向いている。

［阿部絢子］

『古事記』に「箒持(ははきもち)」ということばがみえるように、古くは「ははき」といった。正倉院には、養蚕儀礼用ではあるが、「子日目利箒(ねのひのめのとぎぼうき)」という奈良時代の箒が残っている。これはキク科のコウヤボウキの茎を束ねて根元を革紐(ひも)で結んだもので、ガラスの小玉の飾りがついており、柄はついていない。また、民俗的な伝承が多く、妊婦の腹を箒でなでたり、産室にこれを立てておくと安産になるといった出産に関する信仰が古くからある。これは古くは産室にカニをはわせる習慣があり、そのために箒を使ったことからきており、カニの脱殻作用を霊肉の更新と結び付けた古代人の信仰によるものといわれる。このほか長居の客を帰すのに箒を逆さに立てるとか、箒をまたぐと罰があたるなどというのもある。また箒とともに塵取(ちりとり)も古くからある。板製、紙製などがあるが、形がほとんど変化していない点は箒と共通している。

［小泉和子］

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