Pillow - Pillow

Japanese: 枕 - まくら

A type of seating equipment. A tool for resting the head when sleeping or lying down. In Japan, they have been seen since the Kofun period, and grass pillows and wooden pillows are mentioned in poems in the Man'yoshu. At Chusonji Temple in Hiraizumi, Oshu (Iwate Prefecture), a pillow wrapped in brocade by the Fujiwara clan remains. Wooden pillows were made from cedar, magnolia, boxwood, and jin, while grass pillows were made from thatch, reed, bamboo, straw, and rice. Rectangular wooden pillows were used in later generations at hot spring resorts and vaudeville halls, but at the same time they changed to Azuchi pillows (a small tied pillow placed on an Azuchi-shaped base), box pillows, boat-bottom pillows, and ones with drawers. The grass pillow changed into the tied pillow, and during this process, a pillow made by fastening a square piece of wood firmly in the middle with a stick, wrapping the sides in cloth, and stuffing it with millet or buckwheat husks to close both ends was used by nobles and samurai. The remains at Chusonji Temple are brocade pillows made from cloth, and rectangular pillows have been depicted in picture scrolls since the Heian period. Furthermore, pillows decorated with gorgeous makie (lacquer painting), incense pillows with a device that lets incense waft through the hair, pillows made from high-quality textiles, and ceramic pillows to cool the head were invented and used.

As hairstyles began to appear in the Edo period, such as the Hondamage for men and the Hyogomage, Shimadamage, and Katsuyamamage for women, pillows also changed, and the demand for box pillows increased as they were more convenient than tied pillows. In particular, for women, by the Genroku period (1688-1704), sideburns began to jut out to the left and right, and the topknots (tabo) extended far behind, making it necessary to use box pillows, and a movable pillow like a boat-bottom pillow was more convenient for turning over in bed than a flat-bottom one like an Azuchi pillow. Box pillows with drawers were also convenient for storing small items and coins, so their use increased towards the end of the Edo period. A box pillow is a box on which a cylindrical pillow is placed. The pillow is made of silk or cotton, and filled with buckwheat husks, rice husks, or red beans, which is then tied to the pillow stand. Paper is placed on top of the pillow to prevent it from getting dirty with hair oil, and this is changed every day. Places with a lot of people, such as inns and galleries, had pillow boxes (ireko makura) to store many pillows. Large stores that employed many young boys and apprentices would use logs as pillows, and when standing up, one end of the log would be struck.

After the Meiji period, Western culture was introduced, bringing a breath of fresh air to bedding. Luxury items such as kongya and feathers, rubber and sponge were used, and air pillows were used for travel and ice pillows for when sick. As culture developed, various ideas were invented and continue to be used today.

[Takeshi Endo]

Folklore

One of the theories on the origin of the word "makura" (pillow) is that the head is where the soul resides, and so it came to be called a "tamakura" (container for the soul) where the soul is placed. Since the time of the Manyoshu, there has been the idea that pillows are places where the soul resides or gathers, and so they were not to be treated carelessly, and it was abhorrent to step on or kick them.

It is a nationwide superstition that lying with one's head to the north is bad luck because it is something the dead do, but since the Kofun period, burials with their heads to the north have been the most common.

Pillow legends include the "makura-gaeshi" (pillow-turning), which changes the position of your pillow while you sleep, and the "Ishimakura-no-Sato" (village of stone pillows), which is said to crush the heads of sleeping travelers and steal their money and valuables. People would draw a mythical animal called a baku, which is said to eat nightmares, on their pillows, or place a picture of a treasure ship under their pillow on the night of Setsubun or New Year to see auspicious dreams, or place iris leaves under the pillow on the Boys' Festival to ward off evil spirits, or place dried chrysanthemum flowers in a pillow to ensure a long life, popular beliefs from the Middle Ages onwards. There is a proverb from the Edo period that states the height of a pillow should be "three inches long, four inches long," but it is said that a slightly lower pillow is better for health.

[Kenichi Yano]

"Takeshi Endo, Ruiju Kinsei Fuzokushi (Collection of Modern Manners and Customs)" (1934, Kouseikaku) "Kenichi Yano, Cultural History of Pillows" (1985, Kodansha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

座臥(ざが)具の一種。就寝あるいは体を横たえたときに、頭をのせる道具。わが国では古墳時代からみられ、『万葉集』には草枕、木枕のことが詠まれている。奥州平泉（岩手県）の中尊寺には、藤原一門の錦(にしき)包みの枕が残されている。木枕は杉、朴(ほお)、黄楊(つげ)、沈(じん)などでつくられ、草枕は茅(かや)、菅(すげ)、篠(しの)、薦(こも)、稲などでつくられた。長方形をした木枕が、後世には湯治場や寄席(よせ)などで用いられたが、一方では安土(あづち)枕（安土形の台の上に小さな括(くく)り枕をのせたもの）、箱枕、船底枕、引出し付きのものなどに変わっていった。草枕は括り枕に変わっていくが、その途中において、方形の木片を左右に、その中央を棒でしっかりと留めて、周囲を布で包み、ひえ、そば殻を入れて両端を閉じたものが、公家(くげ)や武家の間で用いられた。中尊寺の遺物は裂(きれ)でつくった錦作りの枕で、平安時代以降絵巻物のなかに長方形の枕が描かれている。さらに華麗な蒔絵(まきえ)を施した枕、髪に香をくゆらせる装置をした香枕、高級織物を使った枕、あるいは頭を冷やす陶枕(とうちん)などが考案され使用された。

　髪形が江戸時代になって男性に本多髷(まげ)、女性に兵庫髷、島田髷、勝山髷などが新しく登場するようになると、枕にも変化が生じ、括り枕よりも箱枕のほうが便利なので、その需要が高まった。ことに女性の場合は、元禄(げんろく)時代（1688～1704）になると鬢(びん)が左右に張り出したり、髱(たぼ)が大きく背後に出た結果、箱枕をせねばならなくなり、また、安土枕のように底が平らなものより、船底枕のように動くもののほうが、寝返りを打つのにも便利であった。また引出し付きの箱枕は、ちょっとした小物、小銭をしまうのにも便利であったから、江戸時代末期になると、使用が増えた。箱枕は、箱の上に円筒形の括り枕をのせるようにしたもので、括り枕は絽(ろ)、木綿でつくり、中入れとしてそば殻、もみ殻、小豆(あずき)などを入れ、それを枕台に結び付けたのである。そして、髪油で布が汚れないように括り枕の上に紙を置き、これを毎日取り替えた。宿屋、廊(くるわ)など人出の多い所では、たくさんの枕を収める枕箱（入れこ枕）があった。また小僧、丁稚(でっち)をたくさん抱えた大店(おおだな)では、丸太を枕にし、起こすときには丸太の一端をたたいたものである。

　明治以後、欧米文化がもたらされて、寝具にも新風が吹き込まれた。パンヤ、羽毛などの高級品や、ゴム、スポンジを用いたり、旅行には空気枕、病気のときには氷枕など、文化の発展につれて、いろいろなものがくふうされ今日に至っている。

［遠藤　武］

民俗

枕の語源説の一つに、頭は魂の宿るところだから、それを置くタマクラ（魂の容器）とするのがあるように、『万葉集』の時代から枕は魂が寄り付く、もしくは宿るという観念があり、粗末に扱わぬものとされ、踏んだり、けったりすることを忌み嫌った。

　北枕は死者がするもので縁起が悪いとするのは全国的な迷信だが、古墳時代から北枕に埋葬される例がもっとも多い。

　枕の伝説は、寝ていると枕の位置を変えられる「枕返し」や、寝ている旅人の頭を砕いて金品を奪ったという「石枕の里」などがある。悪夢を食うという空想上の獏(ばく)という動物を枕に描いたり、節分や正月の夜に宝船の絵を枕の下に敷き吉夢をみようとしたり、端午の節句に菖蒲(しょうぶ)の葉を枕の下に敷き邪気を除き、菊の花を乾燥して枕に入れれば長命を保つとする俗信も中世以降に盛んであった。「寿命三寸　楽四寸」という枕の高さを示す江戸時代の諺(ことわざ)があるが、健康的には少し低い枕がよいという。

［矢野憲一］

『遠藤武著『類聚近世風俗志』（1934・更生閣）』▽『矢野憲一著『枕の文化史』（1985・講談社）』

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

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