Mountains

Japanese: 山 - やま（英語表記）mountains

A surface area (crust) that protrudes from the surrounding low-lying landform and has a large relative height. The relative height required to be called a "mountain" varies depending on the region, country, researcher, etc.

[Takuma Arii]

Classification

Some mountains are formed by volcanic or erosive action, and stand alone, but many mountains are gathered together in a certain area, and the whole of them is called a mountain range. Mountain ranges are classified into more detailed categories, with mountain bodies that are connected like veins being called mountain ranges, those that are massifs are called mountain massifs, those that are irregularly gathered are called mountain ranges, and a collection of mountain ranges and massifs is called a mountain system. Generally, mountains refer to mountain bodies on land, but mountain bodies that are below sea level, that is, on the ocean floor, are called ocean ridges, sea rises, submarine mountain ranges, submarine volcanoes, seamounts, etc. The arrangement and origin of these landforms, along with undersea landforms such as ocean trenches and ocean basins, and large landforms such as large mountain ranges, island arcs, plateaus, and shields, have come to be uniformly explained by the theory of plate tectonics.

Mountains can be classified according to their relief as (1) low mountain ranges (low hills), (2) mid-mountain ranges, and (3) alpine ranges. In this case, (1) refers to mountain ranges with an elevation of less than 1,000 meters, (2) 1,000-3,000 meters, and (3) 3,000 meters or more. Mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, Tian Shan, Alps, Rockies, and Andes have been eroded by significant glacial and periglacial landforms, and display typical alpine mountain scenery. Alpine mountain scenery can also be seen in the high altitudes of Japanese mountain ranges such as Hida, Kiso, Akaishi, and Hidaka.

Mountains are classified into young, early mature, mature, late mature, and old mountains according to the state of development of eroded landforms such as valley bottoms, valley walls, ridges, summits, and low relief surfaces. Low mountain areas show the characteristics of young mountains, while high mountain areas may show the characteristics of mature mountains.

Mountains are also classified according to the forces that formed them: (1) volcanoes formed by volcanic action, (2) relict mountains formed by erosion, and (3) mountains formed by crustal movement. Volcanoes in category (1) are classified according to their shape and structure as simple volcanoes (stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, lava domes, lava spires, clastic cones, pyroclastic plateaus, lava plateaus, etc.) and composite volcanoes (composite volcanoes; a combination of calderas and simple volcanoes). Composite volcanoes with calderas include double volcanoes (a central crater cone and one caldera) and triple volcanoes (a central crater cone and two calderas). Volcanoes are classified into land volcanoes, submarine volcanoes, and subglacial volcanoes according to the location of the eruption, and into parasitic volcanoes and central cones according to the location of the eruption on the volcanic body. Volcanoes are classified into explosive and quiescent types according to the type of volcanic activity, and active, dormant, and extinct volcanoes according to the age of volcanic activity and eruption, although the term has not been used much in recent years. (2) Remaining mountains include hills formed by erosion in humid climate regions, and Inselbergs (German) and Bornhardts (German) formed in arid regions. These mountains are smaller than other types of mountains and have a narrow distribution area. (3) Mountains include folded mountains, curved mountains, dome-shaped mountains, fault mountains, and tilted mountains.

When classifying mountains according to the period of mountain building, they are usually divided into mountain ranges formed by ancient orogeny up to the middle Mesozoic era, and mountain ranges formed by new orogeny from the end of the Mesozoic era onwards. They can also be divided into Paleozoic folded mountains, Mesozoic folded mountains, Cenozoic (neogene) folded mountains, etc. based on the geological era in which each mountain range was formed.

[Takuma Arii]

distribution

Mountains on land tend to be distributed in limited belts on the earth's surface. The world's highest peaks are concentrated in the Alps-Himalayan orogenic belt and the Circum-Pacific orogenic belt, which coincide with the distribution of volcanic and earthquake belts. Other areas with high concentrations of mountains include the area from Central Asia to eastern Russia, northwestern and southeastern Africa, and eastern North America.

[Takuma Arii]

Different ideas about mountains

Mountains are objects that are constantly looked up to from the plains and serve as spatial landmarks, making a strong impression on humans. The environment differs from the plains in many ways, including temperature and vegetation, so it is almost universally recognized by people that mountains are a world different from the ordinary living space on the plains. On the one hand, mountains are recognized as sacred spaces, and for agricultural people in particular, mountains are sources of water, and they are even thought to be gods in charge of irrigation water. However, on the other hand, because the heterogeneity of the environment is unfamiliar and dangerous to people who live on the plains, there is a tendency to consider it an eerie and mysterious world.

The first understanding is that mountains are the world of the gods. In ancient Greece, mountains, including Olympus, were the world of the gods, and in Japan's Kojiki and Nihon Shoki myths, it is clear that mountains are the space of the gods, as seen in expressions such as "Amenokaguyama." Alternatively, mountains were thought to be places where gods descend from the heavens, and even today, the floats used in shrine festivals are called "dashi" or "yama," and are considered to be the abode of the gods. In Buddhism, too, mountains are associated with the origins of the establishment of religion, such as Mount Sumeru, and in Judaism, Mount Sinai, so it can be said that the phenomenon of mountains being linked to religion is universal.

Meanwhile, as a result of mountains being seen as eerie spaces, in medieval Europe they were thought to be the home of monsters, spirits and witches, and even in Japan, where mountain worship is devout, there were many legends of "mountain people," "mountain hags," and "mountain men and women" linked to prejudice against hunter-gatherers, lumberjacks and woodworkers who wandered the mountains. The mountain people described in Yanagita Kunio's "Tales of Tono" and "Life in the Mountains" are portrayed as "foreigners" large in stature, with hair and eyes that differ from those of ordinary Japanese people, and as superhumans with extraordinary abilities. Beliefs in things like tengu are in line with the belief in mountain people. Mountain gods are the ones who govern mountainous regions, but they also have diverse and complex personalities, being gods in charge of childbirth, guardian deities of people who work in the mountains such as woodcutters and hunters, and gods who bring fertility, but they are also often curse-bringing deities. This shows that the Japanese have complex and contradictory perceptions of mountains.

The idea that mountains are the world where the dead go, a so-called mountain afterlife, is widely seen in Japan, China, Korea, Europe, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. In Europe, there are legends in which heroes do not die, but temporarily hide in the mountains, and then rise again to save their people when their people are in danger. This can be seen as a fusion of the belief that mountains are the world of gods and the idea that they are the world of the dead. Something similar is seen in Japan. Moreover, Japanese ujigami or mountain gods are often identified with ancestral spirits, and ujigami-ancestral spirits-mountain gods-field gods are identified. The multifaceted and transforming nature of such gods is due to the perception of the spaces of villages (villages) and mountains as opposing to each other, and the belief that gods change as they move through these different spaces can be said to be one expression of the Japanese worldview.

The Indonesian island of Bali has a mountain range in the center of the island. Balinese culture has a clear and complex symbolism, including colors, right and left, directions, and vertical up and down. Directions have particularly important symbolic meanings in combination with other things, but in the northern part of the island, which is bounded by the mountain range, north is a religiously inferior direction and south is a superior direction. However, in the southern part of the island, the relationship is reversed, with north being the superior direction and south being the inferior direction. In other words, the symbolic meaning of directions is determined by the recognition that mountains are sacred spaces, spaces of religious superiority. As mentioned earlier, mountains serve as spatial indicators, and can be said to be a major factor in shaping people's worldview.

Mountains are also geographical boundaries, and the climate and environment on either side of a mountain range can be significantly different. Furthermore, the types of livelihoods, economies, languages (dialects), and customs and habits are often different, so mountain ridges and passes are of particular interest as boundaries. In Japan, passes in various regions are sometimes recognized as spaces of special significance, with mountain gods and "Hidar" gods being enshrined there and various legends being passed down. In the mountainous regions of the Alps and the Pyrenees, statues of Mary are enshrined at passes, which is an expression of faith that stems from the same recognition.

Belief in mountains can be roughly divided into two types. (1) In cases where a particular mountain, especially one with a beautiful shape, a cap of perpetual snow, or a single peak standing out in a plain, is deified or worshipped as a special sacred place. Examples include Mt. Fuji, Mt. Iwaki (Aomori Prefecture), and Mt. Miwa (Nara Prefecture) in Japan, and Mt. Popocatepetl in Mexico. In the development of Shugendo, examples include the Dewa Sanzan (Yamagata Prefecture), Mt. Omine (Nara Prefecture), and Mt. Hiko (Fukuoka Prefecture), which were believed to bring special luck to those who practiced asceticism on or climbed the mountains. In (2), the otherness of mountains is the object of worship, and very similar content to mountain worship can be found in the faith of people living on the sea and in the forests of people living on the plains. The aforementioned belief in continental Europe that heroes would hide in the mountains has become the British legend of King Arthur's "hiding on an island." In mainland Japan, the idea of an afterlife in the mountains is strong, while in the Ryukyu Islands the idea of an afterlife at sea is strong. In this way, mountain-related beliefs must be considered in comparison with beliefs about the sea and other things.

[Emiko Namihira]

Mountains and Folklore

As the 3rd century Gishiwajinden (Records of the Wei Dynasty) states, "The Wa people live in the southeast ocean of Taifang, and make their country and villages out of mountainous islands ," Japan is an island and mountainous country, with only about 16% of the land being flat land, and the rest being mostly mountainous areas covered in forests. Naturally, there are differences in the relationship between people and the mountainous regions, with "satoyama" and "hayama" around settlements that are mostly related to agricultural life, "miyama" and "miyama" as the "place" of life for people who work in the mountains, and even "take" high and untrodden mountains, and each has produced unique folk customs.

Wet rice cultivation is the backbone of Japanese agriculture, and it is mainly dependent on the "water" that flows from the mountains and valleys. The practice of worshiping a god on the peak of a beautiful mountain towering over the source of a river, and corresponding to the "Satomiya" at the foot of the mountain or the "Yamaguchi no Kami" at the entrance to the valley, is seen all over the country, and the worshiped god is often the "Mikumari no Kami". This form is particularly well preserved in Yamato (Nara Prefecture). The custom of holding a "rain-making" ceremony on the mountain is also common, and the methods are diverse, such as lighting a large fire, shouting loudly to call for rain, or disturbing a small pond on the mountain or the edge of a valley, but the purpose is the same: to ask the "divine spirit" of the mountain for the "blessing of rain," and in many cases the deity is considered to be the "dragon god." Other examples of folk customs that show the relationship between mountains and farmers include "yukiura," a custom in which the amount of snow remaining on the mountains determines the yield of the harvest, and the custom of knowing the right time to "start farming" (such as sowing seeds) by the appearance of a specific "snow pattern." The guardian deity of rice farming is widely known as the "god of the fields," but it has been thought that once the harvest season is over, the god of the fields leaves the fields and climbs the mountains to become the "god of the mountains," and then descends to the village again the following spring when farming begins. The significance of "welcoming and sending off" these divine spirits can be clearly seen in events such as the Minakuchi Festival held at rice seedling beds and the autumn "Rice Raising/Tenth Night" (Scarecrow Raising), but the divinity of these "gods of the fields and gods of the mountains" is only vaguely remembered, and no specific "shrines" are established, nor is there even a designated "mountain" for them to rest on when they return.

However, this belief in the "mountain god" among farmers was based on the "Hatayama" near the village, and the festival of "Hayama God" in the Abukuma Mountains seems to retain that ancient meaning. There, at the end of the year, an event is still held throughout the night to extol the spirit of the deity on a beautiful mountain close to the village and to predict the coming year's harvest. The practice of collecting New Year's Kadomatsu, young trees for the Little New Year, and flowers for the Bon Festival from the mountains close to the village is called "welcoming pine trees" and "welcoming Bon flowers." The "building of mountain paths" (Bon-do) before the Bon Festival has the same purpose, in that it welcomes deities and spirits from the mountains, and the custom of picking wild flowers from the mountains and placing them at the entrance to one's gate on April 8th is similar in form.

It is believed that the souls of the dead go to the mountains, and the custom of "yamatazune" (visiting the mountains to see the souls of the deceased) and burying the dead in mountains close to villages has existed since ancient times, as can be seen from the elegies in the Manyoshu, and there are also several sacred sites in the mountains where it is believed the souls of the dead gather. The establishment of "yamamiya", where ancestral spirits are enshrined in mountains, is thought to be related to this. In any case, "hideyama", which are close to human settlements, were thus deeply connected to Japanese ideas about the spiritual world. Also noteworthy is the custom of villagers climbing mountains close to their villages in early spring and spending a day "playing in the mountains", known as "yamaagari", "yamaasobi", or "yamagomori".

The forested areas deep in the mountains were the "living places" of woodworkers such as woodturners, cypress craftsmen, scoopers, lumberjacks, woodcutters, and woodcutters, as well as mining craftsmen such as gold miners, tatara craftsmen (iron makers), and charcoal burners, and they had a different atmosphere from ordinary farmers. From the early modern period onwards, mining craftsmen gathered in specific locations to form unique settlements, and those involved in iron makers in particular formed villages of the same craft called "sannai" in the mountains, where they lived a unique cooperative life. However, all of them continued to pass down unique customs centered on the belief in the "Gold Mine God". Woodworkers moved from place to place in search of raw materials, and continued to live a settlement-like life of "temporary stays in the mountains". In particular, woodworkers who use potter's wheels have built up a unique control system centered around a shrine in Ogura Valley in the eastern part of Omi Province, said to be the birthplace of Prince Koretaka, the founder of the craft, and have flaunted the privilege of being able to travel freely between countries. Their occupation is guaranteed by the so-called "woodworker documents." As a result, various unique folk customs naturally arose in the lives of their associates. There was also a group of "sanka" people there who were completely isolated from the secular world, and who made winnowing baskets and baskets out of vines and bamboo grass from the mountains and fields, or fished for fish in the river, and only had limited interaction with the villagers. However, even the traces of these "mountain nomads" have now become faint.

In Japan, where there are few large wild animals, the conditions for professional hunters were few, but there were a few such hunters in the Tohoku region, as well as in Kyushu and the Chubu mountain region. In winter and spring, they would traverse the mountains in pursuit of deer, wild boar, bear, and serow, and in order to continue living in the mountains for long periods of time, they needed the privilege of "free entry into the mountains and hunting permission." All of these originated from "mountain god faith," and they have also maintained different religious traditions and left behind unique hunting customs. The origin of the worship of the beautiful towering "mountain" as a "sacred mountain" where divine spirits reside has been long ago, and the origin of the "Oyamagake" coming-of-age ceremony that remains in various places in Japan also originates from there, but this was led by "Shugendo," which established its bases in various places such as Kumano, Yoshino, and Haguro long ago. It goes without saying that a unique sect of esoteric Buddhism, based on ancient mountain worship, arose that blended Shinto and Buddhism, and had a major impact on the lives of ordinary people. Until the introduction of "alpinism" in the mid-Meiji period, Japanese "mountain climbing" was entirely under the guidance of ascetic monks.

[Toshimi Takeuchi]

"Iwanami Lectures on Earth Science 12: The Changing Earth III - Mountain Building" edited by Miyakonojo Akiho and Aki Keiichi (1979, Iwanami Shoten) " ▽ "Dictionary of Geomorphology" edited by Machida Sada, Kaizuka Sohei, et al. (1981, Ninomiya Shoten)" ▽ "Life in the Mountains" by Yanagita Kunio (included in The Definitive Collection of Yanagita Kunio 4, 1966, Chikuma Shobo)" ▽ "Mountain Folk and Sea Folk" edited by Obayashi Taryo (included in Japanese Folk Culture Series 5, 1983, Shogakukan)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

周囲の低平な地形面から突出し、比高が大きい地表部（地殻）。どの程度の比高があれば「山」とよぶかは、地方、国、研究者などで異なる。

［有井琢磨］

分類

山には火山作用や侵食作用で形成され、孤立してそびえているものがあるが、多くの山はある範囲に集まっており、それらの全体を山地とよぶ。山地は細かく分類され、脈状に連なった山体を山脈、塊状のものは山塊、不規則に集まったものを山彙(さんい)、山脈や山塊などの集合を山系とよんでいる。一般に山といえば、陸上にある山体をさすことが普通であるが、海面下すなわち海底にある山体は、海嶺(かいれい)、海膨(かいぼう)、海底山脈、海底火山、海山などとよばれている。これらの地形の配置や成因などは、海溝、海盆などの海底地形と、陸上の大山脈、弧状列島、台地、楯状地(たてじょうち)などの大地形とともに、プレートテクトニクス説で統一的に説明されるようになった。

　山地は起伏によって、(1)低山性山地（低山性丘陵）、(2)中山性山地、(3)高山性山地に分類されることがある。この場合、(1)は標高約1000メートル以下の起伏量、(2)は1000～3000メートルの起伏量、(3)は3000メートル以上の起伏を有する山地をさしている。ヒマラヤ、天山、アルプス、ロッキー、アンデスなどの諸山脈は、著しい氷河地形と周氷河地形で侵食され、典型的な高山性山地景観を表している。飛騨(ひだ)、木曽(きそ)、赤石(あかいし)、日高などの日本の山脈の高所にも高山性山地の景観がみられる。

　山地は、谷底、谷壁、尾根、山頂、小起伏面などの侵食地形の発達状態によって、幼年山地、早壮年山地、満壮年山地、晩壮年山地、老年山地などに分類されている。低山性山地は幼年山地の特色を現し、高山性山地は満壮年山地の特色を現す場合がある。

　また、山地を形成した営力によって、(1)火山作用で形成された火山、(2)侵食作用で形成された残存山地、(3)地殻運動で形成された山地などに分類される。(1)の火山は、形態と構造から、単式火山（成層火山、楯状火山、溶岩円頂丘、溶岩尖塔(せんとう)、砕屑(さいせつ)丘、火砕流台地、溶岩台地など）と複式火山（複成火山。カルデラや単式火山の複合）などに分類される。カルデラをもつ複式火山では、二重式火山（中央火口丘と一つのカルデラ）、三重式火山（中央火口丘と二つのカルデラ）などの区別がある。また火山には、噴出位置によって陸上火山、海底火山、氷底火山の区別があり、火山体における噴出位置によって側火山（寄生火山）、中央火口丘などの区別があるほか、火山活動の仕方によっては爆発型と静穏型、火山の活動・噴出時代によっては、近年あまり用いられなくなったが活火山および休火山、死火山などの区別がある。(2)の残存山地には、湿潤気候地域の侵食で生じた残丘、乾燥地域に生じたインゼルベルクInselberg（ドイツ語）やボルンハルトBornhardt（ドイツ語）とよばれるものなどがある。これらの山は、他の類型の山に比べて小規模であり、その分布範囲も狭い。(3)の山地には、褶曲山地(しゅうきょくさんち)、曲隆山地、ドーム状山地、断層山地、傾動山地などがある。

　造山期によって山を区分する場合には、普通、中生代中期までの古期造山運動で生じた山地と、中生代末以降の新期造山運動で生じた山地とに分け、また各山地が形成された地質時代を基準にして、古生代褶曲山地、中生代褶曲山地、新生代（新期）褶曲山地などのように分けられる場合もある。

［有井琢磨］

分布

陸地にある山は、地表の限られた帯状地域に分布する傾向がある。すなわち、アルプス‐ヒマラヤ造山帯、環太平洋造山帯には世界で第一級の高峰が集中し、火山帯、地震帯などの分布とも一致している。このほか中央アジアからロシア東部にかけての地域、アフリカ北西部や南東部、北アメリカの東部などに山の集中している所がある。

［有井琢磨］

山に対するさまざまな観念

山は、平地からは視覚的に絶えず仰ぎ見る対象であり空間的な指標となっていて、人間にとっては印象深い存在である。気温や植相をはじめ、さまざまにその環境は平地とは異なっているため、山が平地の通常の生活空間とは異なる世界として人々に認識されていることは、ほぼ普遍的である。その認識は、一方では聖なる空間としての山であり、とくに農耕民にとっては山は水源であり、灌漑(かんがい)水をつかさどる神まで想定していた。しかし、他方では、環境の異質性は、平地に常住する人々にとっては不案内であり危険も伴うために、不気味で不可思議な世界とも考えられる傾向もある。

　第一の認識は山を神の世界とするものである。古代ギリシアではオリンポスをはじめ山は神々の世界であり、日本の記紀神話にも、山が神々の空間であることは「天香久山(あめのかぐやま)」などの表現からも明らかである。あるいは、山は天上の世界から神が降臨する場所と考えられており、現在でも、神社の祭礼に使われる山車は、「ダシ」または「ヤマ」とよばれ、神の降臨する依代(よりしろ)と考えられている。仏教においても須弥山(しゅみせん)、ユダヤ教ではシナイ山など、山が宗教成立の原初と結び付いていることから、山が宗教と結び付く現象は普遍的であるといえよう。

　一方、山を不気味な空間とみる結果、中世のヨーロッパでは、山は妖怪(ようかい)や妖精、魔女のすみかと考えられていたし、山岳信仰の篤(あつ)い日本でも、山間に漂泊する採集狩猟民や木挽(こびき)、木地師(きじし)などに対する偏見と結び付いて、「山人(やまひと)」「山姥(やまんば)」「山男・山女」などの伝説が数多くあった。柳田国男(やなぎたくにお)の『遠野物語』『山の人生』などに記される山人は、身体が大きく、毛髪や目が通常の日本人と異なる「異人」のイメージであり、またその能力が並はずれた超人のイメージである。天狗(てんぐ)などの信仰は山人の信仰と同一線上にある。山地をつかさどるのは「山の神」であるが、山の神とは、また、出産をつかさどる神、木挽や狩猟者など山地で働く人々の守護神、豊穣(ほうじょう)をもたらす神であるとともに、しばしば祟(たた)り神ともなり、多様で複雑な性格をもっている。このことは、日本人が山に対して複雑で矛盾する認識をもっていることの表れである。

　山が死者の行く世界であるという、いわゆる山中他界観は、日本、中国、朝鮮、ヨーロッパ、東南アジア、南アジアの各地に広くみられる。ヨーロッパには、英雄は死ぬのではなく、山の中に一時的に隠れていて、自分の民族の危急のときにはふたたびよみがえり、自らの民を救うという伝説があり、これは、山を神々の世界だとする信仰と死者の世界だとする考え方の融合だとみなすことができる。同様なことは日本でもみられる。しかも、日本の氏神ないし山の神は祖霊と同一視されることが多く、氏神―祖霊―山の神―田の神とが同一視され、このような神の多面性と変貌(へんぼう)は、村（里）と山という空間を対立的にとらえることにより、その異質の空間を移動するとともに神が変貌するという信仰は、日本人の世界観の一つの表現であるといえよう。

　インドネシアのバリ島は、島の中央に山脈がある。バリの文化には、色彩、右と左、方位、垂直的上下をはじめ、明確で複雑に発達したシンボリズムがみられる。方位は他のものと結び付いてとくに重要な象徴的意味をもっているが、山脈を境とし、島の北部では、北は宗教的に劣位の方角で、南は優位の方角である。ところが、島の南部ではその関係が逆になり、北が優位、南は劣位の方角となる。つまり、山は聖なる空間、宗教的に優位の空間という認識が、方位のシンボリックな意味を決定していることがわかる。先に述べたように、山は空間上の指標となるため、人々の世界観を形成する大きな要因となるといえよう。

　山はまた、地理的な境界線であり、山脈を挟んで山の両側の気候や風土が著しく異なることがある。また、生業形態、経済、言語（方言）、風俗習慣が異なることが多く、そのため、山の稜線(りょうせん)（尾根）や峠は、とくに境界線として特別の関心が払われることになる。日本でも各地の峠には山の神や「ヒダル神」などが祀(まつ)られたり、さまざまな伝説が伝えられるなど、特別に意味のある空間として認識されることがある。アルプスやピレネー山脈の山地で、峠にマリア像が祀られるのも同じ認識から出た信仰表現である。

　山に対する信仰は、大きく二つに分けられる。(1)特定の山、とくに、その形が秀麗であるとか、万年雪を頂いている、あるいは平地の中に一峰だけ非常に目だつ形で存在しているなどによって、山が神格化されたり、特別な聖域として信仰の対象になっている場合である。日本の富士山や岩木(いわき)山（青森県）あるいは三輪(みわ)山（奈良県）、またメキシコのポポカテペトル山などがそれである。修験道(しゅげんどう)の発展のなかでその山で修行したり、その山に登山すると特別な験(しるし)があるとされた出羽(でわ)三山（山形県）、大峰(おおみね)山（奈良県）、英彦(ひこ)山（福岡県）などがそれにあたる。(2)には、山というものがもつ異質性が信仰の対象になっていることで、山への信仰と非常によく似た内容が海や、平原に住む人々の森林に対する信仰にみいだせる。先述の、ヨーロッパ大陸で英雄が山隠れをする信仰が、イギリスではアーサー王の「島隠れ」の伝説になっている。日本の本土では山中他界観が、南西諸島には海上他界観が強い。このように、山に関する信仰は海などへの信仰との比較で考えてゆかなければならない。

［波平恵美子］

山と民俗

「倭人(わじん)は帯方(たいほう)の東南大海の中に在り、山島に依(よ)りて国邑(こくゆう)を為(な)す」と、古く3世紀の『魏志倭人伝』(ぎしわじんでん)も記すように、日本は島国であり、また山国でもあって、平地は全土の約16％にとどまり、残余はおおむね樹林に覆われた山地で占められている。そして、農耕生活とかかわりの多い集落周辺の「里山・端山(はやま)」、もっぱら山仕事に従う人々の生活の「場」としての「奥山・深山(みやま)」、さらには人跡まれな高峻(こうしゅん)の「岳」(たけ)と、人々と山界とのかかわりにもおのずから差違が生じて、それぞれに特異な民俗を生み出してきた。

　水稲栽培は日本農業の根幹であり、それはおもに山谷から流れ出る「水」に依存した。河川の水源地帯にそびえ立つ秀峰の頂に神を祀(まつ)り、その山麓(ろく)の「里宮」や谷の入口の「山口の神」と対応させる形は広く各地にみられ、またその祭神を「水分神(みくまりのかみ)」とすることが多い。大和(やまと)（奈良県）などにはとくにその形がよく残っている。「雨乞(あまご)い」の行事を山上で行う習俗も一般的で、大火をたき、大声を発して雨をよび、あるいは山上の小池や谷奥の淵(ふち)を攪乱(かくらん)するなど、その作法は多様だが、山の「神霊」に「雨の恵み」を乞う趣旨は同じであり、それを「竜神」と考えている例も多い。岳に消え残る雪のあり方で作柄の豊凶を知る「雪占(ゆきうら)」や、特定の「雪型(ゆきがた)」の出現で「農作はじめ」（種播(たねま)きなど）の適期を知る風習なども、岳と農民とのかかわりを示す民俗の例であろう。稲作の守り神は広く「田の神」とよばれているが、収穫期が過ぎると田の神は田野を去って山に登り「山の神」になる、そして翌春「農作始め」にはまた里に下って「田の神」になる、と考えられてきた。苗代(なわしろ)の「水口祭(みなくちまつり)」や秋の「稲上げ・十日夜(とおかんや)」（案山子(かかし)あげ）などの行事からは、こうした神霊の「送り迎え」の意味がよくうかがえるが、しかしこうした「田の神・山の神」の神格は漠然としか思念されておらず、別段特定の「社祠(しゃし)」も設けられず、帰り鎮まる「山」さえ決まってはいない。

　しかしこうした農民の「山の神」信仰は集落近くの「端山」に即したもので、阿武隈(あぶくま)山地の「葉山神」の祭りなどはその古意をとどめるものであろう。そこでは歳末、里近い秀峰に神霊を斎(いわ)い鎮め、来る年の豊凶を占う行事が夜を徹していまも行われている。正月の門松、小(こ)正月の若木や盆の供花を里近い山から採取することを「松迎え・盆花迎え(ぼんばなむかえ)」などとよぶ。山から神霊・精霊(しょうりょう)を迎えてくる意味で、盆前の「山道つくり」（盆道）も同じ趣旨であり、4月8日に山野の花をとってきて門口に挿す風習も似た形である。

　死者の霊魂は山に行くと信じて、「山訪ね(やまたずね)」（亡魂を山に訪ね回る）や里近い山に死者を葬る風習が古くからあったことは『万葉集』の挽歌(ばんか)などからもうかがわれ、また各地に死者の霊魂が集まる所と信じられてきた山中の霊地もいくつかある。祖霊を山に祀る「山宮」の成立もこれと関連するとみられている。ともかく人里近い「端山」はこうして日本人の霊界についての想念と深くかかわっていた。なお「山あがり・山あそび・山ごもり」などと称して、早春に村人が里近くの山に登り、「遊山(ゆさん)」に1日を過ごす風習も注目されよう。

　山奥の森林地帯は、木地師(きじし)（ろくろ師）、檜物師(ひものし)、杓子打(しゃくしうち)、木挽(こびき)、杣(そま)などの木工職人や、金掘、たたら師（製鉄）、炭焼きなどの鉱山職人たちの「生活の場」で、一般農民とはまた別趣の様相がみられた。鉱山関係職人は近世初期以後は特定地に集結して特異な集落をつくり、とくに製鉄関係者は「山内(さんない)」という同職者のムラを山中に形成して異色の協同生活を営んだ。しかしいずれも「金山(かなやま)神」の信仰中心に特異の習俗を伝来してきたことは変わらない。木工職人の類は転々と原材を求めてその居処を移し、「山中仮泊」の集落的生活を続けた。とくに「ろくろ」工具を用いる木地師は「職祖惟喬(これたか)親王」の故地と伝える近江(おうみ)国東小椋(おぐら)谷の神社を中心に特異な統制組織を築きあげ、諸国往来自在の特権を誇示してきた。いわゆる「木地屋文書」による稼業の保証である。それゆえ彼らの仲間生活にも種々特異な民俗がおのずから生じた。なお、俗界とまったく隔離した「さんか」の一団もそこにはあり、山野の蔓藤(つるふじ)・篠笹(しのささ)を材に箕(み)や籠(かご)をつくり、あるいは川魚を漁(すなど)って里人とわずかの交渉をもつにとどまった。しかし、こうした「山の流民」の跡もいまはかすかになった。

　大形野獣の乏しい日本に専業狩人(かりゅうど)のできる条件は乏しかったが、東北地方のマタギをはじめ、九州や中部山地には若干その類があった。彼らは冬春には山岳を跋渉(ばっしょう)してシカ、イノシシ、クマ、カモシカの類を追い求め、久しく山中仮泊の生活を続けるため、「山岳立入り自在・狩猟認許」の特権をもつ必要があった。それらはどれも「山神(さんじん)信仰」に由来するもので、また別趣の信仰伝承を保持して、特異な狩猟習俗を残してもきた。秀麗な姿でそびえ立つ「岳」が神霊の宿る「神体山(しんたいさん)」として崇拝された由来は久しく、各地に残る「お山がけ」の成人儀礼もその源をそこに発しているが、これを主導したのは「修験道(しゅげんどう)」であり、熊野、吉野、羽黒はじめ各地にその拠点を古くつくりだした。古い山岳信仰を基に密教教義による特異の神仏混融の宗派が生じ、庶民生活にも大きな影響を及ぼしたことは説くまでもない。明治中期「アルピニズム」が導入されるまで、日本人の「山岳登高」はまったく修験の徒の先導で行われてきたのであった。

［竹内利美］

『都城秋穂・安芸敬一編『岩波講座　地球科学12　変動する地球Ⅲ――造山運動』（1979・岩波書店）』▽『町田貞・貝塚爽平他編『地形学辞典』（1981・二宮書店）』▽『柳田国男著『山の人生』（『定本柳田国男集4』所収・1966・筑摩書房）』▽『大林太良編著『山民と海人』（『日本民俗文化大系5』所収・1983・小学館）』

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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