Large saw - Oga

Oga is a large two-man vertex saw that cuts (pulls) wood parallel to the axial direction and is used for sawing boards. Oga is an abbreviation of ogagari, which means to catch like a hook. It is a type of frame saw, with the saw blade fixed to one end of an H-shaped wooden frame with a bamboo beam fitted into the center of the bar-shaped frame, and a rope stretched to the other end. Tightening the rope tauts the saw blade and gives it strength. Oga saws were apparently used in Japan in the mid-Muromachi period. There were also oga saws in China and neighboring countries, and they are thought to have been introduced with the introduction of continental building techniques in the Middle Ages, but there is also a theory that they developed from indigenous vertex saws whose remains date back to the Kofun period. The introduction of oga saws, which can saw lumber regardless of the type or quality of wood, dramatically improved the productivity of boards. O-saws disappeared in the early Edo period, and one-person saws with wide blades and curved handles that cut in front of the body became common, and today the term "o-saw" generally refers to the maebiki ogasaw. Also, two-person, frameless cross-saws that cut horizontally to the vertical axis of wood are called daigiri ogasaws.

[Nanae Nakao]

"The History of Carpentry Tools by Teijiro Muramatsu (1973, Iwanami Shinsho)" ▽ "Saws by Kinji Yoshikawa (1976, Hosei University Press)" ▽ "Tools and the Japanese by Yuzo Nakamura (1983, PHP Institute)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

木材を軸方向と平行に切断する（引く）二人挽きの大型縦挽鋸(たてびきのこ)で板の製材などに用いる。オガとは大ガガリの略でガガリは鉤のようにひっかかる意という。枠鋸(わくのこ)の一種で、棒状の枠の中央に竹製の梁をはめ込んだH字形木枠の一端に鋸身を固定し、他端に縄を張る。縄を絞めることで鋸身が張り強度を得る。大鋸は室町中期には日本で使われていたらしい。中国および周辺諸国にも大鋸があり、中世の大陸建築技術導入に伴い移入されたと思われるが、古墳時代から遺物のある在来の縦挽鋸から発達したという説もある。材種や材質にかかわらず製材が可能な大鋸の導入で板の生産性は格段に向上した。大鋸は江戸初期には姿を消し、鋸身が幅広で柄部が湾曲し身体の正面で挽く一人挽きの前挽大鋸(まえびきおが)が一般化し、今日では大鋸として前挽大鋸を指す場合が多い。また、木材の縦の軸方向に対し水平に切断する（切る）二人挽きで枠のない横挽鋸(よこびきのこ)は台切大鋸(だいぎりおが)と呼ばれる。

［中尾七重］

『村松貞次郎著『大工道具の歴史』（1973・岩波新書）』▽『吉川金次著『鋸』（1976・法政大学出版会）』▽『中村雄三著『道具と日本人』（1983・PHP研究所）』

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