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浸染(つけぞめ・ひたしぞめ)

浸染(つけぞめ・ひたしぞめ)
2.1
Buddhist texts, which played an incredibly important role in the development of Japanese bookmaking, were traditionally written or printed on color paper. The most common color is this yellow paper here, which is obtained from the Amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense), called kihada in Japanese. Its bitter taste was known to repel insects. Here we have an example of an 8th century Buddhist text. Buddhist sutras were often colored to represent the Buddhist Western Paradise. This example in the middle has purple paper, which was probably obtained from the roots of the murasaki plant (purple gromwell, Lithospermum erythrorhizon). Here we have an example of indigo paper made from the ai plant (Persicaria tinctorial,sometimes called “Japanese indigo”).
71.2
This is made by soaking the paper in a solution of the dye, a process that is called tsukezome (“dip-dyeing”) or hitashizome (“soak-dyeing”) in Japanese. First used in the Nara period, dyed paper for Buddhist texts continued to be common throughout the Heian period (794-1185). By the 17th century, in the Edo period, colored paper came to be used for secular books as well, such as this one. Here is another example.
129.3
Had books been made only to be read, there would be no need to use color. Clearly, it was to make books more beautiful and pleasing to the eye that Japanese bookmakers experimented with various types of color paper.

浸染(つけぞめ・ひたしぞめ)は、漉いた紙を染料の溶液に浸して染める方法で、溶液の濃度を高くしたり、染めては乾かすことを繰り返すことで、色濃く染めることもできます。

仏教の経典は、極楽を象徴する色である藍色や紫色に濃く染めた紙が好んで用いられました。そうした例をビデオでご覧ください。

手紙の例

書物ではないのですが、平安時代の『源氏物語』などの文学作品を読んでいますと、しばしば美しく染めた紙を手紙に用いた場面に出会います。しかも色の異なる紙を重ねているのです。この色の組み合わせは貴族達の着物のコーディネートと密接な関係があります。季節に合わせた色の組み合わせを考案して、それぞれに季節感のある名前を付けてもいたのです。そうした多彩な色を好み、その組み合わせを楽しむ日本人の感性が、書物の装飾にも影響を与えていることは疑いありません。

江戸時代の19世紀に色の重ね方に関する書物が出版されていますので、御紹介します。

ビデオで紹介されている書物

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古書から読み解く日本の文化: 和本を彩る和紙の世界

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