白鶴美術館 (Wikipediaより)
Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum (from Wikipedia)
第一印象は、組紐より金銅の鈴金具が立派で目立っている、という感じでした。写真で見るよりは糸が細く、全体に緩んでほどけそうでした。鈴金具は組紐の幅の両端と真ん中に留め具で固定してあるものもありました。これだけぶら下げられると、痛むのも早いだろうなと思いました。
几帳飾りの隣に展示してあったのは、神護寺伝来の平安時代に作られた経帙でした。10巻のお経をまとめておく、すだれのようなもので、平組の組紐がついています。とても細い糸をぼかし染めにした糸が使われているようでした。紐の幅中央に、クテ打ちで平組をしたときに出る縦の筋がはっきり見えました。奈良博物館にも神護寺の経帙がありますので、こちらを参考にしてください。
幡垂飾を組んでいて、いつも本物を見てみたいと思っていたのが実現してうれしかったです。しかし、年月とともに、美しかったものも色あせ、ほどけ、退化していくという現実も見ました。物はいつかは失われるからこそ、それを作る技術はしっかり伝えていかなければならないということを、実感した次第です。
One pleasant day in May, together with my Kuteuchi group friends, I went to Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum to see Bansuishoku that originally belonged to Horyuji temple. Their Bansuishoku is similar to the one that is currently kept in Tokyo National Museum. At Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum it was exhibited under the title of “decoration for a portable multi-paneled silk partition”
My first impression was that the gilt bronze bells are more dominant than the kumihimo. The threads are thinner than those we see in photos. As a whole, braiding is loose and almost ready to fall apart. Bells are attached on both sides of the braid, and some are attached in the middle of the braid. With so many metal bells hanging, the braid would wear out quickly, I thought.
Next to the partition decoration, there was “Kyochitsu”, a sutra wrapper made with fine bamboo splits twined with silk threads. The wrapper was made in Heian period (794 to 1185) and used to belong to Jingoji temple in Kyoto. Ten sutra scrolls were wrapped with this wrapper and a Hiragumi braid is attached to tie around the wrapper. The threads looked very fine and ombre dyed. In the middle of the braid, I could see clearly a vertical line which is typically seen in Kuteuchi braids. Nara National Museum also has the wrapper from Jingoji temple.
While braiding Bansuishoku, I always wanted to see the original ones. I am very happy that my dream has come true. But, at the same time I learned the fact that as time goes by, even beautiful treasures lose their vivid colors, get loose and deteriorate. Things do not last forever, they are to be lost some day. That is why the techniques to make these beautiful things have to be handed down through generations.