The Tortoiseshell Photo Album Presented to Shoda Heigoro on His Retirement in 1906 by Nagasaki CityVolunteers: Comparison with the Photo Album Presented During the Imperial Visit to Nagasaki in 1907
HIMENO Junʼichi
This article compares two tortoiseshell photo albums and examines their value in the history of arts and crafts, and in the history ofphotography. One of the albums is a tortoiseshell photo album that was presented to Crown Prince Yoshihito of Japan when he visited
Nagasaki in October 1907, as described by Kinoshita Chika (currently Kiya Chika) in the Annual Report of Sannomaru Shozokan Vol.
20. The other album, made by the same creators, was presented by volunteers in Nagasaki City to Shoda Heigoro in December 1906,
when he retired as director of Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard. The Shoda album is housed at the Nagasaki University of Foreign Studies.
Both albums were crafted at the Futaeda Tortoiseshell Shop and the Takeshita Photo Studio in Nagasaki. The first half of this article
delves into the life of the tortoiseshell shopʼs founder, Futaeda Sadajiro, exploring his skilled craftsmen, the shop itself, the products
offered, their pricing, and the clientele. Regarding Takeshita Photo Studio, the article examines the relationship between thephotographer Takeshita Yoshiharu and his son Yoshiyuki, their family lineage, and the influence of Yoshiharuʼs mentor, as well as thephotographic techniques employed. The article also portrays the endeavors of Shoda Heigoro, the recipient of the tortoiseshell photo
album, highlighting his various undertakings in Nagasaki, such as founding a hospital and an industrial preparatory school associatedwith Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard and enhancing labor management, employee welfare, and shipbuilding technology.
The second half of the article elucidates the processes used to produce the albums through a comparative analysis of the shapes of thealbums and photos as well as the subjects in the photos. The comparison encompasses the colors and types of photo mounts, the shapes
and types of the photos, rubber stamps, film imprints, and categories of photo subjects, and the photographic subjects themselves.
The comparative study illustrates the divergent intentions for production held by creators who were acutely aware of their clients—
an Imperial Family member and a businessman—during the albumsʼ production. Each album is collaborative work between aNagasaki︲based tortoiseshell craftsman and a photographer shop which inherited the photographic expertise of its mentor, Ueno
Hikoma. Together, these two albums are found to have significant documentary value in the realm of arts and crafts history, as well as
in the history of photography.

Examination of a Letter Written by Taira no Shigemori:
Its Writing Paper, Letter︲writing Etiquette, and Provenance
TAKANASHI MasayukiTaira no Shigemori, a son of Taira no Kiyomori, was a central figure in the government and symbolized the power of that time, but
his portrayal in literary works diverges significantly from accounts found in historical documents. This discrepancy stems from thedispersion and loss of historical records, after the demise of the Taira clan in the Genpei War, prepared by those in power within thegovernment, hindering the elucidation of the principles that governed his conduct. This article examines a letter written in Shigemoriʼsown hand housed in the Museum of the Imperial Collections in order to shed light on his true nature. I analyzed the paper used towrite the letter, checked the letterʼs provenance, and considered the letterʼs content from the perspective of Shigemoriʼs political stanceand behavioral principles. The aims were to view the letter in its historical context and to establish its value as an original historical
document.
An issue with earlier studies was that the addressee of the letter, “New Sanmi” (where sanmi denotes “the third court rank”), wasconsidered to be either Fujiwara no Narichika, Shigemoriʼs brother︲in︲law, or Taira no Nobunori. Further, my examination of thewriting paper reveals it to be large, high︲quality danshi mulberry paper, which was favored by upper︲class aristocrats at the time. Thisfinding suggests that the letter was written while Shigemori held a relatively elevated position, rather than before he ascended to therole of top court official, as set forth by the conventional theory. I also analyzed faint ink traces found on the paperʼs surface and subtle
ink remnants on its reverse side in comparison with three other letters handwritten by Shigemori (including another state︲ownedletter). This comparative study led me to conclude that the reverse side of this letter was later repurposed for Hyohanki, a handwritten
diary of Taira no Nobunori, a household superintendent of the Konoe family, one of the five regent clans of Japanʼs ancient capital. I
also concluded that all four letters were addressed to Taira no Nobunori and were subsequently handed down in the Konoe family.
In examining the letterʼs phrasing, I paid particular attention to Shigemoriʼs relatively polite expressions, which he used despite hiselevated position. Given that the letter served as a recommendation for his close ally, the warrior Saeki no Kunikata, I infer that its
intended recipient was not Taira no Nobunori himself, but rather his master, Konoe Motomichi. The context is linked to Shigemoriʼsuse of his personal connections during his control over the national military command, as well as Kiyomoriʼs support and protection of
his son︲in︲law, Konoe Motomichi. I therefore conclude that the letter was written within the context of the prevailing political climateof that era.

80Artistic Textiles in the Early Meiji Era: Production of Roses and Peafowls in Yuzen Dyeingand Embroidery on Shioze SilkKOBAYASHI Ayako
The textile collection of the Museum of the Imperial Collections, Sannomaru Shozokan includes what are called artistic textiles,
characterized by their large, painting︲like works and created from the Meiji era to the Taisho era (from the late 19th century to theearly 20th century). These artistic textiles include many works crafted at the direction of Nishimura Sozaemon XII, the Meiji︲era headof Chiso (currently known as Chiso Co., Ltd.), a well︲established yuzen dyeing company in Kyoto. Sozaemon broke away from thetraditional, formalized yuzen patterns of the Edo period and revolutionized the art form by incorporating draft sketches by Japanese︲style painters. Roses and Peafowls in Yuzen Dyeing and Embroidery on Shioze Silk (Shioze Yuzen ni Shishu Bara ni Kujaku Zu Kakefuku,1882) is one of his earliest artistic textile works to be based on such painting︲like rough sketches.
Having had the opportunity to examine the three rough sketches in Chisoʼs possession that were used for the scroll, I analyzed theproduction of the sketches, with a particular focus on the motifs. A comparative study of the sketches led me to conclude that the roses
and peafowls were illustrated by combining motifs mainly from two of the sketches. The analysis also revealed that the rough sketches
were likely drawn to fit the scroll and were slightly modified during production, although subtle differences in the shapes of individual
plants and birds, as well as the presence of undrawn sections, suggest the existence of additional rough sketches beyond these three. The
three sketches are attributed to Kishi Chikudo; however, whether they were drawn by Kishi himself or were based on his roughsketches remains a topic for future research.

Examination of the Creation and Passing on of Yamamoto Kinkokuʼs Kanminzu (Paintings
Depicting the Trials and Tribulations of the People)
TANAKA Junʼichiro
Kanminzu consists of two picture scrolls painted by Yamamoto Kinkoku, an official painter of the Tsuwano Domain in the Edo
period, and a volume of collected poems written by Ono Kozan, a composer of Chinese poems who was a friend of Kinkoku. Thepicture scrolls were presented to Emperor Meiji in 1870 by Kamei Koremi, the governor of the Tsuwano Domain, and the poem
collection was presented to Emperor Meiji in 1883 by Fukuba Yoshishizu, a scholar of Japanese classical literature. Fukuba, also fromthe Tsuwano Domain, was deeply involved in the creation of Kanminzu through his personal contacts in politics.
As its title suggests, Kanminzu depicts a world of hardship and suffering faced by the people. It graphically describes how natural
disasters upend their daily lives and rob them of their human dignity. Why were picture rolls depicting such cruelty presented toEmperor Meiji, a paragon of nobility? Kamei and Fukuba, the presenters, played a central role in a group called the Tsuwano School,
which advocated Shinto policies in the early Meiji era. The Tsuwano School presented the scrolls to advise the Emperor to lead hissubjects as an ideal monarch. Such pictures are known as admonitory paintings using exemplary figures. The collected poems presentedto the Emperor 13 years later describe Ono Kozanʼs excitement upon seeing the picture rolls and thus provide an explanation of theircontents.
Kanminzu was created through truly complicated processes, with the timing of presentation to the Emperor differing between thescrolls and the poems. Kanminzu, which became Kinkokuʼs signature work after its presentation to the Emperor, was replicated severaltimes, with the replicas dedicated to the Taikodani Inari Shrine and other locations. This article examines the significance of Kanminzu
through an analysis of its creation and passing on, as well as its image sources.

79Introduction to Artworks
Photo Album of the Principal Sights of the Saikyo Region: Photos of Kyoto in the Mid︲Meiji
EraKIYA Chika
This museumʼs collection includes the Photo Album of the Principal Sights of the Saikyo Region, with a cover featuring peonies andbirds each holding a twig in its beak, made with gold powder sprinkled on a black lacquer background. The album contains 50 photos:
41 from Kyoto, five from Nara, and four from Shiga. While both the creator and the motivation behind the albumʼs production areunknown, the inclusion of photos from the fourth National Industrial Exposition and the 11th Centenary of the Transfer of Japanʼs
Capital to Heian︲kyo (Kyoto), both of which took place in Kyoto in 1895, suggests that the album was presented to the Imperial
Household following those events.
Since Emperor Meiji was worried about the devastation of Kyoto after the transfer of the national capital to Tokyo in 1869, thisalbum may have been intended not only to inform the Imperial Household about ongoing reconstruction efforts, but also to assure theEmperor of Kyotoʼs steady recovery.
The second purpose of the album is apparent in the photos, the majority of which showcase the tradition of Yokohama
Photography, which was catching on in Kyoto in the mid︲Meiji era, while promoting tourism in Kyoto, which would boom after themid︲Meiji era. Photos of famous places and customs were initially taken for foreigners, but those featuring unchanged temples andscenic sights, as well as those documenting the vibrant lives of local residents, likely provided Emperor Meiji with a vivid portrayal of
the city. Meanwhile, the inclusion of photos of the above︲mentioned notable events along with bridges and hotels that were renovatedin the mid︲1890s was probably intended to demonstrate Kyotoʼs transition from decline to modernization.
The photos in this album hold significance as documents that chronicle the history of Kyoto and its environs during the mid︲Meijiera. Consequently, it remains essential to pursue further research into the identity of the creator and the motivation behind the albumʼsproduction.

A Ring with Three Bells among Excavated Artifacts Contained in a Nest of Maki︲e Gold︲lacquered Boxes
HOSOKAWA Shintaro
The Museum of the Imperial Collections (Sannomaru Shozokan) houses Excavated Artifacts Contained in a Nest of Maki︲e Gold︲lacquered Boxes. This article examines one of the artifacts: a ring with three bells, known to be a funerary object dating from the Kofun
period, which ran from the mid︲3rd century to the late︲6th century. Rings with three bells are thought to have served as harness partsfor bits or hitte metal fittings through which reins would have passed.
Through my meticulous study of the ring and a close analysis of previously understudied crafting techniques, I was able toreconstruct the processes involved in crafting the ring using two casting techniques: lost︲wax casting and split︲mold casting.
Considering the current condition of the ring, it appears to have been made using lost︲wax casting.
The ring housed in the museum is of a type that is rare for rings identified to date. Its form and size indicate that it belongs to anancient type of ring with three bells found in the Japanese archipelago. This ring is smaller than any other excavated in continental
China, the Korean Peninsula, or the Japanese archipelago, providing a fascinating perspective when considering the typologicalevolution of these rings. From a typological viewpoint, the ring in the museumʼs possession was probably crafted in the early 5thcentury, the same period as tumuli where similar small triple︲belled rings were unearthed, or slightly earlier.
This diminutive metal fitting plays a significant role in elucidating the dissemination and distribution of harnesses in East Asia, as
well as their introduction to the Japanese archipelago.

78

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三の丸尚蔵館年報・紀要
第29号

令和 4 年度

編集：宮内庁三の丸尚蔵館（東京都千代田区千代田 1 － 1 ）発行：宮内庁

制作：株式会社アイワード（札幌市中央区北 3 条東 5 丁目 5 番地91）

翻訳：株式会社イー・シー
令和 5 年 6 月30日発行Ⓒ2023, The Museum of the Imperial Collections,
Sannomaru Shōzōkan