General Details

Title: 平凡社　大百科辞典 (Great Encylopædia Heibonsha)
Volumes: 16
Language: Japanese
Publisher: 平凡社 (Heibonsha)
Year: 1984
Pages: 21,164

---

The 大百科辞典 (dai hyakka jiten), or Great Encyclopedia, was released in 1984 in 16 volumes. Unlike the other editions of the Heibonsha encyclopedia released before and after it (most named 世界大百科辞典 - sekai dai hyakka jiten, or World Great Encyclopedia), this one is monochrome and takes up far fewer volumes. The preceding edition, published in 1972 in 35 hardcover volumes (and reprinted again in 1975 in paperback), featured color plate pages and atlas volumes, but was essentially a revision of the 1964 edition, which itself was a revision of the 1955 edition. The Heibonsha was feeling a lot of pressure in the mid-1970s from competing encyclopedias, and so a total reworking of the encyclopedia was called for and this edition was released. Three years later, in 1988, it would be released again as 世界大百科辞典, or World Great Encyclopedia, in 35 volumes; this was the same text as the 1984 version, but now with more illustrations, color plates, an atlas, etc. According to Sekiguchi Hideki, an executive from Heibonsha, they just didn't manage to get color plates into the 1984 edition, a point of embarrassment, due to the intense time pressure they were under to release a new encyclopedia (最後の〈紙〉の百科『世界大百科事典』, "The Last Paper 'World Great Encyclopedia'", accessed Oct 3, 2019).

That said, I love this encyclopedia. I wish my Japanese level was higher so that I could spend more time reading it. It is extremely thorough, as you will see in the sample articles (provided with translation). The text, presented in three columns on each page, can be a bit small sometimes. The pictures, diagrams, and charts are all extremely clear and well-done. The binding is really beautiful - as you run your eyes along the bottom of the golden spines of the books, you see a man run, jump, and transform into a bird lifting off into the sky. Except for strictly Japanese topics, most entries feature a keyword in English, German, or whatever the appropriate foreign language may be; some feature more than one foreign translation. I am reminded a bit of the Encyclopedia Americana - like that work, this one features entries on important works, novels, movies, etc. For example, one can find an entry on 精神分析入門, or, as is also given in the entry header, Vorlesungen zur Einführung in die Psychoanalyse - in other words, this is a brief entry on Sigmund Freud's Introduction to Psychoanalysis.

The first volume includes a brief introduction on why a new edition of the encyclopedia was called for and a note on the methodology in choosing the entries, organization, language use, etc. There is then a list of the main editors. Following this is a guide to using the encyclopedia, including notes on alphabetization (the entries are arranged in aiueo-order), how foreign names and words fit into this, and a guide to abbreviations. A condensed version of this guide appears in each of the other volumes. Volumes 1 through 15 constitute the main text of the encyclopedia; volume 16 is the index volume. The index volume contains both a comprehensive index of terms in Japanese, arranged in the standard aiueo-order, as well as an index of foreign keywords, names, and scientific terms arranged in ABC order. Each has a separate set of page numbers. If I wanted to look up Michael Ende, for example, I would find エンデ、M. listed on page 129 in the Japanese index, and I would similarly find Ende, M. on page 96 of the ABC index; both would direct me to the left-hand column on page 1018 in volume 6 (part of the entry on 児童文学, "children's literature"). The index volume also contains the full list of contributors (the preface in volume one claims there are 7000 contributors), illustrators, and image sources.

Sample Entries

I attempt to look up "umbrella" and "Saint Louis" in every reference work I feature on this site, to provide a source of fair comparison between them. I have to take back what I said about Johnson's Universal having the most thorough entry on umbrellas; the Encylopædia Heibonsha beats it soundly. The fact that the umbrella originated in Asia has been mentioned in a number of the works reviewed on this site, so the fact that Japan has been exposed to the umbrella longer than Europe and America may partially explain the difference in the levels of attention it receives in their respective reference works. While translating the article, I googled some statistics on umbrella sales. I read in one place that 33 million umbrellas are sold in the United States per year, and I read elsewhere that 120 million are sold in Japan annually. When you consider that annual consumption per-capita ratio (~10% in the USA versus ~95% in Japan), that may also explain why an entry on the umbrella would be more detailed in a Japanese encyclopedia versus an American one. The main entry on "umbrella" (傘, kasa) can be found in volume 3, on pages 214-215. I have a loose translation afterwards; apologies in advance for the 3rd paragraph ("There are many theories...") - I had trouble with the etymology section:

かさ　　傘

雨や日ざしを避けるため頭上にかざすもの。直接あたまにかぶる笠と区別するため〈さしがさ〉ともいう。しかし、傘と笠は関係深く、さらに、仏像の上に懸垂される^‣天蓋や、宮廷の儀式に用いた〈きぬかさ〉とも共通する面がある。

中国の神話によれば、黄帝が戦いの際、五色の雲が花の形になって頭上にとどまったとき戦況が一変し勝利を得たので、これにちなんで華蓋をつくり、以後つねにかざしたという。華蓋は実際に国王や貴族の外出の際の日よけとして用いられたもので、日本では〈きぬかさ〉と読ませている (《和名抄》) 。大きな笠に柄をつけて手にもつようにしたものが簦で、《和名抄》では〈おほかさ〉としている。日本では《万葉集》に蓋きぬかさの語があり、《宇津保物語》《枕草子》《更級日記》などに〈からかさ〉の語が出てくる。

からかさ (唐傘) については、①唐・ 韓からから伝来したもの (《類聚名物考》) 、② 柄笠 (傘) の語があり、柄の字を〈から〉と読む (《貞丈雑記》) 、③さっと開いて、さすのが奇なるゆえ (《俚言集覧》) 、④からくりの〈から〉と同じくろくろ細工の意あるいは軽いの意 (《俗語考》) 、というような説がある。文献では、唐傘、韓笠、簦、雨繖、油傘、笠傘、雨傘、竪笠、傘の字をからかさと読んでいる。繖はきぬかさ、つまり布を張ったかさをさすが、紙張りのかさも古くからあり、字音が同じ傘 (サン) と区別はない。いずれにしても、古い時代の〈かさ〉がどんなものかは明確ではない。英語では傘をアンブレラ umbrella というが、これは〈影〉を意味するラテン語 umbra が語源であり、フランス語では日傘をパラソル parasol ( para はよけるの意。太陽をよける) 、雨傘をパラプリュい parapluie (雨をよける) という。

[歴史]　古代オリエントの彫刻や絵画には権力者の頭上に傘をさしかけている場面があるが、これは権威を象徴している。古代ギリシア・ローマでも傘は見られるが、いずれも日よけが主で、婦人用であった。開閉できる傘は１３世紀にイタリアでつくられたという。雨傘が使われたのは17世紀ころからで、18世紀イギリスの商人で慈善事業家のハンウェーJonas Hanway (1712-86)が1778年に雨傘をさしてロンドン市街を歩き、その大胆さに人々は驚いたと言い伝えられている。当時の傘の骨はクジラの骨であったが、1820年代に鋼鉄の骨がつくられ、52年にS.フォックスによってU字形の溝のついた骨が開発され、骨が細く、軽くて使いよい傘が普及するようになった。

《日本書紀》によれば、日本には552年（欽明13)百済の聖明王の寄進によって初めて蓋伝えられた。絹張りの大型の傘で貴人にさしかけるものであった。みずから手に持つ傘は1594年（文禄3）堺の商人納屋助左衛門がルソン（呂宋）より伝えたといわれる。これが一般に普及しはじめるのは江戸時代になってからで、とくに女子は頭に直接かぶる笠が髪型を乱すことから傘がもてはやされるようになった。貞享・元禄（1684ー1704）のころには長柄傘、^‣蛇の目傘、正徳（1711ー16）のころには大黒屋傘、享保（1716ー36）のころには紅葉傘、渋蛇の目傘が流行した。粗末なつくりのものを^‣番傘と呼んで、気軽に用いだ。一方日傘も文禄（1592ー96）のころから盛んに用いられ、延宝から貞享（1673ー88）にかけて絵日傘が流行した。こうして傘が普及すると、古傘買い、あるいは古骨買いといって、紙が割れて役に立たなくなった傘を買い集める商人も出現した。江戸では買取りであったが、京阪では土瓶や土製の人形との交換が主であった。古骨は古骨屋が洗い、修理して傘屋におろし、張替傘として再生された。洋傘は1859年（安政6）にイギリスの商人により伝えられ、明治に入ると^‣こうもり傘と呼ばれ文明開化の象徴として用いられるようになり、明治10年代には一般化した。

[現代の傘]　第2次大戦後、洋傘の開発はめざましく、1949年にはアメリカから輸入されたビニルフィルムを用いたビニル傘が売り出され、爆発的人気を得た。53年にはナイロン洋傘地の国産化、54年にはスプリング式折りたたみ傘の開発で、ナイロン生地を用いた折りたたみ傘の全盛時代に入っていった。また、自動車の乗り降りの際片手で操作できるようにくふうされたジャンプ傘は58年に試作され、61年に一般化、現在紳士物の長傘の70～80％を占めている。72年ころには有名デザイナーブランドの洋傘が登場した。洋傘のサイズは親骨の長さで表し、かつては紳士物63ー66cm、婦人物55cm、骨数10～12本だったが、その後軽量化が進み、紳士物60cm、婦人物50cm、骨数8～10本のものが多くなった。しかし最近は大型のものも好まれている。和傘は1936ー41年にかけてが生産のピークで年間約3500万本、洋傘の3～6倍の生産量があった。その後、戦争をはさんで49ー50年には再び3500万本近く生産され、うち約1500万本は、寛永（1624ー44）のころからの歴史をもつ岐阜市加納町でつくられた。しかしその後は和傘の生産量は激減している。現在の洋傘の国内需要は、輸入品も含めて年間6500万本である。

菊田隆

Umbrella 傘

A thing held aloft over the head to avoid contact with the sun and rain. It is also called 'sashigasa' to distinguish from the 'kasa' (umbrella-hat: 笠) worn directly on the head. However, 傘 and 笠 are closely related, and their form is also shared with the 'kinukasa,' a canopy hung over Buddha statues and used in imperial court ceremonies.

According to Chinese legend, while the Yellow Emperor was engaged in battle, clouds of five colors formed into the shape of a flower and remained overhead, at which time the tide of the battle changed and the Emperor was victorious; because of this, canopies (華蓋, "flower-covers") were created and continuously held aloft from then on. This "flower-cover" canopy was actually used by kings and the aristocracy as a sunshade when they would go out, and is given the reading of 'kinukasa' for Japan in the "Wamyō Ruijushō". In the "Wamyō Ruijushō," the 簦, 'ohokasa', is defined as a large object carried in the hand which is a large umbrella-hat (笠) attached to a handle. In the Japanese "Man'yōshū," the word '蓋' (kinukasa) appears, and the word 'karakasa' can be found in "Utsubo Monogatari," "The Pillow Book," "Sarashina Nikki," etc.

There are many theories around the origin of the 'kara' in 'karakasa,' [唐傘 - the traditional paper umbrella]: ① it is handed down from China/Korea (kara) ["類聚名物考"], ② there is the word 柄笠 and the character 柄 can be read 'kara' ["貞丈雑記"], ③ because it is strange holding it up when it opens suddenly ["俚言集覧"], ④ the 'kara' is the same as in 'karakuri' and either means a wheel device or lightweight ["俗語考"]. The following characters are found in historical literature and can all be read as 'karakasa:' 唐傘、韓笠、簦、雨繖、油傘、笠傘、雨傘、and 竪笠. 繖 refers to the 'kinukasa' - in other words, a held-up umbrella with cloth affixed. The paper-affixed umbrella is similarly old, and there is no distinction in the character 傘 ('san') with the same Japanese pronunciation. In any case, it is not clear which of these the term 'kasa' referred to in the ancient era. In English it is called "umbrella," which has the meaning of "shade" in the Latin origin "umbra." In French, a sunshade is called "parasol" - "para" means "to avoid." It means to avoid the sun, and "parapluie" means to avoid the rain.

[History] There are instances in ancient oriental sculpture and paintings where powerful people are depicted with umbrellas being held overhead; this symbolizes authority. Umbrellas can be seen in ancient Greece and Rome, but they were for use by women mainly as a sunshade. Umbrellas that could open and close were made in Italy in the 13th century. Rain umbrellas were used around the 17th century; in 18th century England, it is said that people were surprised by the audacity of philanthropic businessman Jonas Hanway (1712-86), who walked the streets of London in 1778 carrying a rain umbrella. At that time the umbrella ribs were made from whale bones, but steel ribs started to be used in the 1820s. In 1852, S. Fox developed umbrella ribs that were grooved and shaped like a U, and so easy-to-use lightweight, thin umbrellas became popular.

According to the "Nihon Shoki", canopies were introduced to Japan in 552 （Kinmei 13) as a contribution by King Seong of the Baekje kingdom. These were large, silken umbrellas held over aristocrats. It is said that the personal, hand-held umbrella was brought by the international merchant Naya Sukezaemon, also known as Luzon, in the year 1594 (Bunroku 3). These began to be widespread first in the Edo period, and these umbrellas were taken up especially by girls whose hairdos would get messed up by wearing umbrella-hats directly on their heads. During the Jōkyō/Genroku eras (1684-1704), long-handled umbrellas and ^‣bull's-eye patterned umbrellas became popular, followed by large, black-roofed umbrellas in the Shōtoku era (1711-16), and autumn-colored umbrellas and and refined bull's-eye patterned umbrellas in the Kyōhō era (1716-36). Crudely made umbrellas called ^‣'bangasa' (coarse oilpaper umbrellas) were easy to use. Sunshades, on the other, were in popular use in the Bunroku era (1592-96) as well, and picture-decorated parasols were trendy from the Enpō era to the Jōkyō era (1673-88). Umbrellas thus became widespread, and merchants appeared who would buy quantities of second-hand umbrellas, old sets of umbrella ribs, and umbrellas that had become unusable due to torn paper. In Edo the umbrellas would be bought back, but in Kyoto and Osaka they would mostly be exchanged for earthenware teapots or clay dolls. The old ribs would be cleaned in a rib-shop, dropped off at an umbrella shop for repair, and brought back to life as a restored umbrella. Western-style umbrellas were first brought by British merchants in 1859 (Ansei 6), and as Japan entered the Meiji era, the so-called ^‣'kōmorigasa,' or western-style umbrella, came to symbolize Japan's westernization; this umbrella was popularized in the 1880s (Meiji 10s).

[The Modern Umbrella]　The development of the western-style umbrella after WW2 is remarkable; in 1949, a vinyl umbrella came to the market using a vinyl film imported from America、and this became explosively popular. In 1953, the nylon western-style umbrella started being produced domestically. The spring-style folding umbrella was developed in 1954, and the golden age of folding umbrellas using nylon material began. In 1958, furthermore,a 'jump umbrella' was prototyped, which could be operated with one hand while entering and exiting a car; this became widespread in 1961, and accounted for 70-80% of the modern gentleman's non-folding umbrellas. Famous designer-brand western-style umbrellas appeared around 1972. Western-style umbrella sizes are expressed in terms of the length of the main ribs; formerly men's umbrellas were 63-66 centimeters (24.8 - 26 inches) and women's umbrellas were 55 centimeters (21.7 inches), and they all had 10 to 12 ribs. Afterwards they were made much lighter, and 60 centimeter (23.6 inch) men's umbrellas, 50 centimeter (19.7 inch) women's umbrellas, and umbrellas with 8-10 ribs each became more common. However, lately larger umbrellas have come to be preferred. Japanese-style umbrellas reached their peak between, with around 35,000,000 produced annually, 3-6 times the number of western-style umbrellas. Production dropped during the war, but in 1949-1950 close to 35,000,000 were again being produced, about 15,000,000 of those being made in Kanochou in Gifu City, which has a history of making them stretching back to the Kan'ei era (1624-44). However, after that, the production of Japanese-style umbrellas dropped off drastically. The current demand for western-style umbrellas in Japan is about 65,000,000 per year, including imports.

Kikuta Takashi

Note the ^‣ symbol - this indicates other entries to read for more information. For example, in the umbrella entry, one sees ^‣蛇の目傘. There is an entry on that style of umbrella (a traditional paper umbrella with a bull's-eye design) in volume 6, on page 1305. I've included here the illustration from that entry.

The entry for "Saint Louis" is found in volume 8, on page 804:

セント・ルイス

アメリカ合衆国ミズーリ州の最大都市。人口45万3085で４５％が黒人、大都市域人口235万5276（1980。全米12位）。州東部、ミシシッピ川西岸に位置し、大都市域は対岸のイリノイ州へも延び、イースト・セント・ルイスなどの衛星都市群をもつ。ミズーリ川とミシシッピ川本流の合流点のすぐ下流位置し、1764年にフランスの毛皮商人が取引所を建設、地名はフランス王ルイ9世にちなむ。開拓初期以来、水上交通の要衝として発展、現在もハイウェー、鉄道、航空路の結節点。 州東部最大の中心で、西部のカンザス・シティと州の商圏を二分する。また、デトロイトに次ぐ自動車工業の中心地で、フォード、GMなどの工場がある。マクダネル・ダグラス航空会社の本社もある。靴、ビール、機械などの工業、農産物の集散などの商業活動も盛んである。西部開拓史関係の資料を集めた博物館 Museum of Westward Expansion があり、西部にはワシントン大学がある。

Saint Louis

The largest city in the state of Missouri in the United States of America. The population is 453,085, of which 45% is black. The greater metropolitan area has a population of 2,355,276 (1980 - 12th place nationwide). Located in the eastern part of the state, on the western bank of the Mississippi River, the greater metropolitan area also stretches onto the eastern bank into the state of Illinois, containing a group of satellite cities like East St Louis. Located just downstream of the confluence point of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, it was established in 1764 by French fur traders as a trading post; its name is connected to the French king Louis the 9th. Since its early days, aquatic travel played an important role in the city's development; the modern city is also an important highway, railroad, and airway center. The state's largest business centers are split between this city, the largest center in the eastern part of the state, and Kansas City, located in the western part. The city is second only to Detroit as a center for automobile manufacturing, with factories for Ford, GM, etc. It is the headquarters for the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company. Prosperous commercial activities also include the manufacture of shoes, beer, machinery, etc. as well as the distribution of agricultural products. There is the 'Museum of Westward Expansion,' which is a museum collecting primary source documents pertaining to the history of the western pioneers. In the western part of the city is Washington University.