고대 일본의 산하에 관하여

Abstract

This paper is about longevity celebration in royal court and aristocracy of ancient Japan. History books, collections of poems, Genji-monogatari, other materials were reviewed. As the result of the review, the longevity celebration on one’s 40th were found the most. According to the situations of the era, around 1000 years ago, it was a great blessing to pass the 40th birthday of one person. To avoid reminding death from the number “Forty,” many authors used “five-eight.” It may reflect this situation. Therefore, living beyond the age of forty, fifty, sixty or even eighty and ninety is much greater blessing to people. The actions or events dealt in this paper were the actions of thanksgiving or of commemoration such as holding a banquet, making poems, playing the music, transcribing Buddhist scripture, or decorating with flowers. This paper, however, only deals with songs of celebration, so the thoughts or viewpoints of longevity celebration are minimized. The situations of many longevity celebrations in ancient Japanese society and its surrounding context could be covered in the future papers.