<論説>古墳時代中期後葉・後期の親族構造再論 (特集 : 家族)

Abstract

古墳時代中期後葉から後期にかけて親族構造が父系化するとされるが、その理解は研究者によって異なる。本論では中丹波地域を取り上げて、その父系化の過程を具体的に検証した。その結果、中期後葉には確かに父系化は進むが、それは貫徹しないとの理解を改めて示すことができた。同時に、同棺複数埋葬、とくに成人と未成人の合葬の分析を行うことにより、同課題の検討を行った。そこでは中期後葉以降には成人男性と未成人の同棺複数埋葬が増加傾向にあることを示し、これは父系化傾向を示すものの、成人女性と未成人の組み合わせも存在することから、やはり父系化は貫徹しないという見解を示した。

Ancient Japan was firmly rooted in an ambilineal foundation. Under these circumstances, the structure of the family is said to become patrilineal during the period extending from the middle to latter stage of the Kofun period, but interpretations of researchers vary regarding this change. In this article, I provide an interpretation that patrilinealization gradually occurred in stages from leader class on down from the Middle Kofun period onward, and did not penetrate throughout society based on an examination of the gender of those buried in the kofun. The majority of archaeologists have heretofore recognized the existence of a patrilineal society from the latter stage of the Middle Kofun period, but the majority who study written sources from the same period understand it as a ambilineal society. Although they deal with the same period, their opinions are diametrically opposed to one another. In this article I deal with the mid-Tanba region and concretely examine the process of patrilinealization there. I assembled all the sources on kofun from archaeological surveys of burial facilities in the mid-Tanba region and then judged from the funerary goods whether the person first buried there had been male or female. The initial person interred in the chiefs kofun was recognized as a chieftain and in the case of a family grave, the person was assumed to be the head of the family. I elucidated the percentages for each gender for different eras. As a result, I indicated that in the Middle Kofun period men invariably monopolized the role of chieftain and that female chieftains, who had been seen in the early period, no longer existed, and that in family graves the percentage of male heads of families increased in the years spanning the latter stage of the Middle Kofun to the Late Kofun period, but that female heads of families continued to exist to a certain extent. On the basis of these facts, I hypothesized the class of chieftains began to become patrilineal from the start of the Middle Kofun period, and the patrilinealization of general population spread during the last stage of the Middle Kofun period. However, because a fixed percentage of female heads of families continued to exist, patrilinealization did not permeate the entire society and it can be surmised that ambilineal elements were maintained. Moreover, it is possible that the trend toward patrilinealization varied according to the group. In groups of tumuli that including those of chieftains and in groups of tumuli close to those of chieftains the percentage of men was high. This suggests that the trend to patrilinealization in the general populace was possibility due to the spreading influence of the chieftain class and ruling powers in the capital region that stood behind them. Furthermore, I reexamined previous studies of the patrilinealization in the later stage of the Middle Kofun period. I pointed out that there has been problems in the interpretation of the analysis of the results of these studies and reiterate the correctness of my own view. Next, in order to examine the above problems from a different perspective, I analyzed cases in which adults and minors were buried in the same coffin. Prior to the latter stage of the Middle Kofun period, burial of adults and minors in the same coffin was limited to mothers and their children. This indicates that the bonds between mothers and their children were strong in Kofun-period society. However, it has become clear that from the latter stage of the Middle Kofun period, the tendency for pairs of adult males and minors to be buried together was increasing. New forms of burial that are difficult to comprehend from the standpoint of the strong bond between mother and child also appeared. In particular, there are cases in which funerary goods were provided for what appear to have been male children. In general, burials for minors themselves were rare in the Kofun period, and cases of minors buried with funerary goods were even more limited. Joint burials with the male head of a family in addition to the provision of funerary goods for a male child indicate a high probability of special selection. Judging from this, I indicate my understanding that the minor buried with the adult male was likely to have been anticipated to inherit leadership of the family from the male head of the family, and I believe that this combined joint burial indicates the trend toward patrilinealism. Nevertheless, because the combination of adult women and minors also continued to exist, I offer the opinion that patrilinealization did not penetrate society completely.