<論説>富岡鉄斎が顕彰する国史 : 名教の精神を芸術に寓す (特集 : 学びのネットワーク)

Abstract

富岡鉄斎(一八三六～一九二四)は、若き日に尊攘派の志士と交わり、維新後には大鳥神社大宮司をつとめた。鉄斎自身はまず文人画家より学者であるとの自意識で、「万巻の書を読み、万里の路を行く」ことを志した。また明治期に、嵯峨の祇王寺、小楠公を弔う宝筐院を復興し、神武天皇や尹良親王などの陵墓や、吉野・河内長野の場、楠正成・正行らの忠臣義士などを顕彰する。こうした活動は、近代における政府の政策や社会の動きとかかわっていた。明治一〇年(一八七七)大和行幸において、鉄斎は「堺県行幸道筋官幣大社御陵位置図巻」や「堺県行在所御飾付図巻」を描くとともに、明治天皇の蘭奢待の剪り取り、中国由来の煎茶や古物の文人世界をプロデュースした。また下伊那の尹良親王墓の考証に見られるように、たとえ被葬者が誤っていても、宮内省によって治定されれば受け入れるという「名教」を重んじる歴史意識を有していた。まさに「名教の精神を芸術に寓す」の生き方であった。

In his youth, Tomioka Tessai (1836-1924) was involved with the sonjō movement (an abbreviation of sonnō jōi, "revere the emperor, expel the barbarians"); after the Meiji Restoration he worked as the chief priest of Ōtori Shrine. Tessai considered himself first a scholar, and then a painter and man of letters, and strove to "read ten thousand books, and walk ten thousand ri". In the Meiji period, he worked to restore the temples Giōji in Saga, and Hōkyōji, dedicated to Kusunoki Masatsura (Shōnankō); he also spared no effort to make the mausoleums dedicated to Emperor Jinmu and Prince Yukiyoshi, as well as the area around Yoshino and Kawachi Nagano linked to Kusunoki Masashige and Masatsura, well-known to the public. His actions were closely connected with the new government's policies and various social movements at the time. On the occasion of the Imperial Visit to Yamato in Meiji 10 (1878), he drew a map of the mausoleums and great imperial shrines along the Emperor's route (Sakai-ken gyōkō michisuji kanpei taisha goryō ichi zukan), as well as a decorated map of temporary lodgings built to accommodate the imperial visit in Sakai Prefecture (Sakai-ken anzai-sho on-kazaritsuke zukan). He took care of Emperor Meiji's agarwood (Ranjatai), and organized Chinese-inspired activities centered on the appreciation of tea and antiques from the continent in his circle of literati. Also, as seen in the investigation of the tomb of Prince Yukiyoshi in Shimo-Ina, he was of the opinion that, even if there was a mistake about the entombed person, the Ministry of the Imperial Household had the authority to overrule the historical facts. As such, Tessai truly lived by the adage that one ought "to express the spirit of meikyō (moral principles defining the relationship between lord and vassal) through one's art".