Graves in the early modern period of the city of Edo, the family, and the individual

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  • 江戸の墓と家と個人
  • エド ノ ハカ ト イエ ト コジン

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As for the archaeological study of burial customs and graves in the early modern period of the city of Edo, much data has been accumulated in the past twenty years or so, since the latter half of the 1980s. Consequently, archaeological information from the early modern period of Japan has greatly increased. For example, one of the features of graves from the Edo Period which has recently come to light is the rich variety of burial styles, each style depending on the deceased’s rank in society. These include: 1. Shogun and Gosankyo (the three branch families of the Tokugawa House): stone structure protecting the coffin, stone chamber 2.Daimyo: stone chamber 3.Hatamoto (a direct retainer of the Shogun) and vassal of the Shogun: wooden coffin in wooden chamber with a floor of charcoal or lime plaster, ceramic jar in wooden chamber with a floor of charcoal or lime plaster, ceramic jar in wooden chamber, ceramic jar, square wooden coffin 4.Machinanushi (the head of a town): ceramic jar It was at the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century, that the forms of graves were fixed into patterns that reflected the social status and class of their occupants. Many valuable weapons are seen among the burial items of shogun and daimyo graves during the seventeenth century. However, after the eighteenth century, the burial items of most shogun and daimyo graves contain few such weapons. Other burial items of shogun and daimyo graves reflect the individuality of those buried therein. From the first half of the seventeenth century to the last days of the Tokugawa government, an individual’s property including tationery, grooming items, and items used for the incense ceremony were buried in shogun and daimyo graves. This indicates that a relationship between graves of the Edo Period, the family, and the individual was established at the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth century in Japan.

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