〝七つ前は神のうち〟は本当か : 日本幼児史考

柳田国男の〝七つ前は神のうち〟という主張は、後に、幼児の生まれ直り説と結びついて民俗学の通説となり、現在では、さまざまな分野で、古代からそうした観念が存在していたかのように語られている。しかし、右の表現は、近代になってごく一部地域でいわれた俗説にすぎない。本稿では、右のことを実証するため、幼児へのまなざしが古代以降どのように変化したかを、歴史学の立場から社会意識の問題として試論的に考察する。一章では、律令にある、七歳以下の幼児は絶対責任無能力者だとする規定と、幼児の死去時、親は服喪の必要なしという規定が、十世紀前半の明法家による新たな法解釈の提示によって結合され、幼児は親の死去や自身の死去いずれの場合にも「無服」として、服忌の対象から疎外されたこと、それは、神事の挙行という貴族社会にとって最重要な儀礼が円滑に実施できることを期待した措置であったことを明らかにする。二章では、古代・中世では、社会の維持にとって不可欠であった神事の挙行が、近世では、その役割を相対的に低下させることで、幼児に対する意識をも変化させ、「無服」であることがある種の特権視を生じさせたこと、武家の服忌令が本来は武士を対象にしながら、庶民にも受容されていったこと、および、幼児が近世社会でどのようにみられていたかを具体的に検証する。そのうえで、庶民の家が確立し、「子宝」意識が一般化するなかで、幼児保護の観念が地域社会に成立したことを指摘し、そうした保護観念は、一般の幼児だけでなく、捨子に対してもみられたことを、捨子禁令が整備されていく過程を検討することで具体的に明らかにする。右の考察をふまえて、最後に、〝七つ前は神のうち〟の四つの具体例を検討し、そのいずれもが、右の歴史過程をふまえたうえで、近代になってから成立した俗説にすぎないことを明らかにする。

The claim made by Yanagida Kunio that “Until the age of seven a child belongs to the gods” (“Nanatsu mae wa kami no uchi”) became linked with the theory of the rebirth of an infant and became accepted within folklore studies. Today, in a variety of disciplines it is said that this concept has existed since the ancient period. However, the author contends that this expression is no more than a common saying that was used in only some regions after the arrival of the modern period. In order to substantiate this assertion, this paper makes a tentative examination of the question of social consciousness from a historical perspective as it considers how attitudes towards children have changed since the ancient period.In the first chapter the author shows how the Ritsuryo regulations absolving children under the age of seven of any responsibilities and not requiring parents to wear mourning attire upon the death of a child were combined as a result of a new Buddhist interpretation by officials who clarified legal standards in the early 10th century. It is shown that the exemption of children from wearing mourning attire in the event of the death of a parent or their own death was a measure undertaken to enable the smooth performance of a Shinto ceremony to which noble society attached the utmost importance.The second chapter describes how in the Early Modern period Shinto ceremonies that had been vital for the preservation of society in the ancient and medieval periods assumed a lesser role in relative terms, which altered consciousness regarding children. The paper shows that the absence of mourning attire came to be viewed as a kind of privilege and that regulations for warriors regarding mourning attire became accepted among the common people even though they had been aimed at the warrior class. Perceptions regarding children in the Early Modern period are also described. In addition, the concept of the protection of children developed as a consciousness of “children as treasures” became common with the establishment of families among the common people. The author also demonstrates that this concept applied not only to children in general but to abandoned children as well, as illustrated through the establishment of regulations prohibiting their abandonment.Lastly, the author looks at four specific examples of the expression “Until the age of seven a child belongs to the gods” and demonstrates how in the context of the historical process outlined above they are no more than sayings that came into being in the modern period.

source:https://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/outline/publication/ronbun/ronbun6/index.html#no141