@article{oai:rekihaku.repo.nii.ac.jp:00001187,
 author = {松尾, 恒一 and Matsuo, Koichi},
 journal = {国立歴史民俗博物館研究報告, Bulletin of the National Museum of Japanese History},
 month = {Oct},
 note = {application/pdf, 本稿は、職能者の技術と呪術の考究を目的として、高知県東部の物部村における杣職を主たる事例として論じるものである。
杣とは伐木に従事する職能者であるが、その職にともなう民俗的な慣行は木に宿るとされる木魂や、山の神やその眷属に対する信仰に基づくものが多い。伐木の際に木魂を奥山の山の神のもとへ送り返す〝木魂送り〟の法や、神木を切った際に切り株を鎮める”株木鎮め“の法がこれで、これら杣によって実践された呪的な作法は「杣法」と呼ばれた。これらの作法は、職の道具である手釿等を祭具として行われた点に特色を認めることができるが、特に形状・形態に特殊条件を備えた道具が呪術的な力を発揮するものと信仰された。
当村は、「いざなぎ流」と呼ばれる民間宗教が伝承される地域としても知られるが、本宗教に取り込まれた杣法があった。本来杣職によって行われていた杣法を核として、さらに呪術的な性格の強い式法として実践された。
杣法などの民俗的慣行は、斧と鋸で作業を行っていた昭和三十年代まで行われていたものであるが、チェーンソーや集材機などの機械の導入や、営林署・労働組合の利益追求のための皆伐・密植など林業の大変革の中で急速に衰退していった。
なお筆者はすでに、当地域における職能者の木魂の信仰について、大工の建築儀礼を中心に論じた「物部村の職人と建築儀礼」を公にしているが、本稿はこの続考となるものでもある。, The focus of this paper is a study of the rites and magic of a professional group, with discussion centering on examples of the woodcutters of Monobe village in the eastern part of Kochi Prefecture.
These woodcutters, or soma in Japanese, are engaged in the profession of tree felling.
Many of the folk customs accompanying their work are based on beliefs surrounding the tree spirits that are believed to dwell in trees, mountain gods, and other supernatural beings. There is the rite called kodama-okuri, which involves the return of tree spirits to mountain gods deep in the mountains when trees are felled, and the rite called kabukishizume, undertaken to appease the stump when a sacred tree has been felled. The magical rites performed by the woodcutters are called soma-ho, or woodcutter rites. One characteristic of these rites is that they are conducted with the axes that are the tools of their trade serving as ceremonial objects, and it was believed that tools that met special criteria in terms of shape and form displayed magical powers.
The village is well known for the popular religion called Izanagi-ryu that has been passed down through the generations, and some woodcutter rites have been incorporated in this religion. Rites that had been conducted originally by these woodcutters came to form the core of rituals with a strong mystical quality that were performed under this religion.
Popular folk customs such as these woodcutter rites were performed with axes and saws that were used in their work until the mid 1960s. However, these rites fell into rapid disuse with the introduction of chainsaws, milling equipment, and other machinery, and with the wide-ranging reforms forestry was subjected to when clear-felling and dense planting were introduced as district forest offices and labor unions pursued their own interests.
This paper is a continuation of an earlier study already published by the author under the title "Craftsmen of Monobe Village and Construction Rituals". This earlier study on the beliefs of craftsmen in this region surrounding tree spirits focused on the construction rituals of carpenters.},
 pages = {241--254},
 title = {木魂をめぐる祭儀と信仰 : 高知県、物部村の場合},
 volume = {108},
 year = {2003},
 yomi = {マツオ, コウイチ}
}