Item number: X65

Year: circa AD 1700-1868

Material: Iron

Size: 50 x 10 x 9.5mm

Weight: Gross 32 g

Provenance: Osaka Minami Art Museum Co., Ltd. 2010

This is a lock that presumably dates to the late Edo period.

The body of the lock is generally rectangular, featuring a straight shackle on one side, with a thinner extension of the lock body where it connects to the shackle. The other side protrudes into a semicircle to accommodate the rotary mechanism that facilitates the movement of the key. The key is inserted into the keyhole, though its precise form remains to be confirmed. The bow of the key is equipped with a ring, through which a cord is tied.

Ancient Japanese locking devices were historically referred to as jō (lock), or collectively with their keys as jōmae (lockset); alternatively, the lock and the key were individually designated as jōme (female component) and jōo (male component) based on their respective mechanical roles. In a global context, locking devices can be categorized into two primary systems: the ‘European type’, which features a keyhole on the front surface and operates by rotating a key through internal obstacles, and the ‘Asian type’, which is inserted from the side and relies on leaf springs for unlocking. In antiquity, Japan experienced a ‘first introduction phase’ during the seventh century AD, which was dominated by ebijō (shrimp-shaped padlocks). By the ‘second introduction phase’ in the warring states period of the sixteenth century AD, a newer style of the Asian lock system (Gōda Classification Group V)—characterized by a bolt fixed to the male component and a more compact, rectangular shape—was reintroduced and has been excavated in large quantities from sites such as the Ichijōdani Asakura Clan Ruins in Fukui Prefecture and the Bungo Funai Ruins in Oita Prefecture. In the subsequent historical development, massive iron locking devices known as wajō (traditional Japanese locks) began to be manufactured across various regions of Japan. In terms of morphology, these locks exhibited a unique hybrid character, mimicking the external appearance of European locks while internally retaining the traditional Asian leaf-spring structure. Within the classification system established by Masayoshi Gōda, this specific type is categorized as ‘Group VI’. This Group VI locking mechanism, highly characteristic of the transition to the early modern period, has been excavated from the Izumi Hakata Domain Kamiyashiki Site dating to the early eighteenth century AD.

物件編號: X65

年代: 約公元 1700-1868 年

材料: 鐵

尺寸: 50 x 10 x 9.5mm

重量: 總重 32 g

來源: 大阪南美術会館 2010

這是一個鎖具，應出自江戶時代晚期。

鎖體大致呈長方形，一側為筆直的鎖梁，連接鎖梁的鎖體延伸處較薄。另一側突出一個半圓，以容納迴轉部機構，供鑰匙活動。鑰匙插於鎖孔內，形式則有待確認。鑰匙尾端有環，環上繫繩。

日本鎖具古稱「錠」，或與鑰匙合稱「錠前」；或分別依作用稱鎖具及鑰匙為「錠牝」和「錠牡」。鎖具可分為將鎖孔設於正面、以旋轉鑰匙通過障礙解鎖的「歐洲型」，與從側面插入、利用板狀彈簧解鎖的「亞洲型」。日本在七世紀的古代經歷了以海老錠為主的「第1次導入期」。到了十六世紀戰國時代的「第2次導入期」，則重新引進了將鎖栓固定於公鎖芯、形制更為四方緊湊的最新亞洲型鎖具(合田分類V群)，並在福井縣一乘谷朝倉氏遺跡和大分縣豐後府內遺跡等遺址中大量出土。在隨後的發展中，日本各地開始製造被稱為「和錠」的重厚鐵製鎖具，並在形態上展現出外表模倣歐洲型鎖、內部卻維持亞洲型板簧構造的獨特融合樣相。在合田芳正氏的施錠具分類中被歸類為「VI群」。這種極具近世轉型期特徵的VI群鎖具，在進入十八世紀初的和泉伯太藩上屋敷跡中曾有出土。