歴史資料としての『浪華勝概帖』：大坂の武士と文化
『浪華勝概帖』は江戸時代後期（19世紀）の大坂の風景を描いた優れた美術品である。本報告では、まず日本国内でもあまり知られていない『浪華勝概帖』という作品の全体像を紹介する（１）。つぎに所有者であった江戸出身の武士、および彼の大坂における交流について説明することで文化的背景を探る（２）。さらに、この作品が大坂土産であった意義を、作品が名所図の性格をもち（３）、かつ肉筆画帖という形式であることに注目し、この２つの観点から説明する（４）。また、このような肉筆画帖が海外への贈答品として贈られた例を紹介する（５）。最後に、美術品を歴史資料として論じることの意義を述べる。
（１）現在、大阪歴史博物館に所蔵されている『浪華勝概帖』は全2冊、漢文の序・跋、および95景の画からなる風景画帖である。嘉永元年（1848）の序は、大坂を代表する漢詩人篠崎小竹によるものである。また画は28名の画師によるもので、西山芳園、上田公長、玉手棠洲といった四条派につながる大坂の画師が多くみられる。タイトルの「勝概」とは「すぐれた趣」「よい景色」を漢語で言い表した言葉であり、大坂城、四天王寺、住吉大社といった名所や大坂の景観を特徴づける水辺の風景が描かれている。
（２）画帖の序文には、竹垣という人物が江戸に帰るに際して、これらの画を描かせたことが記されている。この人物は、江戸時代末期に大坂代官を務めた竹垣三右衛門直道（1805-1869）である。竹垣直道は天保11年（1840）から文久3年（1863）まで23年間にわたる日記「竹垣直道日記」（東京大学史料編纂所所蔵）を残しており、この日記によって画帖制作の背景や、竹垣直道の文人としての交流が明らかになる。
（３）つぎにこの画帖が、大坂での職務を終えて江戸に帰る竹垣が大坂土産として持ち帰っていることに注目し、以下２つの論点から説明する。１点目は画帖が名所図の性格を持つことである。江戸時代後期には『摂津名所図会』のように、大坂の名所を題材にした木版画が観光都市化した大坂の土産物として生産・消費されている。それと同様に、『浪華勝概帖』のような地域の景色を描いた画帖が多数制作されていたことは、肉筆による風景画帖もまた記念品として商品化されていたといえる。
（４）２点目として、肉筆画帖という資料の形式に注目する。言うまでもなく肉筆の画帖は量産できるものではなく、画作を依頼する注文主と画師との関係を考慮すれば、入手できるのは社会的上層者であったといえる。このことは同時に、大坂代官クラスの武士が享受できる文化のレベルを示しているともいえよう。さらに付け加えると、四条派の画師による作品の受容者は富裕な町人であると言及されてきたが、竹垣直道のような江戸の武士もまた、このような作品の受容者であった。
（５）肉筆画帖に関する追記事項として、このような画帖が海外への贈答品として贈られた例を紹介する。現在、ウィーン美術史美術館に所蔵されている「風俗物語花鳥図画帖」は、明治2年（1869）に日本とオーストリア帝国間で修好通商航海条約が締結された際に、明治天皇が皇帝フランツ・ヨーゼフ１世に贈った品であり、日本の風景や名所が描かれているという。自国の文化を海外へ紹介する際に、従来から好まれた屏風ではなく、画帖という形態で贈答されているのである。
以上の考察から『浪華勝概帖』は、美術品としての価値を持つだけでなく、江戸時代後期における文化、とりわけ、これまで考察されることが少なかった在坂武士の文化的背景を映しだす「鏡」であり、重要な歴史資料であると言えるだろう。
Naniwa Shōgai Jō 浪華勝概帖 (Album of Scenic Spots in Osaka) as a Historical Source : Late Edo period Samurai Culture in Osaka
Naniwa Shōgai Jō 浪華勝概帖 is an exceptional album of paintings that includes a number of views of Osaka in the late Edo period (19th century). While this work is normally examined as an object of art-historical interest, when we consider the process of its production and the owner whom it belonged to, it also becomes a valuable historical source; one finds in it a glimpse of the cultural background of 19th century Japan.
In this presentation, I will first introduce this piece, which is little known even in Japan [1]; next, by considering how its owner, a samurai of Edo origin, interacted with residents of Osaka, I would like to explain its cultural background [2]. Furthermore, noting that this work was produced as a piece of memorabilia from Osaka, I will discuss the following two points: firstly, the characteristic of such works was their presentation of paintings of famous places (meisho-zu) [3]; and secondly, that there was a certain style employed for such albums; they were painted by hand [4]. I will then introduce an album which was made as a gift to a foreign country [5]. Finally, I will explain the value of this work as a historical source.
[1] Naniwa Shōgai Jō is presently in the collection of the Osaka Museum of History大阪歴史博物館. It consists of two volumes with two prefaces and an afterword. One of these prefaces was written by a famous Confucian scholar, Shinozaki Shōchiku篠崎小竹, in 1848. The album contains 95 images created by 28 artists active during the late Edo period in Osaka including such figures as Nishiyama Hōen西山芳園, Ueda Kōchō上田公長, and Tamate Dōshū玉手棠洲, who were mainly Shijō school painters. Many of them lived in Osaka. The word Shōgai勝概 in the title of the album is a Japanese word of Chinese origin meaning ‘wonderful atmosphere' or ‘lovely scene' and the work contains images of tourist sights (meisho) like Osaka Castle, Shitenno-ji temple四天王寺, Sumiyoshi Shrine住吉大社, and riverside views typical of Osaka.
[2] According to the preface of the album, it was produced by a samurai named Takegaki San'emon Naomichi竹垣三右衛門直道 (1805-1869). Takegaki Naomichi had been dispatched on a mission to Osaka as an Osaka Daikan 大坂代官 (vicegerent or local samurai official), a retainer of the shogun during the late Edo period. He wrote a diary Takegaki Naomichi Nikki竹垣直道日記 (in the Collection of the Historiographical Institute, University of Tokyo東京大学史料編纂所所蔵) spanning the period from 1840 (Ten'pō 11) to 1863 (Bun'kyū 3). This text illuminates the background of Naniwa Shōgai Jō as well as the cultural status of Takegaki himself.
[3] It should be noted that Takegaki treated Naniwa Shōgai Jō as a souvenir of Osaka which he took back with him to the city of Edo after completing his service. Many wood block prints illustrating landscapes and tourist spots were produced and sold as souvenirs of Osaka, which had developed into an urbanized tourist city. One of the most representative of these is Settsu Meisho Zue 摂津名所図会. Similar albums of landscapes that are comparable to the Naniwa Shōgai Jō were produced in the late Edo period, and from such works it can be seen that these hand-painted albums were, like wood block prints, commodified as memorabilia of Osaka.
[4] However, these landscape albums were not mass-produced like wood block prints. They were hand-painted works of art. The labour that went into their production meant that the consumers of these works were likely to have been members of the upper classes. They were elaborate pieces and they also required a specific type of patron-artist relationship. Clarification of the nature of their production helps us to gauge the cultural status of samurai like Takegaki Naomichi. It should also be added that paintings by the artists of the Shijō school were much in demand among wealthy townspeople in Osaka, the most prosperous commercial city at the time. However, as this presentation will show, these paintings were also of interest to samurai like Takegaki Naomichi, who was thus able to come into contact with upper class culture and to mingle in its circles.
[5] It is worth mentioning in passing, that an album of landscapes was made as a gift to a foreign country. The Fūzoku Monogatari Kachō Zu Gajō 風俗物語花鳥図画帖, now in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, is an album of Japanese paintings which includes images of scenic views, famous places, as well as of birds and flowers. This album was presented by Emperor Meiji to the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1869, when trade and shipping treaties were concluded between the two countries. It is noteworthy that on such an occasion as this, when introducing Japanese culture to a foreign country, the type of gift was an album of paintings rather than the conventionally favoured folding screens (byōbu). Based on such considerations, it may be said that Naniwa Shōgai Jō should be treated as a significant historical source with the potential to reveal the cultural background of the late Edo period.