Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the outline and transcribe the ”Joto no maki„ (Scroll for topping out ceremony, completed in 1684), which explains builder's rites, out of the ”Kuroda unenobu Denrai Monjo„ (Documents from Kuroda Munenobu), a technical book on carpentry owned by the Takenaka Carpentery Tools Museum. Specific and detailed descriptions of the ceremonial offerings and origins of the rites in the ”Kazari no koto„ and ”Sonaemono kazari no koto„ sections, the order and dress of the participants in the topping out ceremony in the ”Joto gyoretsu no koto„ section, and the behavior of the ”Yakunin shosa no koto„ and ”Chona hajime no koto„ sections make this a valuable resource for studying builder's rites.
