抄録
In October 2019, a building marker was discovered on the ridge beam of
the dozō (earthen-walled storehouse) of the Yamamoto Dokushoshitsu 読書
室 (Reading Room), a school for the study of Chinese classics and herbalism,
which existed for 120 years from 1784 to 1903 on its present site (250
Kamikanabutsu-chō, Aburakōji Gojō-agaru, Shimogyō-ku, Kyoto). The
marker measures 35.5cm by 12.5cm and is made of cedar board. Written in
ink on the marker is an anonymous Chinese prose poem of 555 kanji, which
is modelled on the ancient Chinese celebratory writing for roof-raising ceremonies
known as jōryō-bun 上梁文 (shàng liáng wén). At the end of the
passage, the 10 kanji date in the Japanese calendar reveals that the dozō
was constructed as a library of the school, with the roof-raising ceremony
taking place on 31 August 1835.
