隠遁の祖・許由の図像について

Abstract

Xu You was a legendary Chinese hermit. After refusing the emperor Yao’s offer of the royal throne, he washed out his ears in abashed. Another hermit Chao Fu passed by, and forbidden his cow to drink from the water, because of Xu had contaminating it. Xu’s virtue was highly appreciated in Asian culture. His iconography was wildly used in art works like bronze mirrors, lacquerware, ceramic, paintings and architecture. Despite Xu’s popularity in Asia, Chinese and Japanese have different ways of appreciation. In China, Xu is regarded as the archetype of virtue hermit, who refused to be the ruler in power. While in Japan, Xu’s interaction with Chao is preferred, especially in literature, paintings and architecture. However, there are certain types of Xu’s iconography remains unidentified or misidentified. This study aims at identifying Xu You’s iconography in Asian art, and tried to uncover the reason why certain types of iconographies are popular in particular dynasty and region.