Short History of Grinding Implements for Domestic Use in Japan

Short History of Grinding Implements for Domestic Use in Japan

Shigeo Miwa*, Atsuko Shimosaka* and Jusuke Hidaka* Department of Chemical Engineering Doshisha University

Abstract

There are many works that refer to the history of grinding implements 1 ~ 6), but they are restricted mainly to the origin of Western wheat flour milling technology as a professional activity, and do not always pay attention to domestic use. It is an interesting fact that almost all the ancient grinding implements devised by humans throughout history have continued to be used domestically even after the advent of more efficient specialized ones. We can find many examples of this in Japan as well, and some of them have survived to the present day. On the other hand, owing to the recent dramatic change in our life-style, the famili­ arity of these implements is being rapidly lost in Japan. Therefore, the present work is an attempt to record them in an intelligible form, and to collate them with the Chinese and European ones from the historical viewpoint. Another point to be cited is the very old, traditional grooving of the rotary quern which survives now in Japan. The so-called "counterclockwise revolving, eight-quarter grooving pattern" is the same as that which existed in Europe and China during the Roman period. Though we do not know where and when it originated as yet, this fact is decisive proof of its transmission.

1. Introduction stituents, some grinding implements used for From a viewpoint of the material side of that purpose would play a most important role human life, a civilization was based on the in the first step of the preparation process. material preparation technology which can be This paper, based on the information avail­ applied to provide refined materials capable of able today, attempts to sketch out a history of supplying human needs for everyday life from the many varieties of grinding implements for crude materials in nature. Nowadays, the tech­ domestic use (not for professional activity) nology is employed on a large scale for the which were devised by man before modern production of useful constituents from various industrial society. Although there have been natural resources. many such attempts from the Western point 1 6 The origin of these technologies is presumed of view ~ ), they were restricted mainly to to be almost coexistent with the earliest the industrial wheat flour milling for bread. humans. The most important technology for East Asian peoples who do not necessarily live everyday life was, in the ancient world, the pre­ on wheat have been developing different varie­ paration of foods, but this technology was also ties of grinding implements for domestic use. used for other materials: ores and the like. Be­ 2. Origin of grinding implements cause nearly all materials used by man owe their value to the separation of useful con- In the natural world, there are resources which may be used for everyday life directly * Karasuma-Imadegawa, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602 or after some comparatively simple preparation TEL. 075 (251) 3849 process. Foods hunted for and gathered by the Received Aprilll, 1984 earliest humans, which were various kinds of

KONA No.2 (1984) 43 animals, fishes, fruits, edible tubers and so on, ing operation, which held great possibilities for could be easily cooked using only a simple further improvement. preparation process. And, in the later period, Even if there is evidence, which survives now natural copper, iron sand and alluvial gold with the Ainu in Japan (one of the old races could be used as the materials for primitive of East Asia), to suggest that a wheat grain can metallurgical processing by simple preparation be ground to powder with one's teeth, it methods, for they were naturally, though would, needless to say, be difficult to satisfy roughly, prepared resources. the required level of productivity necessary for However, cereals, especially wheat, barley, everyday life. rice, millet and so on, required some tedious Then in the course of time, the earliest processings - threshing, hulling or milling. The primitive grinding implement was gradually wild wheat grains, like other cereals, consist of improved, enlarged and specialized for each a starchy endosperm or kernel enclosed in a purpose. Though there is no clear evidence to very hard outer sheath and bran, and they are tell us what sort of implements were tried, we not edible in their raw state. Similarly, with can easily imagine that man would take one of various ores, it is necessary to grind hard ores following three possible ways according to the and collect the useful portion. For such similar characteristics of the grains he used: materials, the first step of their preparation is I) Pounding which would lead to a mortar the grinding process, which includes threshing and pestle and later to a stamp mill. and hulling in a broad sense. 2) Rolling which would lead to an edge­ An earliest man skinned and cut up the meat runner. of animal with a stone knife or axe. This was 3) Rubbing which would lead to a rubbing also a kind of separation of useful constituents stone, a saddle quem, and later a rotary from that body, but his work was, in fact, the quem. direct extension of his own fundamental The discovery - or invention - of grinding motion. Even if the material of which the knife implements and grinding methods bears very or axe was made, was changed from flint to special importance in the history of human be­ bronze or iron, it would have still remained the ings. The most important achievement was the direct extension of his teeth or nails, and the dramatic increase in human food supply. Many tools were only supplementary ones. Unless wild grass seeds which had been inedible in there had been complicated human regulation their raw state became the source of food when for that use, it would have been difficult in­ grinding could make them edible. There is a deed to accomplish the work. In modern times chicken-and-egg aspect to this, though; the dis­ the knife and axe still survive in their original covery could lead to the coming of agriculture. design, even if the material of which they are As a matter of course this collecting seeds made is metal, and the style is refined. would have suggested the idea of growing However, in the case of grinding, the situa­ plants for food. tion was quite different. The first man sampl­ Different courses of development of imple­ ing a seed of wild grass would have cracked it ments could be seen at different regions of the with his teeth or his nail, and then, after plac­ world, related to the grain available. For ex­ ing the bulk of the grains in a hollow of a ample, rice or millet was not necessarily ground natural stone, he pounded it with a stone, and to powder, because they could be cooked after then blew away the husks. As a result it be­ only hulling, and, as in China, a mortar and came easier for him to eat. Using the resulting pestle or an edge-runner mill was the major flour, he could make rough cakes. Because the implement developed. process of physical change occurring in each On the other hand, wheat with interpene­ grain was complex, and numerous grains were trated shell would not be cooked without simultaneously processed, he could not regu­ grinding to powder. In this case, rubbing action late them directly. His work was only a simple was more efficient than pounding. mechanical action repeated monotonously. It was not the direct extension of the human 3. Mortar and Pestle teeth or nails, but was assuredly a mass process- The first thing we will discuss is pounding

44 KONA No.2 (1984) with mortar and pestle, since this would have long time. However, they became specialized been applied to all kinds of uses. The earliest gradually as one purpose gained predominance grinding implements found from the remains over others. Anyone using the mortar and of the Palaeolithic era consisted of a roundish pestle may notice that it works in the follow­ stone which was held in the hands and a larger ing three ways. hollowed stone for a bed stone. The hollowness 1) Hulling - grain surface grinding: If grain is necessary for efficient impaction and to with a relatively soft outside husk is pound­ prevent grain from falling off of the stone. ed using a pestle with a flat end (Fig.2(a)), Therefore, a round mantle made of hide or the husk is gradually removed, as in hulling wood on the flat bed stone could serve the and polishing of rice or barleycorn. The grain same function. Since the mantle made of per­ is ordinarily moistened with water before ishable materials is easy to lose, it is difficult being pounded, a practice which appears to find the certifiable relics of this type of to have been discovered early in Roman mortar. Figures 1 (a), (b) and (c) are such refer­ period l). In order to promote the grains cir­ ence examples surviving in Japan and Korea. It culation, usually a ring made of rice straw is interesting to compare them with the relics (Usuwa B'iili in Japanese) was inserted into 13 from the Stone Age in Fig.l (d). If the mortar the mortar ). was fixed on the ground, a much larger pestel 2) Impact grinding: If the end of pestle is round­ could be used. ish (Fig. 2 (b)), it may penetrate through Since the mortar and pestle covered a wide the bed of grains, and grind the grains to range of adaptability, they were normally not powder at the bottom of the mortar. From specialized for a certain single purpose for a the remains of prehistoric period in Europe, many relics of mortar and pestle had been

Mantle made of excavated, but thereafter they seem to have wood or porcelain been replaced by the quem, used for wheat; Pestle though the stamp-mill has survived until mantle - \j ~made the present day in mining. On the other ~of wood hand, after the introduction of the foot­ / ~Stone , , mortar Stone driven tilt-hammer or water-powered mill, mortar I ) impact grinding was used widely and still \___ (b) survives in Japan. 3) Rubbing: Rubbing the pestle against the inner side of the mortar causes reduction 7 (a) ~EJ of the grain to powder effectively. Poppe ) (d) ___.-:::::::::::=====::::::::::::::-- Mantle attributed the origin of the invention of made rotary quem to a revolving pestle in a of wood Stone mortar, and his opinion was quoted by Karl mortar 8 Marx ), but we remain unconvinced. An Egyptian tomb painting of about 1450B.C., in which two persons are pounding together in a mortar, and a Greek vase painting of about (c) 0 50 em 500B.C., in which a man and a woman are pounding together, are well known. Particular­ (a) Stone mortar for water-powered nee polishing mill ly interesting is the fact that the double-bell (Grfu Pref. and Hyogo Pref. Japan) shaped pestle and tree-trunk mortar similar to (b) Stone mortar for water-powered stamp-mrll used to grind raw materials of porcelain these ancient Western paintings had survived (Ehime Pref. Japan) in Japan until twenty years ago. Since Japanese (c) Korean mortar surviving only in Cheju( .f'i'J'IH§\) farmers did not have the rotary quem until (d) Mortar in the Stone Age. about the eighteenth century, the mortar and pestle were most important grinding imple­ Fig. 1 Reference examples of mortars with a round mantle made of perishable materials in Japan ments for general use. The earliest excavated and Korea. evidence of its use in Japan was known in the

KONA No.2 (1984) 45 Yayoi period(400B.C.-400A.D.), when rice culti­ vation was introduced. It is a matter of debate whether the similarity was based on the fact that a substantially identical problem can lead to very similar solutions in places widely sepa­ rated in space and time, or on the result of spread in the ancient world. (b) In Japan, the mortar with decorated waist Impact grinding (Fig. 2(c)), which had ceremonial meaning, and the double-bell shape pestle gradually fell Roundish end into disuse during the eighteenth century in urbanized regions, and were replaced with hammer pestle and non-decorated drum shape mortar (Fig. 2 (a)) which were more efficient. At present they survive only in ceremonial use to make rice cakes. Because flour milling was a matter of pri­ mary interest in the Western world, the mortar Concavity and pestle was abandoned early, probably late for carrying in the prehistorical period. However, in other regions, especially in East Asia, they survived for a long time and developed markedly. (c) (d) In China, early in the former Han Dynasty (221 B.C.-9A.D.), foot-driven and water-powered (a) Principles of hulling of various cereals. tilt-hammer pestles ( fil in Chinese, Karausu (b) Principles of impact grinding with mortar and pestle (c) Double-bell shaped pestle and mortar with traditional in Japanese) throve and seem to have been in­ decorated waist. troduced in Japan in about the eighth century. (d) Hammer pestle and drum shaped mortar. They were used mainly for hulling and polish­ ing rice and rarely used for making rice cake. They were a familiar sight to the people throughout rural regions and even within the cities to some extent till half-century ago. Earthenware mortar ( MfmH-'f in Chinese,

Suribachi in Japanese) is a type of mortar for Axle at fulcrum domestic use l3). The transmission from China (Song Dynasty, 960-1279A.D.) to Japan is sup­ (e) Principle of foot-driven tilt-hammer mill. posed to have taken place in the thirteenth century, and gradually replaced the stone mortars. The earthenware mortar which has fine grooving on its working surface that co­ operates with a wooden pestle to bray the ma­ terial, and is still widely used for various pur­ poses of household cooking; for example wet Mortar made grinding or dispersion of "miso" (bean paste), of granite "tofu" (bean curd), yam, and dry grinding of cayenne pepper, sesame seeds and so on. 100cm 4. Edge-runner mill (f) An example of foot-driven tilt-hammer used to polish rice and to make rice cake.(Hiroshima Pref.) Another notable development of the primi­ tive mortar and pestle for greatest productivity Fig. 2 Some examples of mortars and was replacement of a pestle with a roller, which pestles in Japan

46 KONA No.2 (1984) might have come from the idea of a wagon being introduced into Japan, except small scale wheel being used to thresh wheat or other edge-runner mills with longitudinal travel (man cereals in the ancient world. power) (Yen nien, M~ll in Chinese, Yagen, The edge-runner mill, commonly employed ~lilf in Japanese) for herb medicine (Fig.3 (b)). by Romans for professional use in olive oil In medieval times, this implement was also production, was one of the established machines used to prepare gun powder. (Fig. 3 (a)). It consisted of one or a pair of 5. Saddle quem broad stone wheels freely mounted on a short horizontal axle which was loosely supported with As described before, rubbing the inner sur­ a vertical shaft. Rotation of the shaft caused face of the mortar with the roundish end of the the wheels to revolve on a circular stone base pestle could be used for grinding to powder. crushing the olives laid in their path. The mill For such use, a larger rubbing area is a basic was driven by slaves or animals and there is no requirement. If the size of the upper stone is evidence to suggest the use of water power. restricted by the fact that one must be able to Later, in Europe, the mill was developed main­ lift it with both hands, one possible way for ly in mining. Fret-mill, Pan-mill and Chilean­ the enlargement of the rubbing area is the use mill are now used in the modern industry. of a flat dish-shaped understone as a grinding Another fashion was taking place in China slab. The back-and-forth motion of the grind­ 10 for hulling and grinding of cereals ). Chinese ing slab made a shearing action possible under Nien ( ~ll ) was recorded in the second century more precise control than the mortar and 11 A.D. ), and later, there were various designs, pestle did. Also it held the possibility of mak­ for instance, the rotary bogie-wheel edge­ ing the grinding process continuous. runner mill with single roller and the rotary In the course of time, probably thousands of double edge-runner mill with two wheels (Shih years of use, this primitive implement was 2 nien, fi~ll ) and so on ). gradually developed to more favored milling Strangely, there is no evidence of the nien implement -the fully developed Saddle quem, consisting of a concave lower stone, on which a smaller stone was rubbed to grind the rna-

(a) Olive mill in Roman

(b) Metate used by aborigines (c) Grinding slab(Jomon period (b) Yagen in Japanese. in America in Japan).

Fig. 3 Edge-runner mill Fig. 4 Saddle quern

KONA No.2 (1984) 47 terial (Fig. 4 (a)). Numerous statuettes from improvement could have led to the rotation of Egyptian tombs depict women kneeling at the the wheel, or an intellectual leap suddenly saddle quems, grinding meal to offer the dead occurred. in the after-life. There are two findings which are estimated Saddle quems might have been specialized to be intermediate forms in the progression closely related with the processing of wheat from the saddle to the rotary quem. One of and barley, and were discovered in the relics of them is a semi-rotary quem employing a cir­ Neolithic sites in Africa, Western and Northern cular upper stone mounted on a bed stone Asia l2). A sort of saddle quem "Metate" which has a hollow holding the upper stone, which consisted of bench- or trough-like bed swung to and fro along an arc by hand. Another stone and often made of volcanic rock, was one is a lever mill surviving in Greece. 3 used for grinding maize by the American Storck ) discussed a remarkable find, an aborigines (Fig. 4 (b)). ancient and unique relic, now in the Tiflis Though in Korea there was some unambigu­ Museum2), which was discovered by the Rus­ ous proof of the existence of saddle quem, in sian archeologist Tseretheli amongst the re­ Japan there is no clear evidence indicating that mains of Urartu, a Kingdom centering on the it was used. Though some dish-shaped relics highland plains around Lake Van before the which resembled saddle quem were excavated eighth century B.C. But how widespread in Asia from the remains of the Jomon period (before and Europe such a quem existed is still not the Yayoi period) in Japan in some rare cases, fully known, and so only future discoveries will they are more primitive grinding slabs (Fig.4( c)). confirm or refute the Urartu quem. Beyond the historical black out for many 6. Rotary quem centuries, many pieces of evidences of various The saddle quem was an extremely advanced kinds from all over Europe, especially Rome, tool for grinding, their final form was a result South-East Asia (Taxila, 600B.C.-500A.D., Par­ of thousands of years of use and evolution. No thia, 171 B.C.-225A.D.), and China (Ch'in Dy­ further advances could be made in its develop­ nasty, 221-206B.C., Han Dynasty, 206B.C.- mental pathway. 220A.D.), show that the refinement of rotary The rotary quem, consisting of two circular quem was accomplished by that age. stone discs was the beginning of a new era in It appears that the pot quem (Fig. 5 (a)), grinding technology. However, to this day no which survived for domestic use in medieval decisive proof is available to tell exactly where times, was introduced into Britain no earlier and when the quem was invented. It is a matter than the Roman occupation. of debate whether the step wise sequence of A wonderful technical refinement in China is

Double funnel I~ ~~

Pan shaped bed-stone

(b) Rotary quern with double hopper of Han Dynasty.

(a) Pot quern in Europe for domestic use.

Fig. 5 Rotary quern

48 KONA No.2 (1984) particularly interesting. One example is an arti­ The introduction of such a large stone mill cle buried in a tomb (so-called l:lJl ~~ in Chi­ from Europe for commercial flour milling was nese) (Fig. 5 (b)). Also a stone mill, the diameter curiously about a thousand years later (late the of which is 850mm, was excavated. Many other nineteenth century). It appears that the hand­ sites in China belonging to this period have operated rotary quem was introduced into produced several varieties of rotary querns. The Japan no earlier than the thirteenth century. earliest written evidence concerning the exist­ Japanese Buddhist monks who went abroad to ence of the rotary quem and milling wheat is China (Southern Sung Dynasty, 1127-1279A.D.) late Former Han Dynasty (53-19B.C.). to study imported some rotary quems, and Chinese and Korean craftsmen introduced 7. Relation to Buddhism in Japan the technology. Earliest written evidence is " **~t~0 " (pictures of temples in Sung) The introduction of the wheat and flour preserved in Tofuku-ji ( :Jf[:m;~) in Kyoto. milling into Japan is closely related to Bud­ Therefore no archaeologically reliable and un­ dhism. In the oldest chronicle of Japan "Nihon­ disputed fragment of a rotary quem older than shoki"(B*~Bc 720A.D.),we find the following that time has ever been found. Even a few cen­ description: "In March of the spring of the turies after that time, such relics were still rare eighteenth year of the Emperor Suiko (61 0 A.D.) indeed, and the hand-quems were no larger the King of Korea presented a monk, named than about 360mm in diameter. It is an inter­ Doncho ( ~~2 ), which made a mill ( ~~~It Ten­ esting fact that in any ruins of that time, the gai in Japanese), that was really the first mill in our country, " Another piece of written evi­ dence can be found from the word "~~~It " (Tengai) here and there in the oldest Japanese Secondary furrow law-book "Ryo-no-gige"( %~~¥)(718-833A.D.), and in the document of Todai-ji ( **~ a Master , furrow temple established in 745 A.D.). On the other hand, the era corresponds to Tang Dynasty (618-906A.D.) in China when many Buddhist temples set up water-mills in their manors and made large profits on them, (a) Grooving of working surfaces(8-quarters the beginning of which occurred during the Pei­ 11 -furrows). 10 wei Dynasty (386-534A.D.) ). An interesting relic of a large stone mill (Fig. 6) which seems to belong to that period was preserved in a temple - Kanzeon-ji WI, -tltif~ ) in Fukuoka Runner Pref. - which played an important role in the stone introduction of foreign culture mainly from A rod of handle was Tang. Although such a mill is a familiar one tied up here with string in Europe or China, in Japan the form and the size of the mill are surely strange. Of particular interest is a hemispherical pivot built in the 3 Bed stone center. Although Storck ) discussed such a pivot in the early Palestinian and Hindu querns, it seems to be very rare. Because the basic item of staple food in (b) Outside view Japan was rice and barley, wheat was, probably, a rare or novel food for the noble personages at 0 50 em that time. Though the mill might have been Fig. 6 A relic of the oldest and largest mill-stone in harnessed for foreign visitors and the upper Japan probably imported from China in the classes, it does not appear to have been widely seventh century (Now preserved in Kanzeonji accepted. (temple), Fukuoka Pref.)

KONA No.2 (1984) 49 relics of the rotary quem can be found only in about 36cm), driven by an electric motor, the settlements of the upper classes, not in survives in commercial production of the those of the farmers. Since the seventeenth powdered green tea (particle size finer than century the hand-rotary quem has come into about 10Mm) for tea-ceremony. widespread use very gradually and only in the eighteenth century did Japanese farmers start 9. Rice-hulling mill in Japan to use it for general purpose like grinding of There were two words "mo" ( ~) and various cereals, or for Tofu making. "lung" ( 1fJ ) in Chinese for the mills. The former means a stone rotary mill, and the latter 8. Relation to tea-ceremony means a man-operated mill specialized for rice- From China (Southern Sung Dynasty), Bud­ hulling (decorticating). The lung was made of dhist monks had introduced another novel rota­ sun-dried clay - "thu lung" ( i: ~ in Chinese, ry quem which was specialized for producing the Tousu in Japanese), or made of wood "mu green tea powder used for tea-ceremony. Figure lung" ( ::tM in Chinese, Kizuriusu in Japanese). 7 shows the hand operated tea-mill (Chausu These were substitutes for the stone mill be­ *~ in Japanese), which was made of a some­ cause they were easy to make. what harder and more beautiful stone (such as Damp kneaded clay with a little common diabase or quartzite), than the ordinary querns salt was used to fix the teeth of oak or bamboo for cereals. In China, the tradition of tea­ onto the working surface, so that they could ceremony went out of style during the Ming act in the same way as the grooves of the stone Dynasty (1368-1644A.D.), but in Japan the quem. The pattern of the teeth (Fig.8(a)) was tradition still survives today. Late the sixteenth according to the tradition, the same as that of century, the tea-ceremony had been all the the stone rotary quem, and was counterclock­ fashion with the commanders in chief of the wise revolving, eight-quarter grooving to be Samurai (the warriors of Japan) as a status described later. Rice hulling with such a mill symbol and sometimes Chausu were heirlooms. required a cooperative and laborious effort by The ruins of a castle and the ancient battle­ two or three men as shown in Fig. 9 (b). fields of that period produce an outstanding The lung was introduced into Japan in the profusion of evidence related to the tea-mill. seventeenth century and has been widely ac­ A notable feature of Chausu compared with cepted as an important implement of farmers other querns is an axle which is loosely insert­ for domestic use until recently (Fig. 8 (b)). ed into the funnel. Thus the upper stone is In Japan there was another form of wooden capable of sliding on the working surface of mill which had radial grooving and was oper­ the bed-stone, and so preliminary crushing of ated, not with continuous revolutions, but by raw materials occurs between the axle and the swinging to and fro along an arc of a circle by funnel. pulling two strings using both hands of two Now the stone mill (the diameter of which is men or women who sat facing each other on

Fig. 7 Japanese Chausu

50 KONA No.2 (1984) Teeth of oak

Wooden tub

(a) Working surface was similar as the stone quern (a) Made of wood operated with swing to and flo (8-quarters 1 3 furrows). Clay was held in the wooden tub.

Wooden spindle

(b) Made of clay enc~rcled with wooden tub or twisted bamboo

Fig. 9 Principles of operation of a rice-hulling mill

towards the circumference by the revolu­ tion of the upper stone, first being crushed by degrees, and then ground and ejected from the mill. Therefore, the upper and (b) General view 0 10 20cm lower stones contact each other only at their circumference, so that when mount­ Fig. 8 An example of rice-hulling mill of Japan ed they would grind the grains only near (Yamagata Pref.) the edges. Superficial thinking would result in the opposite sides of the mill (Fig.9 (a)). Such an idea that the ground flour must fall down implement also has survived until recently in a off of the stones by downward force of mountainous district for domestic use only. gravity. Hence, sometimes the lower stone was slightly conical in shape. As the true 10. Principles of the rotary quem principles of the working of the appliance Basic principles of the rotary quem are near­ became recognized, however, the bed-stone ly the same throughout the world, but there seems to have been gradually flattened. are subtle differences from region to region 2) Grooving which seem to be important in considering the An early and notable improvement was history of the quem, since they have survived the grooving of the working surfaces. The for nearly two thousand years. grooves or furrows had a typical, traditional 1) Bosom pattern which consisted of eight radial mas­ The working surface of the lower stone, in ter furrows and several secondary furrows principle, was perfectly flat, but that of the parallel to each master furrow (Fig.lO (b)). upper stone was slightly concave, especially Thus the working surface was divided into near the centre to admit a little continuous eight equal segments or harps which were flow of grains. Such an open annular space called quarters. "Quarter" was a unique between two stones was known as a bosom terminology of the millwrights in Europe, 9 ("Fukumi" in Japanese). Thus, the grains since "the quarter is not a quarter" ). It is received in this bosom are gradually drawn not certain where and when such fully a

KONA No.2 (1984) 51 developed and methodical system of fur­ on both sides of it for the grain to perco­ rowing was first evolved. There is a note­ late through. The gap between the two worthy fact that the pattern-counterclock­ stones is maintained uniformly. Though wise revolving, eight-quarter grooving - primitive adjusting of the fineness was done seems to be widespread and common using a small piece of leather or wood of throughout Europe and Asia. For instance, any desired thickness fixed in the socket of 5 the pattern of the British-Roman quern ) the rynd, a fairly efficient method of regu­ (first century A.D.) is the same as the one lation was by adjustment of the pivot surviving in China and Japan. height. Another exception to the existence Besides the eight-quarter pattern, there of the rynd in Japan is seen in the stone was a six-quarter pattern in China and quem of the medieval gold and silver Japan. Especially in Japan, a distinct re­ mines, the technology of which was intro­ 14 gional distribution was found in the eight­ duced from Europe ) 13 and six-quarter ) patterns, but as yet we On the other hand, Chinese and Japanese do not know why this distribution occurs querns had the funnel at an eccentric posi­ 12 or what it might represent ). tion, and so there was a pivoting hole in the 3) Pivoting center of the upper stone. Although the A hole was drilled through the top of the querns of the rynd system were used in upper stone, forming a kind of funnel some rare cases, especially for "Tofu" which acted as a hopper. As the upper making, they, seem to have introduced the stone revolving, the grains fell d.own into European style, since they were no more the bosom. than one hundred years old. As shown in Figs. 5 and 10, the shape 11. Conclusion and position of the funnel were different in Europe and in Asia. Consequently, the In this paper the varieties of grinding imple­ construction of the pivoting upper stone ments for domestic use in Japan have been upon the lower one was different. The traced, principally excluding the ones used in existence of a "rynd" (Fig.10 (a)) seems professional activity, because we can see that to be a prominent feature of the European almost all of the ancient implements survived quem. A pin of wood or iron stood in a for a long time in domestic use. In parallel with hole in the centre of the lower stone, and the professional activity of flour milling, do­ the top of the pin fit into the rynd. A rynd mestic milling continued to be practiced. The was a block of wood or iron bridging across reason for its survival was, needless to say, underneath the funnel, leaving a little space necessity or economy. However another point

Space for distribution of grarns

Funnel or eye

. . ' .

R,~

Pre· Roman Wessex type

(a) Rynd of European quern (b) Typical Japanese quern

Fig. 1 0 Principles of rotary quern

52 KONA No.2 (1984) to be remembered is that various home-made References foods made from small quantities of superior I) Bennett, R., and Elton,J.: History of Com Milling. materials prepared skillfully using domestic Vol.l Burt Franklin, N.Y. (1898). implements were undoubtedly preferred in 2) Needham, J.: Science and Gvilization in China. many households which could obtain the Cambridge at the Univ. Press (I965). ready-made products from a shop. Particularly 3) Storck, J., and Teague, W.D.: A History of Milling in Japan many ancient implements have sur­ - Flour for Man's Bread. Mineapolis Minnesota vived, because throughout the roughly two Univ. Press (I 952). thousand years since agriculture was intro­ 4) Maurizio, A.: Histoire deL 'Alimentation Vegetale. duced into Japan in the Yayoi period, nothing Payot, Paris (I 932). has arisen to replace the old ways of raising 5) Reynolds, J.: Windmills & Watermills. Hugh crops, at least as far as the wet-field system of Evelyn Lond, (I 970). rice cultivation is concerned. And so the life­ 6) Freese, S.: Windmills and Millwrighting. David & style of rural villages has been preserved while Charles Newton Abbot, England (I957). 7) Poppe, J.H.M: Geschichte der Kiinste und Wissen­ the cities have evolved a new culture. For in­ schaften. (I 807). stance, Japanese "Chausu", which was intro­ 8) «:;K.MapRc,,8HreJihC Coyn;HeHn;JI ~ToM. 4 7 duced from China many centuries ago, is re­ (JlOJID;TI~3AaT,MocRBa) (I 973). fined in Japan, and survives today. It is indeed 9) Speight, J.: Milling, I47, (18] 374-375 (I966). a beautifully made object, artistic instead of 10) Hommel, R.P.: China at Work. (The M.I.T. Press, technological. I937). The age in which we live is one of constant II) Amano, A.: History of Chinese Agriculture. Ocha­ change, especially in the last three decades. nomizu-Shobo (I 962). Everything becomes obsolete almost as soon as I2) Fujimoto, T.: Trans. of Archaeological Institute, it is completed; modern man is prepared to No.2, 40-75 (1983). accept it, and tends even to welcome this state 13) Miwa, S.: Cultural History of man and materials­ of affiars as inevitable. However, some humani­ Mortar. Hosei Univ. Press (I978). I4) Nozaki, J.: Trans. of Tohoku Cultural Institute, ty has occasionally been lost, the humanity in­ Tohoku Gakuin Univ., No. II, 7I-87 (I 980). cluded in the everyday things in which the human history is condensed. The study of vari­ (English proof reader: S. E. Dodick) ous grinding implements may lead to the study of "what is a preferable civilization."

KONA No.2 (1984) 53