hassō 発装

Keywords
Art History
Painting

Also written 八双, 雙双, 八宗. Can also be called hyōmoku 表木 when referring to hanging scrolls *kakemono 掛物. A slender, half-cylindrical roller attached to the upper end of a hanging scroll or to the far right edge of a handscroll *kansubon 巻子本. Wood kakemono hassō are fitted with metal rings kanzagane 鐶座金 through which a cord or braid called kakeo 掛緒 is passed. This enables the scroll to be hung. In the case of the handscroll bamboo is generally used for the hassō and is called hyōshitake 表紙竹. This word can also be interchangeable with hassō in general use. The shape of the hassō is now described as a half-moon hangetsu 半月 shape, but at one time these rollers were square . Even now, one may come across a four-sided roller on a mounted Chinese work. The inner part of the hassō is called maki-ita 巻板. The outer or round side is called yama 山. There is no set rule for the size of the hassō, as it corresponds to the size of the jikugi 軸木 (the wooden roller that the end or bottom of the scroll is wound around). Attached to the cord of the hanging scroll or directly to the hassō of the handscroll, is another long braid or cord called a makio 巻緒. In the case of the hanging scroll, the makio hangs down the back side of the scroll when it is on display. When the scroll is rolled up and put away, the makio is wound around the scroll and tied for storage. A piece of paper is placed between the scroll and the makio at this time to protect the scroll, and this is called a makiogami 巻緒紙, or makigami 巻紙. The term takuboku 啄木 refers to the cord that is used for both the kakeo and makio. Fine decorative scrolls such as Heike nōkyō 平家納経 (Heike Dedicatory Sutra; 1164, Itsukushima Jinja 厳島神社 in Hiroshima Prefecture) had superbly crafted metal fittings for use with the makio. Hassō can also be used to mean the decorative metal fitting for hanging scrolls of Buddhist and other paintings. This is due to its resemblance to *hassō kanagu 八双金具, a decorative metal fitting which is attached to the edges of the leaves of an entrance gate. When referring specifically to the mounting of a painting, hassō came to be the usual term.