Problems in the Study of 'Kakuhitsu (角筆)' Literature

The 'kakuhitsu' is a writing utensil made of either ivory or bamboo and in the shape of a small writing brush. By 'kakuhitsu' literature I mean those documents in which letters are impressed on paper with a sharp-pointed 'kakuhitsu'. A work of 'kakuhitsu' literature was first discovered twenty years ago, and its total number so far discovered amounts to eighty-two. One of the earliest works extant dates back to the beginning of the Heian period (around 800 A. D.), while the latest dates from the late Edo period (around 1800 A. D.). The writings of this kind are abundantly owned by ancient temples in Kyōto, and they are also possessed by ancient shrines on the isles in the Inland Sea, and by ancient temples in Kyūshū, thus being scattered all over the country. 'Kakuhitsu' literature is classified into three categories according to its contents. The first is those documents in which a Chinese composition written in Chinese ink is glossed in vermilion with guiding marks by 'kakuhitsu'. The second is those in which a similar composition is plainly glossed with guiding marks by 'kakuhitsu'. This appears, at a cursory glance, to consist of nothing but Chinese writing. The third is those in which letters are simply impressed or inscribed on white paper with 'kakuhitsu'. The last is spparently blank paper. It is to be noted in passing that thess three categories call for distinct methods of research. The vocabulary of 'kakuhitsu' documents tends, unlike that of Chinese-ink writings, to be deviant from the norm, because of their personal character as well as of their nature of a memorandum. Along with slang, linguistic changes not yet discernible in Chinese-ink writings find their way into their vocabulary. Accordingly, they provide us with the new and best materials for describing the growth of colloquialism in the Heian and Kamakura periods