概要 / description

秩父郡長瀞町の故永田三郎氏が昭和期に30年をかけ蒐集した灯火具コレクション。灯火具とは、あかりを灯すための道具。電灯が使われるようになるまで、油や蝋燭を燃焼させる灯火具が長らく人々の生活を支えてきた。江戸時代には、灯油の主流を菜種油が占めた。コレクションには、江戸時代の灯油用灯火具である行灯、秉燭のほか、江戸末期に田中久重が開発した圧搾空気利用の調整付灯火具である無尽灯や懐中燭台などがある。さらに石油ランプ普及以前に広く利用されたカンテラや、風に吹き消されないようガラスをはめ込んだ箱にカンテラを入れたランタンのように、明治期を代表する灯火具もあり、多彩な明かりのコレクションが並ぶ。

A Tōkagu lighting equipment collection assembled by the late Nagata Saburō from Nagatoromachi, Chichibugun, over the course of thirty years during the Shōwa era. Tōkagu is equipment for getting the lights. Until electric lamps came into use, Lighting equipment that burned oil and candles had long been supporting people’s lifestyles. Rapeseed oil was the main type of lamp oil in the Edo period. The collection includes andon lamps and hyōsoku oil lamps, lighting equipment for lamp oil in the Edo period, as well as Tanaka Hisashige’s developments at the end of the Edo period such as mujin lights, which is adjustable lighting equipment making use of compressed air, and a portable candleholder. Moreover, it has a versatile lighting collection including lighting equipment representing the Meiji era such as spout lamps, which were widely used before oil lamps became popular, and lanterns that a spout lamp is in a box with glass fitted therein to prevent the fire from being blown out by the wind.