中山伝信録 巻六 - 翻刻

翻刻

　市中交易用銭無銀銭無輪廓間有旧銭如鵞眼大
　磨漫処或有洪武字巳絶少今用者如細鉄糸圏一
　貫不及三四寸許重不逾両許貫口封一紙扣鈴記
　之散即不可用毎千値国銀二分二釐《割書：明万暦中蕭｜崇業夏子陽》
　《割書：等録即云国中用黒銅銭極軽小千不盈掬凡五｜貫折銀一銭則其来巳久本国称為鳩字銭云》其
　平日皆行寛永通宝銭《割書：銭背無字或有一文字按日｜本寛永元年為前明天啓二》
　《割書：年歳在壬戌此日本旧銭也銭模大小亦与前明万｜暦銭相埒銭質皆赤銅毎百値国銀一銭二分国朝》
　《割書：典彙云琉球市用日本｜銭以十当一為近是》臨時易之使還則復其旧国
　中旧有洪武銭永楽十一年又賜永楽銭天順二年
　王請照永楽宣徳間例所帯貨物以銅銭給賜礼部
　寝之　本朝又無賜銭之例故其国少中国銭
　婦女小民家簪用玳瑁長尺許倒揷髻中翹額上髻
　甚鬆前後偏堕疑即所謂倭堕髻也不穿耳聞国中
　大家女亦然無脂粉無首飾珠翠倶廃不用足無所
　矯揉或穿半襪或着三板或赤足行沙土中手背皆
　有青点五指脊上黒道直貫至甲辺腕上下或方或
　円或鬌為形不等不尽如梅花也女子年十五即針
　刺以墨塗之歳歳増加官戸皆然聞先国王曽欲変

現代語訳

市中の取引では銀銭を使わず、銭には輪郭がなく、時折古銭があり、鵞眼のように大きく摩耗したところに洪武の文字があるものもあるが、既に非常に少ない。今使われているものは細い鉄線のような環で、一貫でも三、四寸に及ばず、重さは二両を超えない。貫の口を紙で封じて鈴印を押し、散らばると使用できなくなる。千枚で国銀二分二釐の価値がある。（割書：明の万暦中、蕭崇業・夏子陽等の記録によれば、国中では黒銅銭を用い、極めて軽く小さく、千枚でも手に一握りに満たず、およそ五貫で銀一銭に相当するとあり、その来歴は久しく、本国では鳩字銭と称している）

平日はすべて寛永通宝銭を使用している。（割書：銭の背面に文字はないか、あるいは一文字がある。日本の寛永元年は前明の天啓二年、歳は壬戌にあたる。これは日本の旧銭である。銭の型の大小も前明の万暦銭と同等で、銭質はすべて赤銅、百枚で国銀一銭二分の価値。国朝典彙によれば、琉球の市場では日本銭を用い、十を一として当てるのが適切である）臨時に交換し、使者が帰ると元に戻る。

国中には古くから洪武銭があり、永楽十一年にまた永楽銭を賜った。天順二年に王が永楽・宣徳間の例に倣って持参した貨物に銅銭で給賜することを請うたが、礼部がこれを却下した。本朝にもまた銭を賜る例がないため、その国には中国銭が少ない。

婦女・小民の家では簪に玳瑁を用い、長さ一尺許り、髻に逆さに挿して額上に翹る。髻は非常に緩く、前後に偏って垂れ下がり、いわゆる倭堕髻と思われる。耳は穿たず、聞くところでは国中の大家の女も同様である。脂粉はなく、首飾り・珠翠はすべて廃れて用いない。足に矯正はなく、半襪を穿くか三板を着けるか、あるいは裸足で砂土中を歩く。手の甲にはすべて青い点があり、五指の背上に黒い道が甲の辺まで直線に貫き、腕の上下に方形や円形、あるいは様々な形があり、すべて梅花のようではない。女子は十五歳になると針で刺して墨を塗り、歳々増加する。官戸もすべて然り。聞くところでは先の国王がかつて変えようと欲したが...

英語訳

In market transactions, they do not use silver coins. The copper coins have no rim, and occasionally there are old coins as large as goose-eye coins with worn areas where "Hongwu" characters can be seen, but these are already very rare. Those used now are like thin iron wire rings - even one string (kan) does not reach three or four inches, and weighs no more than two ryō. The opening of each string is sealed with paper and stamped with a bell seal; if scattered, they cannot be used. One thousand coins are worth two bu and two rin of national silver. (Marginal note: During the Wanli period of Ming, records by Xiao Chongye, Xia Ziyang and others state that the country uses black copper coins that are extremely light and small - a thousand do not fill one's grasp, and roughly five kan equal one qian of silver. Their origin is ancient, and the country calls them "dove character coins.")

In daily life, they all use Kan'ei Tsūhō coins. (Marginal note: The reverse of the coins has no characters or perhaps one character. Japan's Kan'ei first year corresponds to the second year of Tianqi of former Ming, the year being mizunoe-inu. These are old Japanese coins. The size of the coin molds is also equivalent to the Wanli coins of former Ming, all made of red copper, with one hundred coins worth one qian and two bu of national silver. According to the National Dynasty Compendium, Ryukyu markets use Japanese coins, with ten counting as one being appropriate.) They exchange temporarily, and when envoys return, they revert to the old system.

The country has long had Hongwu coins, and in the eleventh year of Yongle they were also granted Yongle coins. In the second year of Tianshun, the king requested that goods brought be rewarded with copper coins following the precedent of the Yongle-Xuande period, but the Ministry of Rites rejected this. Our current dynasty also has no precedent for granting coins, so that country has few Chinese coins.

Women and commoners use tortoiseshell hairpins about one shaku long, inserted upside down in their hair buns, protruding above the forehead. The hair buns are very loose, falling unevenly forward and backward - this appears to be what is called the "Japanese drooping bun." They do not pierce their ears, and I hear that women of great households throughout the country are the same. They use no rouge or powder, and jewelry with pearls and kingfisher feathers has all fallen into disuse. Their feet are not bound or shaped; they either wear half-socks, wooden sandals, or walk barefoot in sandy soil. The backs of their hands all have blue dots, with black lines running straight across the backs of their five fingers to the nail edges, and square, circular, or various other shapes above and below the wrists - not all like plum blossoms. When girls reach fifteen years old, they puncture with needles and apply ink, adding more each year. Official households are all the same. I heard that a former king once wished to change this...