広島県内の水害碑に関する追加資料と歴史的変遷

本稿では，情報提供により新たに見いだした10 基の広島県内の水害碑の特徴について記載した上で，県内における近世の後半から現在までに建立された50 基の水害碑の歴史的変遷を明らかにする。県内の水害碑の全50基の属性（建立年，碑の縦横比，使用している文字，碑文の内容，文字数）を整理した結果，明治前～中期と，1950年代の二つの時期で碑の属性が大きく変わることが明らかになった。明治前～中期以降から1950年代までの碑は，縦長からなること，漢文や漢字片仮名交じり文からなること，被災や復旧に関する情報が豊富であること，災害からの復旧に尽力した個人を顕彰するものがあること，天皇からの下賜金を示すものがあることの特徴を持つ。1950年代以降の碑は，漢字平仮名交じり文からなること，被災や復旧に関する記述が少ないこと，慰霊を建立目的とする碑が多くなること，70年代以降には横長の碑が認められることの特徴をもつ。

The inscriptions on 10 stone monuments related to flood or debris flow disasters in Hiroshima Prefecture, southwest Japan, were described. In total, there are 50 monuments in Hiroshima Prefecture based on our previous data and these additional data. Two turning points in the 1880s and 1950s were recognized based on the characteristics of the monuments in terms of their inscription contents, volume of contents, ratio of height and length of the monuments, and use of written language. Few monuments were built before the 1880s and their contents were less informative. Monuments erected from the 1880s to the 1950s were taller; their contents were characterized as detailed information relating to damage or restoration and were inscribed using kanbun, Chinese characters only, or kanji characters with katakana. The inscriptions on some monuments expressed residents’ appreciation for solatium from the Emperor or honored a person who contributed to the restoration after disaster. Fewer monuments built after the 1950s acknowledged disaster damage or restoration, and their contents were less informative, but more monuments were memorialized victims with a short message. The characters inscribed on these monuments were kanji with hiragana. Wider monuments were observed after the 1970s.