四デト

[Lee Butler]

Dear all, 

In an article on the military prowess of Negoroji monks, Atsuta Kō (熱田公、紀州の一大勢力根来の僧兵, 「歴史読本」1977年臨時増刊号, pp. 390-98) quotes Gaspar Vilela as writing「彼等は頭髪を四デトに伸ばし、其以上に生長せしめず」.  I've had no luck in finding out the length of a デト.  Nothing comes up in my searches, so I'd appreciate any insights from the group. 

Thanks. 

Lee Butler

[Spafford, David]

Dear Lee,

Assuming that the deto is a finger, and assuming (big assumption) that its measure was roughly the same across Europe, a quick search seems to indicate that it was a unit that went back to the Roman empire and measured approximately approximately 1.85 cm. 

Is this at odds with what you found?

 

(I’m sure others will provide more  scholarly replies.)

Cheers, 

David

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[Mikhail Skovoronskikh]

Dear colleagues,

A digital search in the NDL database reveals several other quotes of the same passage, where the unit is spelled as デド and not デト. This must be referring to dedo (finger), a historic unit of length in both Spain and Portugal, 1.75 to 1.8 cm depending on the country.

I hope this helps.

Best regards,

Mikhail Skovoronskikh 

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[Lee Butler]

Many thanks to Ariel, David, and Mikhail.  Yes, that makes sense that it is dedo and not deto.  I don't know if Atsuta missed the original wording or somehow dropped the tenten.  Not a particularly striking length of hair, except that it was a sharp contrast to other monks.  Vilela did specifically add that the Negoroji monks did not shave their heads. 

Best, 

Lee Butler

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[Richard Bowring]

Did he say there never shaved, or was it perhaps that they were allowed more time between shavings? This was certainly the case with Ōbaku monks, about a century later.

Richard Bowring

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[Stephen Turnbull]

The original quotation by Vilela is to be found in a letter written by him from Goa in 1571.  (Cartas 1598, vol. 1, f. 326v)  His actual words are "de quatro dedos", so you are perfectly correct to translate it as "four fingers long".

[Lee Butler]

Richard, 

According to Atsuta's translation, Vilela followed his comment about the hair length of "four dedo" with the statement that the monks did not shave this, meaning they kept it that length.  As Atsuta points out, not everything that Vilela wrote about Negoroji was correct (he wrote for example that they often hired mercenaries--which they did not do), and Vilela never went there himself.  The "four dedo" assertion is not corroborated by other sources.  There is no question that by the middle of the sixteenth century, the temple had become a major regional power, but the monks' decision to defy Hideyoshi meant the temple's total destruction and the loss of all its records.  

Lee Butler

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[Jonathan Lopez-Vera]

Dear all,

 

In Spanish, and I guess it's the same in Portuguese, we use often this "cuatro dedos", for things that are roughly 8-10 cm long, I mean, I wouldn't take it as a unity of measurement called "dedo", as it was pointed out. By the way, I attach the letter in Portuguese, just in case it helps (Cartas, 1598, vol. 1, f. 326v).

 

Best,

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