蛎殻灰

[Travis Seifman]

Dear colleagues,

I have a rather 細かい question to ask about a particular material; I am hoping that someone might know a good term in English to refer to 蛎殻灰.

Here's the context it's coming up in for me:
An entry in the Ishin Shiryo Kôyô 維新史料綱要 Database which indicates that on  万延１年１２月１０日 (20 Jan 1861 fwiw), 「 幕府、関東八州に令し、更に明年より十箇年間、会所「深川新大橋際」をして石灰蛎殻灰を江戸市中に専売せしめ、且会所加入を自由ならしむ。」

So, very roughly, "The shogunate issues orders for the kaisho clearinghouses (at Shinōhashi in Fukagawa) to hold a monopoly on the sale of coal and oyster shell fertilizer within Edo for a period of ten years beginning the following year. The shogunate also orders that merchants in the eight provinces of the Kantō can join the clearinghouses freely."

The issue is, I am told that this substance was used not just for fertilizer, but in construction and in other ways. So, do we have a standard term in English to refer to it that doesn't limit it to fertilizer? Can we say "oyster shell ash" or is that an incorrect too-direct translation?

Thanks so much.

Sincerely,
Travis Seifman
Postdoctoral Project Researcher
UTokyo Historiographical Institute

[Katriel P]

Hello,

This is in response to Travis Seifman's question about translation: I am not sure if this is the right term, but due to the similarity to the use of things like coffee grounds or use of oily seeds like flaxseed in multiple household and gardening uses, I would actually say "oyster shell grounds" (like "coffee grounds" etc) or "ground oyster shells" in English, but that might not be the standardization you might be looking for.

Thank you for your time,

Katriel Paige

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[Cynthea Bogel]

Dear Travis,

I think it would be rendered as oyster shell ash or oyster shell powder. It is still used in construction in some cultures. Lime is the byproduct. 

This study uses "oyster shell ash.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652614013122

Best, Cynthea

Cynthea J. Bogel
  •USA: Visiting Scholar, The Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University (Feb. 2022–Jan. 2023)
  •Japan: Professor, Buddhist visual culture in East Asia and Japanese Art History
Kyushu University, Graduate School of Humanities (until March 31, 2023)
  •The Eastern Buddhist, Advisory Board member. https://ebs.otani.ac.jp/

  •Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University (JAH-Q), an annual peer-reviewed, Open Access, Scopus-indexed journal. 
Editor, 2016–2022 except 2020, Group Editor.  https://www.lib.kyushu-u.ac.jp/publications_kyushu/jahq 
Complete web PDF on the journal webpage: https://www2.lit.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/impjh/jahq/

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[Jordan Sand]

I would suggest using the word "lime."

Jordan Sand

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Jordan Sand
Professor of Japanese History
Georgetown University

[Travis Seifman]

Dear Katriel, Jordan, and Cynthea,

Thanks so much for taking the time to write back about this. All of these suggestions sound good - I'll suggest them to my co-workers and see what they think we should go with.

Much obliged. 本当に助かりました。

-Travis

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[Travis Seifman]

Looking it over, I have also realized that I misread the paired term -  石灰蛎殻灰 - as 石炭 (coal). So, I've corrected that to "lime." Perhaps we'll end up going with "lime and oyster shell ash" or "lime and ground oyster shell."

I truly appreciate the help.

Sincerely,

Travis Seifman