A Tentative Study of Carving Action in the Elder Futhark: The Possibility of Letterform Formation through Carving with an Axe on Standing Trees

English translation of the Japanese original published at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20257467 This paper presents the carving action hypothesis, which proposes that the letterforms of the Elder Futhark may have been shaped by the practice of carving them into standing trees with an axe. From this single physical premise, the paper offers a unified account of multiple letterform features that have not been satisfactorily explained by distinguishability alone. The basic line types of the runes are consolidated into three—vertical lines, diagonals descending to the right, and diagonals descending to the left—all of which share a downward orientation. This paper interprets this convergence as a consequence of carving actions performed within the framework of the downward swing of the axe. Vertical lines correspond to the most natural downward swing following gravity, and diagonals to downward swings with a twist added; horizontal lines, which deviate from this framework, are systematically suppressed. The standing tree, as a cylindrical medium positioned in front of the body, further supports the verticality of letterforms and the long form of vertical lines. The paper extends this hypothesis to discuss the size of letterforms, the auxiliary addition of vertical lines (in Tiwaz, Algiz, and Dagaz), the historical transformation of writing direction (from vertical writing on standing trees to horizontal writing on stones while seated), and the symbolic system rooted in the climate of the northern Germanic world (frozen ground and the rhombus). Throughout, the paper preserves the position of conditional reasoning: "if the premise of the axe and the standing tree is granted, this much can be coherently explained." This paper is presented as the final installment of a trilogy of runic studies, complementing the structural and morphological discussions of the companion papers with a hypothetical reconstruction of physical and climatic basis. It proposes a perspective for reading the runes as a cultural product established within a nexus linking letterform, body, tool, medium, and climate.