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Founding Territorial Cults in Early Japan
Traces of a Forgotten Ritual in Ancient Myths and Legends
Series: - Brill's Japanese Studies Library, Volume: 76
Author:
The first book that deals with the territorial cults of early Japan by focusing on how such cults were founded in ownerless regions. Numerous ancient Japanese myths and legends are discussed to show that the typical founding ritual was a two-phase ritual that turned the territory into a horizontal microcosm, complete with its own âterrestrial heavenâ inhabited by local deities.
Reversing Mircea Eliadeâs popular thesis, the author concludes that the concept of the human-made horizontal microcosm is not a reflection but the source of the religious concept of the macrocosm with gods dwelling high up in the sky.
The open access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Reversing Mircea Eliadeâs popular thesis, the author concludes that the concept of the human-made horizontal microcosm is not a reflection but the source of the religious concept of the macrocosm with gods dwelling high up in the sky.
The open access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Gaudenz Domenig is an architect and researcher in anthropology of space who has mainly published on Japanese and Indonesian topics. His last book is Religion and Architecture in Premodern Indonesia (Brill, 2014).
Contents
Preface
List of Figures
Introduction
âThe Problem of the Pre-Shinto Cults
âTerritorial Cults
âThe Focus on Early Japan
âJapanâs Protohistory
âInnovations Introduced by the Taika Reform
âDifferent Versions of the Same Story in Nihon Shoki
âThe God Age Mythology
âThe Fudoki Mythology
âThe Method of Interpretation
âThe Theoretical Model
âThe Structure of the Book
âVarious Notes
1 Divination
âDivining with Things Thrown and Falling Down
âDivining the Place for Founding a Shrine
âAbsurd Uses of the Falling Motif
âRealistic Methods Exaggerated
âLand Divination Typically Performed in Front
âDivining with Things Cast Overboard
âFloating a Wisteria Twig to Find the Right Place
âLetting a Cooking Set Float to Enemy Land
âSusanoo and the Floating Chopsticks
âKisakahime and the Lost Bow and Arrow
âArticles to Play on the Sea
âFloats Used for Divining
âDivining in Boats
âLater Survivals: The Religious Use of Wood Drifted Ashore
âConclusion
2 The Story of Yato no Kami
âThe Topography
âThe Mountain Entrance
âThe Lacking First Part of the Story
âThe Yashiro at the Upper Boundary
âMatachiâs Ritual Procedure Reconstructed
âMibu no Muraji Maro and the Divine Snakes
âMoving a Shrine to Another Site
âThe Location of the Ancient Pond
âThe New Conditions in the RitsuryÅ State
âConclusions
3 Making a Large Territory in Harima
âAme no Hiboko and Iwa no Åkami
âAme no Hibokoâs Arrival
âThe Claiming Ceremony on Iibo Hill
âOther Claiming Stories
âThe Iibo Hill and Its Special Relation to the Iwa Jinja
âHardening the Land
âA Model of the Grand-Scale Land-Making Myth?
âThe Two Foundations of the Iwa Shrine
âConclusions
4 Making and Ceding the Land in the God Age
âThe God Age Mythology: An Overview according to Kojiki
âThe Land-Making Myth
âSukunabikona
âÅnamuchi as a Beginner in Land-Making
âThe Land-Ceding Myth according to Kojiki
âThe Land-Ceding Myth according to Nihon Shoki
âKojiki and Nihon Shoki: Two Different Doctrines
âConsequences of the Land-Ceding Myth
âConclusion
5 Ninigiâs Descent and His Territory in Kyushu
âThe Title Sentence Pattern
âThe Two Main Versions of the Myth
âCape Kasasa as a Place on the Way to Takachiho
âNinigiâs Arrival at the Coast
âNinigi Questions the Master of the Land at Cape Kasasa
âNinigi at Cape Kasasa
âTakama no Hara as a Horizontally Distant Heaven
âNinigiâs Descendants Living in Kyushu
âThe Conquest of Yamato
âConclusion
6 The Foundation of the Izumo Shrine
âÅkuninushiâs Place of Hiding and Waiting
âPrince Homuchiwake Worships the Great God of Izumo
âAshihara no Shikoo and the Worship at Iwakuma
âMt. Kannabi and the Sokinoya Shrine
âA Suitable Site at the Foot of Mt. Kannabi
âThe Political Aspect
âThe Foundation of the Shrine at Kizuki
âThe Land-Pulling Myth and the Four Kannabi of Izumo
âSumming Up
7 The Foundation of the Ise Shrine
âThe Later Version of the Foundation Story
âName-Asking as a Form of Claiming
âPillow Words Alluding to Land-Making Myths
âThe Topography of the Isuzu Valley
âSarutahiko and a Heaven in the Mountains
âThe Precinct of the Inner Shrine (NaikÅ«)
âFrom Simple to Complex Cult Systems
âSarutahikoâs Destiny
âSumming Up
8 Characteristics of Territorial Cults
âDivination as the Primary Rite
âVariants of the Cult Contract
âThe Cult Contract and the State Ritual after the Taika Reform
âFounder Worship
âShrine and Tomb
âThe Guardian Deity Is Excluded from the Land Opened Up
âNature Spirits Can Become Manifest in Wild Animals
âThe Guardian Deity Is Believed to Control the Local Weather
âCalamities Blamed on Some Mistake in the Ritual
âCult Places Could Be Moved to Enlarge the Agricultural Land
âThe Mountain God as a Multifunctional Deity
âThe Mountain Entrance and the Torii
âBoundary Marks
âTabooed Mountain Areas
âThe Bipolar Structure of Territories
âThe Chigi Cross as a Symbol
âThe Name of the Kami Land
âThe Age of the Yorishiro Concept
âThe Land-Making Motif in Creation Myths
âConclusion
9 Sacred Groves and Cult Marks
âYashikigami Worship
âA Sacred Grove on Hirado Island
âThe GarÅ Yama of Tanegashima
âThe Sacred Forest of the Åmiwa Shrine
âThe Matsushita Shrine and the Somin Sanctuary
âCult Marks Replaced by Shrine Buildings
âYorishiro and Ogishiro
âThe Shimenawa and the Straw Snake
âClaiming Signs Made by Binding or Knotting Growing Plants
âPacifying the Site
âAncient Land-Claiming and the Rural Gathering Economy
âSign-Making Dealt with in Ethnographic Studies
10 Comparative Notes
âThe Settlement of Iceland
âFounding Sacred Groves and Colonies in Ancient Greece
âThe Vedic Tradition
âOpening Up Land in Shifting Cultivation
âFrom Terrestrial Heavens to the Heaven in the Sky
Bibliography
Index
Preface
List of Figures
Introduction
âThe Problem of the Pre-Shinto Cults
âTerritorial Cults
âThe Focus on Early Japan
âJapanâs Protohistory
âInnovations Introduced by the Taika Reform
âDifferent Versions of the Same Story in Nihon Shoki
âThe God Age Mythology
âThe Fudoki Mythology
âThe Method of Interpretation
âThe Theoretical Model
âThe Structure of the Book
âVarious Notes
1 Divination
âDivining with Things Thrown and Falling Down
âDivining the Place for Founding a Shrine
âAbsurd Uses of the Falling Motif
âRealistic Methods Exaggerated
âLand Divination Typically Performed in Front
âDivining with Things Cast Overboard
âFloating a Wisteria Twig to Find the Right Place
âLetting a Cooking Set Float to Enemy Land
âSusanoo and the Floating Chopsticks
âKisakahime and the Lost Bow and Arrow
âArticles to Play on the Sea
âFloats Used for Divining
âDivining in Boats
âLater Survivals: The Religious Use of Wood Drifted Ashore
âConclusion
2 The Story of Yato no Kami
âThe Topography
âThe Mountain Entrance
âThe Lacking First Part of the Story
âThe Yashiro at the Upper Boundary
âMatachiâs Ritual Procedure Reconstructed
âMibu no Muraji Maro and the Divine Snakes
âMoving a Shrine to Another Site
âThe Location of the Ancient Pond
âThe New Conditions in the RitsuryÅ State
âConclusions
3 Making a Large Territory in Harima
âAme no Hiboko and Iwa no Åkami
âAme no Hibokoâs Arrival
âThe Claiming Ceremony on Iibo Hill
âOther Claiming Stories
âThe Iibo Hill and Its Special Relation to the Iwa Jinja
âHardening the Land
âA Model of the Grand-Scale Land-Making Myth?
âThe Two Foundations of the Iwa Shrine
âConclusions
4 Making and Ceding the Land in the God Age
âThe God Age Mythology: An Overview according to Kojiki
âThe Land-Making Myth
âSukunabikona
âÅnamuchi as a Beginner in Land-Making
âThe Land-Ceding Myth according to Kojiki
âThe Land-Ceding Myth according to Nihon Shoki
âKojiki and Nihon Shoki: Two Different Doctrines
âConsequences of the Land-Ceding Myth
âConclusion
5 Ninigiâs Descent and His Territory in Kyushu
âThe Title Sentence Pattern
âThe Two Main Versions of the Myth
âCape Kasasa as a Place on the Way to Takachiho
âNinigiâs Arrival at the Coast
âNinigi Questions the Master of the Land at Cape Kasasa
âNinigi at Cape Kasasa
âTakama no Hara as a Horizontally Distant Heaven
âNinigiâs Descendants Living in Kyushu
âThe Conquest of Yamato
âConclusion
6 The Foundation of the Izumo Shrine
âÅkuninushiâs Place of Hiding and Waiting
âPrince Homuchiwake Worships the Great God of Izumo
âAshihara no Shikoo and the Worship at Iwakuma
âMt. Kannabi and the Sokinoya Shrine
âA Suitable Site at the Foot of Mt. Kannabi
âThe Political Aspect
âThe Foundation of the Shrine at Kizuki
âThe Land-Pulling Myth and the Four Kannabi of Izumo
âSumming Up
7 The Foundation of the Ise Shrine
âThe Later Version of the Foundation Story
âName-Asking as a Form of Claiming
âPillow Words Alluding to Land-Making Myths
âThe Topography of the Isuzu Valley
âSarutahiko and a Heaven in the Mountains
âThe Precinct of the Inner Shrine (NaikÅ«)
âFrom Simple to Complex Cult Systems
âSarutahikoâs Destiny
âSumming Up
8 Characteristics of Territorial Cults
âDivination as the Primary Rite
âVariants of the Cult Contract
âThe Cult Contract and the State Ritual after the Taika Reform
âFounder Worship
âShrine and Tomb
âThe Guardian Deity Is Excluded from the Land Opened Up
âNature Spirits Can Become Manifest in Wild Animals
âThe Guardian Deity Is Believed to Control the Local Weather
âCalamities Blamed on Some Mistake in the Ritual
âCult Places Could Be Moved to Enlarge the Agricultural Land
âThe Mountain God as a Multifunctional Deity
âThe Mountain Entrance and the Torii
âBoundary Marks
âTabooed Mountain Areas
âThe Bipolar Structure of Territories
âThe Chigi Cross as a Symbol
âThe Name of the Kami Land
âThe Age of the Yorishiro Concept
âThe Land-Making Motif in Creation Myths
âConclusion
9 Sacred Groves and Cult Marks
âYashikigami Worship
âA Sacred Grove on Hirado Island
âThe GarÅ Yama of Tanegashima
âThe Sacred Forest of the Åmiwa Shrine
âThe Matsushita Shrine and the Somin Sanctuary
âCult Marks Replaced by Shrine Buildings
âYorishiro and Ogishiro
âThe Shimenawa and the Straw Snake
âClaiming Signs Made by Binding or Knotting Growing Plants
âPacifying the Site
âAncient Land-Claiming and the Rural Gathering Economy
âSign-Making Dealt with in Ethnographic Studies
10 Comparative Notes
âThe Settlement of Iceland
âFounding Sacred Groves and Colonies in Ancient Greece
âThe Vedic Tradition
âOpening Up Land in Shifting Cultivation
âFrom Terrestrial Heavens to the Heaven in the Sky
Bibliography
Index
Scholars interested in early Japan, Shinto, mythology, settlement geography, spatial anthropology, interpretation of ancient texts, and history of religions.