2. PRESENTACIÓN, ANÁLISIS E INTERPRETACIÓN DE LOS
2.3. Resultados de la ficha de observación aplicada en el nivel
a. Transformation of Ise Belief
The inner shrine (called Naigū) of Ise Shrine was first dedicated to Amaterasu
as the ancestral god of the imperial family.189 And the outer shrine (called Gegū) was dedicated to Toyoukeno-ō-mikami (hereaftere called Toyouke) at
first as an attendant god of Amaterasu.
Along with the increase in imperial political power, the position of Amaterasu was raised so that she became the supreme goddess of the sun and her role as farming goddess was transferred to Toyouke.190
In the Kamakura period (1183 or 1185 - 1333) and Nanbokuchō period191
(1336 to 1392), the Gegū priesthood192 established Ise Shinto. Their
emphases were: first, Toyouke, the goddess of Gegū, was looked upon in
the same way as Ame-no-Minakanushi (a creator god) and was superior to Amaterasu; second, Shinto is superior to Buddhism and Confucianism; and third, the emperors’ divine position was historically and religiously proved. Thus, they religiously proclaimed the position of Japan as a nation which was founded and protected by the gods. The theory was intended to be an
189
According to Miyamoto (1995;19), Ise Shrine was enshrined around 4th to 5th century.
190
Miyamoto, T. (1995). Tabi no Minzoku to Rekishi 5, Ise Sangū. Yasaka Shobō, Tokyo,
P.29.
191
The period when Japanese imperial family was divided between the Northern Emperors (Jimyōin-tō) and the Southern Emperors (Daikakuji-tō)
192
Primary leaders were Yukitada Watarai (1236 - 1306), Tsuneyoshi Watarai (1263 - 1339) and Ieyuki Watarai (1256 – 1351 or 1362).
anti-honji suijaku theory.193
The influence of Ise Shinto on society rapidly declined and its territories were lost with the decrease of the emperors’ power. Thus they fell into financial difficulty. So the priests, especially the ones in lower positions called ‘oshi’ began to go out nationwide to increase believers. They delivered the talismans and calendars which they published to satisfy people’s desire for worldly benefits. The objects of their propagandism were farmers, merchants and craftsmen. According to their activities, miniatures of the Ise shrine (Shinmyōsha) were built in many places. Naigū and Gegū priests competed
against each other in these activities. They organized believers’ groups in village communities named ‘kō’ (講).
194
At the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, the status of Buddhism fell, and Shinto’s status rose. When the prohibition of public worship at Naigū was
removed in 1811, anyone, even if they were not an emperor, an empress or a prince, became able to visit Naigū to worship. Immediately after this,
periodical nationwide mass movements occurred to make tours to Ise, which were called Okage Mairi.
These movements were deliberately overlooked by the shogunate as release mechanisms providing people with relief from the sense of stagnation in the feudalistic society.
193
Murakami, op.cit., pp.50-52; Miyamoto, op.cit., pp.56-57, 68-69
194
But the administration’s patience ran out when the movements gave way to another mass movement called Ējanaika in the summer of 1867. Triggered by
the alleged falling of talismans of Amaterasu or Ise Shrine from the sky, people took part in riotous activities, calling for Amaterasu’s virtue to change society immediately. The riots sang vulgar and irresponsible songs ending with the phrase ‘ējanaika’, broke into landlords’ or rich merchants’ houses with
their sandals on and were served with sake and foods. The movement threw the existing authorities into disorder all over the nation.195
Immediately after the riots, the new Meiji government withdrew Ise Shrine’s authority to be the object of the public religion and instead promoted it to the highest position in the National Shinto. On 21st April 1871, the Jingikan (the Office of Deities196) was established and both the Naigū and Gegū of Ise
Shrine were put under the jurisdiction of the Jingikan. In 1871, the oshi’s rights to produce and distribute talismans and calendars were taken away by the government.197
b. Changes of the Attributes of Amaterasu
The goddess enshrined at Ise Shrine, Amaterasu, was originally the goddess of agriculture so when the imperial family started to conduct the ritual for a
195
Miyamoto, ibid., pp.191-196; Murakami, ibid., pp.83-84
196
Britanica Online, [Japan the Ritsuryo System]. [Online]. Available: www.britannica.com/eb/topic-303985/Jingikan [2007, October 10]
197
Murakami, op.cit., p.94. In 1882, the Ise Shrine office was restored the right to publish the government calendar. In 1946, it was decided that Tokyo Astronomical Observatory was to publish the government calendar and Ise Shrine office was to publish their own calendars called daireki or shōreki.
N. Inoue, 2005, Offerings and Talismans: Jingūreki, Encyclopedia of Shinto, Establishment
of National Learning Institute for the Dissemination of Research on Shinto and Japanese Culture, Kokugakuin University. [Online]. Available:
good harvest, the myth stating that emperors were the lineal descendants of Amaterasu was generated and Amaterasu became the family deity of the emperors. Then, along with the increase of the emperors’ political and military power, one of the Amaterasu’s roles as the goddess of sun was emphasized. Under the honji suijaku theory, Amaterasu was said to be the provisional representation of Dainichi (Vairocana Buddha) or Kuze Kannon (a merciful saviour goddess). Then in the anti-honji suijaku theory, she was relegated to a position lower than Toyouke. When Ise Shrine attracted a popular following, Amaterasu became the object of belief for worldly benefit. In the late Tokugawa period, Kurozumikyō, a New Religion sect (discussed later in this
chapter), worshipped Amaterasu as a monotheistic supreme god. After the Meiji Restoration, Amaterasu was ranked as one of the highest gods and allocated the same position as the three creator gods.198
c. Ise’s Relation with Christianity
As a measure of government’s syncretising policy
At the time when missionaries were involved in Bible translation at the beginning of the Meiji era, the Meiji government thought that prohibition of Christianity would have to be removed soon or later due to the Western nations’ diplomatic pressure. But the government was also looking for a counter value against Christianity and selected National Shinto based on Restored Shinto founded on Kokugaku ideology199 which supported the
198
Murakami, ibid., p.84, 115-117.
199
Restored Shinto's idealistic attempt to unite ritual and politics ended in failure.
Recognising that Restored Shinto's theocratic enthusiasm caused the radical destruction of Buddhist temples and images, the Meiji government reduced the influence of Kokugaku and Restored Shinto by limiting the Jingikan's competence to ritual only and increasing the Daijōkan's competence on the political side. Then in 1875 they ranked National Shinto above
emperor-centered national structure. To establish this national structure, Ise Shrine had to be restored to the highest position among many shrines, because it had been the imperial family shrine and was dedicated to Amaterasu who was declared by the emperors as the ‘ancestor’ of their family. In other words, Ise Shrine had to be changed from being the object of the popular religion and restored as the object of National Shinto. This is why the Ise-kō(Ise believers’ group) and Okage Mairi were abolished at same time as
the Jingikan was re-established.200 The Meiji government tried to syncretise Christianity by introducing National Shinto as an umbrella over all existing religions in Japan and the Jingikan contributed to this purpose.201
Influence of Ise Goyomi
Ise Shrine had two faces represented by the Naigū and the Gegū, which
enabled the shrine to be an imperial shrine and a public shrine simultaneously. And this characteristic also enabled the Ise Shrine to survive the vicissitudes of imperial power through Japanese history. In and around the Meiji Restoration, the people were still familiar with the popular character of the Ise Shrine even though the government was working to bring it to the top of the National Shinto. N. Brown insisted on using the same kana for the Japanese Bible as the Ise Goyomi (calendar) did, so as to make the Bible easy to read. Since his idea was not accepted by other missionaries, he made the original kana type by himself and published the kana New Testament in parts from 1875.202 Uemura in Saba (1966; 142,144) says that N. Brown had sold
200
The name of Jingikan is first seen in a section of 694 A.D. in Nihonshoki, suggesting that the office was first established by the end of the 7th century.
201
Murakami, op.cit., pp.88, 90-91, 93-94, 119, 125
202
A. Ebisawa, 1964. Nihon no Seisho: Seisho Wayaku no Rekishi. Nihon Kirisuto Kyōdan
sixteen thousand Bibles in parts by the year 1882 and fifteen thousand of them were kana Bibles.
Fig. 4-4 Nathan Brown’s New Testament Translation203
d. New Religions
Taking advantage of Ise-kō and Okage Mairi,new Shinto cults grew at the end
of the Tokugawa period and the beginning of the Meiji era. The founders, as allegedly living gods, were united with or related to their own new supreme gods and transmitted the god’s will to the public. These gods were respectively stated as gods having a spiritual authority that transcended the traditional gods; and, in this sense, their character was monotheistic.204 The
203
gazou15l.gif [Nēsan Buraun-yaku Shinyaku Seisho]. [Online]. Available:
http://taijiro.tama.net/Kuni2Sato/photo/gazou15l.gif [2007, October 10]
204
Murakami, op. cit., p. 69.
gods promised holistic rescue to the public who lived at the bottom of the collapsing feudalistic class system. Each founder played a shamanistic role, uniting with their god and telling the god’s will to the people, thus giving new teachings satisfying the people’s needs, which traditional Shinto could not provide. These new Shinto cults are called New Religions.
As examples of the kind of supreme gods worshipped in their sects, Kurozumikyō (founded in 1814) worshipped Amaterasu but as the creator of
the universe and a generator and a nurturer of all creation. Tenrikyō (founded
in 1838) worshipped Tenrin’ō who was one of the ten Buddhist kings but later
the name was changed to Tenriō Myōjin and then re-changed to the
monotheistic god Oyagami. Konkōkyō (founded in 1859) worshipped
Tenchikon-no-kami, one of the vengeance gods of Yin-Yang principle, but also an ancestor god of the earth, a loving god and a god of the family.205
Kurozumikyō used Ise-kō organizations to worship Amaterasu and expanded
its emphasis to landlords, influential townsmen, farmers, merchants and craftsmen. Tenrikyō utilized the direct influence of Okage Mairi by organizing
periodical group worship tours to their headquarters.206
Among the public in 19th century, there therefore existed mass movements of Shinto like Okage Mairi and large Shinto cult organizations established by New Religion groups. Both represented the increased influence of Shinto god may have been influenced by Hirata’s Shinto theory. However, this hypothesis requires further study.
205
Murakami, ibid., pp. 70 – 73.
206
Murakami, ibid. pp. 70 -71. This tour is called Ojibagaeri, for which the larger branch churches provide accommodation facilities around the headquarters in Tenri city.
replacing the diminishing power of Buddhism.
4. Chapter Conclusion
This chapter has investigated how the characteristics of Japanese kami (カミ) which were studied in the previous chapter changed in the Tokugawa period, and how the change related to the influence of Christianity and New Religion sects.
With the help of Kokugaku, Shinto began a move to eliminate the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism and return to a belief in the concept of gods that existed in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki period. But Shinto was originally rite-centered and borrowed its doctrines from Buddhism, Confucianism and Yin-Yang theory. Therefore, it was unrealistic for Shinto to establish an original doctrine without the help of these foreign religions.
For the solution of this dilemma, Atsutane Hirata referred to the writings of the Jesuit missionaries in China so as to establish doctrines like creation, sin, human death and judgment. After this reference to Christianity, the idea of a supreme god became more recognized by Shintoists. The idea of a supreme god would influence the monotheistic characteristic of the New Religions which arose around and after Hirata’s period.
Public mass belief represented by Okage Mairimovement and the rise of New Religion sects was the other characteristic of Shinto in the Tokugawa period. By these movements and sects, a new kind of belief in a monotheistic, supreme god who promised carnal happiness or holistic salvation arose.
These movements and sects arose at the end of the Tokugawa period and beginning of the Meiji era and were symptomatic of the weakened Tokugawa shogunate under threat by the arrival of Western warships, and the loss of public interest in secularized Buddhism.
This chapter has also confirmed the restoration of the emperor’s religious authority. The restoration consolidated its theoretical foundation with Kokugaku and reinforced its religious foundation by emphasizing the superior authority of Amaterasuand Ise Shrine.
However, Kokugaku’s anti-Buddhist and anti-Christian characteristics became a hindrance to the government and their influence eventually faded and was replaced by Monbushō and the nation-wide education system.
The translators of the Japanese Bible chose the Shinto term kami for the term God. Naturally, Japanese recipients of the Bible faced confusion of the concepts of kami and God.
However, it is my argument that the monotheistic supreme-god belief which arose in the end of Tokugawa period through developments in Shinto encouraged the penetration of the concept of a monotheistic Christian God into the Japanese term kami (神).