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Miko fascination

December 28, 2012 / John D. / 0 Comments

That the roots of the modern miko (now a simple shrine attendant) lie in the shamaness of ancient times is well-known. It’s generally accepted that her leading role was taken away by a Confucian emphasis on the primacy of male priests. The famous episode in Kojiki (712), where Izanami is chastised for speaking first to Izanagi speaks of the transition in mythological terms.

Yet despite the debasement in her role, the modern miko continues to attract attention, and she’s been taken up as a star of anime and manga. There’s evidently something alluring about pure virginal girls dancing for the pleasure of the gods. The stately performances speak of the elegance of Heian times and the values of an aristocratic society given to the cultivation of grace and aesthetics.

All the charms of a miko dance can be seen in this youtube video. But I can’t help wondering about the shamanic rites that seem to underlie it. For one thing, there’s the swirling motion, reminiscent of the sufi way to transcendentalism. Then there are the delightful bells (suzu), which along with the more famous drumbeat can act as a means of trance induction. Beneath the stately movements, does one not sense the frenzied moves of a shamaness struggling to be released?

As with the geisha, much of the fascination of the miko has to do with her costume. One of my students, a perfectly ordinary girl, had a part-time job as a miko at a shrine, and I’m sure had I seen her there I would have found her transformed in some way.

The costume with its white and red speaks of the traditional symbols of happiness (hence the Kohaku – Redwhite – NHK programme on New Year’s Eve). It’s said that white is the colour of purity, while red wards off demons and illness (which is why Jizo have red bibs).

As we come up to the New Year, the miko of Japan are girding themselves up for what is going to be a very busy season. Income from New Year sales and donations makes up a huge proportion of a shrine’s income, so you can be sure that a lot of practice to get things right will be going on during these last few days of 2012…..

Universalism

December 28, 2012 / John D. / 0 Comments

The Shimane website celebrating the 1300th anniversary of the Kojiki has a marvellous page explaining the commonalities of Japanese myth with stories found elsewhere in the world. It’s a refreshingly global view of the mythology, which is often treated by Nativists and nationalists as if it were something special to Japan as a land of kami. Here below is what they write, a piece which can be accessed on their website by clicking here.

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Izanagi and Izanami stirring the primal brew

Similarities to Other Mythology
Similar themes can be found throughout mythology and religion the world over. Many themes in Japanese mythology share striking similarities with other world mythology.

Let’s start with Izanami and Izanagi. The idea of the world being formless and chaotic is quite common, and Izanagi and Izanami’s creation of the world is similar to the story of Adam and Eve, in the sense that a male and female pair was necessary for creation, be it of the world itself or the people who would populate it.

After Izanami’s death, the reason she gives for not being able to go back with Izanagi is that she ate the food of the underworld. Persephone’s abduction by Hades in Greek mythology shares this idea that once food of the underworld is eaten, it affects the one who has eaten it. Because she had eaten three seeds of a pomegranate, Persephone has to spend three months out of every year in the underworld. During this time, Persephone’s mother Demeter, the goddess of the harvest , is sad and nothing will grow, which is how Greek mythology explained the existence of winter.

Supposed entrance to the underworld (in Shimane ken)

Izanagi’s quest to bring back Izanami from the underworld is very much like the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, although the endings differ greatly. Orpheus and Eurydice are greatly in love, but she is bitten by a viper and dies. Orpheus goes to Hades to bring her back, and through the power of his music, convinces Hades to let her go. Hades adds a condition, though; he must not look back until he has left the underworld. Just as he is about to return to the land of the living, Orpheus looks back, fearing that the gods have tricked him, and Eurydice, who had been following behind him, is lost to him forever. Both tales show examples of how men are not the most patient creatures in the world.

Worship of the sun is also a common thread, from the Greek Apollo to the Egyptian Ra. The idea that the sun and moon are siblings, as the female Amaterasu and male Tsukuyomi are, is also matched in Greek mythology in the brother-sister pair of Apollo and Artemis.

Susano-o’s slaying of the Yamata-no-Orochi can be seen as a different version of the dragon-slaying legends of medieval Europe, with Kushinada-hime as the fair maiden in distress and Susano-o as her knight in shining armor. It also matches up nicely with the Greek legend of Perseus and his slaying of a sea serpent to save Andromeda from being sacrificed to it. Perseus and Andromeda also get married after he rescues her. The Yamata-no-Orochi itself is similar to the hydra, in that they are both serpents with multiple heads.

Susanoo and Yamata no orochi (courtesy Gustavo Araujo)

The testing of Okuninushi by Susano-o is similar in some ways to the trials of Hercules, in that the tests were considered to be impossible and most likely lead to the death of the one being tested. The amazing feats of strength shown by Yatsukamizuomizunu, although being on a much larger scale, also are comparable to some of the exploits of Hercules.

The Kojiki provides a record of imperial lineage that shows direct descent from the gods and establishes rightful authority to rule. This is similar to the “begats” in the Old Testament that trace King David’s lineage and show him to be the rightful ruler of Israel.

Mythology provides a window into the world view of a culture, and while each culture’s mythology has a unique sensibility to it, finding connections between world mythologies shows that maybe we’re not as different as we think.

Shimane mythology

December 28, 2012 / John D. / 0 Comments

2012 is the 1300th anniversary of the Kojiki, fount of Japan’s mythology. In celebration Shimane prefecture has brought out a wonderful website which details the connections of place and folklore found in the myths. I wish I’d had access to this when I made my trip to Izumo last year as the information is both detailed and stimulating. Below are some of the highlights, but for the website itself please click here.

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The boulders with which Izanagi supposedly blocked up the underworld

In the Yomi-no-kuni myth, Izanagi rushes out of the underworld pursued by furies released by Izanami and hurriedly blocks up the entrance with a boulder. The Shimane website says,’Yomotsu Hirasaka, the entrance to the underworld, is said to be in the Iya area of Matsue, just off of Route 9. It is a quiet, secluded place that is gloomy even on the clearest day, which creates an atmosphere appropriate to a place said to be a border between this world and the next. Several large boulders are in the area, and one wonders exactly which one was rolled over to block the entrance. Also near this area is Iya Shrine, and a slope near the shrine is said to be the same slope that led to the underworld’s entrance.’

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An animal rights story about the culture hero, Okuninushi:

Okuninushi and the hare, one of Izumo's most famous stories

Okuninushi lived in the land of Izumo in Ashihara-no-nakatsukuni with his numerous brothers. One day, his brothers heard of a goddess of unrivaled beauty named Yagami-hime. She lived in the land of Inaba, and every one of them wanted to ask for her hand in marriage. When they set out for Inaba, they brought Okuninushi along as their servant to carry their baggage, which was so heavy that he soon lagged behind the group.
When his brothers reached Cape Keta in Inaba, they came upon a rabbit lying on the ground that had been stripped of its skin and was crying in pain. The brothers said to the rabbit, “You should wash off in seawater and then climb to the top of a high hill where the winds blow strongly to dry off. You’ll recover very quickly if you do.”
So the rabbit did as it was told, but instead of recovering, things got worse. As the winds blew, its skin dried and cracked, and the salt from the seawater got into its cracked skin. It couldn’t stand the pain, and fell down crying.
When Okuninushi, who was still trailing the group, finally reached Cape Keta, he saw the rabbit crying out in pain, and asked it what had happened… [and what happens next can be found here.]

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Ceremony on the beach to welcome the eight myriad kami

The Shimane website comments: ‘If you follow the road that passes in front of Izumo Taisha, you will soon arrive at Inasa-no-Hama beach. This beach is part of Sono-no-nagahama, a place that plays a large role in the Kunibiki legend, and is where Takemikazuchi presented Okuninushi with his demands to turn over Ashihara-no-nakatsukuni to Amaterasu, and where Takeminakata challenged him to a test of strength. It is also where, every year at the Kami-mukae-sai, all of the gods from around Japan are welcomed to Izumo Taisha, and the procession back to Izumo Taisha from the beach follows a path through town along the Kami Mukae Road.’

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Model of how Izumo Taisha might have looked in Heian times

“In April of 2000, an amazing find of archaeological and historical significance was made on the grounds of Izumo Taisha: during construction preparations for an underground storage unit, part of a large wooden pillar was found. Upon further excavation, two other pillars were found next to it, and all three were placed together in such a way that they looked as if they had been bound together to make one massive pillar. More digging nearby uncovered two similar groupings of pillars.

Why was this such an important find? It led credence to the claim that at on point in time, Izumo Taisha’s main hall had been 48 meters high, twice the height it is now. So at some point in the past, the main hall of Izumo Taisha was taller than even the Daibutsu (Great Buddha) Hall of Todai Temple in Nara. Its floor would have been at the point where the current main hall’s ceiling is now, making it higher than the low-lying cloud cover that tends to surround the shrine. This discovery is more evidence that Izumo Taisha and Shimane played a particularly important role in ancient Japan.”

Mistletoe

December 25, 2012 / John D. / 0 Comments

Japanese mistletoe (yadorigi) - the berries are yellowish rather than white

No, mistletoe doesn’t feature in Shinto, but it’s an important part of the European pagan tradition at this time of year. Here naturalist Kevin Short takes a seasonal look at the folklore of mistletoe in Europe, prompting thoughts about the commonality of nature religions. (For the full Japan Times article, click here.)

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European mistletoe is a branching evergreen shrub with thin leaves that attach in opposing pairs at each node of the branch. Small yellow flowers bloom at the tip of the branch in very early spring, in the crotch between the leaves. The fruits, small milky white berries, mature from early to mid-winter.

Mistletoe berries are poisonous to humans, but are eaten by birds. The seeds are coated with thick mucus that allows them to stick solidly when wiped off or excreted onto tree branches. The mucus later hardens, and when the seed germinates it sends out a special tap root that penetrates right into the branch of the host tree, where it funnels up water and mineral nutrients to the mistletoe leaves.

Mistletoe has since antiquity been considered a sacred plant in Celtic, Nordic and other European cultural traditions. The first-century Roman soldier and natural historian Pliny the Elder described a ceremony in which Celtic druids climbed up an oak tree to cut down sprigs of mistletoe using a golden sickle. The falling mistletoe was caught in a blanket by people waiting under the tree, and two white bulls were slaughtered as a sacrifice. The mistletoe appears to have been used in ceremonies conducted to ensure the fertility of domestic livestock. The milky white berries may have been symbolic of male sperm and fertility.

Even today, sprigs of mistletoe are widely used as decorations during the Yuletide or Christmas season. According to tradition, girls caught standing under the mistletoe may be kissed. This custom may have some base in the plant’s deep association with fertility in the Celtic tradition. Another theory is that the custom actually derives from Scandinavian mythology.

Baldur, son of Odin and Frigg, was a gentle handsome youth with a sunny disposition. A seer, however, foretold that he would be killed by a wooden spear or dagger. Frigg, anxious to protect her darling son, traveled all over the nine worlds of Norse cosmology, extracting promises from all the trees never to harm him. Unfortunately, she somehow bypassed the mistletoe. The evil trickster Loki, jealous of Baldur’s good looks and popularity, learned of this, and had the boy killed with a shaft made from mistletoe wood.

In the classic Norse myth mistletoe is responsible for the death of the peaceful Baldur. In later popular folklore, however, mistletoe conversely became associated with love and good will. Enemies that found themselves dueling under a mistletoe shrub were required to make peace; while lovers who embraced under the shrub were assured a long, happy and fertile married life.

Last of Tokyo’s Fuji views

December 24, 2012 / John D. / 0 Comments

It’s said that if you dream of Fuji on the first night of the New Year, you’re in for an auspicious year ahead. Such is the symbolic import of the sacred mountain. Yet in modern times, rather than being treated as a spiritual being, it’s been treated with secular disdain, and from the Japan Times comes a rather sad story about it being shut out altogether for the citizens of Tokyo by the forces of commercialism. It concerns the very last clear view of Mt Fuji from a Tokyo street. (It can still be seen from high-rise buildings.)

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20121216x2.html

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Haneda airport in front of Fuji, taken from the Ogasawara ferry

In September 2010 Sumitomo Fudosan revealed plans for a 160-meter-high, 45-story apartment building 6 km away in the Okubo 3-chome district of city-center Shinjuku Ward. That would extinguish the view entirely.

In response, the CASF appealed to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a UNESCO advisory body, which adopted a resolution supporting “the development of guidelines to protect the last remaining vistas of Mount Fuji.”

That body also contacted Sumitomo Fudosan and various Tokyo ward offices expressing “serious international concern” and urging authorities to “re-evaluate the development in view of the importance of maintaining the vista.” It may also be significant that UNESCO is expected to decide by June 2013 whether to award World Heritage Site status to Mount Fuji.

Consequently, as Akasaka put it, “If the view from Nippori’s Fujimizaka is lost, it certainly sends a message that people aren’t really concerned about the importance of Mount Fuji as a World Heritage Site.”

View from Tokyo Tower

Though Sumitomo Fudosan has denied a direct connection with such matters, work on the Okubo 3-chome site has halted. “We’re deliberating the construction plans,” said a company spokesman who withheld his name. “Since the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, we’ve been changing the plans to make the building even stronger.”

Making matters worse, the CASF’s Kaneko said he was “shocked beyond words” in August when the group learned work was under way in Bunkyo Ward’s Sendagi 3-chome district on a privately financed, 11-story apartment block set for completion in November 2013. That building, to be called Fukui Mansion, would completely block out the view of the top and right side of Mount Fuji from Nippori’s Fujimizaka — utterly ruining the view.

Although CASF has urged Bunkyo Ward, the builder and construction company, Seiwa Corp., to lower the height from 11 to seven stories to preserve the view from Fujimizaka, a Bunkyo Ward planning official speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “From a legal standpoint, there is absolutely no problem with building Fukui Mansion.

“Bunkyo Ward cannot forcefully regulate the building height because that would infringe on the builder’s private rights,” he said. “And as the hill is in Arakawa Ward, it is not our job to take the preservation initiative. However, if Arakawa Ward drew up some guidelines, we would cooperate.”

Faced with pass-the-buck responses at every turn, many residents and CASF members are left pinning their hopes on the publicity and awareness generated by events such as Diamond Fuji. These are annual celebrations — usually in mid-November and late January — of the two days on which the sun sets directly behind the mountain’s peak, casting a diamond-like silhouette of the symmetrical cone.

“We want to make sure this year isn’t the last Diamond Fuji,” CASF member Eiko Ikemoto said with feeling. “By gathering people together, we’re hoping to send a message to the builder to preserve the view.”

On Nov. 13, nearly 300 people turned out for the most recent Diamond Fuji, including students, photographers and others from far beyond Tokyo. But as CASF members distributed fliers, Ikemoto pulled no punches when she said: “If we give up now, the view of Mount Fuji from Nippori’s Fujimizaka could be lost for generations to come.”

Plane landing at Haneda airport

Fuji: looking ahead to 2013

December 24, 2012 / John D. / 0 Comments

Fuji is going to feature big in 2013. In June a Unesco committee will decide if the Japanese iconic mountain should be registered as a World Heritage site, and the decision is sure to hit the world news. Below is a truncated Japan Times article that looks at the spiritual symbol from a number of angles. For the full article, click here.

Mount Fuji from a shinkansen train south of Tokyo (Photo by Kamasami Kong

Reflecting the great affection in which it is held, Japan’s most beautiful mountain is also its most climbed. However, the beauty in the beholder’s eye definitely improves with distance. Up close, the 3,776-meter mountain presents a different aspect. Anyone who has ever clambered up it during the official two-month climbing season from July 1 — along with reportedly more than 200,000 trekkers a year — knows that ascending the thing is like a never-ending slog up an uninspiring, though wildly popular, slag heap.

The most picturesque way of appreciating the mountain’s physical form is to do so from Fuji’s Five Lakes — known in Japanese as Fuji Go-ko. Mount Fuji is classified as an active volcano, though it has been dormant since its last eruptive outburst in 1707-08, when the spewed-out ash reaching Edo (present-day Tokyo) was so thick as to prevent daytime reading. Before then, it was anything but dormant, and lava flows from the volcano dammed up rivers, giving rise to the five lakes at its northern base. As three of these lakes are still linked by systems of underground channels, their water surfaces are at the same altitude.

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Grand main hall of Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine (Japan Times)

If scrambling around lava caves is the most hands-on fun in the Five Lakes area, the most serene spot is found in the shape of Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine. This ancient Shinto jinja is the traditional starting point for pilgrims ascending the peak and, befitting the great spiritual endeavor, the grand construction is mystically impressive with its huge overarching torii and stately avenue flanked by mossy stone lanterns and majestic cryptomerias leading up toward one of today’s several summit routes.

These days, few who make it to the top of Mount Fuji are actual pilgrims. But it is still somehow rather stirring at night in season to watch the glittering procession of distant lights as hikers make their ascent like a slowly moving constellation over the massive, looming dark hulk of the volcano.

The kami like a laugh

December 22, 2012 / John D. / 0 Comments

Christmas Day with a difference at a laughing festival where you can “open the Rock Door of your heart”.

It takes place on Dec. 25 at a shrine near Osaka, and you can see the event on this youtube video. (If you want to skip the opening ceremonies, go to 2.30 minutes in where the laughing starts in earnest, so to speak. It lasts until the 5.00 min. mark.)

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Dec. 22, 2012 Japan Times

Come laugh your heads off at Osaka shrine
Visitors to Hiraoka Jinja Shrine in Higashi-Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, can join in the laughing ceremony Tuesday to welcome a more joyous new year.

During the free event, which starts at 10 a.m., priests will encourage attendees to laugh for about 20 minutes. There will also be a laughing contest from 11 a.m. in which anyone can take part.

The shrine is close to Hiraoka Station on the Kintetsu Nara line.
For additional information, visit www.hiraoka-jinja.org/special/2012-owarai-shinji.html (in Japanese) or call (072) 981-4177.