Tag: aoi

The Plague

April 11, 2020 / John D. / 4 Comments

Cherry blossom viewing with social distancing

Ema on sale at Shirakumo Shrine in Kyoto

The Corona crisis has caused disruption around the world and dominated the global media. The effect has been drastic in terms of medical resources and made for grim viewing. In Japan the emergency has coincided with the flowering of cherry blossom, symbolic of life’s brief beauty. The mix of Covid-19, cherry blossom and Easter Sunday (tomorrow) inevitably bring to mind thoughts of death and rebirth.

Historically there has been a link between cherry blossom and the plague, perhaps because falling petals were suggestive of the many people falling ill or dying. In Kyoto the association is reinforced each year in a festival at Imamiya Jinja, in which appeasement is sought of a kami spreading disease.

In the Yasurai Festival performers dressed as demons (oni) dance around at the head of a procession of people in Heian robes. Red umbrellas are twirled around, said to bestow good health for a year on those who pass under them. (Red being the colour of blood is often used as a sign of vitality.)

This 5 min video features the Yasurai Festival in which red-haired demons put on a dance show to appease the kami of Imamiya Jinja in Kyoto.

Irony of ironies, the Yasurai Festival has had to be called off this year because of Covid-19. It is not the only casualty of the present crisis, for one of Kyoto’s Big Three Festivals has also had to be cancelled – the Aoi Matsuri in May. It too originated as an antidote to natural disaster, which very probably included pestilence.

The festival is claimed as one of the oldest in Japan, with its roots in the sixth century according to the Nihon shoki (720). It may have been that an epidemic had spread through the country at a time of famine and earthquake. The cause was identified by soothsayers as anger by the deities of the Kamo shrines (Kamigamo and Shimogamo), and in response the Emperor sent an envoy with offerings to appease the kami and pray for a bountiful harvest.

The Aoi Festival showcases the aristocratic robes of the Heian Period. Only those with high status get to ride on horseback

At first the festival was held sporadically whenever there was a major disaster, but with the establishment of Heian-kyo in 794 it became an annual event. At various times the practice ceased altogether, but was subsequently revived, the last such occasions being in 1885 when it was seen as a means of boosting Kyoto following the relocation of the emperor to Tokyo, and in 1953 after the festival was terminated during WW2.

But why is the festival named after the aoi plant? According to Wikipedia, “During the Heian Period, these leaves were once believed to protect against natural disasters such as earthquakes and thunder, and were often hung under the roofs of homes for protection.”

Aoi is often mistranslated as hollyhock, though it is from a different family and closer to wild ginger. The plant has become so rare in recent years that a substitute has had to be used, and the Kamo shrines are presently engaged in projects to replant it. (Look at the pictures below, and you’ll be able to spot a leaf pinned onto participants.)

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For a complete overview of Japan’s religious response to plague and pestilence, see this article in the Japan Times. To learn about Yasaka Jinja and the ties of Gozu Tenno and the Gion Festival with disease, see here.

Aoi plan with its characteristic leaf, symbol of the Kamo shrines

The costumes are colourful, and so are some of the festive decorations

The star of the festival is the imperial princess, represented by a young female in a twelve-layered kimono.

Arriving at Kamigamo Shrine, end point for the festival after its start from Gosho

Hata Part 3: Silkworm Shrine

May 6, 2015 / John D. / 0 Comments

Entrance to Konoshima Jinja, better known as Kaiko no Yashiro (Silkworm Shrine), in the Uzumasa district of Kyoto.

Much about the Hata is shrouded in mystery and lost in time. In which century did they arrive into Japan? Did they come from Korea, from China – or somewhere far beyond that along the Silk Road? What belief systems did they pick up on their trails – Buddhism, Judaism, Korean shamanism, Nestorian Christianity?

The uncertainty has led to some fanciful theories, sparked by the triangular torii that stands to the side of the Worship Hall at Konoshima Jinja. (See next post.) The shrine is known popularly as the Silkworm Shrine or Kaiko no Yashiro, because of a subshrine in the grounds dedicated to the silkworm deity. It was for their work in spreading sericulture in Japan that the Hata are best known.

Through the torii is a section of Inari subshrines, one of which is in a cave-like hollow beneath the ground.

The shrine is a curious affair, well-kept yet always strangely deserted whenever I’ve been there. There is nothing to suggest any interest in visitors, no note to explain when the shrine office is open, no invitation to ring a bell for the priest, and no indication of any goods for sale. Worst of all, in my opinion, the pond is empty of water though a noticeboard boasts of how it shows a connection with nature. (What factors are involved in maintaining the water I’m uncertain.)

My Japanese companion suggested the shrine had made money from selling off land and therefore had no interest in attending to business. Perhaps she’s right. But nonetheless it’s sad that a shrine boasting such a rich heritage should be unprepared to do more for visitors.

As one might expect from a Hata shrine, a section of the grounds is set aside for Inari worship. There is not just one subshrine, but three or four. One of them, unusually, is in a cave-like hollow below ground, as if to suggest a fox’s lair.

Another curious feature is that the pond is called Moto Tadasu no ike (Original Tadasu Pond). Shimogamo Jinja is well known for its Tadasu Woods, but it seems Konoshima Jinja claims to have had the original (tadasu has the sense of atonement, or cleansing negativity through purification). At one time, apparently, there was a surrounding mulberry forest known as ‘Mototadasu-no-Mori’ to feed the silkworms. It suggests some kind of connection between the two shrines.

The Worship Hall (Haiden). Notice the distinctive aoi emblem on the lanterns, usually associated with the Kamo clan.

Another connection with Shimogamo Jinja lies in the use of the aoi emblem. The flower is closely connected with the Kamo clan, who had also settled in the Kyoto basin in pre-Heian times and founded the Kamigamo and Shimogamo Shrines.

At the Aoi Festival every May the plant is used to decorate the costumes of participants, and it is widely used as an emblem at the shrines. It seems at some stage the Hata clan became allied to the Kamo through marriage and adopted the aoi emblem too (Matsuo Taisha also uses it).

But the most intriguing feature of the Konoshima Shrine is undoubtedly the triangular torii that stands to the left of the Worship Hall. Its date and purpose are unknown, but it is closely connected with the Hata. And it’s a subject I’d like to deal with in a separate post. Dear Reader, read on…

The Maiden or Kaguraden is used for performances to entertain the kami. To the left of the picture stands a most unusual three-sided torii.

For Part Four on this series about the Hata clan, please click here.