dinsdag 27 maart 2012

Musashino Inari-jinja

Musashino Inari-jinja 武蔵野稲荷神社 in Ekoda 江古田 officially enshrines Uga no Mi-tama no Kami 宇迦之御魂神, but one can also find several hokora enshrining Inari, as well as statues of the Seven Lucky Gods and Jizō-bosatsu, which makes this shrine highly syncretic.

Main gate


Daikoku-ten 大黒天, one of the Seven Lucky Gods that can be found in Shintō shrines as well as in Buddhist temples. He originally was a manifestation of the Hindu deity Śiva शिव, but came to Japan through Chinese Buddhism as belonging to the Ten-bu 天部 (gods of heaven). Therefore, he is not a Buddha or a Bodhisattva, but a god/kami . He was assimilated to Ōkuninushi 大国主 due to the identical pronunciation of the characters “大国” and “大黒” (Miyamoto, 1987; p45) which made him completely acceptable as a Shintō deity.


A hokora with typical mass-produced shingu 神具 (Shintō style altar fittings) as found in online shops and the like.


The Seven Lucky Gods.
First row from left to right:
Jurōjin 寿老人 (originally an !immortal from Chinese Taoism),
Fukuroju 福禄寿 (based on three lucky gods [Fú Lù Shòu] of Chinese Taoism),
Bishamon-ten 毘沙門天 (one of the Four Heavenly Kings in South-Asian Buddhism)

Second row from left to right:
Hotei 布袋 (based on a legendary Chinese Zen (Chán)-monk who was believed to be an incarnation of Miroku-bosatsu 弥勒菩薩),
Ebisu 恵比須 (the only purely Japanese kami),
Benzai-ten 弁財天 (based on the Hindu Sarasvatī सरस्वती, the consort of Brahmā ब्रह्मा),
Daikoku-ten (see above)


A hokora for Migawari Inari-ōkami (? 身替稲荷大神) with dozens and dozens of statuettes of foxes placed on, next to or under a miniature shrine. Presumably the statuettes were placed there by visitors as an offer.
 
The miniature shrine from up close. In the middle is a divine mirror symbolising the sun/Amaterasu-ōmikami 天照大御神 with two koma inu 狛犬 sitting next to it. The wooden statuette of a woman riding a fox to the left is Dakini-ten 荼吉尼天 (Skt: ḍākinī डाकिनी) but her images is also used to represent Inari 稲荷 which explains the presence of this item on this particular altar.


The Buddhist (Mizuko 水子?) Jizō-bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 surrounded by Shintoist torii.


The main hall.


From left to right: Benzai-ten, Ebisu, Daikoku-ten and a legendary creature (perhaps a koma inu, shishi 獅子 or dragon).


The inside of the main hall as seen through the front window. On the painted sanbō 三宝 offerings of bell peppers, rice cake, a water melon, sake, rice-plants are presented to Uga no Mi-tama no Kami.


Sources:
  • Miyamoto, Kesao  (宮本袈裟雄). 『福神信仰』 (Fukujin shinkō).  Tokyo:  Yūsankaku (雄山閣), 1987.

  • Tōkyō-to jinja-chō (東京都神社庁). 武蔵野稲荷神社” (Musashi Inari-jinja). Tokyo-jinjacho.or.jp/ (2012) <http://www.tokyo-jinjacho.or.jp/syoukai/22_nerima/22035.html> (28-3-2012).

maandag 26 maart 2012

Gokoku-ji


I visited the Gokoku-ji 護国寺 (“Temple for the Protection of the Country”) which enshrines Nyoirin Kannon (“Wish-granting Kannon with the wheel”) 1. The temple’s denomination is Shingon-shū Buzan-ha (真言宗豊山派) so colourful flags can be found here and there on the temple grounds.

 Entrance


An incense burner and a singing bowl in front of some statues. 
On the left, Gyoran kannon魚籃観音 (“Kannon with fish basket”)


Apart from Kannon statues, there are numerous Jizō-bosatsu 地蔵菩薩 statues like the one enshrined below.
 A singing bowl, some flowers, an incense burner and some five minute candles for offerings inside the shrine shown above.


… and one rather sizable Amida-Nyorai 阿弥陀如来.


The main hall in which Nyoirin Kannon is enshrined.


The inside of the main hall as seen through the front window. The altar fittings look unmistakably Buddhist, but in the centre one can see what appears to be a divine mirror (神鏡 shinkyō) which is generally an item found on shintō altars. However, Nyoirin Kannon is often associated with mirrors and according to Iyanagi (2001; p5) she/he is even considered to be the Buddhist counterpart or true form ( honji) of Amaterasu-ōmikami 天照大御神.



A shintō torii 鳥居 in front of a graveyard behind Gokoku-ji.

Information about the upcoming Hana matsuri 花祭り at Gokoku-ji.


Fukiage Inari-jinja 吹上稲荷神社, located on a quiet place not very far from Gokoku-ji, enshrines Ukemochi no Ōkami 保食之大神.



Temizuya 手水舎


A small kamidana inside a shop as seen from the pavement.


 Footnotes:

1 Nyoirin Kannon holds a nyoi hōju 如意宝珠 (wish-granting jewl) and a Rin 輪宝(Skt: cakraratna चक्ररत्न, treasure wheel)

Sources:

  • Iyanaga, Nobumi (彌永信美) .『如意輪観音と女性性』(Nyoirin Kannon to joseisei). Tokio: Tōkyō Daigaku  (Bungakubu : Indo testugaku bukkyōgaku kenkyū). 2001.
  • Tanaka, Yoshiyasu (田中義恭).『面白いほどよくわかる仏像の世界: 仏像の種類・歴史から鑑賞のポイントまで』(Omoshiroi hodo yoku wakaru butsuzō no sekai: butsuzō no shurui, rekishi kara kanshō made). Tokio: Nihon bungeisha (日本文芸社), 2008. P146. 

zaterdag 24 maart 2012

Blue-Faced Vajra


I have encountered several similar statues along the street side in the past months, but now finally I have been able to identify them. Shōmen kongō 青面金剛 (often translated in English as “the Blue-face Vajra” is a fearsome looking deity with one face, three eyes and usually six arms which gives him an unmistakable Esoteric look. He is often depicted trampling a demon with the famous "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkeys (見ざる 聞かざる 言わざる mizaru, kikazaru, iwazaru) sitting at the bottom of the scene. The numerous sculptures throughout the cities and villages of Japan are being dedicated to him since his association with the Kōshin 庚申faith in the Edo period. Kōshin faith is not some Tantric Buddhist practise of South Asian, but a Taoist tradition from China. According to Taoism, every human body houses three worms (san shi) who keep track of a person’s good and bad deeds. These worms are believed to go up to the Heavenly King (天帝) every sixty days when their host is asleep to report his/her deeds. As the Heavenly King will shorten the lives of those committing bad deeds based on these reports some people would stay up all night on the day of Kōshin to prevent the worms from leaving their bodies (庚申講Kōshinkō). Shōmen kongō, who is called Kōshin-san 庚申さん since his association with Shinkō faith, is believed to be able to make the three worms sick preventing them from going up to the Heavenly King altogether.



Shinkō-san/Shōmen kongō near Hōmyō-ji 法明寺 in Zōshigaya 雑司ヶ谷



Shinkō-san/Shōmen kongō not far from Kotakemukaihara 小竹向原  


 

Shinkō-san/Shōmen kongō in Ekoda 江古田


Sources:
  • Tanaka, Yoshiyasu (田中義恭).『面白いほどよくわかる仏像の世界: 仏像の種類・歴史から鑑賞のポイントまで』(Omoshiroi hodo yoku wakaru butsuzō no sekai: butsuzō no shurui, rekishi kara kanshō made). Tokio: Nihon bungeisha (日本文芸社), 2008. P146. 
  • Information provided near shrine in Ekoda

vrijdag 23 maart 2012

Miyamoto (II)

I finished another book by Miyamoto Kesao called Fukujin shinkō. It is actually a compilation of the most important works of various authors concerning Japanese lucky gods and as it is rather long and detailed it took me quite a while to work through it. Various authors wrote about the Seven Lucky Gods (七福神 shichi fuku-jin) – particularly Ebisu (エビス、夷、恵比須、恵比寿、蛭子、戎、…) received a lot of attention – but the term “Lucky God” was interpreted in a broad sense and deities like the Funa-dama 船霊, Inari 稲荷, Yama no Kami 山の神, Ta no Kami 田の神, Uga-jin 宇賀神 etc. were treated as well.

After an introduction by Miyamoto himself Kita Sadakichi 喜田貞吉 (1871-1939) takes over. Kita, whose work is regarded as slightly controversial because of its influence on Japan’s colonial assimilation policy in Korea, has done a great deal of research on Japanese folklore. Even though the writings used in this compilation do not deal with the contemporary relations within Asia, the  “Zeitgeist” is still reflected by the usage of words like Shina 支那, a word which is nowadays considered to be derogatory, for China (now 中国 Chūgoku).
Kita first deals with some early examples of lucky deities like Sae no Kami (道祖神 1), the Fox Deity (狐神 ko-shin?) who has often been subject to syncretism with Dakini-ten荼吉尼天2, the Snake Deity (蛇神 hebi-kami?) who is often associated with Uga-jin 3.
After this, Kita moves on to the Seven Lucky Gods and their origin. For the most part the explanations he gives, overlaps with what the other authors say.

The next part was written by Miyata Noboru 宮田登 (1936-2000), once the chairman of The Folklore Society of Japan (日本民族学会 Nihon Minzoku Gakkai). He also deals with the Seven Lucky Gods and their origin, but he mainly focusses on Daikoku-ten and Ebisu.

After that the folklorist Ōshima Tatehiko 大島建彦 (1932- ) takes the book in a slightly different direction by comparing lucky deities to deities of pestilence (疫神 ekijin). Ōshima mentions how a poor retainer of the shōgun enshrined an image of the Poverty God (貧乏神 Binbō-gami) in his house.
The contribution of Kamiya Takehiro 紙谷威広 (1944- ) follows Ōshima’s direction as it deals with lucky gods and gods of misfortune (厄神 yaku-jin). An interesting quote from (『近世風俗志』Kinsei fūzokushi, by Kitagawa Morisada 喜田川守貞) explains how people would put an image of the treasure ship (in which the Seven Lucky Gods are often depicted) under their pillow on the second night of the New Year hoping it would bring them fortune. When reading this part I came up with the following:
*The idea of putting something under ones pillow in order to gain money/wealth is reminiscent of the tooth fairy in the English-speaking world.
*Furthermore, the concept of a boat coming from overseas in winter bearing treasures/gifts is rather similar to the traditions surrounding Sinterklaas in the Low Countries (there even is an old man with a long, white beard [Jurō-jin/Fukurokuju] present on both ships, as well as a black-faced character with a hat and a bag [Daikoku-ten]). Either one story was influenced by the other, or – and this seems more likely – the 19th century was a period in both regions were new products were imported from abroad [the West for Japan and the Dutch East Indies for the Netherlands] creating similar sources of inspiration for folklore.

In the following part, Namihira Emiko 波平恵美子 (1942- ) talks about the remarkable beliefs concerning people who drowned at sea among traditional fishermen. It is believed that there are two kinds of impurity: red impurity (赤不浄 aka fujō: blood, menstruation, birth, pregnancy,…) and black impurity (黒不浄kuro fujō: death). Taking impure things or people on board was considered dangerous and thus taboo. However, when encountered at sea, bodies of drowned people were not only taken aboard, they were even named and enshrined as Ebisu. Namihira also discusses the versatile character of Ebisu and the similarities with Dōso-ko, Ta no Kami and Yama no Kami (the latter two are often believed to be the same).
Namihira states that Yama no Kami is said to ride a wild boar. When I read this it immediately reminded me of the ancient Gaulish goddess Arduinna. This deity, who was also (presumably) depicted riding a wild boar, is said to be the deity of the Ardennes highlands in the Southern regions of Belgium.
Further on, Namihira talks about the boat’s spirit, the Funa-dama, who is believed to be female. Tradition has it that it is unsafe to take women aboard because of this deity’s jealous character.

The focus remains on Ebisu with shintō priest Mayumi Tsuneda 真弓常忠 (1923- ), as he looks at some local examples, Yoshii Sadatoshi 吉井 貞俊 (1930- ), Sakurada Katsunori 桜田勝徳 (1903-1979) and Tanaka Sen’ichi 田中宣一 (1939- ).
The late historian Nagamema Tenkai 長沼賢海 (1883-1980) takes this book to the study of Daikoku-ten, followed by the late folklorist Ono Jūrō 小野重郎 (1911-1995) who gives very interesting details on His veneration in the household.
We learn more about Bishamonten 毘沙門天 with Nishimura Chiho 西村千穂 (?-?) and we have a closer look at the only female member of the Seven Lucky Gods Benzai-ten 弁財天 (弁才天、also : 弁天 Ben-ten) with Miyata Noboru enTamura Fumio 圭室 文雄 (1935- ).

It would take me too long to put all my notes online, but one detail I shall devote a paragraph to is the Daikoku-bashira 大黒柱. I mentioned this remarkable architectural name in a former blog entry (Yamanashi-ken), but at the time I could not work out the link between Daikoku-ten and this pillar. In Ono’s part of Fukujin shinkō (p232) however, he mentions that one can often find a Daikoku-dana  大黒棚, or shelf enshrining Daikoku-ten, on top of the Daikoku-bashira in Minami-Kyūshū 南九州. In some regions people even have as much as ten Daikoku-ten statuettes on the Daikoku-dana and all of them are soot-coloured. Apparently, when a new house is built visitors bring these statuettes to the (often newlywed) residents.
Until the end of the Meiji period, it was common for people, adults and children alike, to render themselves unrecognisable by means of masks and clothes and visit the newlyweds’ houses. After alerting the residents of the house by knocking on the door with a stick, they would enter and present a Daikoku statuette carved out of pumice stone, measuring about 15cm. The present would be enshrined on the Daikoku-dana and in exchange for their presents the New Year’s visitors were offered rice cake.
* This practice is similar to Halloween traditions in the United States and "Nieuwjaarszing" (New Year Singing) in certain parts of the Low Countries.

1. In most instances these kanji are pronounced Dōso-jin 
2. I have seen Japanese images of this originally Hindu deity riding a fox and there seems to be a link with Inari as well.
3. Uga-jin is often represented as a snake with a human head.

Sources:
Miyamoto, Kesao  (宮本袈裟雄). 『福神信仰』 (Fukujin shinkō).  Tokyo:  Yūsankaku (雄山閣), 1987.