ISSN 2029-2074

QUESTIONING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN AS A MIKO COUNTRY: REPRESENTATION OF SHAMANISM IN ANCIENT JAPANESE MYTHS

Marina Shchepetunina Osaka University, Japan

Keywords: Miko, shamanism, Japanese myth, male and female deities, Shinto Pagrindinės sąvokos: miko, šamanizmas, Japonijos mitas, vyriškosios ir moteriškosios dievybės, šintoizmas.

Indigenous religious practices in Japan

Since prehistoric times, the Japanese have venerated animistic spirits and deities called kami. Kami worship moved beyond awe of natural forces to institutionalized rituals and was transformed into the Shinto religion, which has been playing an essential role in people’s lives until nowadays. On the other hand, spirit practices remained in the form of folk religion in Northern Japan, Okinawa and Ryukyu Islands mainly, where female mediums called miko continue shamanistic traditions. Japanese shamanism, as pointed out by Mircea Eliade in his prominent work Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, differs from the classical shamanism of the North-Asian or Siberian type. While for the Siberian type the core element is ecstasy, extracorporeal journey, in the case of Japan it is, first of all, a technique of being possessed by spirits practiced mainly by women, miko. Unaware of the research undertaken in Siberia, the first Japanese folk 146 MARINA SHCHEPETUNINA

religion ethnographer Yanagita Kunio (1875 - 1962) used the Japanese word miko to identify what was later called “shamans” by another famous reli- gious ethnographer Hori Ichiro. Yanagita Kunio distinguished two kinds of miko. One filled an official position as a priest at a Shinto shrine; the other was a roaming diviner and a religious practitioner who could fulfill common people’s needs for religious or secular support. In History of Japa- nese Miko, first published in 1930, Nakayama Tarō (1984) refers to the first type of miko as kannagi miko (miko serving a deity), and to the second as kuchiyose miko (miko through whose mouth a spirit speaks). During the following decades, researchers of traditional religious practices noticed that almost all Japanese shamans are of the possession type (Sakurai 1974; Ikegami 1999). Nowadays, the number of the popular type miko, or kuchiyose miko, is decreasing. Thus Ikegami (2008) notes that there are only several itako, blind kuchiyose miko in Northern Japan, and with them traditional posses- sion rituals may disappear in mainland Japan. On the other hand, there is also a new type of miko, urban miko. They work individually in cities, offering their services and counseling to pacify troublesome spirits and to put the minds of clients who are troubled by the stressful demands of modern society at ease (Sakurai 2000). Traditional shamanistic practices in Japan have been documented from a historical and religious perspective very well. However, this aspect of Japa- nese culture has not been so thoroughly discussed in the West. The major reference in the field still remains the ground-breaking Carmen Blacker’s work The Catalpa Bow: A Study of Shamanistic Practices in Japan published in 1975. One may assume that the lack of attention to the traditional shamanistic practices in the Western analysis of Shintoism may be explained by the fact that in the context of the 20th century events, such as the Pacific war and the end of Japanese imperialism, Western scholars have had a tendency to focus on the institutionalization of State Shinto more closely rather than on the folk aspects of Shinto religion. Shinto has undergone transformations from animistic beliefs in spirits of all things to a highly institutionalized system of religious practices, which remains an important national identity element. Shinto as a religion was formed in the course of historical events on the Asiatic continent, when the Chinese civilization was introduced to Japan. Scholars believe that the compilation of mythico-historical writings The Records of Ancient QUESTIONING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN AS A MIKO COUNTRY: REPRESENTATION OF SHAMANISM IN ANCIENT 147 JAPANESE MYTHS

Matters (Kojiki) (712) and Chronicles of Japan (Nihongi) (720), that form the principal source of Shintoism, began in the 6th century during the reign of Emperors Keitai (507-543)1 and Kimmei (540-572) (Philippi 1969: 5). According to Sonoda (1985), in the period of compilation of the writings, Shinto, the way of kami, was viewed as native beliefs, contrasting with Buddhism (Sonoda 1985: 55). The wordshinto appears in Nihongi before the records of Emperor Yōmei’s inauguration (586-588) The Emperor believed in Buddha and reverenced the Way of the Gods. (Aston 1924v.2: 106), and Emperor Kōtoku’s inauguration (645 - 655) He honored the religion of Buddha and despised the Way of the Gods2. (Aston 1924v.2: 195) By the time Nihongi was completed, Shinto formed an institutionalized religious system and played a significant role in the life of the court along with Buddhism. In the West, Shinto was viewed as an insufficient or defective religion for a long time, not suitable for a developed society. Many Western Japa- nologists were inclined to regard Shinto simply as an example of primitive religious mentality. Thus W.G. Aston, one of the early transmitters of Japa- nese beliefs, was predicting the imminent disappearance of Shinto at the beginning of the 20th century: Without a code of morals, or an efficient ecclesiastical organization, <…> Shinto is doomed to extinction. Whatever the religious future of Japan may be, Shinto will assuredly have little place in it. Such meat for babes is quite inadequate as a spiritual food for a nation which in these latter days has reached a full and vigorous manhood. (Aston 1921: 81) Later on, postwar Japanology focused its attention on the connection of Shinto with the imperial family and interpreted it as a formative element of nationalistic or imperialistic ideology (Holtom 1943). Indeed, with the beginning of Meiji restoration, Shinto, which coexisted with Buddhism in a syncretic form, was separated from Buddhism with the aim of “cosmic legitimizing”3 of imperial rule and formed the so-called national Shinto, or kokka Shinto.

1 The years of the reign of Emperors are indicated according to Nihongi 2 In the footnotes, Aston points out that in the original text the word shinto is used in both cases. 3 Joseph M. Kitagawa, preface to the translation of Norito by Donald L. Philippy (Philippi 1990: XV) 148 MARINA SHCHEPETUNINA

In contrast, some contemporary Japanologists stress the uniqueness of Shinto as indigenous, native Japanese religious practices, not influenced by Buddhism. Within the framework of postmodernist philosophy and deconstructionist theory, which underlines the importance of pluralistic interpretations, John K. Nelson emphasises the potential of Shinto as a democratic religion: …shrine Shinto’s lack of centralized dogma, charismatic leaders, and sacred texts serve to promote both an institutional flexibility and a broad-based public participation. Neither doctrine nor institutional demand overshadows the sociocultural gardens of practice. (Nelson 2000: 11). The lack of dogma that W.G Aston was referring to is now positively reevaluated. The strong vitality and continuing popularity of Shinto is strikingly different from that of submerging folk tradition ofitako in Northern Japan. This is due to the fact that the institutionalization of Shinto played a role of a shelter for magico-religious practices of ancient Japan. The mythological records of Kojiki and Nihongi, which absorbed the cosmology of Shinto, provide us with the insight into magico-religious practices of ancient Japan, as they were used before the introduction of Buddhism and the Chinese culture. In this study, the first volume ofKojiki and the first and the second scrolls ofNihongi are analyzed. They consist of myths and legends of kami and refer to the mythic time before the first Emperor was born. The present analysis of Japanese mythology revealed heterogeneity in the representation of shamanistic tradition with respect to gender issues. While some male deities have the features characteristic to classical Sibe- rian shaman type, some female deities manifest certain features attributable to Japanese female shaman, miko, which can be observed until nowadays. Shamanistic characteristics among the deities were determined according to the constituents of shamanism identified by Ake Hultkrantz (Hultkrantz 1978: 32-50) as follows. The first constituent of shamanism is the belief in the supernatural world and cosmology, which provides the conceptual structure to a shaman’s experience and his contacts with the spirits. The second important constituent of shamanism was identified as the presence of a shaman as the “actor” on behalf of the community, whose artistic inspiration is granted to him by the helping spirits. Here one may draw an important distinction between a shaman and a non-shamanistic practi- QUESTIONING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN AS A MIKO COUNTRY: REPRESENTATION OF SHAMANISM IN ANCIENT 149 JAPANESE MYTHS tioner who attains contact with the other world without the help of spirits. Finally, the most important constituent of shamanism is considered to be ecstatic experiences of a shaman, such as ecstasy (extracorporeal journey) or possession. In the following chapters, a comparative analysis of the features of male and female shamans in Japanese mythology will be presented.

Female shamanism: Miko in myths

We come across the firstmiko figure in the texts of Kojiki and Nihongi; it is the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. She is the supreme deity of the panthe- on, rules the heaven and conducts Oonie festival (the first crop festival) in Takamagahara. In the text of Kojiki, her first appearance gives us a picture of a warrior, which is interpreted by Saigō Nobutsuna (Saigō 1967: 31) as an image of a medium possessed by the divinity. And she forthwith unbinding her august hair, twisted it into august bunches; and both into the left and into the right august bunch, as likewise into her august head-dress and likewise on to her left and right august arm, she twisted an augustly complete [string] of curved jewels eight feet [long], --of five hundred jewels, and, slinging on her back a quiver holding a thousand [arrows], and adding [thereto] a quiver holding five hundred [arrows], she likewise took and slung at her side a mighty and high-[sounding] elbow-pad and brandished and stuck her bow upright. (Chamberlain 1982: 54-55) Strings of curved jewels, or magatama, twined round her neck and arms and in her hair may be seen on a medium miko. Carmen Blacker (Blacker 1975: 106-107) points out that in ancient Japan magatama beads were used as magical tools for attracting a divinity, and bows, that we may see nowa- days in the hands of kagura dancers, could play a similar function. It could be a torimono, an object which she held in her hand as she was dancing and which acted as a conductor for kami to enter her body. Magatama and a bow are the elements attributable to miko, and thus indicating a connection between Amaterasu and miko. Further in the text, in the episode where Susanoo breaks down the ridges between her rice paddies in a victorious frenzy and covers up their ditches, «...and moreover strewed excrements in the palace where she partook of the great food..» (Chamberlain 1982: 63) Amaterasu can be seen as a priestess, the so-called jinja miko or shrine miko, who is conducting the 150 MARINA SHCHEPETUNINA

Oonie festival. Tsugita Masaki (1994) interpreted the part “the palace where she partook of the great food” as referring to the place where the Oonie festival was held. The next female deity who acts as miko is Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto. Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto is depicted in two episodes - that of Amate- rasu hiding in the heavenly cave, where she is in the role of a summoning shaman and Amaterasu’s grandchild Ninigi-no-mikoto descent. The episode of the heavenly cave gives us the image of an ancient technique of summoning a deity. Paraphrasing Kojiki: The crying deities are as numerous as summer flies, and frightful calamities occur. At length they assemble in a river-bed and call on one deity, Taka-mi-musubi (in the text of Kojiki, Tsugita 1994, Taka-mi-musubi’s son Omoi-no-kami), to devise a plan. [In accordance with his plan,] they cause cocks to crow, commission a mirror and strings of maga-tama beads, and have two deities augur the future by burning the shoulder-bone of a deer. To the upper branches of an uprooted tree they fasten the magatama beads, to its middle branches the mirror, and to the lower branches white cloth and blue cloth, presenting the whole as a solemn offering and accompanying it with an intoned liturgy. At this point a brawny deity conceals himself beside the door of the cave, and Ame-no-uzume, tying up her sleeves and hair and taking a bundle of sasa leaves in her hands, overturns a bucket before the cave door and starts to stamp on it. She becomes possessed, exposes her breasts, and pushes her skirtband down to her genitals. At this the assembled deities burst into laughter. Curious, Amaterasu opens the door a crack, wondering why there is singing, dancing, and laughter when all should be dark. Ame-no-uzume says it is because there is among them "a deity superior to YOU." Meanwhile they hold up the mirror, and Amaterasu, intrigued, slowly opens the door and starts toward the mirror. (De Veer 1976: 204) In this episode, Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto summons Amaterasu. The core elements are the possession of Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto, even though she is a deity, and the usage of magatama and a mirror. Although Chamberlain’s translation of Kojiki Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto is different «<…>and stamping till she made it resound and doing as if possessed by a Deity….» (Chamberlain 1982: 69)4, we incline to see this place in the text as a possession. In Tsugita’s translation of Kojiki into modern Japanese, it is “…䇼 䇼 䇼 䇼 䇼 ”(kamigakarishite), which is usually interpreted by Japa- nese scholars as “became possessed”(Tsugita 1994; Saigō 1967). In the later

4 As indicated in the Publisher’s Foreword, Basil Hall Chamberlain’s translation of Kojiki was pub- lished first in 1882. QUESTIONING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN AS A MIKO COUNTRY: REPRESENTATION OF SHAMANISM IN ANCIENT 151 JAPANESE MYTHS translation of Kojiki made by Donald Philippi (1969), this part is rendered as “Then she became divinely possessed…”(Philippi 1969: 84). Magatama and mirror are the objects used by miko in rituals. In ancient Japan a mirror was a vessel for a spirit, one of the oldest goshintai or vehicles in which the kami could be induced to dwell. (Blacker 1975: 106). In the episode of descent of Amaterasu’s grandchild, Ninigi-no-mikoto, tensonkōrin episode, the female deity Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto is sent to question the identity of the deity Sarutahiko, who was on the way of descending gods. In Kojiki this part is as follows: So then the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity and the High-Integrating Deity commanded and charged the Heavenly-Alarming-Female Deity [saying]: “Though thou art but a delicate female, thou art a Deity who conquers in facing Deities. So be thou the one to go and ask…” (Chamberlain 1982: 129) She is instructed how to ask and then in the text follows the reply of Sarutahiko. Her appearance is not described in this episode of Kojiki, but we find such a description in the corresponding episode inNihongi : Therefore he specially commanded Ame no Uzume, saying: - ‘Thou art superior to others in the power of thy looks. Thou hadst better go and question him.’ So Ame no Uzume forthwith bared her breasts and, pushing down the band of her garment below her navel, confronted him with a mocking laugh. (Aston 1924v.1: 77) (Nihongi, one writing (1st )). Here Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto is depicted half-naked, just as in Kojiki’s record of Amaterasu hiding in the heavenly cave. That is: ..as if possessed by a Deity, and pulling out the nipples of her breasts pushing down her skirt-string usque ad privates partes. (Chamberlain 1982: 69) The episode of the cave is interpreted as a shamanistic ritual of summon- ing the Sun Goddess and Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto as a shamanizing miko. Consequently, it may be said that Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto in tensonkōrin episode should be interpreted as a miko in the state of posses- sion as well. Schematically this can be shown as in Table 1. In the tensonkōrin episode of Kojiki, the meaning of Ame-no-uzume- no-mikoto is unclear but with a comparative analysis of the corresponding episode from Nihongi and reference to the episode of summoning Amaterasu in the cave, where Ame-no-uzume-no-mokoto plays the role of a shamanizing miko, we can reconstruct the meaning of the deity in Kojiki’s 152 MARINA SHCHEPETUNINA

tensonkōrin episode. If we add M2 and M3 elements to the story, we reveal the role of Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto as an acting miko.

Table 1: Reconstruction of Amenouzume’s5 meaning

Summoning Amaterasu, Mythem Tensonkōrin, Kojiki Tensonkōrin, Nihongi Kojiki M1 A. is sent and instructed A. is sent and instructed M2 ← ← A. becomes possessed M3 ← A. exposes her breasts A. exposes her breasts M4 A. gets a reply A. gets a reply

In addition to the appearance and activities, there is one more trace of shamanistic character in female deities. Some names, such as of Tama- yoribime or Toyotamabime include yori or tama. These generative parts are usually understood as yoru, meaning possess, and tama, meaning spirit. Carmen Blacker presents Yanagita Kunio’s interpretation of the name Tamayoribime as “a generic one for a miko, denoting a girl (hime) possessed (yoru) by the spirit of a god (tama).” (Blacker 1975: 118) In this section, the texts, in which a motif of a female shaman miko is preserved, were analysed. We could observe miko as a priest (Amaterasu) and as an actor on behalf of a group (Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto), who appears in the state of possession.

Male shamanism: the figure of a shaman in myths

In the following section, shamanistic features in male deities are going to be examined. Since shamanism is a trance technique first of all, which can be of a possession type, as well as taking the form of an extracorporeal journey, this is going to be questioned in male deities. In the course of elucidating male and female roles and peculiarities, we paid attention to the fact that male and female deities move from one realm to another for different reasons and with different frequency. When the main male deities Izanagi-no-mikoto, Susanoo-no-mikoto, Ookuninushi- no-mikoto and Hoori-no-mikoto undertake different journeys between the Middle Country and other realms, these deities go to the other world and

5 In Table 1, M = mythem, A.=Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto QUESTIONING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN AS A MIKO COUNTRY: REPRESENTATION OF SHAMANISM IN ANCIENT 153 JAPANESE MYTHS come back, get some knowledge, get the lost thing or get a wife. Female deities almost never move spatially. However, there is one example of Tamayoribime, who came to the Middle Country in order to bear a child, but usually female deities do not make two-way journeys. A female deity would go to another country when sent or charged by a more powerful deity (in both cases by a male deity, as observed in the text), as miko type deities (Amaterasu and Ame-no-uzume-no-mikoto) or a female deity may be brought to another realm by a male deity (Ookuninushi brings his wife Suseribime to the Middle Country from the Netherworld). There are no records of these female deities coming back to the realms after they had left. This can be schematized in Figure 1.

PLACE TRAVELLER PLACE Heavenly PlaneޓTakamagahara

male, male female

Middle Country Ashiharanakatsukuni male, female Realm of the Sea Uminokuni

female male

NetherworldޓYominokuni and Nenokatasukuni

Figure 1: Gender and cosmology

The most important characteristic of a shaman is the ability to travel between the worlds, and in the case of this type of shamanism, a male shaman is generally the subject of discussion. From Figure 1, we can see that the journeys in the myths are undertaken by male deities mainly. Further, the deities who make such journeys, their purposes, results and the way of conducting them are going to be analysed. Then we will corre- late the results with the constituents of shamanism taken as a frame for the study. The role that the protagonist plays or has the potential to perform in the society will be analysed, as well as the existence of a helping spirit and the journey itself. The first journey to another realm was made by Izanagi-no-mikoto. Izanagi goes to Yomitsukuni (Netherworld) to get back his wife Izanami- 154 MARINA SHCHEPETUNINA

no-mikoto. In Kojiki and Nihongi in “one writing ” (6th , 9th and 10th ), the story is recorded without major differences, so here the comparison is omitted and only some core elements will be pointed out. The deity looses something → crying / sorrow → wants to get it → goes to the Netherworld → breaks the forbiddance and fails the first aim → magic running → success → establishment of rulers of three realms. The episode started with the elements of loss and crying; in other words, there was a disorder, and the myth ended with the establishment of order. Izanagi undertakes a journey to the Netherworld and performs magic. These actions indicate that he has a shamanistic character. The next journey which can be interpreted as shamanistic is that of Susanoo-no-mikoto. The story of his actions will be briefly outlined, as recorded in Kojiki. Having been assigned to govern the Realm of the Sea, Susanoo-no-mikoto does not fulfill his duty but weeps, desiring to go to the Netherworld. Before going to the Netherworld, he wants to visit his elder sister Amaterasu in her realm Takamagahara. In Takamagahara, he performs the actions which result in Amaterasu’s hiding in the cave. Therefore, Susanoo is expelled from the Heavenly Plane. He comes to Izumo in the Middle Land and then to the Netherworld. Having been expelled from the realm of Heaven, Susanoo comes to Izumo, meets two earthly deities who are crying because they are about to lose their daughter to a serpent, which comes every year and eats a daugh- ter. Susanoo asks to marry the princess and promises to slay the serpent. The way he chooses in this endeavor is somewhat different. He orders the couple to brew sake with an eightfold brewing and build an eight-door fence, erecting eight platforms at each door and placing a barrel filled with the specially brewed sake on each platform. They do so, and when the serpent comes, it drinks the sake, becomes drunk and falls asleep. With his sword, Susanoo hacks the serpent to pieces. It should be noted that he does not win against the serpent with mere strength or divine power. Why does he need to use such a ruse? Let us examine other variants from Nihongi. As summarized in the following Table 2, this story is recorded in five variants. The most interest- ing for us are mythems M13- M17, which tell about the way of slaying the serpent. We can see that four of the five variants clearly claim that Susanoo first makes the serpent drink sake and only then cuts it with the sword. QUESTIONING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN AS A MIKO COUNTRY: REPRESENTATION OF SHAMANISM IN ANCIENT 155 JAPANESE MYTHS

Table 2: Slaying the serpent6

Mythem K N (m) N (2) N (3) N(4) M1 Susanoo is expelled from the realm of Heaven + - - - + M2 Susanoo arrives to Izumo + + + - + M3 Susanoo meets a crying sorrowful male and ++ + - - female deities M4 Susanoo asks their names + + - - - M5 Susanoo questions the reason of crying + + - - - M6 Susanoo gets to know about the serpent + + + - + M7 Susanoo asks for the permission to marry ++ - + - Kushinadahime M8 Susanoo is asked to slay the serpent first and -- - +- thereafter allowed to marry Kushinadahime M9 Susanoo is questioned his name + - - - - M10 Susanoo introduces himself as a younger +- - - - Amaterasu’s brother M11 Susanoo gets Kushinadahime + + - - - M12 Susanoo turns the hime into a comb and sticks ++ - - - her into his hair M13 Susanoo resorts to ruse in the form of brewing ++ + + - sake for the serpent (preparation) M14 Susanoo makes the serpent drink sake - - + + - M15 Susanoo cuts the sleeping serpent + + + + - M16 Susanoo takes the sword and slays the serpent - - - - + M17 Susanoo gets the sword Kusanagi + + + + + M18 Susanoo sends the sword up + + - - + M19 Saved princess Ina-gami Furu-kushinada- -- + - - hime is born M20 Susanoo-no-mikoto marries her - - + - -

The story starts with the situation of some chaos, with tears and sorrow (M3- M6, Table2) and ends when the conflict is resolved. Deity Susanoo-no-mikoto performs an act of a cultural hero who saves the princess and slays the serpent. It is not clear from the story why Susanoo cannot cut the serpent with the sword from the very beginning but has to make it drink sake first. Abaev (1994), analyzing epos of peoples of Caucasia, argues about ruse and power that for thousands of years a sorcerer was the central figure of a society. One of the wonderful features

6 In Table 2 K=Kojiki, N=Nihongi, m = main, the numbers indicate variations 156 MARINA SHCHEPETUNINA

ascribed to a shaman-sorcerer was his ability to turn temporarily into one or another animal and accomplish a deed, which would be impossible to complete in the shape of a human being. Along with the development of society, a warrior-hero begins to take the place of a shaman-hero, who was armed solely with sorcerer’s ways and spells. But it should be noticed that the shaman-hero does not withdraw immediately. He remains in certain images, motives and episodes in heroic epos. A new type of hero, namely the warrior-shaman, appears. Very often the story tells that the shaman is stronger than the warrior, the sorcery way is stronger than the weapon. In the minds of primitive people, cunning or ruse was a synonym for magic (Abaev 1994: 11). Within this context, it can be explained why Susanoo should use sake, by interpreting this resort to ruse as a transformation of magical shamanistic method. Mythems M11 and M12, when Susanoo turns Kushinadahime into a comb, i.e., performs magic, confirm the shamanistic interpretation. The episode of the serpent follows the one of Susanoo’s expulsion from the Heavenly Plane. Susanoo returned from another world. And, as the course of the story demonstrated, he came back from the journey to another realm with the knowledge how to slay the serpent. The next deity which reveals the characteristics attributable to a shaman is Ookuninushi-no-mikoto. First of all, there is a record of him meeting with his guardian spirit in Nihongi: Therefore he7 said finally: - ‘It is I, and I alone, who now govern this Land. Is there perchance any one who could join with me in governing the world?’ Upon this a Divine radiance illuminated the sea, and of a sudden there was something which floated towards him and said: - ‘Were I not here, how couldst thou subdue this Land? It is because I am here that thou hast been enabled to accomplish this mighty undertaking.’ Then Oho-na-mochi no Kami inquired, saying: - ‘Then who art thou?’ It replied and said: - ‘I am thy guardian spirit, the wondrous spirit.’ (Aston 1924v.1: 61-62) This episode is the one where Ookuninushi already subjected the coun- try. It is the final mention of him in the story, the episode which declares his nature as a shaman. Before that in the text, we see him reviving several times, travelling to the Netherworld and being helped by animals and even a personal helper, deity Sukunabikona. All these elements are attributable

7 Ookuninushi-no-mikoto. QUESTIONING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN AS A MIKO COUNTRY: REPRESENTATION OF SHAMANISM IN ANCIENT 157 JAPANESE MYTHS to a shaman who practices extracorporeal journey when being in trance, namely to a shaman of Siberian or North-Asian type. The last deity, whose journey to another world is described in the mythical records, is Hoori-no-mikoto. Along with the previous two protag- onists, Hoori goes to another world in order to get knowledge. In Kojiki it is as follows: when Hoori lost his brother’s fish-hook and was not able to find it, there was a deity who sent him to the sea god’s realm in order to get the information needed: So if thou sit on the top of that tree, the Sea-Deity’s daughter will see thee, and counsel thee. (Chamberlain 1982: 145) And indeed, in the Realm of Sea, Hoori got not only the hook, but also the power to rule water in rice-fields. The discussion above shows that there are some traces of shaman- ism among male deities. They can have a spirit-helper, revive, use magic and travel to the Netherworld. Stories about their journeys to another world, where they get knowledge and power, correspond to the idea of a shamanistic extracorporeal journey, characteristic to Siberian or North- Asian type of shamanism.

Conclusion

In the mythico-historical records Kojiki and Nihongi, the main source of indigenous Shinto religion, we could trace the evidences of miko practices and of classical shamanism. Characteristic features attributable to male and female deities correspondingly, that correlate with classical or Siberian type shamanism (male), and with spirit possession type shamanism (female) were defined as follows. Travel, getting knowledge/ authority in another world, presence of an animal-helper or a helping spirit – among male deities; spirit possession per se, nakedness, drum dances – among female deities. These features, peculiar to each type of shamanism, are characteristic to the deities in accordance with their gender. There is no record of a male deity being possessed by a spirit, or of a female deity making a journey which can be interpreted as a shaman’s extracorporeal one. As it has been noted earlier, shamanism in Japan is recognized as a possession type mainly. Traces of classical shamanism in ancient myths found among male deities may indicate the presence of magico-religious 158 MARINA SHCHEPETUNINA

practices in ancient Japan close to those of Northern Asia and performed by a male practitioner. Thus the notion of Japanese shamanism extends much beyond miko image, both of official and kuchiyose types, in historical perspective.

References Abaev, V. I. 1994. Shaman silnee voina. In Petruhin, V.Ya. (Ed.) Istoriko-etnograficheskie issledovaniya po folkloru (pp.11-19). Мoskva: Vostochnaya Literatura. Aston, W. G. (Trans.) 1924. Nihongi : chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697 (2 volumes in 1). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner &Co.,Ltd. Aston, W. G..1921. Shinto. London: Constable. Blacker, C. 1975. The catalpa bow: a study of shamanistic practices in Japan. London: Allen & Unwin. Chamberlain, B.H. (Trans.) 1982 [1882]. Kojiki : records of ancient matters. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing. De Veer, H.1976. Myth Sequences from the Kojiki: A Structural Study. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 3/2-3: 175-214. Eliade, M. 1996 [1958]. Patterns in comparative religion. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Holtom, D.C. 1943. Modern Japan and Shinto nationalism : a study of present-day trends in Japanese religion. University of Chicago Press. Hori, Ichirō 1975. Shamanism in Japan. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 2/4: 231-288. Hultkrantz, Ake. 1978. Ecological and Phenomenological Aspects of Shamanism. In Vilmos Diószegi & Mihály Hoppál (Eds.) Shamanism in Siberia (pp.27-58). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. Ikegami, Yoshimasa 2008. Minshū sekai no shūkyōtachi: Shamanizumu no genzai. Tokyo: Seijo University. Ikegami, Yoshimasa 1999. Minkan fusha shinkō no kenkyō: shūkyōgaku no shiten kara. Tokyo: Miraisha. Nakayama, Tarō. 1984. Nihon fujo shi. Tokyo: Paresutosha. Philippi, D.L. (Trans.) 1969. Kojiki .Tokyo: Univ.of Tokyo Press. Philippi, D.L. (Trans.) 1990. Norito: a translation of the ancient Japanese ritual prayers. With introduction by Kitagawa, K. Josef, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Saigō, Nobutsuna 1967. Kojiki no sekai. Tokyo: Iwanami shoten. Sakurai, Tokutarō 1974. Minkan miko no denshō to seitai. In Sakurai, Tokutarō Nihon no snāmanizumu (v.1) Tokyo: Yoshikawakōbunkan. Sakurai, Tokutarō 2000. Gendai shāmanizumu no yukue. In Sakurai, Tokutaro(Ed.) Shāmanizumu to sono shūhen. Tokyo: Daiichishobō. Sonoda, Minoru 1985. Sōsetsu of 1.Sōron. of Part 2. Shinto. In Ono, Yasuhiro et al. (Eds.) Nihon shūkyō jiten. (Dictionary of Japanese Religions) (pp.55-56). Tokyo: Kōbundō. Tsugita, Masaki (Trans. into modern Japanese and comments) 1994 [1977] Kojiki (Upper volume). Tokyo: Kōdansha. Ujitani, Tsutomu (Trans. into modern Japanese) 2004 [1988]. Nihon shoki (Upper Volume). Tokyo: Kōdansha. QUESTIONING THE IMAGE OF JAPAN AS A MIKO COUNTRY: REPRESENTATION OF SHAMANISM IN ANCIENT 159 JAPANESE MYTHS

Abstract

Japanese Shamanism, as it was pointed out by Mircea Eliade in his prominent work, Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy, differs from classical shamanism of North-Asian or Siberian type. It is, first of all, a technique of being possessed by spirits, practiced by women, miko. Along with this traditional perception of Japanese shamanism, Japanese myth shows features of classical shamanism as well. The object of this study is myths of the first book ofThe Records of Ancient Matters (The Kojiki) (712) which recount of the world of deities up to the birth of the first emperor and texts of The Chronicles of Japan (The Nihon Shoki)(720) which correspond to them. This study is conducted in the analytical frame, addressed to the features of male and female deities in Japanese mythology. A structuralist approach to the texts is adopted. In the process of analysis the range of episodes with repetition of elements which can be interpreted as shamanistic has been revealed. There are episodes where deities perform the role of shaman, depicted as shamans. This role is performed by female deities, which corresponds to the Japanese tradition of female shamanism, tradition of miko. Apart from these images of female shamans, miko, features, attributed to shaman of classical type among some male deities, have been discovered. Such deities prevail in Izumo legends rather than in Yamato ones, where we find female deities with miko features. In the text of Japanese myths we observe male shaman images as well as female ones, and this leads us to trace two different systems of shamanism – the first one being the classical type with the core element of traveling to another world, the world of spirits, and the second one with the core element of possession by spirits, which is recognized as traditional in Japanese culture.

Japonijos, kaip miko šalies, įvaizdis: šamanizmas senuosiuose Japonijos mituose Santrauka Pagrindinės sąvokos: miko, šamanizmas, Japonijos mitas, vyriškosios ir moteriškosios dievybės, šintoizmas. Kaip žymiame darbe Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy („Šamanizmas: senovinės ekstazės technikos“) pabrėžia Mircea Eliade, šamanizmas Japonijoje skiriasi nuo klasikinio Šiaurės Azijos ar Sibiro šamanizmo. Pirmiausia tai moterų, vadinamų miko, technika, kai jos apsėdamos dvasių. Greta šio tradicinio Japonijos šamanizmo japonų mituose atsiskleidžia ir klasikinio šamanizmo bruožai. Šios studijos objektas – mitai iš pirmosios The Records of Ancient Matters (The Kojiki)(712) („Senųjų įvykių užrašai (Kojiki)”) knygos, kuriuose pasakojama apie dievybių pasaulį iki pirmojo imperatoriaus gimimo, ir The Chronicles of Japan (The Nihon Shoki) (720) (“Japonijos kronikos (Nihon Shoki)”) tekstai. Taikant analitinį metodą, aptariami vyriškų ir moteriškų dievybių bruožai Japonijos mitologi- joje. Struktūralistinė analizė atskleidžia epizodus su pasikartojančiais elementai, kuriuos galima 160 MARINA SHCHEPETUNINA

interpretuoti kaip šamanistinius. Pastebima epizodų, kuriuose dievybės atlieka šamano rolę ir vaizduojamos kaip šamanai. Šią rolę atlieka moteriškos dievybės, kas sutampa su japonų tradicija, kad šamanės yra moterys, t.y. miko tradicija. Be šių moterų šamanių arba miko taip pat paste- bima ir klasikiniam šamanų tipui priskiriamų bruožų, būdingų vyriškoms dievybėms. Pastaro- sios daugiau atsiskleidžia Izumo nei Yamato legendose, kur vaizduojamos moteriškos dievybės, turinčios miko bruožų. Japonijos mituose atsiskleidžia tiek vyrų, tiek moterų šamanų bruožų, kas leidžia išskirti dvi skirtingas šamanizmo sistemas: pirmoji – klasikinio tipo, kur pagrindinis elementas yra kelionė į kitą, dvasių, pasaulį, ir antroji, – kur pagrindinis elementas – dvasių apsėdimas, atpažįstamas kaip tradicinis Japonijos kultūrai.