In Silent Homage to Amaterasu: Kagura Secret Songs at Ise Jingū and the Imperial Palace Shrine
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In Silent Homage to Amaterasu: Kagura Secret Songs at Ise Jingū and the Imperial Palace Shrine in Modern and Pre-modern Japan Michiko Urita A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2017 Reading Committee: Patricia Shehan Campbell, Chair Jeffrey M. Perl Christina Sunardi Paul S. Atkins Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Music ii ©Copyright 2017 Michiko Urita iii University of Washington Abstract In Silent Homage to Amaterasu: Kagura Secret Songs at Ise Jingū and the Imperial Palace Shrine in Modern and Pre-modern Japan Michiko Urita Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Patricia Shehan Campbell Music This dissertation explores the essence and resilience of the most sacred and secret ritual music of the Japanese imperial court—kagura taikyoku and kagura hikyoku—by examining ways in which these two songs have survived since their formation in the twelfth century. Kagura taikyoku and kagura hikyoku together are the jewel of Shinto ceremonial vocal music of gagaku, the imperial court music and dances. Kagura secret songs are the emperor’s foremost prayer offering to the imperial ancestral deity, Amaterasu, and other Shinto deities for the well-being of the people and Japan. I aim to provide an understanding of reasons for the continued and uninterrupted performance of kagura secret songs, despite two major crises within Japan’s history. While foreign origin style of gagaku was interrupted during the Warring States period (1467-1615), the performance and transmission of kagura secret songs were protected and sustained. In the face of the second crisis during the Meiji period (1868-1912), which was marked by a threat of foreign invasion and the re-organization of governance, most secret repertoire of gagaku lost their secrecy or were threatened by changes to their traditional system of transmissions, but kagura secret songs survived and were sustained without losing their iv secrecy, sacredness, and silent performance. This research addresses why and how kagura taikyoku and kagura hikyoku have persisted in the face of political and societal upheavals, and builds upon the pioneering work of Carl Folke and Jeff Todd Titon on resilience theory in the socio-ecological systems and ethnomusicology, respectively. Historical narrative is foundational to the thesis, which I have developed from examination of archived manuscripts that include the musical notations of kagura secret songs, housed in the National Archives and the Imperial Household Archives, as well as the musical manuscripts formerly owned by the Ayanokōji family, housed at the Tenri University Library in Japan. My analysis has been informed by the ethnographic method, while in residence and in interactions with the priests at Ise Jingū during periods of my field research between 2008 and 2016. Whereas contemporary priests’ voices are not heard other than in the “Prelude,” their voices echo the ideas and sentiments of historical figures whose work I have examined. Hence, this dissertation can be viewed as a documentary history with ethnographic components that combine in offering an understanding of the continuity of Shinto ritual music and the unique religious affect that is associated with Shinto practices at Ise Jingū and in the imperial household. In sum, this research contributes to historical ethnomusicology, Japanese religious studies, and the advancement of gagaku. v Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my chair, Professor Patricia Shehan Campbell for her inexhaustible support of my Ph.D. study and for her unending patience, effective advising, and immense knowledge. Her careful guidance and continuous encouragement helped me throughout the research and writing of this dissertation. This work would not have been possible without her. Besides my chair, I would like to thank my committee members of University of Washington: Professor Christina Sunardi for her valuable comments, including my positionality, and Professor Paul S. Atkins for his insightful comments on the resilience of Japanese cultural forms. I sincerely thank Professor Daniel Hart for his suggestion to consider indigenous methodology and my relational accountability. I would also like to thank Azusa Tanaka, Japanese Studies Librarian at the University of Washington Libraries, for her generous support. A special acknowledgement with respect and gratitude goes to my advisor outside of the University of Washington, Professor Jeffery M. Perl at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He provided me opportunities to publish my two essays on Shinto of Ise Jingū and North Indian art music in the multidisciplinary journal Common Knowledge, which he founded and currently edits. I wholeheartedly thank Professor Perl for his thorough commentary on drafts of this dissertation. His deep understanding and wisdom helped me to realize the importance of writing my personal accounts through interacting with the priests of Ise Jingū, which turns out to be “Prelude” of this work. I extend my gratitude to various departments and resources of the University of Washington. I received support for three years through Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) grants to study Hind and Bengali, which eventually helped me to expand my vi perspectives on music and religion. My research in Japan from September 2012 to January 2013 was supported by a Boeing International Research and Study Fellowship. It was my privilege to receive the University of Washington Graduate School Presidential Dissertation Fellowship in the Arts and Humanities to assist me in the final stages of writing this dissertation. I also deeply thank the Department of Asian Languages & Literature for appointing me a Japanese Teaching Associate for eight years. In Japan, I am particularly grateful for the unfailing support of Professor Kiyoe Sakamoto at Japan Women’s University, Professor Nobuyuki Kanechiku at Waseda University, Professor Kazuhiko Iijima at Dokkyo University, Professor Hitoshi Nitta at Kogakkan University, and Chief Researcher Keiichi Tashiro of the Archives Division at the Imperial Household Agency. My profound gratitude goes to the priests, musicians, and officials of Ise Jingū. There are a number of people at Ise Jingū and the Imperial Household Agency who have immeasurably helped my research but want to remain anonymous. Their deep veneration of the Emperor and dedication to the rituals at Ise Jingū and the Imperial Palace inspired me to pursue this research and made me recognize the continued effects of religion over many centuries. I extend my acknowledgment to Kenny Leno and Dillon Brown for their valuable comments on my work. Finally, I wish to thank the Fujii family, the Hayashi family, and the Nakamura family for their continuous support through long periods over great distances. vii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to my late parents who keep living in my heart and spiritually support me. viii Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................... xii Prelude ............................................................................................................................................ 1 What Led Me to Ise Jingū ........................................................................................................... 4 Delving into Ise Jingū ............................................................................................................... 15 Internalizing the Priests’ Fears .................................................................................................. 28 Disputes Surrounding the Sacred Mirror and the Emperor’s Prayers ....................................... 31 Fear-Induced Fire ...................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 1: Study of the Resilience of Kagura Secret Songs ......................................................... 42 Overview of Kagura Taikyoku “Yudate” and Kagura Hikyoku “Hirume” .............................. 43 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 48 Research Method ...................................................................................................................... 52 Scholarly Contributions of This Thesis .................................................................................... 55 Chapter Overview ..................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter 2: Kagura Hikyoku “Hirume”: Performance, Transmission, and Ritual from a Historical Perspective .................................................................................................................................... 65 The Emperor as the Principle Agent to Conduct Mikagura ...................................................... 67 Musical Scores and Transmission of Kagura Secret Songs ...................................................... 69 Characteristics of Kagura Hikyoku “Hirume” .......................................................................... 72 “Hirume” Called “Kagura Hikyoku” ........................................................................................ 76 Two Rituals: Enthronement Ceremony and Transferring of Amaterasu Ōmikami .................. 78 Case of Emperor