Ema: Display Practices of Edo Period Votive Paintings
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EMA: DISPLAY PRACTICES OF EDO PERIOD VOTIVE PAINTINGS A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY AND THE COMMITTEE ON GRADUATE STUDIES OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Hilary Katherine Snow July 2010 © 2010 by Hilary Katherine Snow. All Rights Reserved. Re-distributed by Stanford University under license with the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/ This dissertation is online at: http://purl.stanford.edu/rd900xq7448 Includes supplemental files: 1. (Snow_Figures.pdf) ii I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Melinda Takeuchi, Primary Adviser I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Bissera Pentcheva I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Richard Vinograd I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Karen Wigen Approved for the Stanford University Committee on Graduate Studies. Patricia J. Gumport, Vice Provost Graduate Education This signature page was generated electronically upon submission of this dissertation in electronic format. An original signed hard copy of the signature page is on file in University Archives. iii Abstract Large-scale ema (votive paintings) were commonly found at Edo period religious sites, where sacred and secular activities mingled. Ema halls functioned as art galleries, providing almost unrestricted access to paintings for any member of society. While the genre is most frequently defined through the initial act of donation, the role of ema in Edo period society is rooted in their public display. This dissertation examines the diversity of Edo period ema and contexts for their display within late Edo period society. Chapter 1 discusses the development of ema as paintings of horses in early Japanese history, including depictions in medieval handscrolls, and their role as examples of common religious practice in Japan, despite being usually described as Shinto religious objects. Chapter 2 focuses on the display and dissemination of ema during the Edo period. I examine Edo period literature about ema and how ema were understood by writers of the period. I also address the rise of ema halls and the increasing importance of ema displays within the early modern culture of public entertainment. Chapters 3 and 4 use two popular Buddhist temples in the Edo region as case studies for ema donation and display. Chapter 3 surveys ema at Sensôji temple in Asakusa, Tokyo to highlight both the continued importance of horses as subjects of ema and also the expansive diversity of subjects beyond horses. Stories told during the period about the oldest ema at Sensôji (early seventeenth-century) reveal beliefs about the efficacy of ema. Other ema display connections to the public amusements found in the Sensôji district. Chapter 4 explores the associations between ema at Naritasan Shinshôji in Chiba prefecture and the Ichikawa Danjûrô family of Kabuki actors. These actors and their fans used ema both to express religious devotion and to promote themselves in more iv secular ways. Naritasan was closely tied to Edo, especially through degaichô (public viewings of the temple’s main statue) in the Fukagawa district of Edo, and many ema donations can be linked to the degaichô. While not denying the importance of ema as religious objects, I seek to show how their importance as objects of display and advertisement complemented their spiritual functions. They were part of a spiritual and social exchange that donors performed for both the gods and the viewing public. v Acknowledgments I have many individuals and organizations to thank for their assistance and support in the completion of this dissertation. Funding for research and writing was provided by the Stanford University Department of Art and Art History, a Graduate Research Opportunity Grant from the Stanford University School of Humanities and Social Sciences, a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Grant, and the Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, MD) Carol Bates Fellowship. Sections of the dissertation were presented at the Social Science Research Council’s Japan Studies Dissertation Workshop and the Ninth International Workshop on Japanese Art History for Graduate Students. I thank participants in both workshops for their helpful comments. I would like to thank Kawai Masatomo, Hayashi On and the faculty and staff of Keio University, Tokyo for hosting me during my research in Japan and providing research resources. I am extremely grateful for Professor Kawai’s continued support from the earliest stages of my research. Also at Keio University, I would like to thank the members of Professor Kawai’s seminar, especially Maizawa Rei, Mikasa Keiko, Seo Kyoung Sook, and Shimomura Nahoko. Members of the Sandaiku Study Group from Gakushuin University, Waseda University and Keio University provided invaluable feedback on my work, including Hinohara Kenji, Kamata Junko, Matsushima Jin, Mitake Hidekazu, and Yamamoto Yukari. Members of Onishi Hiroshi’s Ches-ken Study Group, especially Orii Takae, were similarly helpful. I thank Yoshida Eri for providing many research leads, including introducing me to my kuzushiji tutor, Abe Tomoko, who was herself a tremendous help. Professors Ota Shoko, Onishi Hiroshi and Nishigai Kenji were extremely generous with their time. Others who offered important suggestions and vi introductions include Professor Ronald Toby, Nobuko Toyosawa, Takayama Hidetsugu, and my senpai Caroline Hirasawa. For helping me experience Japanese culture more broadly, I would like to thank Sarah Munton, Max Dionsio, Ishikura Maho, Owatari Michiko, Arima Kazuko, Suzuki Yoshiko, and the Koyama Susumu family. I want to especially thank the late Morii Hirotoshi and his family, who have given me a home in Japan and allowed me to be part of their family’s joys and sorrows. In the United States, I would like to thank the members of my writing group, Jennifer Borland, Karen Fraser, Pauline Ota, Louise Siddons, and Hsuan Tsen for their advice, encouragement, and good examples. I am grateful to Eiichi Ito of the Library of Congress for assistance with the final stages of my research. For support in various forms, I am indebted to Rebecca Brown, Julie Nelson Davis, Peter Egan, Amanda Glesmann, Christine Guth, David Howell, Terrence Jackson, Robert Mintz, and Yukiko Shirahara. I would like to thank my dissertation committee, Bissera Pentcheva, Richard Vinograd and Kären Wigen, for their feedback and guidance. I especially thank my advisor, Melinda Takeuchi, who has nurtured me since I started coursework for my master’s degree and without whom I never would have completed the PhD. Her commitment to strong scholarship is an inspiration. I would like to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Daniel Paskowitz, who probably deserves his own degree in art history for living with me throughout mine. vii Table of Contents List of Figures................................................................................................................... ix Introduction....................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Background and Development..................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: Display and Dissemination ......................................................................... 36 Chapter 3: Horses, Warriors, Temples, and Legends: Ema at Sensôji ..................... 67 Chapter 4: Patronage and Publicity: Ema at Naritasan ........................................... 101 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 137 Appendix: Translations of Edo period texts about ema............................................ 148 Figures............................................................................................................................ 169 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 224 viii List of Figures Figure 1-1: Small ema donations at Yushima shrine, Tokyo, January 15, 2006. Photograph by the author....................................................................................... 169 Figure 1-2: Kanô Kyûen, black horse ema, 1697, ink and color on wood, 46½ x 66 in., Gokokuji temple, Tokyo. Photograph by the author.............................................. 169 Figure 1-3: Tokiwa Mitsunaga, Nenjû gyô emaki (Picture scroll of yearly activities), 1158–65, Edo period copy by Sumiyoshi Gukei, Tanaka collection. From Komatsu Shigemi, ed. Nihon no emaki, vol. 8. Tokyo: Chûô Kôronsha, 1987. ................... 170 Figure 1-4: Kanô Sanraku, “Pair of horses,” 1625, polychrome on wood, 25 ½ x 29 ½ in. each, Kaizu Tenjin shrine, Shige prefecture. From Money L. Hickman, ed. Japan’s Golden