The Development of Shikoku Henro: The
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THE DEVELOPMENT OF SHIKOKU HENRO The Formation and Dissemination of a Pilgrimage in Pre- Modern Japan: A Case Study of Shikoku by EIJI OKAWA B.A., University of British Columbia, 2003 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Asian Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) May 2009 ©Eiji Okawa 2009 Abstract This study will examine the development of a pilgrimage in Shikoku, Japan, commonly known as Shikoku henro. Anyone familiar with this pilgrimage would know that this is a topic that has drawn much academic and non-academic attention in the recent years. We have come to know more about this pilgrimage than ever before, thanks to the meticulous studies that have been conducted by scholars in and out of Japan. If there is a general trend in the recent studies, it is toward the anthropological/sociological interpretation of the pilgrimage, and the interactions of the pilgrimage with the society in which it exists. These studies also tend to focus on the modern era. Doubtless, such focuses are immensely valuable when seeking to shed light to this complex phenomenon. However, it may be time that we can reconsider the historical processes around this pilgrimage, by incorporating the recent findings of this and other pilgrimages, and by re-examining the historical materials pertaining to the subject. Thus, I will focus on the pre-modern developments in the pilgrimage of Shikoku. Specifically, the religious themes and the activities of the religious specialists in relation to the pilgrimage will be thoroughly analyzed in the context of pre-modern Japan (before 1868). In doing so, I will deal with issues that have yet to be addressed, such as the relationship between the pilgrimage and the pilgrimage temples. One might be inclined to assume that the two came hand in hand from the start—that the temples and their affiliates, as the prime beneficiaries of the pilgrimage, must have taken various measures to lure the pilgrims. Such an assumption, however, would drape the dynamics behind the formation of this pilgrimage, as will be demonstrated in this thesis. ii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................ ii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ...................................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................ vii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Definitions ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Thesis Outline ................................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1: The “Roots” of Shikoku Henro .......................................................................................... 10 1.1. Ascetics (shugenja 修験者 / gyōja 行者) ............................................................................... 10 1.1.1. Heji Shugyō (辺路修行) ................................................................................................... 11 1.1.2. Other Ascetics .................................................................................................................. 15 1.2. Followers of Kōbō Daishi ......................................................................................................... 15 1.3. Pure Land Believers ................................................................................................................. 16 1.4. The Influence of the “Roots” ................................................................................................... 17 1.5. Emerging Multi-site Pilgrimage in the Medieval Period ......................................................... 22 Chapter 2: Formulation of the Eighty-Eight-Site Pilgrimage .............................................................. 26 2.1. The Influence from Kumano and the Legend of Emon Saburō ............................................... 26 2.1.1. Kumano Through Ishiteji .................................................................................................. 27 2.1.2. Emon Saburō Legend ....................................................................................................... 29 2.1.3. Ishiteji Historicized ........................................................................................................... 30 2.1.4. Evolving Legend ................................................................................................................ 35 2.1.5. Reconsidering Kumano’s Role in Henro ........................................................................... 38 2.2. Organizing the Eighty-Eight ..................................................................................................... 40 iii 2.2.1. Texts, Numbering System, and Arguments ...................................................................... 43 2.2.2. Kōyasan Affiliates ............................................................................................................. 48 2.2.3. Sea Route, Location, and Numbers .................................................................................. 51 2.3. Theorizing the Sacred Space ................................................................................................... 56 Chapter 3: Becoming a Popular Pilgrimage ........................................................................................ 60 3.1. Framework of Popular Henro .................................................................................................. 61 3.2. The Development in Travel Infrastructure .............................................................................. 62 3.2. The Sacred Appeal of Shikoku ................................................................................................. 65 3.2.1. Sacralizing a Pilgrimage Space in Early Modern Japan ..................................................... 66 3.2.2. Shikoku as Abode of Kōbō Daishi ..................................................................................... 68 3.2.3. Dispersed Sanctity ............................................................................................................ 70 3.2.4. The Pilgrimage as Meritorious ......................................................................................... 77 3.3. The Sacralizing of the Pilgrims and the Practice of Alms-Giving ............................................. 82 Chapter 4: The Actors in the Popularization Process ......................................................................... 89 4.1. The Making of Shikoku Reijōki................................................................................................. 90 4.2. Selling Pilgrimage Books .......................................................................................................... 91 4.3. Fudasho and the Pilgrimage .................................................................................................... 92 4.4. Networking for Sponsors ........................................................................................................ 98 4.4.1. Merchants and Seafarers ............................................................................................... 100 4.4.2. In Commemoration of the Deceased ............................................................................. 102 4.4.3. Other Sponsors ............................................................................................................... 104 4.5. Un-Systematized Pilgrimage ................................................................................................. 105 4.6. Information ........................................................................................................................... 107 Concluding Remarks ......................................................................................................................... 110 Prospects for Future Studies ............................................................................................................ 113 iv Reference List ................................................................................................................................... 115 Appendices ....................................................................................................................................... 124 v List of Figures Figure 1 Kōbō Daishi from Shikoku Henro Michishirube .................................................................. 124 Figure 2. Seventeenth Century Henro .............................................................................................. 125 Figure 3. The Map of Shikoku Henro ................................................................................................ 126 Figure 4. The Current Names of the FudashoFrom Muro and Moreton (2008). ............................. 127 Figure 5. Illustration of the Ishiteji Precinct from the Shikoku Henro Reijōki