Notes on Some Minor Japanese Religious Practices Author(s): Basil Hall Chamberlain Source: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 22 (1893), pp. 355-370 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2842134 . Accessed: 14/06/2014 16:30 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 194.29.185.230 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 16:30:54 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions B. H. CHAMBERLAIN.-Minor Japanese ReligiomsPractices. 355 sacred number,with evident referenceto the cardinal points, whilstthe circledrawn by the swordsof the fourpriests, seems to be the originof the crosswithin the circleand of the Swastika which,in Asia as in America,symbolizes the cardiiialpoints and the path of the sun. The sacredwater taken fromwithin this circlewould appear also to be representedin the bowl placed in the centreof the Navajo sand-pictures,surrounded by sun- beams. The secondnotice is in a paper by Henry B. M'Dowell, on "A New Light on the Chinese,"which appeared in " Harper's Magazine" forDecember last, in whichis recordedthe beliefof the Chinese in colour,especially red, and mention is made of thecustom of erectinga dooror sun-gate in the middleof the roomon a child's birthday,through which he is carried by the priest,who goes throughthe same ceremonyat each pointof the compass,this ceremonvbeing repeated every birthdaytill the childis sixteen,evidently the multiple of thesacred number four. There is also a referenceto the Shinto religionof Japan,in whichit is said that pilgrimaaesare made to the shrineof Ise, wherewands, or harai,are procuredby everytrue believer. On arrivinghome these symbolsof growth are placed in the kama ama shelfof the gods. NOTES on SOME MINOR JAPANESE PRELIGIOUS PRACTICES.* By BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN. [WITH PLATES XXIV, XXV.] [Read June 21st,1892.] STRAY notes pointingnowhere in particular can scarcelyever be muchto an investigator'staste. Far moreinteresting it is forhim to developsomne definite theory which he can illustrate and prove,at least to his own satisfaction,to write something whichhas, so to say, a beginning,a middle,and a logical end. Unfortunatelyfor me, fortunatelyperhaps for you, nly pil- ,rima(gesto manyscores of Japanese shrines,during the last nineteenyears, have left me with no particulartheories, but only withmany pleasant mlemories,and a miscellaneousassort- mentof paper charms and other objects of popular devotion, representativespecimens of whichare exhibitedhere to-night. Mr. Lafcadio Hearn, too,the mostconscientious of all present studentsof Japanese folk-lore,has kindlycontributed to the 1 The illustrationsare takenfrom objects presented by Mr. Chamberlainto the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford. This content downloaded from 194.29.185.230 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 16:30:54 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 356 B. H. CHAMBERLAIN.-Noteson someMinor littlecollection. He has contributedboth actual articlesand explanationsof the ideas connected with them, and much of what is here said must be looked on as restingon his high authority. Here, forinstance, are two little sections of bamboosent by him fromthe Shinto shrine of Yaegaki, in the proviniceof Izumo, whichskirts the coast of the Sea of Japan,a portionof the country,which, though classic grounidto the Japanese mythologist,is scarcelyever visitedby Europeans. The things themselvesare not much to look at, bus the followingletter, in whichthey came wrappedup, should make theminteresting in the eyes of all anthropologistsand studentsof folk-ways:- "These are fromYaegaki, but are not absolutelypeculiar to that place. The peasantsof Izumo carryofferings of sea- water in them fromthe coast to Yaegaki, and there attaclh themto the gratingsof the shrine,together with offeringsof seaweed. I am told a part of the water is drunk by them afterhaving been offered;but I am notquite sure if this is a genieralpractice. You maynotice there are two; one, I sup- pose,for Susa-no-o (the chiefdeity of thoseparts), the other for Inada-hime (his wife). I saw the same practice at the templeof Inasa, at Kitzuki,but there the waterwas carried in a gourd,or in a bottle. At Yaegaki the offeringsare not always of double, but commonlyof single bamboo water- vessels. There are a greatmany hanging there. On applica- tion yesterday,the priest detached these for me from the doorof the shrine." The next object is from the same part of the country,but Buddhist. It is called a hangi,or morevulgarly hanko, that is, a printing-block.Its use is stated by Mr. Hearn as follows: "'When a child dies, the motherprints with this a hundred copies of Jizo's imnage,and drops them into a streamwith the invocation,Namvu Jiz3, Dai Bosatsu [Hail! Oh! Jiz5, great Saint!], sometimesadding, in writingoni each paper,'for the sake of . ."7 Jizo,be it explained-the SanscritKshitiyarbha -is the superhumanhelper of those that are in trouble,especially of dead children. His image is to be seeniin every part of Japan,loaded wit-hpebbles, which serve in the otherworld to relieve the labours of ilnfantswho have been robbed of their clothes by the hag namiedSh6zuka no Baba, and have been set by her to performthe endlesstask of piling up stoneson the banlkof the BuddhistStyx. A tinysymbol of devotion,to be seen scatteredall over the Izumnofields, is the little Nobori-perhaps one might translate the term by ' prayer-banner"in English-each of which typifiesthe grantingof a prayer. The nobori are specially This content downloaded from 194.29.185.230 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 16:30:54 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Japanese-Religious Practices. 357 common in the neighbour'hoodof Shint6 temples. At the great temple of Izumo (Izumo 0- Yashiro) "they are," says Mr. Hearn," countless,making a white line round the base of the great buildings." Sometimesleaves of the sacred Sakakci tree((Cleyera japonica) are fastenedto the top of the prayer- banner. A far more showy object sent from Izumo by Mr. Hearn,but unfortunatelytoo unwieldyfor transportation to England, is the sh3ry5-bune,or " spirit-boat,"which is an elaborateconstruction of straw,shaped so as to forma straw modelof a boat and used in somniewhatvarious forms in different partsof Japan on the occasionof the Bon Mfatsuri,or Buddhist " Festival of the Dead." A short descriptionof the Nagasaki varietyof this custolmwill be found on page 381 of the 3rd Edition of Murray's "Handbook for Japan." In Izumo the custom differs. There the " spirit-boatsare launched only for thosewho have been drowned at sea, and the shapes of the shipsvary according to the kindof vessel in which the lost man or woman perished. They are launched every year for ten years after the death commemorated; and when the soul returnsyearly to visit the house,the ship is made ready,and a littlestick of incenseis lightedbefore launching it to take the b)elovedghost back again, a little stock of provisions,chiefly dango (a sort of rice-cake), being placed upon it on small earthenwaresaucers." The posthumousBuddhist names of the dead is writtenupon the sail. Then these boats are launched. not at nightas elsewhere,but in the day-time." Of a more cheerfulsymbolism is the accompanyingsmall paper,wood, and clay representationof a unitedloving couple, one body,or rather one suit of clothes,with two heads (the latter unfortunatelybroken). It conies froin" the old Shinto shrineof Yaegaki, where lovers pray forhelp to Susa-no-oand his deified human spouse, in a grove which is very solemn, shadowy,and beautiful. All kinds of curious customs are obser-vedby the pilgrims,such as tyinga stripof paper,inscribed withthe niameof the beloved,round two twigs so as to press them together. But the tying must be done with only the thumband littlefinger of one hand." A practice followedby lovers,at anotherShint6 temple, is to throwlittle pellets intoa pond. If the newts at once rush to seize the pellet,the onmen is good,whereas if theydo not do so, the omenis bad. Apropos of these, one may perhaps menltionthe strips of paper whichpilgrims to Buddhistshrines chew into pellets and then spit out at the Ni-a, or gigantic images of the guardian deitiesof the temples. If the pellet sticks,the pilgrim'sprayer will be heard. If not,the prayerwill not be heard. 1 Japonice,Kawarake. 2 Japonice,Kaim,yo. This content downloaded from 194.29.185.230 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 16:30:54 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 358 B. H. CHAMBERLAIN.-Notes on som?eMinor Of miscellaneous minor religious practices,the name is legion. Such are the sprig,of holly stuck to a doorpost to keep out evil spirits,the imprintof a hand over the door or entranceto a house, and similarly the rude picture of a horse pasted up over house-doorsto avert small-pox. What may be the rationale of this I know not, having negleeted to ask, but Mr. Aston, in a private communication,suggests that the horse may be intended to hint to the evil spirit that the familyis abroad. Another curious practice is that of depositinlgon some mountain-topthe instrumelntwith which a crime has been committed.