Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia Dottorato di ricerca in Lingue, Culture e Società, 22° ciclo (A. A. 2006/2007 – A.A. 2008/2009) Hell is Round the Corner Religious Landscapes, People and Identity in Contemporary Japan SETTORE SCIENTIFICO-DISCIPLINARE DI AFFERENZA: L-OR/20 Tesi di dottorato di ANDREA DE ANTONI, 955357 Coordinatore del dottorato Tutore del dottorando Prof. Rosella Mamoli Zorzi Prof. Massimo Raveri To whom is gone, but did not leave us alone 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements _______________________________________________________ 5 Introduction _____________________________________________________________ 7 Chapter 1 – Spreading Hell________________________________________________ 13 1.1 Indian Origins and Early Buddhist Developments _______________________ 14 1.1.1 Hell in Buddhist Cosmology________________________________________ 17 1.2 Chinese Changes ___________________________________________________ 24 1.3 Enter Japan _______________________________________________________ 30 1.3.1 Introduction of Hell in Japan _______________________________________ 31 1.3.1 Genshin’s Influence, Hell Narratives and Landscapes ____________________ 38 1.4 Main Characters and Landscapes in Hell Narratives _____________________ 44 1.4.1 Sanzu no Kawa, Datsueba and Ken’eō________________________________ 45 1.4.2 Enma Daiō _____________________________________________________ 47 1.4.3 Sai no Kawara and Jizō____________________________________________ 50 1.5 Medieval and Premodern Developments _______________________________ 56 1.6 Emplacing Hell in Localities _________________________________________ 60 1.7 Bakumatsu and Modernization _______________________________________ 65 1.8 Consuming Hell ____________________________________________________ 72 Chapter 2 - Liminal Spaces and Ghastly Memories – Osorezan and Mutsu-shi ______ 76 2.1 Narrating the Site __________________________________________________ 77 2.2 Forgotten History __________________________________________________ 85 2.3 Ritual Practices ____________________________________________________ 90 2.4 OsorezanS ________________________________________________________ 95 2.4.1 The Nostalgic Mountain ___________________________________________ 97 2.4.2 The Horrific Mountain ___________________________________________ 101 2.4.3 The “True” Mountain ____________________________________________ 104 2.4.4 The Local Mountain _____________________________________________ 111 2.5 Down the Ghost-Road______________________________________________ 116 2.6 Haunted Places in Mutsu ___________________________________________ 120 2.6.1 Haunted Houses, Interrupted Lives and Social Values ___________________ 122 2.6.2 Haunted Areas, Danger and Identity_________________________________ 127 2.7 Conclusions ______________________________________________________ 135 Chapter 3 – Discriminating Hell – Kyoto and Rokuhara _______________________ 137 3.1 History of Hell in Kyoto ____________________________________________ 139 3.1.1 Dwellers of Hell ________________________________________________ 145 3.1.2 Managing Hell: Local Temples, History and Legends ___________________ 147 3.2 Rokudō Mairi and Religious “Tradition” ______________________________ 152 3 3.3 Contemporary Hell ________________________________________________ 161 3.4 The Buraku Issue _________________________________________________ 164 3.4.1 Origins and Development _________________________________________ 166 3.4.2 Modernization and Liberation of Pariah Groups _______________________ 169 3.5 Making the Buraku Exist ___________________________________________ 172 3.5.1 Discriminated People? ___________________________________________ 177 3.5.2 The Buraku we Don’t See_________________________________________ 181 3.6 Constructing Hell _________________________________________________ 183 3.7 Landscapes of Discrimination _______________________________________ 187 3.8 Conclusions ______________________________________________________ 190 Chapter 4 – The Pride of Living in Hell – Ashikuraji and the Tateyama Museum ___ 193 4.1 History of Tateyama and Ashikuraji __________________________________ 196 4.1.1 Tateyama Mandara and Religious Practices___________________________ 200 4.2.2 Ritual Practice in Ashikuraji _______________________________________ 202 4.2.3 Modernization and Decline of the Cult of Tateyama ____________________ 205 4.2 The Museum of Tateyama __________________________________________ 207 4.2.1 Tenjikan_______________________________________________________ 207 4.2.2 Yōbōkan ______________________________________________________ 209 4.2.3 Mandara Yūen__________________________________________________ 212 4.3 Symbolic Denial___________________________________________________ 214 4.3.1 Enjoy the Afterlife ______________________________________________ 216 4.4 People in Ashikuraji _______________________________________________ 220 4.4.1 The Pride of Ashikuraji___________________________________________ 225 4.5 Identity and Conflict_______________________________________________ 227 4.5.1 Ashikuraji and the Museum _______________________________________ 229 4.6 Constructing the Cult of Tateyama ___________________________________ 232 4.7 Protect Ashikuraji! ________________________________________________ 239 4.8 Conclusions ______________________________________________________ 241 Chapter 5 – Hell Lost – Hirano-ku and Hakone ______________________________ 243 5.1 A Small Hell for Children ___________________________________________ 244 5.1.1 Lack of History and Entertainment__________________________________ 250 5.2 Old Stones and Broken Lasers _______________________________________ 253 5.2.1 Once Hakone was Hell, Now It is No More ___________________________ 257 5.3 Conclusions ______________________________________________________ 258 Bibliography ________________________________________________________ 261 Primary Sources_____________________________________________________ 261 Websites ___________________________________________________________ 263 Secondary Sources___________________________________________________ 264 Appendix: Survey in Schools in Mutsu-shi __________________________________ 278 4 Acknowledgements This Ph.D. Dissertation is not only a product of my own work. It is the result of the efforts of all the people who have followed, supported, helped and bore me all through my research. In first instance, I would like to thank my supervisor, professor Massimo Raveri, whom I consider my master and my friend. A special thank also to Professor Silvio Vita, of the Italian School for East Asian Studies in Kyoto and to Professor Joy Hendry, Professor Mitchell Sedgwick and Professor Chris McDonaugh, who followed me during my study in Oxford. I am also grateful to Professor Tanaka and Inaba, for the great opportunity they accorded me in Kyoto University and to Professor Shimazono for his kind availability. This dissertation is for my family, because without their support I would not be here, whatever “here” is. It is also for Emi, who is always by my side and who helped me out and supported very much, especially when I was lost in translation. A special thank to all my friends, because they kindly bore me and because they were always present with some precious advice and psychological support. In particular, Tyco, Elisa Elena, Alb, Enrico, Annina, Ale, Denis, Ana, Marco, Giovanni, Elena, Gian, Luisa, and my roommates, past and present. The feedback I received from the members of the research group at the Department of East Asian Studies was always precious: thank you very much to Giovanni, Daiana, Tatsuma and Marilena. I cannot forget my “colleagues” Ph.D. Candidates and Young Scholars in my Department: their advices, patience, kind smiles and support were some of the reasons why I managed to write this Dissertation: LaHate, LaJulia, IlPier, Giovannapuppin, Marcofumian, Sofia, Sonia; Paolo and Lisa, who will endure with me the final Ph.D. exam, my new “friend since the times of the kindergarten” Giorgio and all the people at the third floor. 5 I am extremely grateful to all the people I met in Japan: my friend Tomo, all the people at the Abar, Hako-san, and all the friends in Kyoto. A fundamental part of this work was actually carried out by my so-called “informants”. I would like to thank them all, in particular Shiratori-san in Mutsu, Nosaka-san in Hakone, all the people at the Kyoto Buraku Kenkyūsho, the staff at the Higashiyama Ward Hall, Makoto-san and Tada-san in Kyoto, Fukue-sensei, Katō-san, Saeki T.-san, Yoshida-san and all the staff at the Museum of Tateyama. Yet every single person, among the other people I did not directly mention and who helped me out during my fieldwork, was fundamental. I am also grateful to all the friends at the Department of East Asian Studies, for all the fun we had together and for their availability and support, as well as to all the Staff of the Department, for their kindness and collaboration. A special thank to Seb Boret and Jonjo, who saved my life and Emi’s in Oxford. I cannot forget also the other side of the other side of me: my evil twin Anna Skarpelis. I promise we’ll manage to meet up again somewhere, sooner or later. No doubt I am letting out more than someone, but I am very tired and I hope you understand, I am really sorry! If there is anything good in this Dissertation, then it’s all thanks to you. Anything wrong is going to be my own fault. Anyway, I hope somehow you can be even just a little bit proud of this not-so-good son, brother, (boy-)friend