Childbearing in Japanese Society: Traditional Beliefs and Contemporary Practices by Gunnella Thorgeirsdottir A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Sheffield Faculty of Social Sciences School of East Asian Studies August 2014 ii iii iv Abstract In recent years there has been an oft-held assumption as to the decline of traditions as well as folk belief amidst the technological modern age. The current thesis seeks to bring to light the various rituals, traditions and beliefs surrounding pregnancy in Japanese society, arguing that, although changed, they are still very much alive and a large part of the pregnancy experience. Current perception and ideas were gathered through a series of in depth interviews with 31 Japanese females of varying ages and socio-cultural backgrounds. These current perceptions were then compared to and contrasted with historical data of a folkloristic nature, seeking to highlight developments and seek out continuities. This was done within the theoretical framework of the liminal nature of that which is betwixt and between as set forth by Victor Turner, as well as theories set forth by Mary Douglas and her ideas of the polluting element of the liminal. It quickly became obvious that the beliefs were still strong having though developed from a person-to- person communication and into a set of knowledge aquired by the mother largely from books, magazines and or offline. v vi Acknowledgements This thesis would never have been written had it not been for the endless assistance, patience and good will of a good number of people. To the many women who patiently answered my strange sounding questions and shared with me their experiences and thoughts I owe an immense gratitude. For academic support I have endless gratitude to Professor James H. Grayson for providing guidance and encouragement throughout the process, especially when mounting responsibilities made it seem as if it would never get written. My sincere thanks are due to my supervisors Joan Beal, Harald Conrad and before him Hiroko Takeda for their guidance and comments. I am greatly indebted to the Japanese government for the Monbukagakushō scholarship, which granted me the opportunity to stay in Japan whilst conducting my research as well as study folklore at Kokugakuin University. I am also grateful for the very generous reception I received at Kokugakuin University, and in particular the guidance from Professor Naoyuki Ogawa and Itabashi Haruo. For giving me feedback and serving as a sounding board, for sharing with me their experiences and academically nudging me on: Etsuko Mori, Paul Cowdell, Catherine Bannister, Gideon Thomas, Kevin Cawley, Mikel Koven, Svava Svanborg Steinarsdóttir, Elísabet Stefánsdóttir, Matthew Cheeseman and countless others. The thesis would have taken even longer had it not been for the linguistic guidance and assistance of the always helpful and invaluable Ikuko Ishihara, Mami Nagai, Aiko Kumamoto and the many others who assisted with language and translations, to whom I now extend my deepest gratitude. For my father who was always ready with a bibliographic comment or to discuss layout, my brother who has at times very generously stepped in and looked after the children and the home when I needed to travel for research. To my Japanese family through whom I first began to learn of the inner workings of Japanese culture and who shared with me their stories and experiences. And most of all I would like to thank my partner Halldor Haukur Halldorsson and my children Elena and Ragnar who have seen me through this whole process, who moved with me to Japan in order to conduct the research, put up with mum in research mode (i.e. grumpy) and stubbornly maintained throughout that ‘I could do this’ when I myself had lost faith. There are a countless more, friends, students and co-workers without whom this thesis would not have happened. Thank you vii viii List of Figure, Graphs and Tables Figure 1: Table of Participants ________________________________________________________________ 52 Figure 2: Population Pyramid as of October 2012 _________________________________________________ 59 Figure 3:Percentages of religious affiliation ______________________________________________________ 64 Figure 4: Fertility Rate in Hinoeuma ___________________________________________________________ 68 Figure 5: A traditional Yakudoshi schema displayed at Shrines and Temples ___________________________ 70 Figure 6: Men in their yakudoshi dispelling the kegare by participating in a festival _____________________ 70 Figure 7: A drinking set assured to bring fertility __________________________________________________ 85 Figure 8: The Tagata Shrine float ______________________________________________________________ 85 Figure 9: Children rubbing the falli for fertility of the mind and luck on exams __________________________ 85 Figure 10: A woman posing with a minor fertility float _____________________________________________ 85 Figure 11: Seeking assistance at Tagata Jinja_____________________________________________________ 88 Figure 12:The dog as a symbol of easy delivery ___________________________________________________ 88 Figure 13: A typical display of omamori at a shrine ________________________________________________ 91 Figure 14: A mother made a decorative protective mobile out of the omamori __________________________ 91 Figure 15: Ema with a picture of a dog for fertility_________________________________________________ 91 Figure 16: Ema with the image of a Pomegranate for fertility _______________________________________ 91 Figure 17: A pregnant Woman carrying the pregnancy badge ______________________________________ 102 Figure 18: Pregnancy Badge _________________________________________________________________ 102 Figure 19: Mean birth weight ________________________________________________________________ 109 Figure 20: Families queuing up for a blessing at Suitengu Shrine on an auspicious day ___________________ 117 Figure 21: The writing of a blessing on the sash at Suitengu Shrine __________________________________ 117 Figure 22: Calendar for the day of the Dog ______________________________________________________ 117 Figure 23: Stroking the head of dog for luck, Suitengu ____________________________________________ 124 Figure 24: waiting to obtainblessings on the materinity sash at Suitengu _____________________________ 124 Figure 25: Lady selling non denominational omamori _____________________________________________ 124 Figure 26: Posing in front of Suitengu __________________________________________________________ 124 Figure 27: Onmeisama ______________________________________________________________________ 125 Figure 28: The dog King _____________________________________________________________________ 125 Figure 29: Ema displaying the Dog king ________________________________________________________ 126 Figure 30: A blurb on the shrine featured in a mothering mmagazine ________________________________ 126 Figure 31: PE01 proudly displays the umbilical stubs of her three grown children _______________________ 142 Figure 32: The naming ceremony of PE24 ______________________________________________________ 155 Figure 33: The mei mei, name card for the son of PE24 ____________________________________________ 155 Figure 34: A paternal grandmother proudly holds her grandson during his first shrine visit _______________ 162 Figure 35: The baby kimono referenced by PE24 as having only ever been worne once __________________ 162 Figure 36: Samurai warrior recieved on the first Tango-no-sekku ____________________________________ 168 Figure 37: A mother photographs her 3 and 5 year old near meiji Shrine Tokyo ________________________ 168 Figure 38: a 7 year old hangs up an ema at Meji Shrine ___________________________________________ 168 ix Abstract v Acknowledgements vii Chapter 1: Introduction 3 1.1 Theoretical perspective 8 1.1.1 Folkloristics 8 1.1.2 Japanese School of folklore 10 1.1.3 Rites of Passage 12 1.2 Thesis overview 15 1.3 Literature overview 17 1.3.1 Works on Japanese life-cycle rituals 19 1.3.2 Handbooks on Japanese folklore 20 1.3.3 Ethnographies by foreign scholars 22 1.3.4 Obstetric texts and life histories 24 1.3.5 Works on Blood Pollution 26 1.3.6 Works on Mizuko Kuyō and Mabiki 32 1.4 Chapter review 35 Chapter 2: Methodology 37 2.1 Fieldwork and methodology in Folklore 37 2.2 Development and pilot study 41 2.3 Recruitment and sampling 43 2.4 Ethical considerations 44 2.5 Questionnaire 46 2.6 Interviews 49 2.7 Overview of participants 52 2.8 Observations 53 2.9 Analysis 54 Chapter 3: Japanese Socio-Cultural environment 57 3.1 Women in modern day Japan 58 3.2 Religious environment 63 3.2.1 Calamitous years 66 Chapter 4: Conception 73 4.1 The first brush with liminality 73 4.2 Fertility rites and the study of folklore 75 4.3 Role of deities in conception and fertility 76 4.3.1 Suiten 79 4.3.2 Kannon 79 4.3.3 Jizō Bosatsu 81 4.3.4 The godess Kishimojin 82 4.4 Festivals directly linked to fertility 83 4.5 Ema and Omamori, talismans and wish granters 87 4.6 Magical powers of hot springs 92 1 4.7 A girl or a boy: gender determining and modern science 93 4.8 Chapter review 97 Chapter 5: Pregnancy 101 5.1 Influence upon the baby in the womb 104 5.1.1 Dietary restrictions and strictures 105 5.1.2 Mother's well-being 109 5.1.3 Cleaning of the toilet 111 5.1.4. Yakudoshi – The Calamitous years 113 5.2 Praying for easy delivery 114