1b: Shamanism

Catalpa Bow:

1) Be able to identify the following terms from The Catalpa Bow: shaman, miko (female shamans), and ascetic [21-22]; kami, okina (kami as an old man), yorishiro (temporary vessels for kami) [34-42]; tama ("soul") [43-44]; muenbotoke (spirits with no "link" [en] to the living) and onryô (angry spirits)[48-50].

2) What are the two kinds of shaman in Japan? What are the two kinds of trances associated with each? How do shamans receive their spiritual power? What are these powers?

3) In Japan, what was the original role of miko prior to the introduction of Buddhism and Chinese culture? How is the development of the ascetic tied to the introduction of Buddhism? How did the miko lose their status and power?

4) What hints are there that Noh theater developed out of shamanic rituals?

5) Why does Blacker argue that the usual scholarly separation of Shinto and Buddhism is a mistake?

6) In chapter 2 ("The Sacred Beings") Blacker discusses three of the four main types of spiritual entities. What are they and how do they relate to human beings?

9) Chapter 15 ("Exorcism") begins with a few examples of Heian period exorcisms. According to Blacker, what are the four different kinds of symptoms included under that term "possession"? The rest of the chapter gives the details of a couple of contemporary exorcisms. What is the basic scenario of an exorcism? How might the frequency of women being possessed be a reflection of women's position in Japanese society?
 



2a: Buddhism and Yin-Yang Wizardry

Reading:
a. [OL] Ellwood, "Japanese Religion in Historical Perspective," pp. 19-50, 56-58.
b. [OL] Buddhism in Asia (Wikipedia article)
See also: Japanese Buddhism and Glossary of Japanese Buddhism
c.[OL] Onmyôdô (Wikipedia article)
d. [Japanese Tales] Stories about Abe no Seimei
"Ying-Yang Lore" (xxix-xxx)
" The Genie" #59 (82-83)
"One Frog Less" #60 (83)
"The Test" #62 (84-85)
"Man's Best Friend" #63 (85-86)


Reading Questions:

"Japanese Religion in Historical Perspective"
This is an overview of the history of Japanese religion, which has always been highly politicized (for a second version of Japanese history, see the URLs in the WWW Links page). This reading is also meant to give you a basic idea of political and social developments in Japan from the 8th to 19th centuries, providing a background for our discussion of ghosts and their development. In general you should be looking for references to shamanism, magic, exorcism, ghosts, and Noh theater. In addition, the following points will be especially important:

1) pp. 18-19: What are the three main recurring patterns that Ellwood and Pilgrim see in Japanese religious history?

1) Archaic Period, pp. 20-23: What role did female shamans play in early Japanese history?

2) The Coming of Buddhism, pp. 23-27: How was the introduction of Buddhism used politically by Prince Shotoku? How did the Fujiwara come to power? See also pp. 50-53: Why was Buddhism attractive to the Japanese? Why were different factions for or against it?

3) Nara Period (710-794), pp. 27-31: How was Buddhism developing among the peasants in the countryside versus the aristocracy in the capital? Who were the ubasoku and why were they so appealing to the peasants? How did Emperor Shomu attempt to assimilate the ubasoku and their followers? Pay attention to the description of En no Shokaku (or En no Gyoja) as the legendary founder of the yamabushi (mountain priests or adepts). Yamabushi will appear often in this course.

4) Heian Period (794-1185), pp. 31-35: Note how the Fujiwara used marriage politics to maintain their power. According to the description of Shingon Buddhism, founded by Kukai (773-836), how could a practioner of Shingon achieve Buddhahood "in this body, in this lifetime" (sokushin jôbutsu)? How did both Kukai and Saicho (founder of Tendai Buddhism) syncretize other religious beliefs and practices into their Buddhism? In particular, how were Tendai and Shingon able to incorporate Shinto by means of the theory of honji suijaku?

5) Kamakura Period (1185-1333), pp. 35-39: What new governing structure developed in the wake of the Genpei civil war between the Minamoto (Genji) and Taira (Heike) warrior families? Make sure you know the three major new religious movements: Zen Buddhism, established by Eisai (Rinzai sect) and Dôgen (Soto sect); Nichiren Buddhism, established by Nichren; and Pure Land Buddhism, established by Honen and Shinran. To whom did each of these new movements appeal? Why? How was Shinto reasserting itself in this period?

6) Muromachi Period (1336-1573), pp. 39-42: How was Zen instrumental in the development of the arts in this period? How did the other forms of Kamakura Buddhism continue to grow? How was the growing movement towards "purifying" Shinto related to a growing sense of Japanese nationalism?

7) Tokugawa or Edo Period (1600-1868), pp. 42-46: How did the Tokugawa government use Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism to reinforce political stability? According to Japanese Neo-Confucianim, what was the proper "way" of each class (Samurai, Peasant, Artisan, Merchant)? How did the Shinto nationalism of kokugaku-sha (national learning scholars) lead to anti-Buddhism and anti-Confucian sentiments? How did it set the stage for later nationalistic movements?

8) Skim through pp. 47-51. Princess and Priestess in Pilgrimage and Holy Place, pp. 56-58: This explanation of the institution of saigu (abstinence palace) will be useful in understanding the background of the story of Rokujô in Tale of Genji, which we will be reading next week. Rokujô's daughter is selected to be the priestess at the Ise Shrine, and so stays in the nonomiya or temporary palace in the fields for a period of purification.

9) Skim pp. 58-70. The section on Motoori Norinaga (1730-1801), pp. 64-70, will be useful in understanding the background of Edo period ghosts.

 

[Japanese Tales] Stories about Yin-Yang Wizardry (Onmyôdô) and Abe no Seimei

Abe no Seimei was a historical person (921?-1005) who worked as an onmyôji (yin-yang wizard) for the Bureau of Divination. After his death, many legends developed about his powers, some of which are detailed in the stories in Japanese Tales. One of the legends is that his father, Abe no Yasuna (?? ??), was human, but his mother, Kuzunoha, was a kitsune (a "fox spirit"). This story will return the week that we learn about foxes. In a number of stories both Abe no Seimei and his rival onmyôji are thought to be able to control supernatural beings called shikigami (translated as "genie" by Royall Tyler). They send them on errands, both nefarious and good.

The four stories presented here are all from Uji shui monogatari (A Collection of Uji Tales), dating from the 13th century (so several hundred years after Seimei's death).

In the stories, what are Seimei's powers? In what situations are onmyôji brought in? How do they resolve the problem? Is there a clear distinction between Buddhist monks and onmyôji?

If you want to read more about onmyôji, tales #162-166 are about less famous diviners.

And here is a link to the movie Onmyôji (2001) about Abe no Semei, with Semei played by the kyogen actor Nomura Mansai.