Handbook of Japanese Mythology phần 2 ppt

kept the two-hundred-odd domains isolated from one another, so that even the most hostile of them needed a couple of centuries to band together to remove the Tokugawa shogunate. And, overall, it kept Japan peaceful and free of annex- ation by rapacious Western colonial powers. The settled lives of the townsmen and bushi brought forth a renewed Great Tradition of literate discussion by philosophers as well as artists, of myths in the context of national mythologies rather than regional or local ones. Such myths were incorporated into theatrical works, paintings, popular cheap “penny dreadful” books, and formal story- telling arts. They formed a national mythology, the hallmark of a mature Great Tradition. The Little Traditions still flourished in the shade, often the object of satire by sophisticated urbanites and the educated. In the latter half of the nineteenth century Japan started a rapid program of modernization and part-Westernization. This culminated in World War II, when Japan attacked and its forces occupied most of its neighbors. The myth of the kamikaze was revived during the war: the idea that with nothing more than spirit and self-sacrifice, the deities would save Japan from defeat. The Japanese adapted rapidly to the situation after their defeat in World War II, and within a couple of decades, they were directing their energies to surviving in a capitalist, reasonably peaceful (from their perspective) world. In the process, new myths started emerging: myths built on Japanese successes, and explaining Japanese failures as well. Many of these myths—collectively called by foreign scholars “myths of Japanese uniqueness” and by Japanese scholars Nihonshugi (Japaneseness) or Nihonjin-ron (Japanese thinking), were initiated and spread by academics and politicians. They also had impact on diverse fields such as fashion. The idea of Japanese uniqueness, based on some physical distinction of the Japan- ese as a race, is particularly prominent. Thus in the past twenty years alone, sev- eral such myths have emerged: that the Japanese, being largely vegetarians, have gut lengths shorter than most other humans. That the prevalence of one blood type in Japan is responsible for the communitarianism and self-sacrifice in Japan- ese society. That Japanese brains are structured differently from other nations, and therefore Japanese language can be imprecise and vague without limiting intra- Japanese communication. There is even a modern myth that brown-haired people (as opposed to black-haired or blond) are warmer, more sociable, and kinder than other people, leading to a rash of younger Japanese people dying their hair brown! SOCIAL HISTORY While all the political history described above was going on, the vast mass of the population were living much as their ancestors had. Hamlets, usually of farmer- Handbook of Japanese Mythology 22 tenants, lived in close proximity to their landlords, who also worked the land. Small manufacturing and service towns, often clustered around castles that offered some protection in times of unrest, were scattered about the countryside. In the larger cities of Sakai, Osaka, Edo, and others, a large class of workers and small entrepreneurs emerged from the fourteenth century onward. These popu- lations, often isolated from others (there were major travel restrictions imposed by fearful local governments starting in the fourteenth century), sometimes mar- ginalized, created their own myths and the rituals that bolstered them. These myths were sometimes transmitted from one community to another by way of wandering monks and priests, pilgrims, sailors, medicine sellers, and other itin- erants. And some of these myths were incorporated, one way or another, into the myths of the Great Tradition. But more than that, each hamlet, each area, had its own myths associated with their way of life, which they perceived to be unique and markedly different from those of their neighbors. These local myths were of varied and diverse ori- gins, but they shared one major element: They reflected local experience and fears. The ferocious Bimbogami, the deity of poverty, was always knocking at the door. Sprites and demons lurked at particular local places where real dangers to the unwary—precipices and deep rivers, falling trees and landslides—were to be found. Wizards lurked in the mountains, and if they were properly addressed and solicited they might provide a relief from the hardships of life. The social world of the Japanese individual throughout “traditional” history (that is, up to the end of World War II) was intensely circumscribed and formal- ized. For much of history, peasants (whom the rulers knew, even if they did not admit it, were the real wealth of the land) were forbidden to travel without per- mission. And when they did travel, it was in supervised groups visiting pilgrim- age sites. Formally and informally the population was divided into four classes: warrior-administrators, farmers, craftsmen, and merchants. They were discour- aged from interacting with one another socially. The prohibitions were not air- tight, and there was some overlap, but unsurprisingly, different traditions did emerge. Whatever the formal social divisions in Japan, the source of myths during the middle ages and the premodern age of Japan can be attributed to three social categories: powerful, powerless, and outsiders. The Powerful The early aristocracy, those connected with and directly serving the imperial court, were a tiny proportion of the population, never numbering more than Introduction 23 twenty thousand or so. Nonetheless, under the aegis of the emperor, they exem- plified power. Originally the aristocrats were clan members and landowners, but with the entrance of the Chinese bureaucratic system they became administra- tors paid for by domains granted them by the emperor. By the twelfth century the court aristocrats had lost power to the warrior-aristocracy from the provinces, the bushi. These warrior-knights had a different ethos and different myths from those of the imperial aristocracy. But, together, these power-holders had a shared interest in maintaining and supporting the Great Tradition and in emphasizing the unity and greatness of Japan. Later, when the country was semi- unified under the Tokugawa rulers, these warriors became mainly official- bureaucrats, still later metamorphosing into the civil-servant bureaucrats and managers of the modern state. It was their ideals and ideas that find reflection in many myths: ideas about loyalty, about masculinity and the power of persever- ance, and about forthrightness and battle. The Powerless The powerless made up more than 90 percent of the Japanese population. They included farmers, craftsmen, and merchants. During the archaic period they were in effect the clients, if not the virtual property, of the powerful. Later, under Chinese ideological influence, they were expected to defer to their betters, and when a national ideology emerged, they were exhorted to sacrifice their all for emperor and nation. Aside from that, they were often left to their own devices. Their myths and interests reflected these facts. By and large, their inter- ests were local and immediate. In their myths foxes and mysterious spirits, ghosts, and goblins inflicted themselves upon individuals, but in ways that the central government or powerful samurai could not deal with. Only prayer, reliance on the wits of others (humans and Buddhas), and a certain sharpness could extricate a person from his troubles. And sometimes, as in most ghost sto- ries, there was no solution but to part from the dead on amicable terms: inochi wa tsurai-yo (life is difficult). Outsiders and Rovers The powerful and the powerless in Japan both had a vested interest in promot- ing stability, as well as in resisting outside influences. But outside influences were inevitable, even in the smallest hamlet. Japanese traders and travelers had been frequenting Korea, China, Indochina, and what were to become the Philip- Handbook of Japanese Mythology 24 pines. A Japanese rover had become high admiral to the Siamese court. Japanese embassies and scholars had been visiting China for centuries. Japan’s rulers, as a group, were fully aware of international developments in East Asia. They were thus very cautious about foreigners. But the caution of foreigners went far deeper, to the days, perhaps, when the Jπmon lived in isolated bands. Villages and domains abhorred strangers, and they were proscribed or controlled. Nonetheless, there was a tradition of wanderers and itinerants throughout the islands. The Emishi, inhabitants of northern and eastern Japan against whom the Yamato conducted a series of campaigns, might have been wandering hunter- gatherers like their Ainu cousins. There were bands of hunters, of foresters, of weavers of akebi vine baskets making a living in Japan until the early twentieth century. They lived in the forests and mountains, coming into contact with set- tled villages only occasionally. And there were wanderers who deliberately came into contact with settled areas. Kebπzu (hairy priests; unlike most Buddhist priests, they did not shave their heads) and bikuni mendicant nuns visited remote villages on a regular basis, offering rituals and exorcisms. Wandering medicine sellers would stock a household’s medicine chest once a year, receiv- ing payment for what had been consumed since the previous visit. Slave dealers would purchase children for household service and brothels. Pilgrims passed through on their way to remote sites, as did poets on inspiration-seeking travels. Occasionally seamen and sailors washed onto the beach. No one was completely isolated from these visitors. Unsurprisingly they became the source for much myth, and while many were considered outcast and dangerous, many others were considered holy and dangerous: worthy of worship, of hospitality, and of the wish that they retire, benevolently inclined toward their hosts, after being properly entertained. Essential and central to all these social groups, powerful and powerless alike, was a shared concept of language and of kinship. JAPANESE FAMILY RELATIONS The Japanese kinship and family system differs in some crucial regards from families in most other societies. First and foremost, the significant element is the ie (household), and the foremost traditional responsibility of its members was to maintain it in perpetuity. Normally, an ie would be composed of a mar- ried couple and their unmarried children. Nonmaterial social categories were also members of the ie: the ancestors (called hotoke and kami) and unborn gen- erations of members. The living members had responsibility toward both these categories of nonmaterial members. Unmarried members, both male and female Introduction 25 (except for the one intended to inherit the ie), were members on sufferance only, sometimes on a temporary basis until they married out and often severed all ties with their natal ie. Nominally, inheritance of all productive property went wholly to the senior male child. The overriding necessity for ensuring ie continuity, however, meant that in practice, the eldest son could be replaced by another son. This was rarely done but existed as a normative and legal possibility. If no qualified son were available, a married daughter could take on the inheritance, and her husband would be adopted by her father into the family and take on the surname of the ie. This is still relatively common in families who own productive property (farmland, family manufacturing businesses, even Kabuki acting families). About 15 percent of marriages in rural Japan were of this sort during the twenti- eth century. Another peculiarity of the traditional family, though less observed during the modern period when most family economies are based on wage earning, is that the inheriting son (or daughter) inherited all the ie’s property. As a conse- quence, wealthy families “spun-off” junior or branch houses, giving them their own productive resources. The junior families owed fealty and ritual and some- times economic obligations to the senior, or main or “stem” ie. A branch house could, if it became wealthy, spin off a number of branches of its own. This sort of branched inter-ie system is known as a dπzoku. In mythical terms, the Japanese people constitute a super-dπzoku. The imperial household, descended from the foundress Amaterasu-π-mikami through her grandson Ninigi-no-mikoto, is the honke or main ie; other house- holds are distantly or more closely related to the imperial household through a process of continued branching of ie. Some members of the sets of deity or ances- tor arrive there by adoption, others through birth. Whatever the case, some form of amorphous familial feeling is engendered in many of the myths. This also means that the precise familial relationships are not at all clear, nor particularly important. After all, the main concern is membership in, and protection of, the entire system, not how any individual case fits into it. What mattered was that the individual acted responsibly as a representative of his/her group. THE MYTHIC TRADITIONS As noted before, a number of cultural traditions make up Japanese mythology. The two dominant influences are the mixed and often intertwined religious elements from Shintπ and Buddhism. To that we need to add the two “outrider” cultures in the Japanese islands: the Ainu in the north, and the Ryukyuans in the south. We’ll Handbook of Japanese Mythology 26 discuss the religious traditions of Shintπ and Buddhism at some length, since they are the matrix within which much Japanese mythology was embedded. Shinto¯ Shintπ, the native religion of Japan, did not acquire its name until it became nec- essary for the Japanese to distinguish their native practices from the imported Bukkyπ or Butsu-dπ (Buddhism). The local religion was based largely on the veneration of, and appeal to, local spirits that resided in material objects, usually natural or peri-natural. Mountains, unusual trees, waterfalls, water, peculiarly shaped rocks, and other objects were considered to have a power—kami—of will- fully influencing people’s lives. The spirits of the dead were of that sort too, though the dead were also considered to live in a dark and dank place, somewhat like the classical Greek concept of hell. Kami could and did reside in everything and anything that inspired awe or even great interest. To this day in Japan there are trees, rocks, waterfalls, and oddly shaped stones that are kami. This is in addi- tion to the sun, mountains, and other major geographical and natural features. The native religion heavily emphasized personal purification as an element in worship, along with direct communication with the kami and the offering of gifts: There was no clear division between the mundane and the kami worlds. As we shall see, much of this has been retained in Japan’s various Little Tradi- tions. Indigenous belief was local and unwritten. There was no effective limit to the number of kami. Some of the kami became specialized, as for example the rice-field kami, or the water kami. Indeed, when I lived in northern Japan, our garden was graced by a small spring surmounted by a stone carved only with the word suijin (water kami). My landlord urged us to keep the stone clean “and make occasional offerings,” which we duly did: saké and flowers, easy to come by and enjoyable in their own right (as in all Shintπ rituals, we shared the kami’s saké and enjoyed looking at the flowers as much as s/he did). As the Yamato state grew larger and stronger it was faced with the need to centralize and control its populace, resorting, as many states do, to religion, among other devices. Thus the local cult of the Yamato state became the para- mount religious system in the Japanese islands, and local kami, their myths and rituals, became absorbed into or made to align with the imperial Great Tradi- tion. This resulted in two somewhat contradictory features. On the one hand, a series of “constructed” myths—derived from attempts to amalgamate disparate traditions—became “the” standard Japanese mythology, particularly when they were eventually written down. Often incorporating local myths and inevitably containing contradictions, these are the written mythology published in such Introduction 27 works as the Kπjiki and Nihonshπki. Such mythologies are charter myths for the Japanese state. On the other hand, underlying these Great Tradition myths are the myths of the Little Traditions, fitting more or less comfortably into the over- arching structure of the Great Tradition. The saints and goblins, the kami and demons of local mythology had to adapt themselves, happily or not, to the rul- ing viewpoint: All of them, in some fashion, were and are kami. Handbook of Japanese Mythology 28 Shintπ priests at a Lily Festival in Nara, Japan. (B. A. Krohn Johansen/TRIP) The Kami The term kami used throughout this book is a complex one. For our purposes (and to avoid a lengthy discussion) the term functions as both noun and adjective. As a noun, kami means a powerful being with an interest in the lives of humans and the ability to intervene in human affairs, either directly or indirectly, by influencing the activities of other kami, animals, or natural events and features: in short, a deity. As an adjective, the term means something close to “holy”: a mysterious and elevating quality that various living beings, including animals and humans, possess to vary- ing degrees. Kami (the noun form) possess kami (the adjectival form) in very great degrees, though they too, as the story of Susano-wo shows, can lose some, even much, of the quality. Kami (the adjective) is closely associated with purity. Pollut- ing oneself or others lowers one’s “store” of kami. Contrariwise, purifying oneself— by austerities, washing in pure or sea water, use of salt or fire, and avoiding polluting substances such as the dead, feces, and blood—will add to one’s store of kami. The Shintπ mythological actors are individuals—deities, humans, or ani- mals—who have greater or lesser degrees of kami. The deities among them often have intensely human characters. All actors require purity in order to retain their position, whether they are deities or humans. In fact, the borderline between the two classes, human and divine, is a very thin one. Humans can be purer, and thus possess more kami, than certain deities. Many Japanese deities help and protect people (mainly from their own local- ity or lineage) as long as they are properly honored. These matsurareru kami (celebrated deities), as Yanagida calls them, can become angry and fierce when appropriate offerings are not made. And when angered, such deities will take action, often violent, to express their feelings. Though many of the Japanese kami are identified as “deity of X,” where X might represent thunder, wind, fire, or some other phenomenon, this is not strictly accurate. Many Japanese kami are associated with some natural phe- nomenon, or perhaps embodied in them or it. The vagueness of this association means two things: Many kami may be associated with one phenomenon, and the nature of the association may well be obscure. Thus both Raiden and Takemi- kazuchi are “thunder deities” quite independently of one another. Shintπ acknowledges the presence of yaoyorozu-no-kami (the eight million kami) as an indication that the number of kami was effectively infinite. In real- ity, a far smaller number of kami are named in the myths. However, this num- ber is complicated by the fact that many kami have several names, which were changed according to circumstances (as were the names of individuals through- out their lives and after death in traditional Japan). Sometimes a particular kami was given several names at birth in the myth. In this volume I have tried to use the most commonly used and most familiar names. Introduction 29 Small shrine at crater of Mount Aso. (D. Harding/TRIP) The names of kami are further complicated by the fact that they are descrip- tive and always incorporate one or more titles, such as no-kami or o-mikoto. Each kami is considered to have three mitama (souls or natures): aramitama (rough and wild), nigimitama (gentle and life-supporting), and sakimitama (nur- turing). Obviously, one or another of these natures might predominate in any particular myth: Susano-wo usually expresses his aramitama, whereas Amat- erasu usually expresses nigimitama. Under different circumstances, however, for example, when not sufficiently honored, another of the deity’s natures would express itself: when forced to confront Susano-wo’s apparent rebellion, Ama- terasu very quickly assumes her aramitama, arming herself as a warrior and per- forming aggressive rituals. A brief word is necessary about Shintπ as a religion. Ritual practices and beliefs of what we call Shintπ existed in Japan well before the name was created. The practices came under two headings: propitiation and divination. Propitia- tion involved acts of purification—water, sparks, and salt were the best puri- fiers—the recitation of a prayer or request, and offerings of foods that were considered pure, mainly vegetables, fruit, and wine from various sources. More elaborate rituals involved some form of entertainment, whether a dance, a mag- ical play, or some music. (Keep in mind that rituals in all simple societies are a great source of entertainment, as well as awe and worship.) Divination was car- ried out using a number of devices: hot-water cauldrons, possession-trance, and dances, many of which are still performed today. With the emergence of the Yamato state, these rituals became formalized, and groups of specialists such as the Nakatomi assumed responsibility for “proper” ritual organization within the state. Upon the arrival of Buddhism, Shintπ went into a lengthy period of somnolence. The kami were worshiped, often within the confines of Buddhist temples. Large rituals were conducted for the grandees of the land, while the common people, as they do, continued per- forming the rituals to the kami, led by whatever local ritual specialist they could find, be it a Buddhist priest, local ritual expert, or wandering kebπzu (“hairy priest,” usually a wandering mendicant member of the Shugendπ sect who did not shave their heads; also called yamabushi). Then in the eighteenth century, as a result of political events, some Japanese scholars started taking an interest in the “Japanese” elements of their religion, trying to separate it from the “for- eign” elements, notably Buddhism. The Kπjiki became fashionable again. When the shogunal government was toppled by middle-class samurai of non-Tokugawa fiefs in 1868, part of their motivation was derived from the ideology of Shintπ/Japanese nationalism started in the eighteenth century. Very quickly—in 1873—the new government forcibly separated Buddhism and Shintπ, forcing Ryπbu Shintπ (Two Schools Shintπ) and its honji-suijaku Introduction 31 [...]... paradise The giant seated bronze Buddha of Kamakura, which often adorns travel brochures and other “things Japanese, ” is of Amida 49 50 Handbook of Japanese Mythology Dainichi Nyπrai, also known as Roshana Butsu (Sanskrit: Vairocana): The Buddha of the sun and of the origin of the universe, Dainichi may be the original creator as well He is the principle object of worship in Shingon, and the large statue... (Courtesy of the author) in nuances of interpretation have led to the creation of a number of different forms of Buddhism—sects—that still flourish today in Japan The arrival of Buddhism in Japan was a gradual process Starting with personal importation of images and books, by the time the king of Paekche had sent his famous image of Dainichi to the Japanese emperor there already was a substrate of people... historical Buddha Nichiren-shu ¯ Founded in 125 5 by Nichiren ( 122 2– 128 2), a bellicose priest from the Kantπ (the area around modern Tokyo), this is the most extreme case of particularism in Japanese religions Nichiren preached that only the worship of Dainichi Nyπrai through the medium of the Lotus Sutra is the proper Buddhism He identified Dainichi, Buddha of the Sun, with Amaterasu-π-mikami, and the... figure) Brief History of Buddhism in Japan The peculiarities of Japanese Buddhism owe much to two sources: the influence of Shintπ, and the freedom with which Japanese chose from the vast mass of beliefs, practices, and philosophies offered to them under the name Buddhism Though the main cosmological points are more or less agreed to by all, differences 39 40 Handbook of Japanese Mythology Buddha Amida... Kshitigarbha): Protector of the dead, and particularly Twelfth-century Boddhisatva (J Stanley/TRIP) 52 Handbook of Japanese Mythology of dead children and aborted embryos, Jizπ is portrayed as a saintly baby-faced monk carrying a shaku (priest’s staff topped with rings) and sometimes holding the Jewel of Mercy Statues of Jizπ can be found throughout Japan, often dressed in a red bib and cap—the sign of childhood... wanted!) 1.1 .2 The Descendant Kami These are the children and descendants of the original kami Most, though not all, are the descendants of Izanagi and Izanami, 33 34 Handbook of Japanese Mythology including Amaterasu-π-mikami, the chief deity and Sun goddess, and her brother, Susano-wo, ruler of the netherworld and hero in his own right Various of these descendant kami are named ancestors of Yamato clans,... state in order to assist in 47 48 Handbook of Japanese Mythology the salvation of others With time, some Buddhist schools also proposed the idea of Buddhas as active players in the world: creators, saviors, rulers, of heavenly realms These entities functioned in much the same way as the Gods of the Western world In fact, in both Chinese and Japanese thought, they were often identified with local gods/kami... members of this category Even retired politicians can receive this honor: Tokugawa Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunal dynasty that ruled Japan for seventeen generations (1603–1868), was deified as a gongen, a kami who is recognized as avatar of a boddhisattva, and is worshiped at the magnificent shrine of Nikko Toshog∆ 35 36 Handbook of Japanese Mythology 2. 3 Kami from Buddhist Sources A number of. .. Because all are considered reflections of Dainichi, it is not surprising that Shingon is a very broad and accepting church An important graphic feature of Japanese Buddhism that owes much to Shingon propagation is the use of mandara (mandala), a schematic illustration 43 44 Handbook of Japanese Mythology of Dainichi’s power and virtue A mandara usually shows illustrations of deities and saints confined within... with the “religious” mythology, do not have any “official” existence in religious consciousness These figures are nonetheless very important as myths, or elements in myths 55 56 Handbook of Japanese Mythology These figures derive from the interaction of local people with the mysterious and unexplained in their lives Some of them owe their existence to popular Japanese interpretations of Chinese stories . Hamlets, usually of farmer- Handbook of Japanese Mythology 22 tenants, lived in close proximity to their landlords, who also worked the land. Small manufacturing and service towns, often clustered. explaining Japanese failures as well. Many of these myths—collectively called by foreign scholars “myths of Japanese uniqueness” and by Japanese scholars Nihonshugi (Japaneseness) or Nihonjin-ron (Japanese. smallest hamlet. Japanese traders and travelers had been frequenting Korea, China, Indochina, and what were to become the Philip- Handbook of Japanese Mythology 24 pines. A Japanese rover had