- continued -
34g
34h
34i
34j
34k
34g-k
Bon is basically a midsummer festival related to Buddhism and its ancestor
cult. But in many places Bonfestivals have accumulated traditional elements
which clearly show that their temporal roots are much deeper than the introduction
of Buddhism into Japan in the 8th century. At two places (Matsuocho, Kawauchicho)
within Toba city (Mie prefecture) the inhabitants come to the graveyards
in the night of mid-August, at O-Bon. The families eat on the graves of
their deceased and spend the night with them. But at the same time this
is paired with a fairly exciting and joyous event. During the day a huge
pillar (Obonhashira) is formed and set up near the graveyard. At night
then this pillar forms the centre of the festive grounds: young men set
it afire with wildly thrown torches.
34l
34m
34l, m
This form may show very clearly: there are many different materials
used, and there is an enormous variation of forms, but, all these symbols
are deeply related in a very clear formal principle. They are bundles of
homogeneous or heterogeneous materials, they form a unit as form, but,
at the same time they show formal parts which are entirely different. The
present form indicates this very clearly. The stalks are bound into a double
conus with a very tight binding part. The upper part is much larger, is
open and includes a pine tree, the lower part is mysteriously covered with
grass tiles as if there were something to hide. The festival is called
Marushime maki and is performed in December in Mie prefecture.
34n
34o
34n,o
At this place in Northern Kyushu (Tokakuji, Shirayama, Fukuoka prefecture)
a very special type of pillar cult (Hashiramatsu shinji) basically of Shinto
origins but mixed with Buddhism has been developed by a sect of mountain
ascetics (Shugen, its members are called 'yamabushi') in the framework
of a local spring festival held every year in the middle of April. A cedar
pillar of about 15 metres height is set up in the precincts of the sect's
sacred place. It is supported by lateral poles and fixed by thick ropes
with very large knots. At the top of the pillar a kind of balcony is formed
by sticks tied around the pillar. Thirty three steps formed with lianas
lead up to the balcony. There are many ceremonies around this pillar during
the festival but the climax takes place when a mountain priest (yamabushi)
climbs the pillar in a dense cultic ambiance. Reaching the top close to
heaven he will read prayers and then purify the four directions with a
large 'gohei', the Shinto sign of holiness. Then, in a dramatic turn of
the ceremony, he takes his sword and cuts the holy sign into pieces, then,
quietly, comes down again. Sancticity is not absolute. It can be created
in a certain domain and dissolved by specific human action.
34p
34p
Before Japan was massively syncretised with Buddhism mainly for reasons
of centralisation Shinto had strong characteristics as a territorial demarcation
system. This acted as a non written local constitution with its strongly
aesthetically expressed ontological values. The picture shows the beautiful
'life-tree' in front of the Okabuto shrine, in Imadachi-cho (Imadachigun,
Fukui prefecture). Set up on a sledge in front of the torii, it may give
an impression of the artfulness of the primary toposemantic Shinto system
before it was replaced by the wooden architecture influenced by Buddhism.
In the primary pre-Buddhistic system this 'life tree' had its toposemantic
functions during one year and then was renewed at the annual festival.
The old one was destroyed, a new one built. The destruction of the old
one meant dissolution of the village order, the settlement turned into
chaos, until the new one was made from fresh materials to represent the
villages' ontology and order again. With the introduction of wooden shrines,
this cyle became obsolete because the new architecture was much more durable.
But, since the primary signs were revered since ancient times, their cyclic
renewal was continued in a temporary form. This lead to the paradoxical
existence of this type of life tree today: it is made with a tremendous
care, then, after one or two days is destroyed, usually by fire. In many
cases the transition to wooden architecture implied a new type of festivals:
mobile and small shrines (o-mikoshi) were used to express the chaotic and
non-stable state of the deity during the festivals. In this case the fibrous
markers disappeared. In many conservative settlements however, the old
fibrous marker was not given up. But it had to follow the new pattern of
the dynamic deity being carried around in the village. Thus, paradoxically,
the life tree was mounted on a wooden sledge and is still pulled today
through the settlement's main street. The festival is called 'Awatabe no
raishi' and is held in February.
34q
34q
The octogonous Yoshida shrine is a fairly ancient shrine of Kyoto.
Every year at the beginning of February in the framework of a large festival
this beautiful pillar called 'Yakutsuka' appears in front of the shrine.
Its top is characterised by three blooming reed bundles decorated with
sacred paper signs (gohei), thus indicating that the deity of the shrine
temporarily has come out to dwell visibly in this pillar. If one 'reads'
the arrangement in the larger framework of similar Shinto traditions it
becomes evident that the pillar is a traditional survival of the sacred
demarcation of the place before the octogonal shrine as a more representative
marker ousted the pillar. But, evidently as a witness of ancienty it was
important and thus could survive in this temporary form. Note that the
three reed bundles imply history. They refer to times when Japan - as the
mythical texts say - was still widely a reed field. That is: its fertile
plains were not yet densely inhabited.
34r
34r
The Ikuta shrine in Kobe too is a historical shrine. Very likely related
to the rural tradition of the sacred huts (sagicho) erected at the New
Year of the moon calendar (ko-shogatsu) this tree-like form erected in
front of the shrine and paradoxically called 'cedar-mountain' (sugiyama)
has accumulated various traditions. Yama is a common designation in Shinto
for artificially constructed sacred markers. Note also the reed bundles
at the top and the sacred strings towards the temple facade, an arrangement
indicating a relation with the Yoshida shrine in Kyoto.
35a
35a
The Gion festival of Kyoto is one of the most popular festivals in
Japan. Most impressive are its extremely verticalised carts decorated with
luxurious textiles and dominated by huge pillars ornamented with cords,
knots, twigs and Shinto gohei papers. These carts are pulled by a crowd
of peoples on long cords through one of the southern main roads of Kyoto.
On huge wooden wheels the vehicles are clumsily rolling towards the east,
to one of the important shrines of Kyoto, the Yasaka shrine. Besides these
dominant carts with their sacred pillars, there are smaller structures
carried by men, for instance the so called 'yama', ('mountain') a kind
of reversed bamboo basket above which a pine tree protrudes in the sense
of pro-portion. All these sacred 'mobiles' are composed each year in particular
districts of southern Kyoto, then - when finished - set up at some local
sacred place until finally they are taking part in the main procession.
With many secondary ceremonies, the festival is in its essence a declaration
of loyalty of various originally independent southern districts which got
under control of the imperial power residing in Kyoto during the Heian
period.
35b
35c
35b,c
One of the most surprising things of the Gion festival in Kyoto is
the fact that the wooden structure of the huge carts forming the core of
the procession ar fixed together not by screws or other mechanical devices,
but using ropes with very elaborate patterns. This can be seen if the construction
places are visited early in the morning when construction work goes on.
Evidently there is a mandatory tradition that the construction - since
it carries a sacred pillar on its wheels - must not use iron. The structure
must correspond to the pre-buddhistic technique used for the rural toposemantic
markers.
36a
36a
We have mentioned already this important marker found still today on
sacred grounds of the Ise shrines. Until the sixties Shinto was studied
mainly historically, that is focussed on the imperial texts and the imperial
sanctuary at Ise. Consequently these markers were discussed relatively
early by Japanology in the framework of 'Himorogi' mentioned in ancient
texts. They were taken as indicators that Shinto had very ancient traditions
in its cult system. However, Western Japanology remained fixed on its theological
extrapolations towards primitive belief which was very unscientific. Later
when rural Shinto became an important part of anthropological studies into
agrarian village culture it became clear that agrarian Shinto was basically
a non-written (and pre-historical) territorio constitutional system and
as such became tremendously important, because, evidently, it had developed
its own high aesthetico-ontological values related to the fibroconstructive
demarcation system which now was perceived anthropologically as a general
cultural stratum.
36b
36c
36b,c
In cultural theory the terms 'superseding' or 'accumulation' are very
important. It describes a process in which a new thing 'supersedes' an
old thing. We said before that in certain cases more evolved wooden shrines
'superseded' a more ancient toposemantic system which used fibroconstructive
markers. This is exactly demonstrated in these two pictures. A shrine building
of a fairly refined wooden making has superseded a technologically more
ancient type of sacred place marking consisting of a wooden pillar fixed
in the earth to which sakaki twigs (the holy tree of Ise Shinto) are bound.
Note that, in comparison to picture 36a where the sakaki twigs are fully
renewed, the marker below the shrine is only renewed at the outer surface
once a year at the end of december and thus grows larger over the years.
Note that the superseding also implies different values. The wooden shrine
with its refined metal decorations shows the historical prestige influenced
by continental elitarian architectural techniques. But, evidently this
would be empty and hollow without the marker below, which explicitly by
its technological simplicity - gives the connex to a high local sedentary
value, a traditional 'monument' so to say which by its immaterial claim
for time depts far exceeds the values of the wooden shrine. This is the
reason why it is kept here (Matsushita shrine, Mie prefecture) and also
under the imperial Ise shrines! Note that Western rationalism has no understanding
for such matters of identification with a local holy place.
36d
36d
This picture of the same shrine precinct (Matsushita) shows the gate
markers parallelling the more evolved type of a gate, the torii. The same
bundles of sakaki twigs as we have seen before are here found on rocks
besides the wooden torii. They represent the fibrous demarcation of the
entrance to the sacred place. Note that they are fairly dry and decomposed,
thus giving an impression how these demarcations looked towards the end
of their cycle. The Matsushita shrine also gives us a good illustration
of what we call the 'access place scheme'. It illustrates on the primary
fibrous level how, with a minimum of means, man in prehistory must have
structured his environment. Three fibrous signs simply made with the hand
and some stalks or twigs were enough to define dwelling respectively ritual
space. There are reasons to assume that this 'basic type of space definition'
remained inherent in all premodern architecture. The pattern is valid for
any shepherd's hut as well as for any palace, temple or cathedral.
37a
35e
Hi-odori, Shinshiro (Aichi prefecture). This festival is influenced
by Buddhism, but has retained strong traits of Shinto. Each house produces
this set of reed markers, basically a place marker and two gate markers.
At the festival day (Bon, 15 Aug) all are set up in front of the house
entrance, decorated with sacred ropes and Shinto paper signs. In the evening
they are carried to the festival place, a large field related to the village
temple. The festival consists mainly of a wild fire dance. Using their
reed markers set afire young men of the village perform absolutely exstatic
dances surrounded by the circle of the villagers watching them. Note that
this is not simply a profane attraction. It follows the very ancient pattern
of ek-stasis related to the cyclic dislocation and destruction of the ontologically
highly valued (sacred) demarcation system.
37b
37b
Demarcations related to the house can be very small like this 'New
Year's God' (Toshigami, or Toshi no kami) erected at New Year in the court
(yashiki) of farmhouses in the Ise region. A small sakaki tree is erected
at a particular place and characterised as sacred by paper signs. The sacred
rope is formed into two conical arrangements into which offerings are put.
Such ceremonies are done with great respect and devotion.
37c
37c
There is another type of fibrous demarcation related to the house the
'court yard god' (Yashiki gami). It is important to some extent because
it remained perennial and thus shows the original structure of cyclic renewal.
Every year the old hut is taken from its place, thrown away and replaced
by a new one made with new fibrous materials. Signs of sacredness like
sacred rope and paper signs (gohei) are also renewed. The ceremony is performed
usually at the back in the adjacent wooden area by the male representant
of the corresponding house. The tradition is still found in certain regions
in Northern Japan (Fukushima prefecture) and in the Southwest of Kyushu
(Hirado Island).
38a
38b
38c
38d
35m-p
Surprisingly the most elementary prototype to all this is still traditionally
alive. In some regions of Japan we still find what generally is called
'Last Sheaf' in agrarian anthropology. At the beginning of harvesting,
in the present case three bundles of rice plants are bent together or crossed, then bound with a string to form a tripod or small hut at an important place of the field (e.g. where the water comes in). This marker with its
rice ears protruding above the stable hut form is considered sacred, a
deity protecting the rice harvest is thought to be present. Then the field
is harvested and at the end the sacred rice hut is cut ritually saying
prayers. The farmer then brings it to his house where it is put to a sacred
place in front of a shrine as offering. Then it is preserved for some later
ceremony. Note that, as a construction, the hut is of the rooted type.
It is in fact a 'living building' in the biological sense (Remember Bruno
Tauts architectural symbolism of the 'growing house'!)
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