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Hum 5c 2006 World Religions III Gender and Religion The Afterlife in Medieval Japan

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Hum 5c 2006 World Religions III Gender and Religion The Afterlife in Medieval Japan

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    1. Hum 5c 2006 World Religions III Gender and Religion “The Afterlife in Medieval Japan” Week 4a Intro to Shamanism

    2. What is shamanism? Who or what is a shaman? Spirits are conjured into or out of human beings by someone who is him/herself spirit-possessed.

    3. When and where did shamanism originate? Around 10,000 BCE in Siberia Spread to Americas China, Korea, Japan South Asia

    5. Shamanistic World View Familiar human (material) world Spiritual world

    6. What can shamans do? Act as a bridge or mediator Pacify, exorcise Prophecy/fortune telling

    7. How do they do it? Achieve a trance state by: Rhythmical sounds Stamping dance torimono

    8. Shrine shamaness (miko) waving a torimono to achieve possession.Shrine shamaness (miko) waving a torimono to achieve possession.

    9. Two forms of trance Dream vision travel Possession by spirits

    10. Two kinds of Japanese shamans Passive medium: channels possessing spirit Active ascetic: speaks with and controls spirit through spiritual discipline (ascetic practice) Pre-Buddhism (pre 6-7th centuries) often combined in one person, usually female (miko)

    11. Miko using a gohei (paper streamer) as a torimono (conduit for divine possession); perhaps calling down rain.Miko using a gohei (paper streamer) as a torimono (conduit for divine possession); perhaps calling down rain.

    12. Development of Buddhist male shamans (9-11th centuries) Yamabushi (mountain ascetics) Shamanism and Esoteric Buddhism Take over active ascetic role Practice discipline in mountains Active trance, dream vision

    13. Decline of female shamans (miko) Female shamans become passive mediums "She can enter a state of trance in which the spiritual apparition may possess her, penetrate inside her body and use her voice to name itself and to make its utterance. She is therefore primarily a transmitter, a vessel through whom the spiritual beings can make their communications to us in a comprehensible way." (Catalpa Bow, p. 22)

    14. Yamabushi mountain ascetics taking a group of business men to develop their “spiritual discipline” by climbing Mt. Kumano and performing some ascetic practices.Yamabushi mountain ascetics taking a group of business men to develop their “spiritual discipline” by climbing Mt. Kumano and performing some ascetic practices.

    15. Note distinctive traditional outfit of yamabushi.Note distinctive traditional outfit of yamabushi.

    16. Confessing sins.Confessing sins.

    17. Another view over the edge.Another view over the edge.

    18. Ascetic immersion in cold water.Ascetic immersion in cold water.

    19. Fire festival.Fire festival.

    20. The end of the day.The end of the day.

    21. Optional reading More on miko: Catalpa Bow, chapters 6, 7, 8 More on mountain ascetics: Catalpa Bow, chapters 5, 9-12 See also the glossary at the back of the book

    22. Native deities (Kami) Take on a wide variety of forms and characteristics (Catalpa Bow pp.35-38) Hierophanies Natural phenomena Ekijin Raijin Personified eventually Deities and Spirits in Japan

    23. What all forms of kami share: Free movement Why do they appear in this world? benefits natural disasters

    24. When did they take on human form? "The belief that the kami have any permanent or true form which they can manifest to human senses is late, and derivative from Buddhist iconography." (Catalpa Bow, p.38) From the 9th c.

    25. Hachiman deity with two female deity attendantsHachiman deity with two female deity attendants

    26. The kami of Sumiyoshi (patron deity of poets) appearing as an old man (okina) in a dream vision to the poet Fujiwara Teika. The kami of Sumiyoshi (patron deity of poets) appearing as an old man (okina) in a dream vision to the poet Fujiwara Teika.

    27. The deities of thunder and wind. Note drums on the left, and wind bag on the right.The deities of thunder and wind. Note drums on the left, and wind bag on the right.

    28. Raijin (Thunder and lightening deity). Note the fox as attendant “witch animal.”Raijin (Thunder and lightening deity). Note the fox as attendant “witch animal.”

    29. Dragon King deity with two attendants. Korean version.Dragon King deity with two attendants. Korean version.

    30. Invisible to ordinary people Communicated only through the shaman Why?

    31. What is “tama”? “soul”? Catalpa Bow, p. 43: "an entity which resides in some host, to which it imparts life and vitality..." round, glowing ball (tama means “round jewel”)

    32. Tama as living spirit Ikiryô What happens if tama leaves body? Temporarily? Permanently?

    33. Tama as dead spirit Shiryô

    34. What happens to the tama after it leaves the body permanently? SHINTO: tama joins communal tama of ancestors 33 years, sometimes 49 Gradually loses its individuality Name removed from altar Why?

    35. Clan or communal kami: Ujigami the communal tama ancestor of a clan (uji) Relation to family how ujigami become national kami Eg. Amaterasu Omikami as ujigami of the Yamato clan (ancestors of Imperial family)

    36. Amaterasu OmikamiAmaterasu Omikami

    37. Review: How Kami become Personified TAMA (life force) UJIGAMI (clan life force/clan kami) KAMI (awe-inspiring sacred power becomes personified by association with ujigami and Buddhist deities)

    38. When Buddhism is added Tama becomes a buddha (hotoke) after death When tama is fully joined with ancestral kami, released from attachments Detachment essential for enlightenment.

    39. Question How does a tama turn into an angry, vengeful ghost (or even an angry, vengeful kami)? Need to think about ghosts in general, and historical development of Japan in particular

    40. In general, how do you become a a ghost? A. B. C.

    41. Most important reason in premodern Japan: D.

    42. Result The tama as shiryô does not proceed as it should (kami or buddha) Remains tied to this world

    43. Terms for what Shiryô can become: onryô (lit. "honored spirit"; angry spirit or ghost) muenbotoke (a spirit with no "link" [ en ] to the living) ekijin, raijin (disaster deities)

    44. Power in life = power in death Women and lower-ranking men Onryô cause possession illness High ranking men Ekijin cause epidemics

    45. Angry supernatural beings who were powerful in life Blurred line between tama and kami Extraordinary measures to pacify, including deification

    46.   Ghosts as expression of cultural anxieties  So one thing we think about when we see a ghost is: what is going wrong in society?  e.g. How do ghosts relate to contemporary anxieties and fears?

    47. Questions for Analysis 1) Who is the author/creator? Male or female? Socio-economic class? Religious beliefs?Patron? 2) Who is the intended audience? Male or female? Socio-economic class?

    48. 3) What is the religious belief system and historical context framing it? For example: Christian attitude toward ghosts Japanese religion’s attitude toward ghosts

    49. 4) How is the story or image supposed to affect that audience; i.e. what is the goal of the story? 5) Are there any political and economic issues at stake? Who benefits from this version? 6) Genre: History? Fiction? Play? Image? Anime? Movie?

    50. Contemporary Examples Alien Abduction Slasher/horror movies

    51. Function of Angry Ghosts in 9th-11th c. Japan Explanatory (rational, “scientific”) Issues of gender oppression Political issues/class oppression Religious issues

    52. Explanatory Function Natural disasters Epidemic and individual disease

    53. Gender Oppression Abandoned wives and lovers Women who died in childbirth Why? Political issues as well Revenge is personal rather than national

    54. Political Function of Angry Ghosts How did angry ghosts and disease deities become tied to social protest/unrest? Underlying belief in harmony between virtuous ruler and state of nature "Disasters of all kinds were a barometer of social injustices" (Neil McMullin)

    55. Political Situation in 9-11th c. Japan (Heian period) How does political situation contribute to development of belief in angry ghosts? Heian aristocratic politics Northern branch of the Fujiwara clan killing off their rivals What are political rivals likely to become?

    56. Social Situation of 9-11th c. Japan Urbanization Social problems Overcrowding Bad water (cholera) Malnutrition Increase in crime

    57. Angry ghosts become rallying points for protest Peasant rebellions Peasant martyrs as angry ghosts Exiled/murdered aristocrats Used by opposition aristocratic families

    58. Examples of Exiled Aristocrats Catalpa Bow pp. 48-49 Prince Sawara (died 785) Sugawara no Michizane (died 901) First raijin (thunder deity) After pacification: Tenman Tenjin

    59. Michizane attacks the palaceMichizane attacks the palace

    61. Sugawara no Michizane in life (right) and as Tenman Tenjin (deity of calligraphy and scholarly success)Sugawara no Michizane in life (right) and as Tenman Tenjin (deity of calligraphy and scholarly success)

    62. Conclusion In 9-12th century Japan, angry ghosts function in a number of useful ways to deal with social and political issues Next class: look at Buddhist approach to ghosts and hell (compare to Christianity and Islam) Next week: look at the function of female ghosts in premodern Japanese society

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