Putting a Face on the Pathogen and Its Nemesis

Katja Triplett

doi:10.1163/15734218-12341490

Abstract

Abstract In medieval Japan, so-called “four boundary demarcation rituals” were believed to turn invisible epidemic disease-bringing “demons” into visible beings. Making the demons visible, at least to the ritual experts involved, was a way of controlling them. The demons had a dual nature in that they harmed humans but could also become powerful protectors against disease and other calamities. This essay introduces the elaborate ritual culture of yin-yang divination, esoteric Buddhism, and kami worship in Japan, all of which involve “demonic” and protective deities. It explores images of two epidemic demons that serve humans as guardians and protectors against epidemic disease: Tenkeisei 天刑星, the Star of Heavenly Punishment, and Gozutennō 牛頭天王, the Bull-Headed Divine King. Tenkeisei ultimately merged with Gozutennō, who is also conflated with the deity Susanoo 素戔嗚.

Highlights

Putting a Face on the PathogenSince April 2020 the image of a sphere with menacing spikes has accompanied virtually every report on the novel coronavirus
This essay introduces the elaborate ritual culture of yin-yang divination, esoteric Buddhism, and kami worship in Japan, all of which involve “demonic” and protective deities
When the first news reports about the coronavirus outbreak were broadcast and the picture of the hugely enlarged pathogen modeled on its shape as seen under the electron microscope started to appear, I overheard a conversation on the bus between a mother and her young son

Summary

Putting a Face on the Pathogen

Since April 2020 the image of a sphere with menacing spikes has accompanied virtually every report on the novel coronavirus. The urge to put a face on the pathogen seems to enable humans to better “face” the “enemy.” In medieval Japan, from about the eighth century onward, rituals of purification of the four boundary demarcations were believed to turn invisible epidemic disease-bringing agents into visible beings. These “Rituals of the Four Boundary Demarcations” (shikai no matsuri 四堺祭) took place when the clerical leaders felt that epidemics threatened to take hold of the inhabitants of the capital.

Depictions of Demonic Attackers and Fierce Guardians

Rituals Involving Tenkeisei