“The Anger of a Deity Dwelling in a Mountain”: the Specific Aspects of the Perception of Volcanic Eruptions in the Heian Japan

Abstract

Volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and earthquakes are the most powerful forces on Earth. Scientists are trying to understand these dangerous phenomena, however, despite the increasing dominance of man over nature, they still confuse, frighten and depress human minds. Every year, volcanic activity (about 60 eruptions a year), typhoons and earthquakes cause destruction in many parts of the world and bring death to living beings. Most volcanoes are located in the zone of the Pacific Ring of Fire: a region around the rim of the Pacific Ocean, where lithospheric plates collide and form breaks, from which molten magma flows upward. Thick magma filled with gases provokes explosive eruptions. In ancient times, in different parts of the world, and Japan is no exception, natural disasters caused superstitious fear, and also were the object of admiration and religious worship. Despite the fact that natural anomalies in ancient and medieval Japan caused anxiety, they were also often seen as a foretoken of future misfortunes that could bring discord into the normal way of life. In those distant times, the natural and social orders were perceived as interrelated phenomena, and not a single unusual phenomenon of nature could remain undiscovered. In case of any manifestations of natural disorder, it was necessary to prevent or weaken any likely adverse consequences with the help of various prohibitive regulations as well as magic and ritual actions. This article is devoted to the specific perception of volcanic eruptions in the Heian era (mainly in the 9th century). In the conditions of numerous eruptions in at the territory of the Japanese archipelago and the inability to focus on Chinese political texts due to not so high volcanic activity in China, the Japanese political elite had to create their own algorithm for interpreting the causes of volcanic eruptions, which was based on native Japanese beliefs, where mountains were revered as sacred objects and often perceived as the abode of deities. The study is based on historical sources of various types: chronicles (“Nihon koki”, “Shoku Nihon koki”, “Nihon sandai jitsuroku”, “Nihon kiryaku”) and collections of act material (“Ruiju sandaikyaku”), as well as research literature, mainly in Japanese.