Ise Shrine Research Articles

Japanese Shinto and Taoism : Focusing on Emperor and Ise Shrine

Japanese Shinto and Taoism : Focusing on Emperor and Ise Shrine

Sacred Forests, Sacred Nation: The Shinto Environmentalist Paradigm and the Rediscovery of Chinju no Mori

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)In June 2014, unique and unprecedented event took place at the shrines of Ise (Ise Jingu ...), generally considered as the most sacred site in Shinto. Dressed in the official robes of their respective traditions, religious functionaries from all over the world-representing Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Hinduism, Islam, Roman Catholicism, Sikhism, Shinto, and various Protestant denominations-collectively paid an official visit to the Inner Shrine of Ise, where the Japanese sun goddess and imperial ancestress Amaterasu ?? is enshrined. They were accompanied by representatives of the United Nations and other international ngos. In addition to visiting the shrine and paying respect to its goddess, they all participated in an international conference entitled Tradition for the Future: Culture, Faith and Values for Sustainable Planet, where various issues related to religion and environmental issues were discussed. The conference was organized by Jinja Honcho ???? (Association of Shrines), the umbrella organization with which the majority of shrines in Japan today are affiliated, in cooperation with the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (arc), uk-based nonprofit organization which defines itself as a secular body that helps the major religions of the to develop their own environmental programs, based on their own core teachings, beliefs and practices.1Among the conference speakers were Jinja Honcho's current president, Tanaka Tsunekiyo ...; Princess Akiko of Mikasa ..., an art historian and member of the Japanese imperial family; and Olav Kjorven, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations, Norwegian Christian Democrat politician who embraced the idea that religion can play significant role in sustainable development-as illustrated by his conference speech, which was later published on The Huffington Post (Kjorven 2014). Although the event was not open to the general public, it was reportedly attended by approximately seven hundred priests from all over the country (Dougill 2014a), as well as by number of selected journalists and scholars. One of them, Paul Vallely (a well-known author who written several books and articles on religion, ethics, and development issues) published report in The Independent, in which he described the conference as part of the remarkable resurgence of Japan's ancient religion of Shintoism, which according to him has produced new Japanese openness to the wider world (Vallely 2014). This openness was illustrated by the event's interreligious character, as well as the apparent environmental awareness of the actors involved, which, he suggested, could benefit the whole world (Vallely 2014).Describing in such positive terms, the article no doubt constitutes useful international publicity for Jinja Honcho. In particular, it underlines the claim that constitutes form of ancient nature-centered spirituality offering models for environmental sustainability, which become more and more pronounced in recent years. However, although such claims reflect recent popular discourse on Shinto, they are not entirely unproblematic. First, as anybody familiar with recent academic studies of the history of Shinto and kami ? worship can confirm, the notion of as an essentially apolitical prehistoric tradition of nature worship is historically inaccurate. Although this image continues to be spread in popular scientific books, websites, social media, and tourist guidebooks, by actors as well as non-Japanese aficionados, it been challenged convincingly by number of historians. They have demonstrated that as it exists today-an institutionally and theologically independent religion, conceptualized as Japan's ancient indigenous ritual tradition and seen as intimately connected with the imperial family-is grounded largely in early-modern ideological inventions, which were given concrete shape in the subsequent Meiji period (1868-1912) (Breen and Teeuwen 2010; Hardacre 1989; Josephson 2012; Kuroda 1981; Thal 2005). …

山田雄司著, 『怨霊・怪異・伊勢神宮』, 思文閣出版, 二〇一四・六刊, A5, 四四四頁, 七〇〇〇円

山田雄司著, 『怨霊・怪異・伊勢神宮』, 思文閣出版, 二〇一四・六刊, A5, 四四四頁, 七〇〇〇円

The maximal principle for properly immersed submanifolds and its applications

In this note we consider the Liouville type theorem for a properly immersed submanifold M in a complete Riemmanian manifold N. Assume that the sectional curvature \(K^N\) of N satisfies \(K^N\ge -L(1+dist_N(\cdot ,q_0)^2)^\frac{\alpha }{2}\) for some \(L>0, 2>\alpha \ge 0\) and \(q_0\in N\). (i) If \(\Delta |\vec {H}|^{2p-2}\ge k|\vec {H}|^{2p}\)(\(p>1\)) for some constant \(k>0\), then we prove that M is minimal. (ii) Let u be a smooth nonnegative function on M satisfying \(\Delta u\ge ku^a\) for some constant \(k>0\) and \(a>1\). If \(|\vec {H}|\le C(1+dist_N(\cdot ,q_0)^2)^\frac{\beta }{2}\) for some \(C>0\), \(0\le \beta <1\), then \(u=0\) on M. As applications we get some nonexistence result for p-biharmonic submanifolds.

Rethinking the global heritage discourse – overcoming ‘East’ and ‘West’?

This article illustrates how Japan’s involvement in international heritage discourse, in particular since the Nara Conference in 1994, played an important role in the development of a global understanding of heritage and what it constitutes. It explores the way the Ise Shrine came to be represented as an iconic example of an ‘Eastern approach’ to heritage to become central in the paradigm shift within global heritage discourse towards acknowledging cultural diversity. In this article, however, I argue that the presentation and understanding of the Ise Shrine has perpetuated a number of misconceptions about an Eastern approach to heritage conservation. In particular, its presentation and interpretation as a cultural site devoid of its distinct religious and political significance, limits what can be learned from it. This article argues that without full recognition of the religious beliefs intimately embedded in the traditional social structures, practices and attitudes related to heritage sites, recognition of cultural diversity would remain limited.

Japan's Monument Problem: Ise Shrine as Metaphor

In Japan there is a shrine that is rebuilt every twenty years. A new shrine, identical to the old one, is built on a site next to it. The sacred objects are transferred from old to new and the old shrine is razed to the ground. The main building of the shrine thus moves back and forth between two adjacent sites. The practice dates back to the late seventh century. The shrine in question is the Grand Shrine of Ise ( Ise Dai Jingū ), a name that is in fact a loose designation for two large Shinto shrine complexes, the Inner Shrine, dedicated to Amaterasu Ōmikami, the sun goddess and mythical ancestor of the Japanese imperial line, and the Outer Shrine, dedicated to Toyouke no Ōmikami, a deity of agriculture and industry. The two are located several kilometres apart, and there are 123 minor subshrines in the vicinity. Not only the main buildings but all of the structures at these 125 shrines undergo the same periodic reconstruction. Ritual objects and priestly vestments are also made anew every twenty years.

Aesthetic Authenticity without Historical Genesis: On the Ceremonial System of Periodic Reconstruction at Ise Shrine

Many Japanese shrines are periodically reconstructed once a specific number of decades. The convention of such periodic reconstruction has two primary functions: first, the architectural function of maintaining the fragile wooden buildings, and second, the religious function of purifying the gods' dwelling. In general, the reconstruction is conducted by renovating certain parts of the shrine buildings. However, at Ise Shrine, the reconstruction is conducted in a considerably different manner, in which an identical new building is erected on an adjoining site of the same size. The old building is then demolished, leaving the site empty for twenty years until the next reconstruction occurs there. This paper discusses the significance of this unique manner of reconstruction regarding the aesthetic value of its peculiar function, apart from architectural and religious functions. The convention of periodic reconstruction at Ise Shrine goes back to the seventh century. However, with no existent document about the original building, we cannot identify its architecture nor can we determine whether the present building truly maintains the original form. Furthermore, throughout the long tradition of reconstruction, nothing has remained of the older buildings. It can be said that the historical genesis of the building is entirely unknown. Nevertheless, the present building is considered an authentic successor of the ancient original. What, then, is the source of such sense of authenticity? Indeed, the new building inherits nothing from the past, and the truth of its origin remains completely invisible, yet this becomes the reason for the ancient original to be idealized even more. The new building is by no means a vestige of the distant past, rather a symbolic image that represents the invisible ＂idea＂ of the ancient original. The present building connects itself directly with the ancient past in an imaginative way and aesthetically generates its authenticity.

The Ancient Rites and Votive Treasures of Ise Jingu from the Viewpoint of Archaeology(Re-examination of Sacredness Inside and Around Ise Jingu in a Regional Perspective,Panels,THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTY-SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

The Ancient Rites and Votive Treasures of Ise Jingu from the Viewpoint of Archaeology(Re-examination of Sacredness Inside and Around Ise Jingu in a Regional Perspective,Panels,THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTY-SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Ise Pilgrimages by Buddhist Monks and the Formation of Shinto Theory in the Kamakura Period(Re-examination of Sacredness Inside and Around Ise Jingu in a Regional Perspective,Panels,THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTY-SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Ise Pilgrimages by Buddhist Monks and the Formation of Shinto Theory in the Kamakura Period(Re-examination of Sacredness Inside and Around Ise Jingu in a Regional Perspective,Panels,THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTY-SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

The Increasing Number of Priests in Medieval Ise Shrine(The Turning Point from Ancient to Middle Age in the History of Shinto in Japan,Panels,THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTY-SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

The Increasing Number of Priests in Medieval Ise Shrine(The Turning Point from Ancient to Middle Age in the History of Shinto in Japan,Panels,THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SEVENTY-SECOND ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

From Sovereign to Symbol: An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth-Century Japan by Thomas Donald Conlan (review)

Reviewed by: From Sovereign to Symbol: An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth-Century Japan by Thomas Donald Conlan Karen M. Gerhart (bio) From Sovereign to Symbol: An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth-Century Japan. By Thomas Donald Conlan. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2011. xiv, 231 pages. £45.00. Thomas Conlan’s From Sovereign to Symbol: An Age of Ritual Determinism in Fourteenth-Century Japan dramatically refocuses and reconfigures how we look at the Era of the Southern and Northern Courts (1339–99) by re-evaluating inherent prejudices found in the Taiheki, an epic quasi- history that has heretofore significantly molded our understanding of Japan’s fourteenth century. He points out that the writers of said text and its editor, Hosokawa Yoriyuki (1329–93), a regent for the third Ashikaga shogun, Yoshimitsu, largely ignored (for political reasons) the role of supporters of the Jimyōin line in their characterization of the period while favoring individuals who supported Go-Daigo and the Daikakuji lineage. This led Conlan to look more closely at other important players in this turbulent period, in particular courtier and author of Entairyaku, Tōin Kinkata (1291–1360), writer-historian Kitabatake Chikafusa (1293–1354), and the Shingon priests Kenshun (1299–1357) and Kōzei (1325–79). The result is a volume that presents a complicated and nuanced picture that shifts our focus from the battles and political struggles between the loyalists of Go-Daigo’s Southern Court and the Northern Court in Kyoto (although there is still plenty of that) to the role Shingon rituals played in determining the legitimacy of the state in the fourteenth century. In Conlan’s words, “ritual became the very essence of power as it alone created the seals of office and enthroned emperors, thereby transforming the ancient institution of Japan’s ‘heavenly sovereigns’ into symbols of authority” (p. 15). After setting the stage for the decline of precedent as a legitimating principle at the court in chapter 1, the author discusses Chikafusa’s and Go-Daigo’s understanding of the divine regalia (the mirror, the jewel, and the sword) as durable and stable objects in chapter 2. It was their thinking that “true” copies of the regalia needed to be controlled by the ruler, albeit not necessarily be in their possession. Chikafusa espoused the idea that the “true” sword and mirror resided at Atsuta and Ise shrines respectively and were therefore indestructible, but the jewel needed to be in the ruler’s possession. The physical regalia were deemed such critical markers of legitimacy that Chikafusa went to the extent of kidnapping the Northern sovereigns and stealing their regalia, without which, he believed, rulers could not take the throne. This dire act, along with efforts to physically occupy the sacred sites associated with the original sword and mirror—Atsuta and Ise [End Page 489] shrines—was deemed necessary, although the existence of any original or “true” regalia in the fourteenth century was questionable at best. Chapter 3 considers how Shingon rituals were revived and redirected to enhance the prestige of the Ashikaga. While the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries are more often discussed in terms of the popularity of the New Buddhist sects (Pure Land and Zen), Conlan presents a startling picture of Shingon Buddhism as the most fundamental and effective language of politics, in its continuing importance as protector of the throne but also as it remade itself as the champion of the Ashikaga government through the enactment of imperial rites for the shoguns. Chapters 4 and 5 explore Kenshun’s brilliant notion that the no-longer-extant regalia could still be used to conjure up a new sovereign. With the support of the regent Nijō Yoshimoto (1320–88), and against the wishes of most other courtiers, Kenshun raised the Northern sovereign Go-Kōgon to the throne in 1352 by simply treating the absent regalia “as if they existed” (nyozai no gi), a clever ritual mimesis emphasizing that the ceremonies constructed around them mattered but the objects did not. Because of his success in positioning Shingon Buddhism as the foundation of political legitimacy, Kenshun became the most powerful ritual specialist in the new Northern Court. Chapter 6 follows Kenshun’s consolidation...

昭和戦前期における伊勢参宮修学旅行の研究

昭和戦前期における伊勢参宮修学旅行の研究

Four More Years of Economics #9 and #10: Homo Bulla – The ethics and aesthetics of failure, and after the Jungle – Murder mystery an economics and performance letter-writing project

Homo Bulla—the ethics and aesthetics of failure and After the Jungle—murder mystery …..An economics and performance letter-writing project This particular piece, written specifically in response to the invitation to contribute to this collection, is the latest in the series of economics letters that Matthew Goulish and Abhay Ghiara regularly write to each other as part of their Year of Economics writing project. Matthew starts off his letter with a description of some aspects of his Ethics and Aesthetics of Failure course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The writing moves organically through Shinto practices at the Ise shrine, the idea of ephemerality, student assignments and responses, the tulip market crash of the seventeenth century, the one-minute sculptures of Erwin Wurm, all held together by the metaphor of the bubble. As usual, Matthew's letter ends with an economics challenge question for Abhay. Abhay responds with a loosely connected 26 part response that meanders through personal narrative, the holy tank of Banganga in old Bombay, Durga, the Hindu goddess who rides a tiger, how man-eating tigers or maneaters are created, how bubbles are the ideal form of economic system, all held together with the economics of the housing crisis and the credit market bubble and their Wurmian lessons for the economics student. Abhay ends his letter by introducing a new concept of value. He calls it dignity value.

国立公園指定における伊勢志摩国立公園の特異性の背景と伊勢神宮の関係

Ise-Shima National Park is the only national park that was designated without a deliberation of the National Park Commission in 1946, right after World War II. The objective of this study is to clarify this exceptional case of Ise-Shima's designation as a national park, in relation to Ise Jingu (the Ise Grand Shrine), by exploring the background of its designation. The background can be roughly divided into two periods: during World War II, and right after the war. It has been confirmed that Ise Jingu imposed its influence in different ways in each period. The transportation network was well established due to Ise Jingu’s characteristics as a sacred place and for the purpose of shrine visits. This indirectly influenced the designation of the national park candidates in the Shima region. Soon after the war, Ise Jingu faced the threat of being dismantled. Walter Popham of GHQ and Ishigami Kashiro of the Ministry of Welfare recognized the value of Ise Jingu and proposed that they designate the shrine area of Ise Jingu as a national park. Re-establishment of the administrations of national parks was still in process; however, the necessity for speedy protection of Ise Jingu served as a key factor for the unusual designation. After the designation of Ise-Shima National Park, the demand for national park designations increased all over the country, and this was the impetus for national park administrations to fully resume their work.

Civic Action (NPO) Enriches Religious-based Culture : People Who Participate Because of Ise Jingu Shrine(Religion as Social Capital: The Current Situation in Japan, Korea, UK, and USA,Panels,THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SIXTY-NINTH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Civic Action (NPO) Enriches Religious-based Culture : People Who Participate Because of Ise Jingu Shrine(Religion as Social Capital: The Current Situation in Japan, Korea, UK, and USA,Panels,THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE SIXTY-NINTH ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE JAPANESE ASSOCIATION FOR RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Escaping its past: recasting the Grand Shrine of Ise

This essay examines how the Grand Shrine of Ise has successfully distanced itself from its prewar and wartime associations with Japanese imperialism and nationalism to become an untroubling site of Japanese cultural identity. Building on Jonathan Reynolds' essay which traces Ise's transformation to become a sign of Japanese aesthetics, this essay extends the examination of Ise's rehabilitation to two other trajectories. First, it examines SCAP's attempts to dismantle State Shintō and suggests that while Occupation authorities were successful in separating Shintō from the state, they left Ise Shrine uninterrogated, which allowed it to escape censure and continue into the postwar period relatively intact. The second trajectory is Japan's involvement in the preservation of World Heritage, which I suggest provides a new, international stage that furthers Ise Shrine's rehabilitation in entirely new ways.

近世及び近代における木曽山の保護施策での妻籠宿伝建地区内の森林利用

This study aimed to clarify the historical recognition to the Conservation of the Forest of 17th and 19th century Kiso-yama in Tumago-juku. That is concerned with the landscapes of MACHI-NAMI Conservation and Regeneration. The meanings to the forest conservation are widely different between present and that time. The wood was used for the taxes and the construction of castle towns. But, in 1724, Shiro-yama and Mizukami-yama were designated for tomeyama for sustainable use. On the other hand, in akeyama, the village people got daily trees from bush. Some forests had been used for Ise-shrine-forests with special focus on the Sikinen-Sengu Ceremony through that times. In 1904, Tumago and Otaru as crown forests were designated for Ise shrine forests. In that foresty works the people organized lumbering workers and women were paid by the day. The site of the forest of the Tumago-juku Preservation district was systematically managed through the feudal utilization and control politics.

Japan-ness in Architecture (review)

Reviewed by: Japan-ness in Architecture Ken Tadashi Oshima (bio) Japan-ness in Architecture. By Arata Isozaki; edited by David B. Stewart; translated by Sabu Kohso. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 2006. xx, 349 pages. $29.95. The central problematic of my book takes form as a hypothesis, namely that the epitome of the creation of this something Japanese is encountered in the twentieth century—with the advent of certain architects who contrived to deal with the external pressures of modern architecture, responding with something unique. My essay "Japan-ness in Architecture" tackles their struggles; it is placed first in the book, but was written last. My aim was to trace their formative stance toward Japan-ness, up to and including my own personal involvement from the late 1960s. This essay is a sort of metacritique of what I had written about Ise, Chōgen, and Katsura and their discursive grounds. It attempted to trace the process through which Japan-ness itself was constructed as a discourse in Japanese modernity. (p. xiv) –Arata Isozaki The question of what is "Japan-ness in architecture" has preoccupied Isozaki Arata (1931– ) for more than two decades through a series of essays that are compiled and presented together for the first time in English in this 2006 book. Isozaki emerged in the 1960s as the leading designer and theorist of his generation as a student and as a collaborator of architect Tange Kenzō (1913–2005). Through his career, he has designed more than 450 projects that span the globe and has written more than 50 books. While noted internationally for projects such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1981–86), the Nara Centennial Hall (1992–98), and most recently the Turin Ice Hockey Stadium for the 2006 Winter Olympics, a majority of his writings that combine historical survey, critical analysis, and theoretical reflection have previously remained untranslated into English. In Japan-ness in Architecture, rather than theorizing his own designs, Isozaki interprets the great Japanese monuments of Ise Shrine (seventh century), Tōdaiji (twelfth century), and Katsura Imperial Villa (seventeenth century) as dynamic events and textual spaces and not merely as inert objects. In other words, Isozaki's book presents these landmarks as challenging discursive spaces, rather than as an exhaustive historical study or illustrated monograph, and thereby begs for further contextual background. From the outset, the term "Japan-ness" is presented as a polemic counter to an essentialist understanding of "Japan" or "Japanese" (as an adjective, language, and race) and consequently a critique of works such as the German expatriate architect Bruno Taut's Fundamentals of Japanese Architecture [End Page 234] (1936) and Kuki Shuzō's "Iki" no kōzō (Reflections on Japanese taste: the structure of iki) (1930). While the term "Japan-ness" may seem awkward as a newly constructed word, it is a translation of the phrase Nihon-teki na mono which literally means "things Japanese in character." As translator Sabu Kohso asserts, the English phrase embraces the heterogeneous adjectives of Japanesque, Japonica, and japonaiserie. Isozaki contends that Japan's obsession with Japanese-ness or Japan-ness is "due in the final analysis to Japan's mentality as an island nation" (pp. xiv–xv). "The Island Nation Aesthetic" is the title of Isozaki's previous pamphlet book published in 1996, which he begins by quoting Oscar Wilde's contention that "'Japan' or the idea of 'Japanese things' was purely an invention, an aesthetic fiction" and that "'Japanese things' (could) be found by studying the works of a certain Japanese artist in the comfort of one's home (with no need to go to Tokyo)."1 Instead of rejecting such an outside perspective as inaccurate or misinformed, Isozaki embraces interpretations of monumental works such as Ise Shrine and Katsura Villa, both praised by Taut when he visited Japan in 1933. Accepting that all notions of Japan, Japanese, and Japan-ness are fictive, whether perceived within or outside the nation's geographic borders, Isozaki argues that what is considered as emblematic of the Japanese aesthetic outside Japan "is far from the embryonic Japan-ness born in such critical moments of an earlier past as are here described" (p. xv). He...

People&apos;s Travel in the Nineteenth Century : Analysis of Per-day Walking Distance of the Travel to the Ise Shrine from Edo and Environs

People&apos;s Travel in the Nineteenth Century : Analysis of Per-day Walking Distance of the Travel to the Ise Shrine from Edo and Environs

Ise sankei mandara and the Image of the Pure Land.

The Ise sankei mandara appears to have been used as a guide to the Ise shrines. While a superficial analysis of its main features shows that the mandala is a fairly accurate visual representation of the sacred precincts, its meaning is much more extensive. The natural features of the Ise sanctuaries emerge as the physical representation of a non-physical world, for at certain points the spiritual can be intensely experienced in the environment. The mandala guides the prospective pilgrims through the physical world while reminding them that the pilgrimage is actually an image of the pilgrims' own life, and also offers a glimpse at their life's goal: the Pure Land. Furthermore, the mandala picture when taken by itself can be used as a means by those who cannot actually visit Ise to still enjoy the benefits of the pilgrimage.