Memorial Rites Research Articles

Эволюция погребального обряда хакасов: факторы сохранения системной целостности

<p>В работе осуществлен анализ основных этапов и факторов эволюции погребального обряда хакасов начиная с древности до начала XXI в. Под понятием «погребальный обряд» авторы понимают систему действий, объединенных единством мировоззренческих оснований, совершаемых с момента смерти человека, во время погребения и после похорон в виде поминальных ритуалов. Анализ научной литературы показал, что погребальный обряд рассматривался как объект либо археологических, либо этнографических изысканий, а также, что потребность рассмотреть обряд в его системной целостности требует культурологического анализа. </p><p class="21">Погребальный обряд хакасов в своих мировоззренческих основах начал формироваться еще в период тагарской культуры VIII–II вв. до н. э. Он соответствовал вертикально-горизонтальной структуре мира, проводился в соответствии с культами Неба, Земли, Огня. Таковым он оставался и в последующие периоды развития народа.</p><p class="21">В ХVIII — начале ХХ1 в. обрядность испытала влияние ряда факторов, в большей степени повлиявших на форму, но не на содержание ритуалов. Так, влияние господствующего рода кыргызов выразилось в доминировании обряда по типу трупосожжения. Взаимодействие различных этнических групп и родов (сеоков) Саяно-Алтая также внесло некоторые новации в обряд и оформление памятников. Особое влияние на проведение погребального обряда хакасов могла бы оказать христианизация, но он сохранил свою целостность. Атеизм ХХ в. лишь изменил форму надгробного памятника, когда распространились постаменты с пятиконечной звездой. В ХXI в. происходит восстановление этнической культуры хакасов. Хакасы выказывают живой интерес к традиционным формам, в том числе в погребальной обрядности.</p>

조선시대 절사(節祀)에 관한 연구

This study aims to examine the cultural characteristics of holiday ancestral memorial rites held by the public during the Joseon Dynasty. Methods will include a literature review that focuses on the fact that holiday ancestral memorial rites, which have continued as a part of Korean living culture, are a combination of a ritual and a seasonal event. For this purpose, eight ritual books written from the 16th to 18th century and seven books of seasonal events written from the 18th to 19th century were reviewed. The main results of this study are as follows: First, Lunar New Year’s Day, which is the first day of the first lunar month of a year and the beginning of a new year; Dongji (winter solstice), which is the day of closing a year; and Chuseok, which is the 15th lunar day of August, were of great importance as rites linking people to their ancestors. Through this, this study was able to affirm the meaning of Chamrye (參禮) as an origin of Charye (茶禮: memorial rite for ancestors). It was a ritual of affection where people visited their ancestors at a shrine and offered them tea early in the morning of holidays. Second, Myoje (墓祭: memorial rite held in front of the grave) was a unique custom, which was a practice of filial piety continued even after the death of one’s ancestors.
 However, scholars in the Joseon Dynasty actually regarded it unfilial that sacrificial food loses its original sanctity after being frozen or going bad due to cold or hot weather on holidays, such as Lunar New Year’s Day or Dano, or that descendants suffer poor health caused by their long trip to grave sites. This shows that Joseon scholars acknowledged the necessity of Myoje, yet demonstrated their flexibility in ritual practices depending on circumstances. Third, Sishik (時食: special seasonal food prepared for holiday memorial rites) of Sokjjeol (俗節: ancestor-memorial days) was an expression of affection towards one’s ancestors. People tried to exhibit sincerity
 through seasonal food which is special, yet simple, and prepared within their budget. In addition, Sishik, food cooked with good medicinal and nutritional ingredients, was the representation of a wish for the good health of not only one’s ancestors, but also descendants, neighbors, and visitors. In conclusion, holiday ancestral memorial rites held by the public during the Joseon Dynasty were a friendly and simple ritual culture linking descendants to their ancestors, and at the same time, seasonal event culture where filial piety and affection were expressed through special seasonal food filled with sincerity. This finding regarding the meaning of holiday ancestral memorial rites can be used for
 future academic research on rituals and seasonal events and the development of cultural contents. It also can be utilized in education to highlight the importance of the psychological value inherent in Korean living culture.

From Outcasts to Emperors: Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjus̀rī Cult in Medieval Japan by David Quinter

Reviewed by: From Outcasts to Emperors: Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjus̀rī Cult in Medieval Japan by David Quinter James L. Ford (bio) From Outcasts to Emperors: Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjus̀rī Cult in Medieval Japan. By David Quinter. Brill, Leiden, 2015. xiv, 340 pages. €130.00. 269 pages. After decades of an almost exclusive focus on the early founders of the so-called New Kamakura Buddhism schools, a notable balancing of interest has emerged in figures and schools of "established" Buddhism of the early medieval period. David Quinter's study of the Japanese Shingon Ritsu movement founded by Eison (1201–90) and its manifest connections to the popular cult of Mañjus̀rī adds to this growing body of scholarship in English in a significant way. It also employs the increasingly interdisciplinary approach of recent scholarship in its interwoven examination of the material, social, ritual, and narrative dimensions of Eison's activities and those who followed him. Throughout, Quinter uncovers a complex matrix of religious, social, political, and economic factors that converged to influence the development of the Shingon Ritsu movement centered at Saidaiji and popular devotion to Mañjus̀rī. Much has been written on the precept revival movement initiated by Eison, alongside three companions (Kakujō, Ensai, and Ugon), with a controversial self-ordination ceremony (jisei jukai) performed before an image [End Page 407] of Kannon at Tōdaiji in 1236. The Saidaiji order that he subsequently established attracted like-minded monks perhaps disillusioned with the worldly ways of the Nara establishment and drawn to a more traditional and disciplined Sangha community. Early in his career, however, Eison was also trained in the esoteric Shingon tradition at Daigoji, Kōyasan, and Tōdaiji, so his newfound movement embodied a unique synthesis of strict precept adherence and esoteric ritual expertise in the "three mysteries" (sanmitsu) of body, speech, and mind as expressed through mudras, mantras, and mandalas. Eison circulated widely among a broad spectrum of classes conferring the bodhisattva precepts and holding public services. He and his disciple Ninshō (1217–1303), in particular, emphasized social welfare and charity among the outcasts of society (hinin) such as beggars and lepers. In 1255, Eison commissioned an image of Mañjus̀rī and installed it at Hannyaji near Nara expressly for the salvation of nearby hinin. Eison sometimes lamented the challenge of raising funds for this project through the typical kanjin (fundraising) appeals. In this detailed and nuanced study, Quinter traces the development of the Ritsu Shingon order of Saidaiji from its founder Eison through his disciples Ninshō, Shinkū (1229–1316), and Monkan (1278–1357). Woven into this historical review is a study of the unique and imaginative ways Eison and his disciples transformed the devotional cult to Mañjus̀rī by synthesizing the traditional emphasis on the bodhisattva as the exemplar of wisdom with active worldly engagement through charitable activities, memorial rites, precepts conferrals, and temple and icon construction projects. To fully understand and appreciate the resourcefulness of this complex synthesis of doctrine and praxis, one must grasp the particularities of the time and place. Quinter guides the reader skillfully through a maze of interconnected historical, political, social, and institutional factors that shaped the resulting fusion. The book is divided into a lengthy introduction, six somewhat chronological chapters, an epilogue, and ten adept translations of various primary sources. Chapter 1 traces the early decades (1230s and 1240s) of Eison's formation of the Saidaiji order and his teacher-disciple relationship with Ninshō. Chapter 2 investigates the historical precedents for the Mañjus̀rī assemblies led by Eison and Ninshō. These include the four generally cited, which are the Mañjus̀rī Parinirva¯na Sūtra, the Mañjus̀rī cult on Mt. Wutai, Gyōki's activities (first half of the eighth century), and the early ninth-century assemblies in Japan sponsored by the state. Quinter expands the horizon of analysis by examining two Mañjus̀rī assemblies in the thirteenth century and a fascinating link between early Saidaiji order assemblies and memorial rites for mothers. Chapter 3 explores Eison's notable outreach efforts on behalf of the outcast community residing near Hannyaji (Yamato Province), a Saidaiji-connected...

Middle English Romance and the Craft of Memory by Jamie McKinstry

Reviewed by: Middle English Romance and the Craft of Memory by Jamie McKinstry Maud Burnett McInerney Jamie Mckinstry, Middle English Romance and the Craft of Memory. Woodbridge, Suffolk: D.S. Brewer, 2015. Pp. 289. ISBN: 978–1–84384–417–4. $99. Jamie McKinstry’s Middle English Romance and the Craft of Memory promises to explore ‘the workings of the memorial faculty’ (9) in the romance genre. Romance, of course, is always in some sense about remembering the past (one could indeed say the same of narrative in general), but this book wants to think about how memory is figured within the romances as ‘a set of processes and challenges experienced by the characters and audience’ (18). In other words, McKinstry is arguing that romance expresses a characteristic self-consciousness regarding the importance of memorial practice. The book opens with an overview of medieval theories of memory, beginning with Aristotle’s Memoria and moving through medieval thinkers such as Hugh of St Victor and Thomas Aquinas, all of whom are interested not simply in the cultivation and training of memory for more or less practical purposes, but in the related questions of what memory is and how it works; interestingly, McKinstry notes that Aristotle’s emphasis on the visual structure of memory appears to be confirmed by modern neuroscience. The essential point of this chapter, however, concerns the relationship of memory to time; recollection, the memorial work, is what moves the past into [End Page 142] the present and then on to the future. I must confess, however, to being completely baffled by one of the final points in the chapter. The statement ‘order and disorder are inherently antithetical to human memorial ability, the former being much easier to negotiate than the latter’ (42–43) appears to contradict earlier statements about the essential nature of order to the construction and preservation of memory; earlier, McKinstry describes Hugh of St Victor’s construction of a memorial Ark as ‘a memorial expedition which seeks to conquer disorder or emptiness of space with order’ (32), which would seem to mean that order is anything but antithetical to human memorial ability. The rest of the book is all too often marred by such confusion. The second chapter expands upon the importance of place to memory, of geographical nodes as an essential connection to the past. A reading of Sir Orfeo grounds McKinstry’s argument about the relationship between topography and redaction, but does so somewhat precariously; certainly the romance’s transposition of its characters from a Classical to a Middle English context (via Anglo-Saxon and Celtic ‘memorial places’ [54]) operates to move the past into the present. To read the romance as ‘a literary ordering of a tale’s earlier contexts or unfamiliar spaces’ (59) and to argue that we could read other romances the same way if we were only aware of their sources, however, seems rather obvious; as Barthes insisted as long ago as 1972, ‘a text is made of multiple writings, drawn from many cultures and entering into mutual relations of dialogue, parody, contestation . . . a text’s unity lies not in its origin but in its destination’ (Roland Barthes, ‘The Death of the Author’ in Image / Music / Text, trans. Stephen Heath [New York: Hill and Wang, 1977, 148]). Subsequent chapters treat romances well-known (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Troilus and Criseyde, Le Morte Darthur) and less well known (Sir Gowther, Sir Degrevant, Sir Isumbras), considering memorial rituals, the function of forests and other ‘memorial landscapes,’ the storage and recuperation of memory, and failures of memory. Never, however is the centrality of memory to romance in particular addressed directly. McKinstry insists that ‘the present and the future is [sic] shaped . . . by the past in romance’ (161) without ever considering that the same could be said equally forcefully of both epic and history, genres that co-exist with romance in the medieval period. It also seems curious, given the McKinstry’s emphasis on the topographical, to find no reference at all to Pierre Nora’s ‘lieux de mémoire,’ perhaps the most influential exploration of topography and temporality in recent memory, available in English as Rethinking France: Les Lieux de M...

“The ecstasy of river baptisms under suns just like this one”: Sula’s Rites and Sites of Memory

“The ecstasy of river baptisms under suns just like this one”: Sula’s Rites and Sites of Memory

Tautinės tapatybės (re)konstravimas XX a. pab. tautinio atgimimo laikotarpio lietuvių ir latvių literatūrinėje spaudoje

The present article, exploring the texts from Lithuanian literary weekly ‘Literatūra ir menas’, monthly ‘Pergalė/Metai’ and Latvian ‘Literatūra un Māksla’ and ‘Karogs’ of the years 1988–1992, discusses and compares the most representative episodes of (self)reflection, the changes and continuity of national identity during the time. It is shown, how collective memory, (re)created by rituals of communicative memory, participates in the (re)construction of national identity as well as tendencies of heroisation and mythologisation, cases of deconstruction, demythologisation (Suodumas, Gavelis). It is claimed that canonical impersonate expression forms of nationality and national heroes (Lačplėsis, Rainis), i.e. general cultural universals, expressions of national ideals dominate in Latvian reflections. The pantheon of individual national heroes is more fragmented and scattered in Lithuanian reflections and participates in communicative memory more passively than in Latvian. But here self-reflection and representation of exiles as collective national heroes is much more intensive

Традиция трупообожжения в ирменской погребально-поминальной обрядности

Традиция трупообожжения в ирменской погребально-поминальной обрядности

A Study on Supporting Parents and Memorial Rites in Korea

A Study on Supporting Parents and Memorial Rites in Korea

THE FUNERAL AND MEMORIAL RITES OF THE LUDICS (BASED ON THE R. F. TAROEVA’S FIRST ETHNOLOGY EXPEDITION )

The paper deals with the analysis of the funeral and memorial rites of Ludic Karelians of the Kondopozhsky District. The information of the rites is founded on the materials of the first ethnological expedition undertaken in 1956 under the leadership of R. F. Taroeva. The paper treats of such fundamental cycles of the funeral rites as preparing body for burial, funeral and memorial rites. It is concluded that funeral and memorial rites, which existed in the Ludics until the 1950s, had components of different origins: folk and Christianized components as well as the ones that originated under the influence of the urban environment components.

Food Supply in Cambodian Buddhist Temples: Focusing on the Roles and Practices of Lay Female Ascetics

(ProQuest: denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)I IntroductionIn Theravada Buddhist societies, which consist of people ordained as monks and laypeople, what kinds of roles are played by lay ascetics living in temples? While there have been countless studies on Theravada regions in Southeast Asia, studies that focus on laypeople in particular, especially those based in Cambodia and Laos, are very scarce. Lay ascetics1) have mostly been described as part of the faithful lay community or just mentioned on a footnote level as temple inhabitants who are subordinate to monks.While so-called revival movements of the bhikkhuni (fully ordained female monk) order have recently taken place in Sri Lanka and Thailand, no such movements have occurred in Cambodia so far. It is believed that Cambodia has never had bhikkhuni,2) but it has female renouncers in the lay category called daun chi or yeay chi There are some research works that focus on daun chi. Nobue Hamaya (2004) has carried out fieldwork on daun chi in Siem Reap and described their temple life, including their social engagement. Elizabeth Guthrie (2004) has provided historical analyses of laypeople's based on the key word puos ... and focused on one daun chi, who was a meditation teacher. The Buddhist Institute, Cambodia (2006) has surveyed daun chi life in one district and submitted concrete data on female renouncers' attributes. All of these works have given us thought-provoking analyses and presented new findings, but we still cannot see clearly who lay ascetics are and what it means to live as a temple resident within the lay category. For example, ANLWC,4) a socially engaged Buddhist group that Hamaya wrote about, is unique to Cambodia, but its activities are very limited in region and even its name is not known widely among daun chi in general. As far as I have observed, most lay ascetics are not social workers or meditation teachers or Buddhist university students but seem simply to live in a temple. Therefore, to understand the general situation of daun chi, focusing on a particular group or prominent persons is probably not enough. What kind of human relationships do they have within a temple community? In order to understand lay ascetics better, we probably need to not only focus on daun chi but also observe a temple as a whole, including monks and other people.This article focuses on, among various aspects of Cambodian Buddhist temples, food supply for temple residents, placing an emphasis on the roles and of lay ascetics. I use the word practices here in a broad sense; it means not only, for instance, purely religious in search of enlightenment, but also daily activities in Buddhist temples. I try to analyze Cambodian Buddhist temples through the real of lay temple inhabitants in order to understand how the religion lives in today's Cambodian society.It has often been said that in Theravada Buddhist societies, temple going is part of people's everyday lives-and Cambodia is no exception. More than 90 percent of the total population of Cambodia is thought to believe in Buddhism, which is the national religion as defined in the Cambodian constitution. In fact, people have a number of occasions to visit Buddhist temples-such as during Buddhist festivals, most of which are national holidays. On a precept (p. sila)5) day, which occurs four times in the lunar calendar, temples in both urban and rural areas are crowded with people gathering to seek precepts ... from monks. As a daily practice, many families place freshly cooked rice and other food in the alms bowls of monks who come to their threshold in the morning. It is very common for laypeople to invite monks to chant at rituals held in their homes, including funerals, memorial rites for the deceased, and ceremonies wishing for a long life for living parents.Temple-goers tend to be middle-aged or elderly. The institution of the Buddhist temple has much to do with people's life stages. …

A Study on the Ceremonial Writing at the First Memorial Rites to Allay His Dead Son by Kim Chang-hyeop (with pen name of Nongam)

A Study on the Ceremonial Writing at the First Memorial Rites to Allay His Dead Son by Kim Chang-hyeop (with pen name of Nongam)

“Others” in Textbooks: The Case of Greek Sixth Grade’s History Textbook

INTRODUCTIONAfter their birth, most nation-states attempt to strengthen the coherence among the people living in their territories. Therefore, the states propounded and strengthened the common traits of their citizens, while they created national myths (common origin and historical routes of their ancestors). In order to achieve these goals, states established national symbols, celebrations and memorial rituals. They also imposed a very specific version of the common past.However, the criteria for the inclusion of individuals or groups in a nation, at the same time, were also the criteria for exclusion. People with obvious and different characteristics of those promoted by the nation, the others, were excluded. In fact, this otherness was presented like an enemy, in order to support and consolidate the national identity of the nations' citizens.Historically, education has been a basic means of supporting and stabilizing the national community and promoting dominant perspectives. Specific choices concerning significant issues, such as social inequalities, citizenship, minority groups' status, women's rights, religious education etc. were promoted by the overt and the hidden Curriculum. The basic function of the Curriculums is helping define the sum of the that is to be taught to new generations. The process of collecting and choosing the educational syllabus is not neutral, as the perspective through which a series of issues can be presented is not unique and uncontroversial. As a result, the controversies about the official knowledge pull the trigger on deep political, economic and relationships (Apple, 1992, 5), which in many cases, according to Zimmerman (2002) can lead to a kind of cultural war in public schools.It should be noted that, although there is a plethora of sources of through modem means of technology, particularly the internet, many people still depend on textbooks. This is how the school still remains a basic ideological apparatus of the state (Althusser, 1999). The Greek National Narrative supports the perception, according to which, the Greek nation has existed for more than two thousand years. The constmction of the Modem Greek identity was completed through the integration of the Byzantine period into the historic trajectory of the nation, which was pursued throughout the 19th century through educational and policies (Triandafyllidou and Veikou, 2002, 194). History textbooks have played a significant role in the preservation of this narrative. That is why there were several fights for history textbooks in the last thirty years. Analytically, four history textbooks of compulsory education have been withdrawn since 1984 until now.1 The most recent withdrawal had to do with the 6th grade's (pupils at the age of 11) history textbook of Repousi, Adreadou, Poutachidi, Tsiva and Aroni (2006) [from now on Repousi et al., 2006], which was introduced to schools in September 2006. It was confronted by various reactions from political parties, organizations and agencies, and associations, especially by the Church of Greece. The objections and controversies over the textbook of Repousi et al. (2006) could be separated into two categories. First, those which came from nationalistic and conservative posts, according to which the textbook:a) Was anti - Greek, because it did not present the atrocities which the Greeks underwent due to the Ottoman Empire, while it described briefly the (Greek) revolution of 1821. Special emphasis was placed on the absence of two major national events, the celebration of the 25th of March and on the description of the catastrophe of Smimi.b) It degraded the role of the church during the (Greek) revolution of 1821.c) It overemphasized the role of women and other secondary issues, while (at the same time) it degraded the role of the national heroes (Anonymous, 2007; Repousi, 2009, 28). …

Transition of Rituals in the Nagasaki City Atomic Bomb Memorial Ceremony

AbstractThis article focuses on rituals in the wake of a disaster, particularly those rituals that concern the dead. Previous studies have paid little attention to such rituals, which have developed and evolved over a long period of time. A diachronic case study of the Nagasaki atomic bomb memorial ceremony shows that memorial rituals gradually shift their attention from the dead to the living. The characteristics observed in this ceremony that orient towards the living can be distinguished from folk rituals, whose central object is to appease or comfort the dead, and also from political rituals, whose aim is to honor the dead and acknowledge the tragic past within a political framework. In addition to economic as well as political factors, the broadcasting of the Nagasaki ceremony on television is instrumental in the changes in these rites and the inclusion of the third‐person plural subject: the “we”, appears to be vital in apprehending the experience of violent death. Relying on historical materials, photographs, and data collected by participatory observation and interviews, this article aims to show how people use symbolic practices to make meaning out of violent death.

“Our Tears Never Left this Ground”: An Appreciation of Tlingit Ritual Oratory

This paper offers an appreciative enquiry into contemporary oratory and orators among the Tlingit of Alaska through analysis of two speeches made by elder Clarence Jackson at memorial rituals. The first is a condolence speech delivered at a funerary memorial held for a prominent Tlingit leader of the (opposite) Raven moiety in May 2011. The second oration was delivered in response to condolence speeches made for the removal of grief at the memorial party (a.k.a. potlatch) for one of Clarence Jackson's Eagle moiety uncles in September 2012. Together the speeches comprise two important genres and reciprocating functions of Tlingit oratory: khaa toowú awlit'áa yoo xh'atánk (words of comfort) to console opposite clans in mourning and words to thank opposite clans for their condolences. Despite the decline of aboriginal languages on the Northwest Coast, these oratorical traditions remain vital among the Tlingit and other groups as a source of comfort, solidarity, inspiration, and transformation in memorial rituals and other settings. When deftly executed, oratory and wise words can heal and unite people, restoring balance, strength and integrity, and ensuring that ancestral lines continue to enliven and support a rich ground of being to sustain future generations.

Pop Religion in Japan: Buddhist Temples, Icons, and Branding

The need manifested by Japanese Buddhist organizations to present themselves as “modern” forces that are relevant to present-day society seems to be central in shaping their communication strategies. In this regard, one interesting aspect is represented by religious institutions’ attempts to “brand” themselves to enhance their profiles and visibility, specifically by drawing on popular culture formats. Based on fieldwork in Japan, I examine the use made by Japanese Buddhist institutions of these formats in their attempt to revive Buddhism and make its teachings attractive to an audience greater than the elderly parishioners who still maintain contact with their temples, mainly for funerary rites and other memorial rituals related to the ancestors.

New Wine in Old Bottles? Questioning the Category of New Religious Movements (NRMs)

New Wine in Old Bottles?: Questioning the Category of New Religious Movements (NRMs) Pamela D. Winfield I was sitting in the boarding area of Newark International Airport in May of 2007 when a middle‐aged Japanese businessman struck up a conversation with me. We were both waiting for our delayed flight to Tokyo, and our conversation consisted of the customary pleasantries, an account of his recent visit to Brazil, and our shared frustrations as travelers in limbo. It was a fairly banal airport exchange triggered only by random proximity and intense boredom, at least on my part. I was not particularly engaged. When he inquired why I was going to Japan, I confess that I tried to put him off with, “Mikkyō” (Japanese esoteric Buddhism). Normally, to the average Japanese business traveler, this would be a conversation‐stopper. Many secular Japanese are more than a little suspicious of anyone who is overly interested in religion, and they think it is particularly curious to study esoteric Buddhism, a twelve‐hundred‐year‐old tradition of secret, or hidden, tantric teachings requiring initiation. My initial attempt at terminating the conversation, however, simply boomeranged. He exclaimed, “Boku mo—mikkyō mikkyō da!” (Me too—I'm mikkyō I'm mikkyō!) This was the first time I had ever encountered anyone who so enthusiastically, publicly, and unselfconsciously self‐identified as an adherent of this ancient tradition. And yet, as I got to know this gentleman who later became one of my main informants, and as I first began researching his particular strain of esoteric Buddhism called Shinnyo‐en, I discovered that Shinnyo‐en was only ever discussed in the scholarly literature as a New Religious Movement or NRM (it was founded in 1936 by an ordained esoteric master named Itō Shinjō). This was a little disconcerting, as the other groups included in the Japanese NRM literature were either unconventional to say the least (e.g., Happy Science) or downright dangerous (Aum Shinrikyō). Shinnyo‐en does indeed display several novel and even idiosyncratic elements that distinguish it from the mainstream, but at the same time, its ninth century former head temple Daigōji in Kyoto still recognizes it as an important (and affluent) part of its age‐old mikkyō lineage. In 1997, it even invited Shinnyo‐en's current female abbess to be the first woman in history to conduct memorial rituals in its main hall, a designated National Treasure. How, then, does this modern mikkyō group differ from other hybrid offshoots that have historically transformed, enriched, or revitalized the Buddhist establishment? How do Shinnyo‐en's modern doctrinal developments, iconographic innovations, or ritual reinventions differ from any of the other historical developments that mark the general evolution of Buddhism in Japan, but which are now discussed as part and parcel of the tradition? Is it only a question of time until Shinnyo‐en becomes a “legitimate” part of mikkyō Buddhist history or are there deeper issues and agendas at work here? To be clear, in proposing this introductory Japanese case study for consideration, I do not wish to engage in any sort of apologetic argument for this particular group's legitimacy. They have their own high‐profile strategies for doing so; they do not need any help from me. Yet, as I began my first six months of fieldwork in Tokyo that year, it became increasingly clear to me that my informants’ self‐legitimating discourse of inheritance and affiliation with tradition contrasted sharply with the scholarly de‐legitimating NRM literature of rupture and disestablishmentarianism. I am keenly aware that many of my informant's traditionalist affirmations were meant to reassure me as part of his proselytizing agenda (which I firmly but respectfully resisted; I clearly stated my role from the outset and tried to engage as much as possible as a serious but sympathetic scholar engaged in participant‐observation). At the same time, however, I was having cognitive dissonance as I wrestled with the perennial conundrum of whose voice counts for more. The adherent's insider perspective engages the hermeneutic of faith to unify, connect and/or restore one's path to the past. The scholarly outsider perspective, by contrast, engages the hermeneutic of suspicion to...

“Who will care for me when I am dead?” Ancestors, homeless spirits, and new afterlives in low-fertility Japan

A growing number of older people in Japan lack reliable future caretakers for their family grave. By performing numerous memorial rites and maintaining their family grave, the bereaved typically transform the family dead into benevolent ancestors. However, what will happen to those whose ashes are not interred in a family grave? In this article, I examine one alternative to the family grave system – the scattering of ashes conducted by a citizen-based group called the Grave-Free Promotion Society of Japan (Sōsō no jiyū o susumeru kai). Contrary to the common assumption that it is usually childless people who decide on ash scattering, a number of the Society’s members in fact have adult children. What are the views of people who have adopted the scattering of ashes as a way of disposing of their own remains? Given that a grave remains a symbolic locus of familial continuity, the scattering of ashes seems to challenge the cherished ideas of filial piety and respect toward ancestors. By “returning to nature” through ash scattering and joining a benevolent force larger than their small family, older urbanites seek self-sufficiency in the postmortem world and attempt to lighten the ritual burden of their survivors regarding the maintenance of their family graves. Data for this study come from extended fieldwork conducted in Japan from 2002 to 2004. By using cohort analysis, this study shows that ash scattering meets the mortuary needs of those generations that tend to lack a ceremonial asset or a culturally preferred caregiver.

Bones of Contention: Animals and Religion in Contemporary Japan by Barbara R. Ambros (review)

Reviewed by: Bones of Contention: Animals and Religion in Contemporary Japan by Barbara R. Ambros Ellen Schattschneider Bones of Contention: Animals and Religion in Contemporary Japan. By Barbara R. Ambros. University of Hawai‘i Press, 2012. 280pages. Hardcover $55.00; softcover $29.00. In Bones of Contention, Barbara Ambros examines a fascinating, relatively recent development in relations with domestic animals in Japan. Over the past three decades a significant sector of the Japanese public has begun to perform kuyō (Buddhist memorialization rites) for pets, especially dogs and cats. In some instances, bereaved owners have arranged for kaimyō (posthumous Buddhist names) to be given to deceased [End Page 309] pets, which are then memorialized within family butsudan. Ambros gives close attention to recent legal battles over attempts to intern pet remains in human cemeteries, as more owners increasingly come to term their animal companions “uchi no ko” (our child). She places this intriguing ethnographic material within a larger history of animal memorialization in Japan. She notes, for example, that in the early nineteenth century, whalers at times assigned posthumous death names to slaughtered whales and held memorial services for these nonhuman leviathans. She also recounts the familiar story of the loyal dog Hachiko, who in popular mythology stood vigil at the Shibuya train station for his late owner. As many anthropologists, historians of religion, and folklorists have long noted, animals have for millennia in Japan functioned as intermediaries between human and divine worlds and between the living and the dead. In the shishimai dance at the New Year, lion-like creatures “bite off ” impurities from spectators and confer longevity. Kitsune spirits, alternating between fox and human forms, transport people between conventional life and fantasy dreamworlds. Dragon divinities, or ryujin, themselves hybrid beings composed of elements from diverse animals, move between undersea depths and mountain peaks and help transport humans between mortal and immortal domains. Yet why, starting in the years of the Bubble Economy, should a good number of Japanese have come to memorialize something so prosaic as household pets? Ambros situates this phenomenon in the memorialization boom of the 1980s, in which a great range of nonhuman entities, from needles to dolls to eels, were subjected to such rites. Ambros argues that “. . . the hybrid status of pet memorial rites—their liminal place between human and animal mortuary rites . . . makes their study a compelling topic for inquiry” (p. 9). In the book’s opening chapter, Ambros juxtaposes premodern models of human-animal relations with contemporary transformations of animal symbolism. She notes that the admittedly modern notion of the “pet”—an animal taken into domestic space as a quasi-family member—expresses a substantial departure from earlier, rather functional relationships. At the same time she argues that there were ethical and sacral dimensions to the premodern management of the animal world: the killing and consumption of whales, for example, produced a lingering sense of obligation and anxiety. Early memorialization rites for whales can be thought of, in a sense, as anticipating modern practices of pet memorialization. Building on this insight, Ambros persuasively argues in chapter 2 that the early modern use of animals as resources in Japan cannot be accounted for in purely economic or technical terms; instead, this commodification was infused with religious sensibilities, although these by no means ensured the compassionate treatment of animals. Future researchers may wish to build on this argument and consider broader ways in which premodern representations of animals may have had, in a general sense, memorial or ritual functions. Might we think of many such practices as having bridged the conventional gulf between spheres of existence? For example, painting an image of a pair of hawks in a shrine or temple has for many centuries functioned as a form of [End Page 310] veneration, and in colloquial (if not strict doctrinal) terms as an act of kuyō. The composite figure of ryujin, predicated on the creative recombination of familiar animal elements (fur, scales, horns, claws, and so on), might in turn be conceived of as a kind of metamemorialization, geared toward allowing a whole host of beings to move through the great arc of creation and transmutation toward buddhahood. Chapters 3 and 4 are to...

Recuerdo y comunicación: sociohermenéutica de rituales de memoria

The analysis of memory rituals represents a methodological challenge for an interpretative social science. Ritual interactions are inscribed in a broader context, which is determined by symbolic traditions and the institutional agreements that configure the general framework of ceremonies. The study of rituals held on International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27th is an opportunity to highlight the linkages between these different levels in the analysis. Our data is based on a videographic research project that probes into the thesis of a “global” memory culture, according to which particular memories coexist and at the same time converge and interact with transnational forms of remembrance. For the analysis we follow methodological approaches rooted in the sociology of knowledge and the sociology of communicative genres.

Bringing Zen Home: The Healing Spirit of Japanese Women’s Rituals by Paula Arai (review)

Reviewed by: Bringing Zen Home: The Healing Spirit of Japanese Women’s Rituals by Paula Arai Stephen G. Covell (bio) Bringing Zen Home: The Healing Heart of Japanese Women’s Rituals. By Paula Arai. University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu, 2011. xii, 261 pages. $52.00. Bringing Zen Home, Paula Arai’s latest book, builds on her previous work on Buddhist nuns in Japan by turning her focus to female lay practitioners and, in particular, the ways in which they embody the teachings of Zen as a part of their healing regime. The close attention to the details of her subjects’ lives and their approaches to life and practice shed light on this understudied aspect of contemporary Japanese temple Buddhism. The book, however, is not without its flaws. Chapter 1 opens with a personal story about the death of the author’s mother. This story, and the author’s journey in search of healing found within it, both set the tone for all that follows and help us to understand the research methods used and conclusions reached by Arai. It is also in this chapter that the author sets out her definition of healing and ritual. “In a worldview where the interrelatedness of all things is the primary point of reference, healing means to be in harmony with this impermanent web of relationships that constitutes the dynamic universe” (p. 3). And, “Rituals . . . can be a conduit to an intuitive experience of interrelatedness, based on the body, precisely because rituals can induce modes of being that transcend linear and rational logic and facilitate contact with the ineffable” (p. 3). Regarding ritual, Arai goes on to clarify that, for the purpose of this book, ritual concerns the ritualization of daily behavior. This is one of the strong points of the book—its intentional turn away from institutionalized practices and its at times insightful look at the more fluid and personal daily practices of the laity. In subsequent chapters, Arai introduces the lives and actions of her subjects using these definitions of ritual and healing. Chapter 2 traces “the way of healing” within Buddhism. Following her definition of healing above, this chapter is not about overcoming specific physical or psychological illnesses (though they are not excluded) but about “the transformation of habitually deluded ways of looking at the world through the lenses of attachment and aversion” (p. 30). Arai lays out ten principles of healing that she identifies as the core of the healing practices of her subjects: experiencing interrelatedness, living body-mind, engaging in rituals, nurturing the self, enjoying life, creating beauty, cultivating gratitude, accepting reality as it is, expanding perspective, and embodying compassion. These principles become the hermeneutical touchstones for the [End Page 435] chapters that follow. However, one problem that becomes clear in this chapter is the conflict within the book between Arai’s stated aim of understanding her object of study on its own terms and her obvious desire to show that the healing methods employed by her subjects are scientifically legitimate. Arai makes sure to note in the first chapter that her goal is to understand the lives of her subjects and not to explain the “truth” of their healing practices. Be that as it may, in her explanation of nearly all of the ten principles, she cites medical research to prove the effectiveness of the practice. The effort to prove the efficaciousness of the practices continues throughout the book, is distracting, and leads the reader to the conclusion that this is in many ways less a scholarly analysis and more a personal healing journey. If read as such a journey, the book holds many insightful points. Chapter 3 looks at funeral and memorial rituals as a form of healing. One positive outcome of this approach is Arai’s observation that memorials and prayers before the family Buddhist altar must be understood as healing rituals. This serves to expand the more staid view of ancestor veneration as a form of social obligation or solely as a means to aid the dead. On the other hand, Arai’s term “Personal Buddhas,” which she uses as the central theme for the chapter, is highly problematic. Her basic assertion is that...