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- Convenors:
-
Emily Simpson
(Wake Forest University)
Hiroo Sato (Tohoku University)
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- Stream:
- Religion and Religious Thought
- Location:
- Torre A, Piso 0, Sala 03
- Start time:
- 31 August, 2017 at
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
- Session slots:
- 1
Short Abstract:
The panel seeks to illuminate the process of deification in medieval Japan through case studies examining the elevation of Empress Jingū and monastic acolytes (chigo) into godhood. We also consider how the concept of human deification evolved and expanded from medieval to modern times.
Long Abstract:
In Japan, the medieval period (twelfth to sixteenth centuries) was one in which society overflowed with the existence of the sacred. The possibility of becoming a Buddha, limited to a select group of religious professionals in earlier periods, became accessible to the laity, and the idea that kami resided within human beings circulated widely. In this panel, we will first present several examples of the phenomenon of deification as conceived in the medieval period, such as Empress Jingū's divine status and the chigo kanjō ritual. Through these case studies, we attempt to illuminate the process by which humans transformed into divinities against the backdrop of medieval history and its cultural worldview.
The discourse of humans becoming gods has already been thoroughly discussed within the context of the Tendai original enlightenment (hongaku 本覚) philosophy and Kamakura Buddhism, but little research has directly considered the origin of this medieval trend. Therefore, this panel will explore the development of the tradition of human deification, in both text and practice. We will also consider why, compared to earlier and later periods in Japanese history, the medieval period fostered such a culturally shared belief in deification, and how belief and worship changed over time. Through this examination, we aim to elucidate the particular characteristics of "medieval" deification of everyday people.
In medieval Japan, the word "deification" (shinkakuka 神格化) held the assertion of "people becoming kami," which calls to mind the fierce modern debate surrounding Yasukuni Shrine and the deified souls it enshrines. Our third goal of this panel is to follow the transformation of the logic of deification after the medieval period, delving into its discursive continuities and discontinuities. From the medieval period, in which it was believed anyone could become a deity after death if infused with a potent power, the idea of deification expanded to include living souls who possessed a kami within. Through charting this trajectory of belief in deification and its process, we also aim to shed new light on the Yasukuni controversy.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Emily Simpson (Wake Forest University)
Paper short abstract:
Empress Jingū forms part of a composite deity at many shrines, but her elevation to and status as a kami is generally overlooked. Through examination of several medieval jisha engi, I explore the deification process of Jingū and her role in engineering her own standing as a deity.
Paper long abstract:
Legend asserts that Empress Jingū 神功皇后 (169-269), an empress consort and court shaman, conquered the Korean peninsula with the guidance and assistance of several kami. Originally appearing in the Kojiki and Nihon shoki, this legend was reinterpreted in a multitude of texts and periods, especially in shrine-temple origin texts (jisha engi) of the Hachiman cult. While Jingū's relationship to the god Hachiman, identified as her son Ōjin, and to various other kami is well-known, little attention has been paid to her own status as a kami. Enshrined as part of the Hachiman triad and incorporated into many Sumiyoshi shrines and the Awashima cult as a subsidiary deity, Jingū appears often as a divine entity, lending the imperial and cultural capital of her story to enhance the power of a prominent kami. Yet, is it only in combination with other deities that Jingū can be seen as divine?
This paper explores Jingū's complicated status as a divine being as presented in jisha engi, an important and diverse genre that is receiving increasing scholarly notice. After looking at earlier engi, such as the eighth century Sumiyoshi taisha jindaiki, I present the Jingū narratives of several fourteenth century texts, including the Hachiman gotakusenshu, the Hachiman gudōkun and the Kada Awashima engi. I highlight how various texts explain her divinity and how we may potentially classify her as hitogami, ujigami, and bodhisattva. This diversity of divine labels reflects the multifaceted nature of deification in the medieval period, with honji suijaku (trace manifestations) theory underpinning but not sufficiently explaining the process of human deification. I argue that although Jingū is predominantly described as a composite deity, as the narratives concerning her life and deeds grew, she increasingly came to function both narratively and devotionally as a deity in her own right. Furthermore, the empress often plays a clear role in engineering her own deification through negotiation, omens and the miracle of motherhood.
Hiroo Sato (Tohoku University)
Paper short abstract:
Medieval deification involved people transcending human form to become kami after death. In the 16th century, a new type of deification emerged: lay people considered themselves kami. In this paper, I examine this shift and explore the relationship between such deification and Yasukuni thought.
Paper long abstract:
In medieval society, the possibility of becoming a Buddha became accessible to everyone, and the notion that kami resided within human beings circulated widely. Although anyone could become a Buddha or a kami, for humans to achieve sacrality, they had to utilize the transcendent power thought to exist at the foundation of the cosmos. However, in the sixteenth century, a new kind of hitogami (human god) emerged. Unlike the medieval type, this being did not inhabit a higher ontological state. Rather than an absolute divinity who existed on another plain and bestowed influence from afar, the early modern hitogami arose from an individual light shining within.
First, it was the ruling military powers who became kami: Toyotomi Hideyoshi became Toyokuni Daimyōjin, and Tokugawa Ieyasu became Tōshō Daigongen. Afterward, emperors and daimyo continued the practice of deification, which gradually spread to the lower classes in the latter half of the Edo period. By the Bakumatsu period, most religious practitioners acknowledged the possibility of becoming kami, and the popular religion of the time took shape with this view of hitogami in mind.
In the Edo Period, the awakening to one's own "kami-hood" differed greatly from the Buddhist concept of enlightenment so prevalent in the medieval period. Instead, it comprised individuals who, via the execution of their own societal roles, were able to make themselves stand out. While there was no direct criticism of the Tokugawa class system, with the presence of everyday kami as their foundation, people began to speak of equality among all, regardless of class or gender. This concept of human potential to become gods influenced the ideology of Yasukuni Shrine, according to which those who gave their lives for nation or emperor are honored as kami no matter their social position. From the Meiji Period onward, Yasukuni and its followers have oriented the ideas of equality and hitogami towards devotion to country. Thus, I present a trajectory of the development of hitogami from the medieval proliferation of sacred souls to a widening concept of the kami in everyone, culminating in the contentious ideology of the enshrined war dead.