WORSHIP.
Religious conduct includes worship, morality in so far as it has
obtained the sanction of religion, and ceremonial purity.
The term worship applies both to the forms of courtesy and respect
towards human beings and of reverence for the Gods. Indeed the latter
is not a separate kind of worship, but is composed almost exclusively
of the same elements in a new application. Nearly everything in the
worship of the Gods is borrowed from the forms of social respect. It
is sometimes maintained that these forms, before they become a part
of religious ritual, pass through an intermediate stage, namely,
the worship of the dead, whether as ghosts or dead ancestors. This
view is based on the hypothesis that Gods were originally deceased
men. It cannot well apply to Shinto, where all the Great Gods are
nature-deities. When a Japanese greets the rising Sun by bowing his
head, he does so because that is already with him an habitual form
of respect. No doubt he honours the dead in this way as well as
the living. But the occasions for the worship of the living so far
outnumber those of paying respect to the dead that the latter may be
regarded as a negligible quantity in the formation of the habit. There
is surely nothing to prevent a man who had never worshipped ghosts or
ancestors from transferring direct to nature-deities forms of respect
arising out of the relations of living men.
Several practices of worship, such as clapping the hands for joy and
the avoidance of contamination by touching a dead body, have no meaning
in the case of the cult of the dead.
Worship has a secondary but most important function. It is addressed
not only to the Gods but to our fellow-men. It is a means of
communicating religious thoughts and emotions from man to man and from
one generation to another.
=Obeisance=.--The simplest and most universal mode of showing reverence
to the Gods is by bowing. In Shinto it is the custom to bow twice
before and after praying or making an offering. The word _ogamu_, to
pray or worship, means to bend. Kneeling is also practised--one of the
_norito_ has the phrase "bending the knee like a deer"--but is less
common. Squatting (_kashikomaru_) is another form of obeisance.
=Clapping Hands=.--Clapping hands (_kashihade_), primarily a sign of
joy, as it still is in our nurseries, was in ancient times in Japan a
general token of respect. The _Nihongi_[176] states that the Ministers
clapped hands in honour of the Empress when she ascended the throne.
More recently, this form was confined to divine worship. One of the
_norito_ has the rubric, "Offer three cups of sake, clap hands, and
retire." The number of hand-clappings was minutely prescribed in the
old ritual. In some ceremonies it was done thirty-two times. A silent
hand-clapping (_shinobi-te_) was sometimes directed. It seems possible
that in Shinto at least this was the origin of the simple folding
of the hands in prayer, common to so many nations, and explained by
anthropologists as the attitude of an unresisting suppliant holding out
his hands for the cord.
=Other Gestures=.--Respect may also be shown by raising objects to
the forehead or placing them on the head (_ita-daku_), as the most
honourable and important part of the body. This is done in the case
of the implements used in the greater divination. Among less formal
gestures used in worship are reverent upward looks (_awogu_), an
almost instinctive practice, which has its root in the idea that
Heaven is the dwelling-place of the Gods, and has certainly nothing to
do with ghost-worship.
I cannot point to any case of prostration or of uncovering the feet as
a form of Shinto worship. Uncovering the head is known in modern times,
but I do not find it mentioned in the older ritual.
=Offerings=.--As the attitude of devotees towards myth varies according
to their intelligence and culture, some distinguishing, more or less
clearly, between the truth which it adumbrates and its fictitious
embroidery, and others accepting it indiscriminately as absolute
fact, as the image is by some regarded simply as an aid to devotion
and by others as a true representation of the God, or even as the God
himself, so in the case of offerings, a double current of opinion is
to be traced. There are always worshippers who well know that the God
does not eat the food, drink the wine, or wear the clothing which is
laid upon his altar; but there are also more literal-minded people who
cling, in the face of cogent evidence to the contrary, to the idea that
in some ill-defined way he does benefit physically by such offerings.
A story in the _Konjaku Monogatari_ tells how a boy, possessed of
superior insight, could see the devils carrying away the offerings of
the purification ceremony. Even Hirata, a highly educated man, thought
that food-offerings lost their savour in a way that is inexplicable by
natural causes. Incense and burnt-offerings are adapted to the mental
capacity of worshippers of this class.[177] The true reason for making
offerings, whether to Gods or to the dead, is to be sought elsewhere.
Men feel impelled to do something to show their gratitude for the great
benefits which they are daily receiving, and to conciliate the future
favour of the powers from whom they proceed. Offerings are part of
the language by which the intention of the worshipper is manifested to
Gods and men. It is in this rather than in any supposed actual benefit
that their chief value consists. The _norito_ state explicitly that the
offerings were symbolical. They are called _iya-jiro no mitegura_, or
offerings in token of respect. There is frequent mention of "fulfilling
the praises" of the Gods by plenteous offerings. Symbolic gifts are, of
course, not confined to religion. In ancient Greece a gift of earth and
water indicated a surrender of political independence.
It is on the recognition of the symbolical value of offerings that the
practice of substituting humaner, cheaper, or more convenient articles
rests. Shinto has many illustrations of this principle.
I shall only mention Herbert Spencer's view that "the origin of the
practice of making offerings is to be found in the custom of leaving
food and drink at the graves of the dead, and as the ancestral spirit
rose to divine rank, the refreshments placed for the dead developed
into sacrifices." It must stand or fall with his general theory of the
origin of religion, of which the reader will form his own judgment. I
would suggest that the earliest offering was rather a portion of the
ordinary meal set apart in grateful recognition of the source from
which it came.
I find little or nothing in Shinto to bear out Jevons's opinion that
"the core of worship is communion. Offerings in the sense of gifts are
a comparatively modern institution both in ancestor-worship and in the
worship of the Gods." Communion is, of course, out of the question in
the case of the various offerings of clothing and implements. Even in
the case of food-offerings there is no evidence in Shinto of a "joint
participation in the living flesh and blood of a sacred victim."[178]
The general object of making offerings is to propitiate the God. There
are several cases in the _norito_ where they are made by way of reward
for their services or in bargain for future blessings.[179] Some are
expiatory, and are made with the object of absolving the worshipper
from ritual impurity. These are called _aga-mono_, or "ransom things."
Offerings were frequently duplicated, no doubt in order that one set at
least of the things offered should be free from chance pollution.
Offerings were sometimes personified, and even deified, as in the
Jimmu legend,[180] where the food-offering is styled Idzu-uka no me,
sacred-food-female. Most of the _shintai_ were originally nothing more
than offerings.
Shinto offerings are of the most varied description. The Gods being
conceived of as beings animated by human sentiments, it is inferred
that anything which would give pleasure to men is suitable for offering
to a God.
_Food and Drink_.--The primary and most important form of offering is
food and drink. The Jimmu legend, a very ancient document, speaks of
none but food-offerings. The word _nihe_, an element in the names of
some of the great festivals, means food-offerings. The central feature
of the most solemn rite of Shinto, namely, the _oho-nihe_, was the
offering of rice and sake to the Gods by the Mikado on his accession
to the throne. The _norito_ add clothing, and the _Yengishiki_ a great
variety of other articles. There are several instances in history of
the substitution of cloth for an older food-offering. Under food are
included rice, in ear and in grain, hulled and in husk, rice cakes,
fruit, sea-ear, shell-fish, vegetables, edible seaweed, salt, sake,
water, deer, pigs, hare, wild boar, and birds of various kinds. In
642 horses and cattle were sacrificed in order to produce rain. But
even at this early period such sacrifices were condemned. They were no
doubt a revival in a case of national emergency of a practice which
under Buddhist influence had become more or less obsolete. There are
numerous indications that animal sacrifices were very common in the
most ancient times. In the _Yengishiki_ period offerings of four-footed
animals or their flesh were confined to four services, namely, that
of the Food-Goddess, of the Wind-Gods, of the Road-Gods, and that for
driving away maleficent deities.
There is no evidence in the older Shinto records of the use of incense
or of burnt-offerings, nor is any special importance attached to the
blood of slaughtered animals.
White being considered an auspicious colour, white animals were
frequently selected for sacrifice.
At the present time the daily offerings made to the Sun-Goddess and the
Food-Goddess at Ise consist of four cups of _sake_, sixteen saucers
of rice and four of salt, besides fish, birds, fruits, seaweed, and
vegetables. The annual offerings at the tomb of the first Mikado,
Jimmu, are products of mountain, river, and sea, including _tahi_ (a
fish), carp, edible sea-weed, salt, water, _sake_, _mochi_ (rice-cake),
fern-flour, pheasants, and wild ducks.
[Illustration]
_Clothing_.--The clothing of the ancient Japanese consisted of hemp,
_yuju_ (a fibre made of the inner bark of the paper mulberry), and
silk. All these materials are represented in the Shinto offerings
enumerated in the _Yengishiki_. Silk, however, was at this time still
somewhat of a novelty, and, therefore, religion being conservative,
it takes a less conspicuous place. But hemp and bark-fibre, with the
textiles woven from them, are very common offerings. They were more
convenient than perishable articles of food for sending to shrines
at a distance from the capital, and as cloth was the currency of the
day, it was a convenient substitute for unprocurable or objectionable
articles. In the _Yengishiki_ so many ounces of fibre or so many pieces
of cloth are prescribed, but at a later period a more specialized and
conventional form, called _oho-nusa_ (great-offering), came into use.
The _oho-nusa_ (p. 214) consists of two wands placed side by side, from
the ends of which depend a quantity of hempen fibre and a number of
strips of paper.[181] One of the wands is of the _cleyera japonica_, or
evergreen sacred tree. The other is a bamboo of a particular species.
Their use is connected with an old Japanese rule of etiquette that
presents to a superior should be delivered attached to a branch of a
tree, the object being doubtless to mark a respectful aloofness of
the giver from the receiver. The paper slips represent the _yufu_,
or mulberry-bark fibre. The use of _yufu_ for clothing having become
more or less obsolete, owing to the introduction of cotton, paper,
which in Japan is made of the same material, was substituted for it.
The _oho-nusa_ are still employed on important occasions, but for
general use they are now replaced by the well-known _gohei_ (p. 215),
in which the hemp and one of the wands are omitted. Another form of
_nusa_, called _ko-nusa_ (little _nusa_) or _kiri-nusa_ (cut-_nusa_),
consists of paper with leaves of the sacred tree chopped up and mixed
with rice. Travellers in ancient times carried this mixture with
them in a bag and made offerings of it to the phallic deities along
their way. It was also used when in danger of shipwreck. The same
system of "accommodements avec le ciel" is further illustrated by the
substitution of the still more inexpensive hemp leaves for the original
hempen fibre or fabric. If, it is argued, the God does not really eat
the food or wear the clothing placed on his altar, a few grains of
rice or a few leaves of hemp will answer the purpose of expressing the
sentiments of the worshipper just as well as more costly gifts.
[Illustration]
There were sometimes sets of coloured _gohei_--blue, yellow, red,
white, and black. The _awo-nigi-te_ (blue-soft-articles) and
_shira-nigi-te_ (white-soft-articles) consisted of hemp and bark fibre
respectively.
_Tama-gushi_ are often mentioned. I take it that in this combination
_tama_ means gift or offering, not spirit or jewel, as is taught
by some modern Japanese authorities. _Kushi_ means skewer. The
_tama-gushi_ are twigs of the sacred evergreen tree (_sakaki_) or of
bamboo, with tufts of _yufu_ attached. They are, in short, a simple
form of _nusa_ or _gohei_. They have a striking resemblance to the
ἰκτηρἰοις κλάδοισιν (suppliant branches) mentioned in the opening lines
of 'Œdipus Tyrannus' and explained by Jebb as "olive branches wreathed
with fillets of wool." In one _Nihongi_ myth, Susa no wo is said to
have planted _kushi_ in the rice-fields of his sister, the Sun-Goddess,
"by way of claiming ownership," says a commentator. Compare with this
the following quotation from Hakluyt's 'Historie of the West Indies':
"Every one [of the Caribs] encloseth his portion [of ground] onely
with a little cotton line, and they account it a matter of sacriledge
if any pass over the cord and treade on the possession of his
neighbour, and hold it for certayne that whoso violateth this sacred
thing shall shortly perish."
Along with the alteration in the form of the _nusa_ to the present
_gohei_ there came a change in the mental attitude of the worshipper.
Originally mere offerings, they were at length, by virtue of long
association, looked upon as representatives of the deity. Scholars like
Motoöri and Hirata denounce this view as a corruption of later times,
but it is no doubt at present the prevailing conception. Hepburn's
Japanese dictionary knows no other. It is illustrated by the fact that
instead of the worshipper bringing _gohei_ to the shrine, these objects
are now given out by the priest to the worshipper, who takes them home
and sets them up in his private _Kami-dana_ (God-shelf) or domestic
altar.
A further step is taken when it is believed that on festival occasions
the God, on a certain formula, called the _Kami-oroshi_, or "bringing
down the God," being pronounced, descends into the _gohei_ and remains
there during the ceremony, taking his departure at its close. In the
vulgar Shinto of the present day this belief in a real presence of
the God is associated with hypnotism.[182] Akin to the belief in an
actual presence of a deity in the _gohei_ is their modern use in the
purification ceremony, when they are flourished over or rubbed against
the person to be absolved of ritual uncleanness or to dispel any evil
influences which may have attached themselves to his person. Like
the Homeric στέμμα and the host, they were occasionally used for the
protection of the bearer. At the present time a _gohei-katsugi_, or
_gohei_ bearer, is synonymous with a superstitious person.
Skins of oxen, boar, deer, and bear were sometimes offered to the Gods.
_Jewels (tama)_ were much worn by the ancient Japanese nobility as
ornaments for the head or as necklaces and bracelets. They consisted
of round beads, tubes (_kuda-tama_), and comma-shaped objects
(_maga-tama_) of chalcedony, jasper, nephrite, chrysoprase, serpentine,
steatite or crystal. Jewels occur sometimes in the lists of Shinto
offerings.
_Mirrors_.--The ancient Japanese mirrors did not greatly differ from
those in use at the present day. They were made of a mixed metal, which
is described in the myths as "white copper," and were sometimes round
and sometimes eight-cornered. The mirror figures frequently in the old
records. Mirrors are among the presents made by a female chieftain to a
Mikado, and from a King of Korea to another Mikado.[183] The mirror was
primarily an offering, and not to the Sun-Goddess only.[184] Mirrors
were presented to, and even constituted the _shintai_ of other Gods as
well. In the _Tosa Nikki_ (A.D. 935) the author relates that during a
storm, an offering of _nusa_ having proved unavailing, he bethought him
of some more acceptable gift. "Of eyes I have a pair," said he, "then,
let me give the God my mirror of which I have only one. The mirror was
accordingly flung into the sea, to my very great regret. But no sooner
had I done so than the sea itself became as smooth as a mirror."
Mirrors do not appear among the periodical offerings enumerated in the
_Yengishiki_, which consisted chiefly of perishable articles. They
belonged to a separate class called _shimpō_, or divine treasures,
which were not set out on the altar but stored in the treasury of the
shrine.
_Weapons_.--Swords were also among the permanent treasures of the
shrine. Wonderful stories are related of them. One which was stolen by
a thief is said to have left him and returned to the treasury of its
own accord. Swords were made _shintai_, and even deified.[185] The God
worshipped at Atsuta was the sword Kusanagi, found by Susa no wo in the
great serpent's tail, and the God of Isonokami was the sword called
Futsu no Mitama (spirit of fire?) given by the Sun-Goddess to Jimmu. I
have no doubt that these were originally "divine treasures," which owed
their deification to long association with the God. A sword is one of
the regalia at the present day.
The principle of substitution is illustrated by the models of swords
prescribed as offerings in the _Yengishiki_. I have seen on the top
of Ohoyama, sacred to a Goddess named Sekison (Iha-naga-hime?), a pit
containing many hundreds of tiny wooden swords which had been deposited
there as offerings.
Other weapons which figure as offerings are spears, spear-heads,
shields, and bows and arrows.
Agricultural implements, bells, pottery, reels for reeling yarn, are
also mentioned. It was the custom, in the case of these and other
durable offerings, to offer the same objects again and again.
_Human sacrifices_ formed no part of the State Shinto religion as
described in the ancient records. But there are several indications of
the existence of this practice in still older times. Human sacrifices
to river-Gods have been already mentioned. We have seen that when a
Mikado died a number of his attendants were buried alive round his
tomb, from which it may be inferred that considerations of humanity
would not have prevented similar sacrifices to the Gods. Cases are also
recorded of men being buried alive in the foundations of a bridge, a
castle, or an artificial island. These were called _hito-bashira_, or
human pillars. The offerings of _kane-hito-gata_ (metal-man-form),
so often mentioned in the _Yengishiki_, were perhaps by way of
substitution for human victims. It is significant that the Gods of
water-distribution (_mikumari_), that is, the river-Gods, are specially
distinguished as their recipients. Similar human effigies, gilt or
silvered, formed part of the _oho-harahi_, or absolution offerings.
In this case they were intended as ransom for the offenders whose
ritual guilt was to be expiated. They were touched with the lips or
breathed upon before being offered. Peachwood or paper effigies might
be substituted, and in later times articles of clothing or anything
which had been in contact with the person to be absolved. These last
were called _nade-mono_ (rub-thing) or _aga-mono_ (ransom-thing). When
in danger of shipwreck the hair might be cut off and offered, on the
principle of a part for the whole, as ransom to the Dragon-God. The
_Kogo-jiui_ applies the term _aga-mono_ to the hair and nails of Susa
no wo, which were cut off by the other Gods. The principle of ransom
is also illustrated by the following extract from the _Shinto Miōmoku_
(1699):--
_"At the festival of Nawoye, held at the shrine of Kokubu in the
province of Owari on the 11th day of the 1st month, the Shinto priests
go out to the highway with banners and seize a passer-by. They wash
and purify him, and make him put on pure clothing. He is then brought
before the God. A block, a wooden butcher's knife, and chopsticks for
eating flesh are provided. Separately a figure is made to represent the
captive. It is placed on the block with the captured man beside it, and
both are offered before the God. They are left there for one night. The
next morning the priests come and remove the man and the effigy. Then
they take clay, and, making it into the shape of a rice-cake, place it
on the captive's back, hang a string of copper cash about his neck, and
drive him away. As he runs off, he is sure to fall down in a faint.
But he soon comes to his senses. A mound is erected at the place where
he falls down, and the clay rice-cake deposited on it with ceremonies
which are kept a profound mystery by the priestly house. Of late
years couriers have been caught and subjected to purification. This
was put a stop to. The custom is celebrated yearly, so that nowadays
everybody is aware of it, and there are no passersby. Therefore the
priests go to a neighbouring village and seize a man. If they catch
nobody on the 11th, they bring in a man on the 12th."_
The _Nawoye_ (rectification) festival had probably the same intention
as the _Harahi_, namely, to obtain absolution from ritual impurity,
and the captive is therefore apparently a scape-goat. As readers of
Mr. Frazer's 'Golden Bough' need not be told, the custom has numerous
parallels in European folk-lore. There is some difficulty in applying
the principle of substitution for an actual human sacrifice to a custom
which was in force so recently. It does not appear probable that it
could have descended from such a remote antiquity as the time when real
human sacrifice was known in Japan. Might not the instinct of dramatic
make-believe alone account for it? Confucius condemned the practice of
offering effigies of men on funeral occasions because he thought it led
to the substitution of living victims.
_Slaves_.--Another form of human offerings was the dedication of slaves
to the service of a shrine. Such slaves were called _kami-tsu-ko_, and
are to be distinguished from the _kamube_, who were freemen. The gift
by the legendary Yamatodake to a shrine of a number of Yemishi (eastern
savages) whom he had captured is to be understood in this sense. There
is a more historical instance in the _Nihongi_, under the date A.D.
469, when a seamstress was presented to the shrine of Ohonamochi. In
562 a man was allowed to be given over to the _hafuri_ as a slave for
the service of the Gods instead of being burnt alive for a criminal
offence committed by his father.
_Horses_.--Presents of horses to shrines are often mentioned. They
were let loose in the precinct. At the present day albinos are selected
for this purpose, white being considered an auspicious colour. Wooden
figures might be substituted by those who could not afford real horses.
At the festivals of Gion and Hachiman men riding on hobby-horses
(_koma-gata_) or with a wooden horse's head attached to their breasts
formed part of the procession. They no doubt represented riding-horses
for the deity. In more recent times the further step was taken of
offering pictures of horses. This practice became so common that
special buildings, called _emadō_ (horse-picture-gallery) were erected
for their accommodation. But they contained many other pictures as
well. The _emadō_ of Kiyomidzu in Kiōto and of Itsukushima in the
Inland Sea are very curious collections of this kind. They correspond
to the _ex-voto_ churches of Roman Catholic countries.
[Illustration]
_Carriages_.--The Mikoshi, or carriage of the God (pp. 224, 225), in
which his _shintai_ is promenaded on festival occasions, is usually
a very elaborate and costly construction. It is carried on men's
shoulders to a _tabi no miya_ (travel-shrine) or _reposoir_ and back
again to the shrine. The confusion in many minds between the _shintai_
and the _mitama_ is illustrated by the fact that a standard modern
dictionary speaks of the Mikoshi as containing the God's _mitama_.
_Shrines_.--A shrine is a species of offering. Whatever may be the
case in other countries, in Japan the shrine is not a development of
the tomb. They have no resemblance to each other. The tomb is a partly
subterranean megalithic vault enclosed in a huge mound of earth, while
the shrine is a wooden structure raised on posts some feet above the
ground. The Japanese words for shrine indicate that it is intended
as a house for the God. _Miya_, august house, is used equally of a
shrine and of a palace, but not of a tomb, except poetically, as when
the _Manyōshiu_ speaks of one as a _toko no miya_, or "long home."
_Araka_, another word for shrine, probably means "dwelling-place."
In _yashiro_, a very common word for shrine, _ya_ means house and
_shiro_ representative or equivalent. There is evidence[186] that this
word comes to us from a time when the _yashiro_ was a plot of ground
consecrated for the occasion to represent a place of abode for the
deity. The analogy of the Roman _templum_ will occur to the classical
scholar. The _himorogi_ (p. 226), a term which has been the subject
of some controversy, was probably, as Hirata suggests, at first an
enclosure of _sakaki_ twigs stuck in the ground so as to represent a
house. It is probable that in all these cases the make-believe preceded
any actual edifice, and was not a substitute for it.
There is a somewhat rare word, namely _oki-tsuki_, properly a mound,
which is applied to both tombs and shrines. Old sepulchral mounds have
frequently a small shrine on their summit.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The Shinto shrine is by no means so costly an edifice as its Buddhist
counterpart. The _hokora_,[187] as the smaller shrines are called,
are in many cases so small as to be easily transportable in a cart.
Even the great shrines of Ise (pp. 228, 229) are of no great size and
of purposely plain and simple construction. In 771 a "greater shrine"
had only eighteen feet frontage. Some of the more important _yashiro_
have smaller buildings attached to them, such as an _emadō_, or
gallery of votive pictures; a _haiden_, or oratory, where the official
representative of the Mikado performed his devotions, and a stage for
the sacred pantomimic dance. A number of smaller shrines (_sessha_ or
_massha_) dedicated to other Gods are usually to be seen within the
enclosure. No accommodation is provided for the joint worship of the
congregation of believers, which is indeed exceptional. The individual
worshipper stands outside in front of the shrine, calls the attention
of the deity by ringing a gong provided for the purpose, bows his head,
claps or folds his hands, puts up his petition, and retires. A large
box stands conveniently for receiving such small contributions of
copper cash as he may make.
In many shrines more than one deity is worshipped. These are called
_ahi-dono no kami_, that is to say, deities of a joint shrine. They
may, like Izanagi and Izanami, have some mythical connexion with each
other or they may not. The _Yengishiki_ enumerates 3,132 officially
recognized shrines. Of these 737 were maintained at the cost of
the Central Government. Some had permanent endowments of lands and
peasants. Many minor shrines existed in all parts of the country. The
shrines are classed as great and small, the respective numbers being
492 and 2,640. They differed in the quantity of offerings and in the
circumstance that in the former case the offerings were placed on an
altar and in the latter on the ground. Thirty-six shrines were situated
in the palace itself. The most important deities worshipped here were
eight in number, comprising five obscurely differentiated Musubi, the
Goddess of Food, Oho-miya-no me, and Koto-shiro-nushi. There were
also several Well-Gods, a Sono no Kami, a Kara no Kami (Korean God),
a Thunder-God, a pair of _sake_ deities, and others of whom little is
known.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
In enumerating the officially recognized shrines throughout the rest
of the country the _Yengishiki_ unfortunately, in the great majority
of cases, does not name the God, but only the locality where the
shrine was situated, as when we speak of Downing Street, meaning the
collective officialdom of the place. This is in accordance with the
impersonal habit of the Japanese mind already referred to. Strange to
say, in some even of the most popular shrines, the identity of the God
is doubtful or unknown. Kompira is a conspicuous example. According
to some he is a demon, the alligator of the Ganges. Others say that
Buddha himself became "the boy Kompira" in order to overcome the
heretics and enemies of religion who pressed upon him one day as he was
preaching. The mediæval Shintoists identified him with Susa no wo. More
recently it has been declared officially that he is really Kotohira,
an obscure Shinto deity, whose name has a resemblance in sound to that
of the Indian God. His popularity has been little affected by these
changes.[188]
In 965 a selection of sixteen of the more important shrines was made to
which special offerings were sent. These were as follows:--
_Name of Shrine_. _Province_. _God or Gods Worshipped_.
Ise. Ise. Sun-Goddess and Food-Goddess.
Ihashimidzu. Yamashiro. Hachiman, Jingō.
Kamo. Do. ?
Matsunowo. Do. Thunder-God.
Hirano. Do. Probably Gods of the Cooking
Furnace and New Rice.
Inari. Do. Food-Goddess.
Kasuga. Yamato. Koyane and his wife, Take mika-dzuchi,
Futsunushi.
Ohoharano. Yamashiro. Do.
Miha. Yamato. Ohonamochi.
Oho-yamato. Do. Do.
Isonokami. Do. Futsu no mitama (a deified sword).
Hirose. Do. Food-Goddess.
Tatsuta. Do. Wind-Gods.
Sumiyoshi. Settsu. Sea-deities.
Nifu. -- Doubtful.
Kibune. Yamashiro. Rain-dragon-God.
FOOTNOTES:
[176] II. 395.
[177] The old Hebrew idea (Genesis viii. 21) was that the food actually
reached God in the form of the fragrant fire-distilled essence, and
thus gratified him as an agreeable gift. Hastings, 'Dict. of the Bible.'
[178] Robertson Smith, 'Religion of the Semites,' p. 345.
[179] See Index, _Toshigohi_.
[180] See above, p. 119.
[181] Reminding us of Homer's στἐμμαα θεοἶο, which consisted of tufted
wool attached to a wand (σκῆπτρον). The ancient Jews made offerings of
wool.
[182] See Index, 'Inspiration.'
[183] _Nihongi_, i. 193, 251.
[184] See above, p. 70.
[185] Agamemnon's sword was worshipped in Greece in the time of
Pausanias.
[186] _Nihongi_, ii. 293.
[187] See illustration in Chapter XIV.
[188] Murray's 'Japan,' fifth edition, p. 50.
In 991 there were added the three following:--
_Name of Shrine._ _Province._ _God or Gods Worshipped._
Yoshida. Yamashiro. Same as Kasuga.
Hirota. Settsu. Sun-Goddess's aratama.
Kitano. Yamashiro. Temmangū.
In 994 there was added
_Name of Shrine._ _Province._ _God or Gods Worshipped._
Mume no Miya. Yamashiro. Ancestor of Tachibana family.
The next to be added was
_Name of Shrine._ _Province._ _God or Gods Worshipped._
Gion. Yamashiro. Susa no wo.
The number was finally raised to twenty-two in 1039 by the addition of
_Name of Shrine._ _Province._ _God or Gods Worshipped._
Hiye or Hiyoshi. Yamashiro. Ohonamochi.
Proximity to the capital no doubt influenced this selection. Idzumo,
Kashima, Katori, Usa, Suha, and other important shrines are omitted.
All the principal deities, however, are included in this list.
At the present day there are 193,476 Shinto shrines in Japan. Of these
the great majority are very small and have no priests or revenues.
Capt. Brinkley, in his 'Japan and China,' gives the following list of
the ten most popular shrines in Japan at the present day: "Ise, Idzumo,
Hachiman (Kyōto), Temmangū (Hakata), Inari (Kyōto), Kasuga (Nara),
Atago (Kyōto), Kompira (Sanuki), Suitengū (Tōkyō), and Suwa (Shinano)."
Very many houses have their _kamidana_ or domestic shrine, where the
ujigami, the ancestor, and the trade-God, with any others whom there is
some special reason for honouring, are worshipped.
_Tori-wi_.--The approach to a Shinto shrine is marked by one or more
gateways or arches of the special form shown in the illustration (p.
233) and known as _tori-wi_. This word means literally "bird-perch,"
in the sense of a henroost. By analogy it was applied to anything of
the same shape, as a clothes-horse, or the lintel of a door or gateway.
As an honorary gateway, the _tori-wi_ is a continental institution
identical in purpose and resembling in form the _turan_ of India, the
_pailoo_ of China, and the _hong-sal-mun_ of Korea. When introduced
into Japan at some unknown date (the _Kojiki_ and _Nihongi_ do not
mention them) the Japanese called them _tori-wi_, which then meant
simply gateway, but subsequently acquired its present more specific
application. It sometimes serves the purpose of marking the direction
of a distant object of worship.[189]
_Hyaku-do ishi_.--Near the front of the shrine may sometimes be seen
a _hyaku-do ishi_, or hundred-time-stone, from which the worshipper
may go back and forward to the door of the shrine a hundred times,
repeating a prayer each time.
A _sori-bashi_ or _taiko-bashi_, representing the mythical floating
bridge of Heaven (the rainbow), is also to be seen at the approach to
some shrines.
=Prayer=.--Private individual prayer is seldom mentioned in the old
Shinto records, but of the official liturgies or _norito_ we have
abundant examples in the _Yengishiki_ and later works. The authors are
mostly unknown, but they were no doubt members of the Nakatomi House.
Their literary quality is good. Motoöri observes that the elegance of
their language is an offering acceptable to the Gods. The Sun-Goddess
is represented in the _Nihongi_ as expressing her satisfaction with the
beauty of the _norito_ recited in her honour.
[Illustration]
The _norito_ are addressed sometimes to individual deities, sometimes
to categories of deities, as "the celebrated Gods" or "the Gods
of Nankaido," and sometimes to all the Gods without exception.
They contain petitions for rain in time of drought, good harvests,
preservation from earthquake and conflagration, children, health
and long life to the sovereign and enduring peace and prosperity to
his rule, the safety of his ambassadors to foreign countries, the
suppression of rebellion, the repulse of invasion, success to the
Imperial arms, and general prosperity to the Empire. Sometimes the
Mikado deprecates the wrath of deities whose services had been vitiated
by ritual impurity, or whose shrines had suffered from neglect or
injury.
The phrase "fulfilling of praises," which occurs frequently in the
_norito_, must not be taken literally. It is really equivalent to
"show all due honour to," and usually applies to the offerings which
were made in token of respect. There is very little of praise in the
ordinary meaning of the word. The language of the _norito_ presents a
striking contrast to the profusion of laudatory epithets and images of
the Vedas, or the sublime eulogies of the Psalms of David. The only
element of this kind is a few adjectival prefixes to the names of the
Gods, such as _oho_, great; _take_, brave; _taka_, high; _haya_, swift;
_toyo_, rich; _iku_, live; _yori_, good, and perhaps one or two more.
The _do ut des_ principle of offerings is plainly avowed in some of the
_norito_.
Besides petitions we find also announcements to the Gods, as of the
appointment of a priestess, the bestowal on the deity of a degree
of rank, and the beginning of a new reign. The Mongol invasion was
notified to Ise in 1277 with the happiest results.
The _Yengishiki_ contains no _norito_ addressed to deceased Mikados,
but several examples of this class, due no doubt to Chinese influence,
have come down to us from the ninth century. In 850 Jimmu was prayed
to for the Mikado, who was dangerously ill, and who died soon after.
In the same year, "evil influences" (the Mikado's illness?) were
attributed to his wrath, and envoys despatched to his tomb, in order to
ascertain whether he might not have been offended by some pollution to
it. The Empress Jingō was prayed to in 866 under similar circumstances.
Other _norito_ announce to the preceding Mikado the accession of a new
sovereign or the appointment of a Prince Imperial.
The _norito_ contain few petitions for which we might not easily find
parallels in modern Europe, but a comparison with Christian, Jewish,
or even Mohammedan and Buddhist formulæ reveals enormous lacunæ in the
ancient Japanese conception of the scope of prayer. Moral and spiritual
blessings are not even dreamt of. Such prayers as "that we may live a
godly, righteous, and sober life," "to grant us true repentance and
His Holy Spirit," are foreign to its character. "Lead us not into
temptation" and "Thy will be done" are conspicuously absent. No Shinto
God is petitioned to "endue the Sovereign with heavenly gifts," nor
that "after this life he may attain everlasting joy and felicity."
Indeed, there is no reference anywhere to a future life--a significant
fact, in view of the circumstance that human sacrifices at the tombs of
great men were at one time common. The commonly received opinion that
the latter indicate a belief in a future state is, perhaps, after all,
erroneous. Nor does any one beseech a Shinto deity to send down on the
priesthood the healthful spirit of his grace.
Numerous specimens of _norito_ will be found in Chap. XII.
In connexion with the attempted revival early in the last century of
the pure Shinto of ancient times, Hirata composed a book of prayer
entitled _Tamadasuki_, not for official or temple use, but as an aid to
private devotion. It was not printed until some years after his death,
and I doubt whether it was ever much used even by Shinto devotees.
Notwithstanding the author's professed abhorrence of Buddhism and
his condemnation of Chinese religious notions, the _Tamadasuki_ owes
much to these sources. He instructs his followers to "get up early,
wash the face and hands, rinse the mouth, and cleanse the body. Then
turn towards Yamato, clap hands twice, and bow down the head" before
offering their petitions.
Prayers to the Shinto Gods, even at the present day, are mostly for
material blessings. Anything more which they contain may be confidently
set down to Buddhist influence. There are prayers on reclaiming a
new piece of ground, building a house, sowing a rice-field, prayers
for prosperity in trade and domestic happiness, prayers promising to
give up _sake_, gambling, or profligacy (Buddhist), thanks for escape
from shipwreck or other danger, &c. Sometimes the prayer is written
out on paper and deposited in the shrine, perhaps accompanied by the
petitioner's hair or a picture having some reference to the subject
of his prayer. When it is answered, small paper _nobori_ (flags) are
set up at the shrine or its approaches. A common prayer at the present
day is for "Peace to the country, safety to the family, and plentiful
crops."
=Oaths and Curses=.--The _Nihongi_ mentions several cases of Heaven or
the Gods being appealed to for the sanction of an oath. Thus in 562
an accused person declares: "This is false and not true. If this is
true, let calamity from Heaven befall me." In 581 tribes of Yemishi
promised submission to the Mikado, saying: "If we break this oath, may
all the Gods of Heaven and Earth and also the spirits of the Emperors
destroy our race." In 644 the Mikado made an oath appealing to the Gods
of Heaven and Earth, and saying: "On those who break this oath Heaven
will send a curse and Earth a plague, demons will slay them, and men
will smite them." The author of the _Nihongi_, however, is grievously
open to the suspicion of adorning his narrative liberally with
rhetorical ornaments of Chinese origin. The following is an example of
a nonreligious oath said to have been made by a Korean king in 249:
"If I spread grass for us to sit on, it might be burnt with fire; if
I took wood for a seat, it might be washed away by water. Therefore,
sitting on a rock, I make this solemn declaration of alliance." A curse
pronounced over a well in 456 has likewise no religious quality. It is
simply "This water may be drunk by the people only: royal persons alone
may not drink of it." The instructions of the Sea-God to Hohodemi,
"When thou givest this fishhook back to thy brother, say, 'A hook of
poverty, a hook of ruin, a hook of downfall,'" are a kind of curse.
On the whole, oaths and curses of a religious character are rare in
Japanese literature. Profanity is almost unknown. A mild appeal to the
"three holy things" (of Buddhism) or to the Sun, or a wish that divine
punishment (_bachi_) may strike one's enemy, are almost the only things
of the kind. And they are infrequent. Probably this is due to the
want of a deep-seated sentiment of piety in the Japanese nation. Such
expressions as "Thank God," "Good-bye," "Adieu," "God forbid," are also
rare, whether in speech or in literature. The Mohammedans, with their
continual use of the name of Allah, are the antipodes of the Japanese
in this respect.
=Rank of Deities=.--A system of official ranks, borrowed from China,
was introduced into Japan in the seventh century. There were at one
time forty-eight different grades, each with its distinct costume,
insignia, and privileges. The first notice of deities being granted
such ranks occurs in 672, when we are told that three deities were
"raised in quality" on account of useful military information supplied
by their oracles. This practice became systematized in the period
749-757, and was very prevalent for several centuries longer. A rain
of volcanic ashes which fell in many of the eastern provinces in 838
was attributed by the diviners to the jealousy of a Goddess, the
true wife of a God, and mother by him of five children, at a step of
official rank granted by the Mikado to a younger rival. Tantæ ne animis
cælestibus iræ! In 851 Susa no wo and Oho-kuni-nushi received the
lower third rank and in 859 were promoted to the upper third rank. The
Mikado Daigo, on his accession in 898, raised the rank of 340 shrines.
In 1076 and 1172 wholesale promotions of deities took place. After this
time the custom fell into neglect, owing partly to the circumstance
that many of the Gods had reached the highest class and could not be
promoted any further. Several of the most important deities were not
honoured in this way. The Sun-Goddess and the Food-Goddess were among
this number. The same deity might have different ranks in different
places. The lowness of the ranks with which the inferior deities were
thought to be gratified is rather surprising. It throws a light on
the mental attitude of the Japanese towards them. Beings who could be
supposed to take pleasure in a D.S.O. or a brevet majority must have
seemed to them not very far exalted above humanity.
=Kagura=.--This word is written with two Chinese characters which
mean "God-pleasure." It is a pantomimic dance with music, usually
representing some incident of the mythical narrative. Uzume's dance
before the cave to which the Sun-Goddess had retired is supposed to be
its prototype. Important shrines have a stage and a corps of trained
girl-dancers (_miko_), for the purpose of these representations. Kagura
was also performed in the Naishidokoro (the chamber in the Palace where
the Regalia were kept), and under Chinese influences became a very
solemn function, in which numerous officials were concerned. Many kinds
of music, song, and dance are included in this term. It was the parent
in the fourteenth century of the No, a sort of religious lyrical drama,
and less directly of the modern popular drama.
Some authorities say that the music of the Kagura consisted at first
of flutes made by opening holes between the joints of a bamboo, of
wooden castanets, and of a stringed instrument made by placing six bows
together.
=Pilgrimages=.--Paying visits is a recognized mode of showing respect
to Gods as it is to men. The Mikado himself formerly paid frequent
visits to the shrines of Kiōto and the vicinity, and in all periods
of history embassies were continually despatched by him to the great
shrines of the Empire. The private worshipper, besides visiting the
shrine of his local deity, generally makes it his business, at least
once in his lifetime, to pay his respects to more distant Gods, such
as those of Ise, Miha, Ontake, Nantai (at Nikko), Kompira, Fujiyama,
Miyajima, &c. Intending pilgrims associate themselves in clubs called
_Kō_, whose members each contribute five sen a month to the pilgrimage
fund. When the proper time of year comes round, a certain number of
members are chosen by lot to represent the club at the shrine of
their devotion, all expenses being defrayed out of the common fund.
One of the number who has made the pilgrimage before acts as leader
and cicerone. As a general rule the pilgrims wear no special garb,
but those bound for Fuji, Ontake, or other high mountains may be
distinguished by their white clothes and sloping broad hats. While
making an ascent, they often ring a bell and chant the prayer,
"May our six senses be pure and the weather fair on the honourable
mountain."[190] Many thousand pilgrims annually ascend Fuji, and over
11,000 paid their devotions at Ise on a recent New Year's day. Almost
all Japanese cherish the hope of visiting this shrine at least once
in their lives, and many a Tokio merchant thinks that his success in
business depends largely on his doing so. Pilgrimages are an ancient
institution in Japan. It is recorded that in the ninth month of 934,
10,000,000 pilgrims of all classes visited the shrines of Ise.
Boys and even girls often run away from their homes and beg their way
to Ise. This is regarded as a pardonable escapade.
When an actual visit to a shrine is inconvenient or impossible, the
worshipper may offer his devotions from a distance. This is called
_em-pai_, or distant worship. Special shrines are provided in some
places where the God will accept such substituted service. Processions
may be joint formal visits of the worshippers to the God's shrine,
but they oftener consist in attending him on an excursion from it to
some place in the neighbourhood and back again. They much resemble in
character the carnival processions of Southern Europe.
=Circumambulation=.--The Brahmanic and Buddhist ceremony of
_pradakchina_, that is, going round a holy object with one's right
side turned to it, is not found in Shinto. The principle, however,
on which it rests--namely, that of following or imitating the course
of the Sun--is recognized in the Jimmu legend. Jimmu says:[191] "If
I should proceed against the Sun to attack the enemy, I should act
contrary to the way of Heaven.... Bringing on our backs the might of
the Sun-Goddess, let us follow her rays and trample them down." It is
difficult to reconcile with this a passage in the _Kojiki_[192] where
it is counted unlucky for the Mikado to travel from East to West,
because in so doing he must turn his back upon the Sun.
Horses presented to shrines were led round them eight times.
FOOTNOTES:
[189] See a contribution by Mr. S. Tuke to the Japan Society's
_Transactions_, vol. iv., 1896-7, and a paper by the present writer
in the _T.A.S.J._ for December, 1899. Mr. B. H. Chamberlain holds a
different view, which is stated in the _Journal_ of the Anthropological
Institute, 1895, and in 'Things Japanese,' fourth edition.
[190] See Index, _Rokkon Shōjō_.
[191] _Nihongi_, i. 113.
[192] Chamberlain's _Kojiki_, p. 312.