Japan’s National Shrine: Ise Jingu in the Early Modern Period and Beyond

Panel Convenor(s)

• CM

  Christopher Mayo

  Nagoya Gakuin University, Japan

Panel Chair(s)

• CM

  Christopher Mayo

  Nagoya Gakuin University, Japan

Presenter(s)

• CM

  Christopher Mayo

  Nagoya Gakuin University, Japan
• YY

  Yoshiko Yuasa

  Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan
• KO

  Kaoru Oshima

  Kansai University, Japan
• SS

  Satoshi Sonehara

  Tohoku University, Japan
• JM

  Jon Morris

  Daito Bunka University, Japan

Like Indonesia, Japan has a rich history of engaging with diverse religions, beliefs, philosophies, and people worldwide. The two countries have many institutions and sites bound up with religious traditions—in Japan, the imperial household and Mt. Fuji are perhaps the most iconic of these. However, many others are important for understanding Japanese history and culture, even though they are less well-known outside Japan. This panel focuses on Ise Shrine (Jingu)—one of the most revered religious sites in the nation’s Shinto religious tradition—to explore how an ancient indigenous religion has emphasized its deep-rooted traditions while evolving over the centuries to adapt to society within a varied religious landscape that has come to include a significant Buddhist and Christian presence. Against the backdrop of its cultural and historical significance, it maintains a unique position as a site that exerts tangible and intangible influences on the Japanese psyche.

Attention has primarily focused on Jingu in the ancient period, and we know considerably less about it from the late medieval (14th to 16th centuries) to the early modern period (17th to 19th centuries). In ancient times, Jingu received strong protection as a core component of the state organization. However, this support crumbled during the medieval period, forcing it to seek new patrons among warriors and upper-class farmers. Proselytizers or pilgrimage facilitators known as “onshi” were dispatched to acquire followers throughout Japan. While they successfully spread faith in the site, Jingu had difficulty obtaining sufficient financial support to fulfill its ritual functions. From the 17^th century, the Tokugawa Shogunate revived Jingu, which had declined significantly, and by the late early modern period, commoner faith had spread widely, with tremendous numbers of people all over the country coming together to join in the “okage mairi” (pilgrimages of gratitude).

This panel’s research on early modern Jingu seeks to describe perceptions of the shrine from various disciplines to understand its place in national, local, elite, and popular culture. The first three presentations focus on literary and other textual sources to address issues such as evolving textual and visual understandings of Ise. The remaining two presentations explore the shrine’s political and popular aspects, including the relationship between Jingu (associated with the imperial family) and Toshogu Shrine, which enshrined the founder of the ruling warrior house.

Presentations:

• 11:15 – 13:00 (GMT+7)

  Ise in Japanese Culture: Kenkō Hōshi's Essays in Idleness at the Intersection of Literature and History
  

  Presenter: Christopher M. Mayo – Nagoya Gakuin University
• 11:15 – 13:00 (GMT+7)

  Shinto Popular Books and the Ise Faith in Japan's 17th and 18th Centuries
  

  Presenter: Yoshiko Yuasa – Tokyo Gakugei University
• 11:15 – 13:00 (GMT+7)

  A New Combinatory Paradigm of Buddhism and Kami Worship as Depicted in Japanese Popular Culture
  

  Presenter: Kaoru Oshima – Kansai University
• 11:15 – 13:00 (GMT+7)

  Ise Jingu and Toshogu
  

  Presenter: Satoshi Sonehara – Tohoku University
• 11:15 – 13:00 (GMT+7)

  Ise Pilgrimage and the Cultural History of Religious Itineracy in Early Modern Japan
  

  Presenter: Jon Morris – Daito Bunka University