Entering the Pure Land: Hanamatsuri and the Ōkagura Jōdo-iri Ritual of Okumikawa
While the concept of the Pure Land found its way into many mainstream Buddhist doctrines and practices, it also was adopted by yamabushi of the syncretistic Shugendō cult. This article examines one example of this incorporation, namely the kagura of the Okumikawa region (present-day Aichi Prefecture...
| Published in: | Japanese journal of religious studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[2006]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 2006, Volume: 33, Issue: 2, Pages: 249-267 |
| Further subjects: | B
Mountains
B Kagura B Rebirth B Religious Festivals B Buddhism B Religious Studies B Rituals B Religious rituals B Prefectures |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | While the concept of the Pure Land found its way into many mainstream Buddhist doctrines and practices, it also was adopted by yamabushi of the syncretistic Shugendō cult. This article examines one example of this incorporation, namely the kagura of the Okumikawa region (present-day Aichi Prefecture). Today this region is perhaps best known for its many hanamatsuri, the yearend festivals that are characterized by yudate rituals and the appearance of masked demons (oni). The hanamatsuri, however, can be seen as a variant of an older kagura festival, which during the Edo period continued to be mounted periodically by several villages acting together. Although now extinct, several records have survived and have made it possible to piece together not only the general outline of this now non-extant festival but also some details of its individual steps. One of the most intriguing of these was the jōdo-iri ritual, a symbolic re-creation of the act of entering the Pure Land. While the symbolic enactment of death and rebirth has long been recognized as a ritual practice of the yamabushi themselves, the jōdo-iri indicates that it was also an important part of Shugendō-influenced religious services for the laity. Its trace, moreover, while faint, can still be seen in the surviving hanamatsuri. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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