説話・儀礼対象から主神への変遷―戸隠山の九頭龍の形成をめぐって

Below is a presentation I recently gave at Keio University on the nine-headed dragon (Kuzuryū) of Mt. Togakushi.  Sorry English readers (its mostly in Japanese).  The title translated though, is “From narrative and ritual object to resident deity:  Tracing the formation of the nine-headed dragon at Mt. Togakushi.”  Textual passages are also translated into English and there’s a brief conclusion in English at the end.

この間、慶應義塾大学戸隠山の九頭龍について発表しました。レジメは以下の通りです。

説話・儀礼対象から地主神への変遷―戸隠山の九頭龍の形成をめぐって

 第一　アジアにおける龍の信仰

一般的な特徴：水の管理（雨、災害など）、地主神、佛法の保護神、王権の象徴など

生息地（habitat）：池、川、海、山、天

両面性の特性：

危険的	保護的
水に関する災害（大雨、洪水）	雨を与える（水不足、農業などに対する）
激しい・不安定的な状態	郷土、佛法、王権など

佛教関係：

１）密教儀礼：雨乞い（rain-making rituals）、曼荼羅や印相（mudrā）などに関連する。

２）説話・物語：釈迦牟尼佛（Śākyamuni Buddha）の人生の物語を始め、法華経にある説話（八大龍王、龍王女の成る佛）、寺社の縁起などとよく結びついている。

日本の場合：

インド（nāga＝龍）を始め、中国・朝鮮文化の佛教を通じて、龍・龍王信仰が日本に到達した。

最も早い出現：九世紀に、龍信仰が展開するとともに真言系の僧侶は密教儀礼を通じて龍王に雨を祈った。平安公家・貴族に対して、平安京にある天皇の御所近くの神泉苑や奈良県の室生寺を中心に善女龍王に関する縁起を造り、様々な密教的な雨乞いを行っていた。（Ruppert、2002年）

それ以降、全国では龍・大蛇・鬼などが徐々に各地の寺社（特に山の中心）の縁起に含められた。（内藤正敏氏、2009年）

第二     　九頭を持つ龍（Nine-headed dragons）

佛教典：

• CBETA大正新脩大藏經（漢語で書かれたインドから中国・朝鮮に渡った佛典）:「九頭龍」は34個の検索結果があった。
• SAT大正新脩大藏經（大正大藏經＋日本の佛典）:「九頭竜」・「九頭龍」は69個の検索結果があった。
• 法華經文献：法華經には、八大龍王が現れるが、九頭龍はその中ではない。その一方、以降の法華經に関する文献（論、義釋、伝記など）によく現れる。
• 中国の天台系：『法華傳記』（唐朝前半）、『止観輔行傳弘決』（8世紀）、『佛祖統紀』（1269年）など
  ＊以上の中国で書かれたテキストは唐時代以降に著作される。そして多くの場合では、釋智璪という僧侶の伝記に結びついたが、寺社縁起とは関係なさそうである。

密教儀礼：

• 「九頭龍印」という印相：大日經文献、台密のテキスト（『行林抄』など）
• 曼荼羅に位置している：『法華曼荼羅威儀形色法經』、『胎藏入理鈔』など
• 雨乞い：『行林抄』1152 (仁平 2年)

日本における寺社縁起：

地名	最初の文献	文献年間	龍の漢字	関連する行者	関連する佛	宗
白山	『泰澄和尚伝記』	12世紀後半[2]	九頭龍王	泰澄	十一面観音	?
大峯(水天嶺)	『大菩提山等縁起』	1152 (仁平 2年)	九頭龍王	無	無	不明
箱根	『筥根山縁起并序』	1191 (建久2年)	九頭毒龍	萬巻人	無	不明
阿蘇山	『彦山流記』	1213年 (建保1年)	九頭八面大龍	臥驗	十一面観音	天台 ?
戸隠山	『阿娑縛抄』	1279 (弘安2年)	九頭一尾鬼	學問修行者	聖観音	天台

以上の縁起の共通点：

• ほとんどの縁起ではその龍が修行している行者の前に出現する。
• 観音菩薩と関連するケースが多い。九頭龍のように数多くの頭があるので、イメージ的に想像されたのか？

十一面観音
滋賀県の光源寺
（Huntington Archive of Buddhist and Related Art, The Ohio State University ）

九頭龍大神
国幣小社戸隠神社
明治時代

• 全部が山岳寺社の縁起である。
• 12世紀後半に九頭を持ち龍が突然に登場し、流行（龍行か？）していた。
• 九頭龍の名前はまだ既定されていない。むしろ「九頭」が名前よりも記述ではないか。

第三　縁起に現れる龍から地主神への変遷

資料1：「戸隠寺略記」、1279年（弘安2年）、『阿娑縛抄』、227巻の第200巻目の「諸寺略記上」、承澄編（1205–1282；延暦寺僧）

英訳の節

In 849 (Kashō 嘉祥 2), a learned practitioner (gakumon shugyō sha 學問修行者) spent seven days on Iizuna-san 飯縄山.  Facing west toward a great peak, he prayed (kinen 祈念).  He threw a single-armed sceptre (dokko 獨鈷?)[3] that took flight and then fell.  He went to go see it.  [It had landed] at a great stone cavern.  At that site he chanted the Lotus Sūtra.  During this time, a foul-smelling wind was exhaled from the south.  A nine-headed, single-tailed oni (kuzu ichibi ki 九頭一尾鬼) arrived [and said,]

“Who chants the Lotus Sūtra?  Even though I had no intention of harm (mugaishin 無害心), when I came to listen to those who recited it (chōmon 聽聞) in the past, they ended up dead after my noxious vapors reached them.

“I was the former administrator.  I lived in greed and desire, carelessly using the donations of the faithful (shinse 信施).  As a result, I received this body.  This place has been destroyed and toppled down over forty times.  I rely on the virtue (kōdoku 功徳) [of listening to you chant the Lotus Sūtra] and thus should able to attain awakening.”

Gakumon replied, “An oni hides its form.”  Following these words, the oni returned to its original place.  In that place, which is named “the dragon’s tail,” [the oni] entered into seclusion and sealed shut the door of the stone cavern.

From within the ground, a great voice chanted, “Take refuge in the assembly in which [I,] the honored Shō Kanjizai 聖観自在 [Shō Kannon] eternally reside; as a great avatar, [I] provide benefits to living beings at the three sites” (南無常住界會聖観自在尊三所利生大権現聖者).

This mountain is known as the temple of “the door [behind which one] hides” (Togakushi-ji 戸隠寺), because it conceals the dragon-tailed oni.  The door of the stone cavern thus led to the establishment [of the temple].  It is also said that the from Mt. Iizuna, the [mountain’s] form resembles a door…

• 「學問修行者」というのは、おそらく人名ではなく、ただ学問や修行する人と指摘している（鈴木正崇氏、2013年、250–251頁）。という事は、当時、開祖という概念は薄いようである。
• 同じように（そして上記の5個の縁起のように）「九頭一尾鬼」というのも一般名称ではないか。
• この龍的な鬼が「前の別当」というのは、戸隠山の歴史を作ったが、良いイメージではない。鬼の存在をはじめに、現在の客姿格好は以前の悪い生活の業罰である。つまりこの段階では、九頭一尾鬼＝主神というのはまだ微妙ではないか。
• 聖観音と九頭一尾鬼との関係は曖昧であり、神仏習合（本地垂迹）ははっきりしていない。

資料2：戸隠山顕光寺流記（並序）（以下『流記』と略す）、十穀僧有通編、1458年（長禄 2年）

英訳の節

There was a man known as Gakumon gyōja 學門行者.  The mysterious profundity of his original nature (honji 本地) and his rank among the worthies (son’i 尊位) is difficult to estimate.  He had accomplished all the practices.  Embracing the bright moon, he ventured through the vast night.  Replenished by the morning sun, he gazed in all directions (meiku 迷衢).  His wisdom and practice was extremely great and his virtue and efficacy (in the magical arts) (tokugen 徳験) was superior in the world.  He established a temple (garan 伽藍) in every land.  He spread benefits (riyaku 利益) throughout the Dharma realm (hokkai 法界).  It is said that his life ended by ascending into the sky without a burial.  Thus he is regarded as the [response] body of the honored Śākyamuni and a sympathetic transformation (ōke 應化) of Kannon.

In the beginning, the gyōja said, “I want to restore [the practices of] this mountain.”  In the middle of the third month of the third year of the Kashō 嘉祥 (850) era, under the reign of Emperor Ninmei 仁明 (810–850, r. 833–850), he began by climbing [the neighboring] Iizuna-san 飯縄山.  [Iizuna] is a high marchmont that soars into the milky way (ginkan 銀漢)—its white summit contrasting the azure sky (hekiraku 碧落).  Imprisoned (katai 牢) demons and ghosts (chimi 魑魅) crisscrossed [its slopes].  There was no trace of human paths.  Inquiry into its ancient past [reveals that] it had never been scaled.  The snow was deep and there were precipitous cliffs.  Amidst the clouds, fog and thunder, he lost his way and was unable to ascend.  He retreated to the midway point (hanpuku 半腹) [of the mountain].  As an offering to the various deities and spirits, he recited scriptures and chanted dhāraṇī (ju 咒).  Tearing up [a section of] his robe (resshō 裂裳; Skt. bimbisāra), he wrapped his feet [with the cloth].  He was ready to discard his life and in his commitment to the way.  Making a stern vow, he announced, “I humbly request that the benevolent deities [of this mountain] increase my power, that the heavenly dragons roll up the mist, and the mountain demons (sanmi 山魅) guide me.  Please help me realize my goal!  If I fail to reach the summit, I will not achieve awakening (bodai 菩提).”

Having produced such a vow, he treaded across the dazzling white snow and ascended [through] sparkling (saisan 璀璨) green leaves.  Finally, exhausted and depleted of energy, he could see the summit.  Appraising [his whereabouts], he [realized that he had] suddenly entered the Milky Way (unkan 雲漢).  Foregoing a taste of this marvelous paradise, he found a divine cave.  Elated and awestricken, he found it difficult to keep his mind (shinkon 心魂) tranquil.

For a short while, he gazed about the four directions.  From the southeastern foot of the mountain, vast plains unfurled with grasses and trees (sōmoku 草木).  Looking out in the distance, he saw the golden swells and silver whitecaps (ginpa 銀波) of a great, flowing river submerged in [i.e. reflecting the] azure sky.  There was the faint wake of a crossing vessel.  To the northwest were narrow and precipitous ravines and a long and hazardous [ridge line] of mountains laced in deep snow and flowers of the five colors (gosai 五彩).  The birds cried out in cold (inkan 咽寒) throughout the day (rokuji 六時).  The green canopies of thousand year-old pines and spruce tilted toward the valleys.  Deep blue-colored [two-story] manors (konrō 紺樓), surrounded on all sides by cypress and mandarin trees (kaisō 檜楱), towered above the boulders. Gazing across [the entire vista], four mountains streams [are visible].  This divine splendor was vast.

Amidst an abundant sunset, [Gakumon] performed a divination in the western cave.  He prayed and repented, “Now sitting on a cornelian seat in this practice site, having arranged incense and flowers [as an offering to the Buddha], and performing chants, I see myself as an śrāvaka (shōmon 聲聞). ” Then he hurled a vajra sceptre (kongō sho 金剛杵) and made the following vow: “From henceforth, may Buddha’s Law (Buppō 佛法) prosper and may living beings find fortune on the ground from where light emanates.”

Then flying [through the air], the mallet swiftly crossed a distance of over one hundred chō 町.  A hunter was there.  Frightened by the light of the mallet, he quickly fled and emerged [before Gakumon].  [Gakumon] received him and prepared to tell him about the event:

“I will inform [you] with these words:  That hunting ground is now a hunting ground that defends the Dharma (gohō 護法).”

[Gakumon] went to go visit the light of the mallet.  At the cave [where it landed], he wished to bring forth the resident deity (jinushi 地主).  As he prayed  (kinen 祈念), a voice came from the depths of the ground.  The loud voice chanted,

“Take refuge in the eternally-abiding assembly of the realm:  Shō Kanjizai 聖観自在 (Shō Kannon; Noble Avalokitêśvara) of Great Compassion and Sympathy and the origin bodies of the four sites.  The avatars of the three sites radiate light and provide comfort” (南無常住界會大慈大悲聖観自在四所本躰、三所権現放光與樂).  The voice ended by saying, “The light of Shō Kannon’s image radiates [Kannon’s] noble form from afar.  From the luminous seats of a single lotus plant with four pedestals emerge (yūshutsu 湧出) Shō Kannon, Senjū 千手 [Kannon], Shaka 釋迦 (Skt. Śākyamuni), and Jizō 地蔵 (Skt. Kṣitigarbha).”  As joyful tears streamed down, [Gakumon] lowered his head in deep devotion (katsugō 渇仰) and performed chants (hosse 法施) at the site.

That night a foul-smelling wind was exhaled from the south.  A nine-headed, single-tailed dragon (kuzu ichibi ryū 九頭一尾龍) arrived and said,

“A joyous practitioner arrived at this cave, chanting and rattling (shindoku 振讀) his staff (shakujō 錫杖).  By repenting the six root [senses] and practicing the four [types] of tranquility (shi anraku gyō 四安楽行), the poisonous vapors (dokuke 毒氣) have all been vanquished and there is no longer any obstructions (gai 害).  You immediately receive me, [so] I will give you the full account (zengo 善語).

“This mountain has been destroyed over forty times.  I have engaged in temple duties seven times.  The last administrator, Chōhan 澄範, was me.  Because I carelessly used the possessions of the Buddha (butsumotsu 佛物), I received this serpent-like body (jashin 蛇身). From many eons up until the present, I have been hindered by the karma (gōshō 業障) of these [dragon] scales (uroko 鱗).  I arose when I heard [your] staff and [chanting] Dharma voice (hōon 法音) and obtained liberation (gedatsu 解脫).  You must maintain an awakened state of mind (bodai shin 菩提心) and quickly build a great temple (garan 伽藍; Skt. saṃgha-ārāma).”

阿娑縛抄と比較すると、戸隠山の開祖や地主神の輪郭が完全に創られた。

• 一般的な「学問」を名前の「学門」と取替え、彼の伝記も創造され、修行や活動を詳しく伝える。
• 竜的な「鬼」から「地主」の「九頭一尾龍」になる。
• 九頭龍の話の内容は『阿娑縛抄』の話と非常に似ているが、『流記』に入っている以上の節の後に「九頭権現」や「九頭龍権現」と呼ばれる。その節では、「九頭権現」の多彩的な特徴や利益が詳しく説明される。その中で、大辨功徳天（弁財天）の垂迹になったり、佛性や世尊の智恵を持ったり、色々な現世利益を与えたり、法華経である龍女に成ったりしている。しかし気になるのは、その長い話の中では、水神としての説明は一切現れない。その一方、江戸時代に渡って雨乞い、瀬引き、出水の祈禱のような儀礼が密接に結びついていく。そしてその時代になるとともに戸隠山の九頭龍が全国に広がり、その結果、戸隠の代表的な特徴になる。

終りに

九頭龍が戸隠山に到達する前、中国の唐・宋朝や日本の鎌倉時代初期に様々な説話や密教儀礼で流行しているが、当時の存在は以外に抽象的であり、地主神とは言い難い。しかし戸隠山の例を挙げると、時代が流れ徐々に地元の地主神に変遷する事が分かる。

その過程では、文学や密教の世界に入っていた抽象的な物が具体的な神に変化した。その両面性は、幅広い（東アジアの）思想・儀式が各地に到達すればするほど地元的な神に変形される。特殊な神になると同時に、その場所の霊性や名声が発生するのではないか。

(Before its arrival to Togakushi and other sites around the Japanese archipelago, the nine-headed dragon in East Asia exists among esoteric rituals and legendary anecdotes.  In this realm, Kuzuryū is situated in the abstract, detached from place and identity.  Its title remains more descriptive than nominal.  Only when the dragon arrives and gains traction at a specific sites such as Mt. Togakushi does it evolve into concretized deity, Kuzuryū.  This residence and ‘precipitation’ of benefits at the mountain simultaneously becomes instrumental in the production of Mt. Togakushi, itself, as a respected numinous and powerful site.)

文献

Bloss, Lowell W.  1973.  “The Buddha and the Nāga:  A Study in Buddhist Folk Religiosity.”  History of Religions 13, no. 1:  36–53.

Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association (CBETA).

Cohen, Richard S.  1998.  “Nāga, Yakṣiṇī, Buddha:  Local Deities and Local Buddhism at Ajanta.”  History of Religions 37, no. 4:  360–400.

Hayashi Minao 林巳奈夫.  1993.  Tatsu no hanashi: Zuzō kara toku nazo 龍の話 : 図像から解く謎.  Tōkyō:  Chūō Kōronsha 中央公論社.

Hongō Masatsugu 本郷真紹.  2001.  『白山信仰の源流』.  Kyōto:  法蔵館.

Ikegami Shōji 池上正治.  2000.  『龍の百科』.  Tōkyō:  新潮社.

Naitō Masatoshi 内藤正敏.  2009.  「戸隠山の鬼―都市の異界と山の異界」.  『江戸・都市の中の異界』.  民俗の発見 IV.  Vol. 4:  271–311.  法政大学出版局.

Ruppert, Brian O.  2002.  “Buddhist Rainmaking in Early Japan: The Dragon King and the Ritual Careers of Esoteric Monks.”  History of Religions 42, no. 2:  143–174.

SAT Daizōkyō Text Database.

Suzuki Masataka 鈴木正崇.  2013.  「中世の戸隠と修験道の展開―『顕光寺流記』を読み解く」.  『異界と常世』.  Pp. 239–330.  楽瑯書院.

Visser, M. W. de. 1969 (1913). The Dragon in China and Japan.  Wiesbaden:  Sändig.

Yoshida Kazuhiko 吉田一彦.  2012.  「宗叡の白山入山をめぐって：九世紀における神仏習合の展開（一）」.  『佛教史研究第五〇号抜刷』.

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[1]フランス哲学者のアンリ・ルフェーヴル（Henri Lefebvre、1901–1991）が著した「La Production de l’espace」 （英訳：The Production of Space、1974年）からの「production」を通じて「発生」を翻訳し使用している。

[2] 著作年号は吉田一彦氏（2012年）による。

[3]「獨古」が書いてあるが、「獨鈷」という意味か。

I climbed Fuji twice last Monday! Mini Fuji, that is.

As always, the official climbing season for Mt. Fuji began last week on July 1st.  And with the Fuji-san opening (山開き) so opened the mini Fujis (富士塚).

As Fuji worship expanded during the Edo period (1600-1868), Fuji confraternities (Fuji kō 富士講) popped up around the country, especially the Kanto area.  These associations – some of which still exist – would pool money together so that a few members from each community could make the pilgrimage each year.  The rest who stayed behind though could still hit the symbolic summit by climbing their locally established Fuji.  Some of these mini peaks were small hills while others were made by piling up large rocks.

Some mini Fujis are still connected to shrines and confraternities.  I visited two of them in Tokyo last week while they were celebrating the opening of the season:  Onoteruzaki Jinja in Daitoku and Fuji Jinja in Komagome.  Onoteruzaki only opens their mini Fuji on June 3o and July 1 of each year (climbing the real peak often began the night before on the 30th).  Meanwhile Fuji Jinja celebrated with three days of festivities and auspicious crafts.

The man-made mini Fuji at Onoteruzaki.

En no Gyoja (semi-legendary founder of Shugendo) meditating in a cave on the way up.

The Seventh Station. Almost there!

I can glimpse the summit!

Offerings to Mt. Fuji with a beautiful Fuji-san mandala in the center.

Entering the Fuji Jinja, Komagome

The stone engravings are repainted each year to mark the opening of Fuji-san.

A local craft: made of mugi wheat wrapped into the form of a snake and symbolic of the rain-making dragon. According to the shrine priests, the ornament traditionally was thought to promote rain for local mugi production. It was also hung above water sources to ward off illness (the thinking being that illness traveled in water).

The Fuji Jinja honden.

An ascetic’s cave tucked away on the hillside.

The ume may be blossoming in Tokyo right now, but it was still snowing in Nagano yesterday.

For those relishing the spring weather this weekend but saying farewell to the ski season, here are some bittersweet photos from a recent Togakushi trip.  Given its proximity to Japan’s inland sea, the area gets dumped on by massive amounts of snow each winter.

Locals call the snow mahō no konayuki (which translates into something like “witchcraft powder”) for two reasons:  the snow that falls on the range comes as light, fresh powder (optimal for winter sports);  and the high quality of the snow is often attributed to Kuzuryū.

Kuzuryū (literally, nine-headed dragon) is the resident deity of the Mt. Togakushi.  As a dragon, it has been long worshiped for its control of water – ranging from rainfall for crops to flood prevention.  Thus, it comes as no surprise that Kuzuryū is now prayed to for a solid base of powder on the ski slopes each year.  For just as the community’s economy was long dependent on agriculture, now it relies on revenue from visiting skiers and snow boarders.

(Click photos to go to gallery mode.)

View of the Togakushi range (L to R): Nishidake, Togakushi, and Takatsuma

Izuna on the opposing side

Wind swept summit

Edo period ofuda

I stumbled upon a trove of Edo period ofuda 御札, or protective talisman, while searching through archives at the Nagano Prefectural Historical Museum last week.  While some may have been purchased at a temple or shrine, others were likely distributed by oshi (pilgrimage guides) to their patrons, who may have lived far from the site.

Ofuda were generally hung inside the household in order to provide protection from burglary, natural disasters, and so forth.  They were mass-printed on woodblock and often bore the stamp of the associated temple or shrine.  The images and character styles themselves are quite beautiful.

This appears to be another ofuda of the same oshi.

Protective ofuda associated with Mt. Ontake and displaying the image of a fox. These may have been distributed by a particular oshi (pilgrimage guide).

Daikoku tenjin 大黒天神, often one of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan.

An ofuda for the sub-temple of Wagōin 和合院 of Kongōbuji 金剛峰寺 of Mt. Koya. Likely Kukai seated here holding a vajra.

Another dharani, perhaps with a scriptural translation in Chinese on either side of it?

A protective shrine ofuda with the title of the Heart Sutra (大般若).

Cool script! Not sure what it reads.

A Sanskrit ofuda. Any Indian specialists out there? For Japanese purposes, there may be no inherent meaning in the reading, but rather potency in the letters themselves. This may be a dharani that was recited.

A nenbutsu protective ofuda

Changing Epistemologies: From Historical to Modern Views of Togakushi’s Natural Environment

This post takes a look at geological and historical understandings of Togakushi’s natural environment and then considers the shift from one epistemology to another.

Geological:

The Togakushi mountains are located north-northwest of Nagano City.  Consisting mainly of igneous rock, they began forming between 40 million and 27 million years ago through submarine volcanic activity.  Gradually, magma protruded upward as layers of mud and sand settled and hardened.  Shifts in the earth’s crust eventually pushed the entire region above sea level and through subsequent uplift and erosion, the peaks of Togakushi (1904m) and the neighboring Amakazari (1963m) took form.

The surrounding peaks of Iizuna (1917m), Kurohime (2053m) and Myoko (2454m) emerged later (approximately 17 million years ago) through violent eruptions. Shaped as typical cone volcanoes, their cores consist of an igneous rock known as porphyrite, with layers of sandstone and sediment extending outward.

Below the range, high plains are dotted with hot springs–evidence of magma rolling just below the surface.  While the sea now lies just northwest of the region, shells and the fossilized bones of crabs, seal and whale dating back to the early formation of the peaks can still been found.

. . .

The description above of course, reflects a geological understanding of the region.  This body of knowledge has been vital in informing policies related to water management,  natural disaster response, commercial development and so forth.  Before this scientific approach was applied to the Togakushi region however, a preexisting body of knowledge that was also shaped from the mountains guided understandings of the region. Because rice production has long been central to people’s lives, this earlier epistemology concerned agriculture.

Historical:

Water flowing down from the Togakushi mountains has always been key to the productivity of the agricultural basin below.  The immense snow pack that accumulates over the winter in these high peaks melts off in the spring, feeding the area’s streams, rivers, and aquifers.

One stream source in fact, emerges beside the craggy abode of Kuzuryū 九頭龍, the nine-headed dragon who allegedly appeared when the first ascetic reached the range long ago. Indicative of beliefs across Asia, the dragon at Togakushi has long been understood to control the supply of water—from both the clouds and the mountains.  Kuzuryū was likewise appealed to for crop water as well as prevention of water-related disasters (flooding, landslides, etc.).

Just as important to agriculture is the sun’s energy.  Incidentally, recent scholarship reveals a strong connection between solar worship and the historical layout of the temples and pathways. In his recent book, Gentō no Togakushi (Togakushi’s Winter, 2011), Miyazawa Kazuho argues that some of the oldest religious sites on the mountain align precisely with the direction of the sun’s rays on the summer and winter solstices. The early morning rays of the winter solstice for example, penetrate directly through the torii at Okusha 奥社.  Archeological studies have found similar connections at other numinous mountains throughout the country. Moreover, the winter solstice has long been a date in Japan for rituals intended to store up energy to overcome the increasingly cold days of winter.

These are some of the concepts that guided understandings of Mt. Togakushi prior to the modern period.  It goes without saying that modern science in general has greatly improved living conditions since then. What is less discernible though is the extent to which these sciences have displaced preexisting epistemologies like the ones mentioned above. In discussing some of the pioneering geologists in Japan during the 1870s, Stefan Tanaka remarks,

“The geological research of men like Milne and Naumann was instrumental in demystifying this amalgamation of the human, natural, and spiritual worlds by bringing in the abstract arena of science… The accounts of Milne’s and Naumann’s expeditions clearly juxtapose the ideas of the locales as superstitious in comparison to their science. In other words, geology turns inherited forms of knowledge into textual forms; practices to ward off disaster became superstitions, a time-concept that relegated ghosts and wonder to a ‘scriptural tomb.'” (New Times in Modern Japan, 2004, 61).

As Tanaka concludes, scientific study brought not only innovation but also value-laden judgments to an entire structure of practices and concepts.  Geologic surveys, which were commissioned by the new Meiji government, might additionally be seen as a form of cultural subjugation by the rapidly expanding imperial state over regional populations. And at the same time that belief in the local gods was being swiftly displaced by the “abstract arena of science,” a new powerful deity was being deployed throughout the country. This one, heavily propagandized by the Meiji state, was the emperor himself, as both father to the nation and a living god descended from Amaterasu.

Whether this national project of replacing local beliefs with a centralized belief structure was ever fully realized is of course, a matter of debate.  Looking at modern day Togakushi, one can still see priests offering rice to Kuzuryū every morning, alongside a steady supply of coins from visitors visiting the dragon’s shrine.  Even the nearby ski lift makes its annual requests for a healthy snow pack.

Autumn demons, dragons and the Togakushi mountains

With autumn in full swing in the Togakushi mountains these days, here’s a few words on the connection between autumn, demons (oni 鬼) and dragons (ryuu 龍) at Togakushi.

As I described in a previous post,  the first deity encountered at Togakushi (recounted in a thirteenth century account) was the dragon, Kuzuryu 九頭龍 (literally, “nine-headed-dragon”).  Kuzuryu appeared at the mountain when the first ascetic to arrive in the region, Gakumon (9th c.), threw a ritual scepter in its direction.

Taira Koremochi unmoved by the demon-turned-beauty, Momiji.  (1890)

From ancient times, Kuzuryu was believed to provide water/rain (a common belief at mountains across the Japanese archipelago and sites across Asia) but also feared in the common imagination as a mountain demon.  In one ritual for Kuzuryu dating back to the fifteenth century, participants offered up autumn Japanese maple leaves (momiji 紅葉) to the dragon in the eleventh month of the lunar year.  Some time after, a Noh performance titled Momiji gari 紅葉狩 (Hunting Momiji) was composed, describing a fierce demon named Momiji in the Togakushi mountains.  After an ill-fated encounter between a samurai and a demon in Togakushi, the emperor dispatched the fierce samurai, Taira no Koremochi 平維茂, and his company to expel the beast.  Upon entering the region, the troop came upon a drinking party of beautiful women.  After joining and eventually passing out drunk, the great deity Hachiman appeared Koremochi’s dream, warning that the women were in fact the demon, Momiji.  Hachiman thereupon gave him a great sword.  Awakening from the dream, Koremochi (undoubtedly bummed to find a terrifying monster in front of him in place of the earlier beautiful women).  Following a  long battle, the samurai eventually succeeding, cutting off of the demon’s head.  (Naito Masatoshi 内藤正敏, 2009)

Naito (2009) argues that this legend and subsequent myths concerning “demon-expelling missions” (oni taiji 鬼退治) in Togakushi symbolize sovereign power overcoming regional power – a sort of conquest over “barbarian” lands.  By sending forces to expel the demon – as the stories tell, the emperor both legitimates his authority, defeats his foes, and expands his territory.

While its unclear whether or not these stories lent any material power to the court (beyond the symbolic), the Togakushi mountains became famous for their legendary demons.  Later Edo period (1600-1868) pilgrimage to the region developed in tandem with the production of local versions of the Momiji gari myth as temples and villages linked events from the myth to their own histories.

Even today, the legendary demons appear on tourism campaigns on subway stops around Tokyo, advertizing both the beauty and otherworldly nature of the Togakushi mountains.

Reference:   Naitō Masatoshi 内藤正敏.  2009.  “Togakushi-san no oni: Toshi no ikai to yama no ikai” 戸隠山の鬼―都市の異界と山の異界 [The oni of the Togakushi mountains:  The other realm of the city and the other realm of the mountains].  Edo/toshi no naka no ikai 江戸・都市の中の異界.  In the series, Minzoku no hakken 民俗の発見 IV.  Vol. 4:  271–311.  Hōsei Daigaku Shuppankyoku 法政大学出版局.