Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to clarify regional divisions in the catchment area of religion of Japanese Shintoism through analyzing distributions of some kinds of believers. I discuss two case studies; Kasama inari Shirne and Kanamura Shrine.
As for the catchment area of Kasama Shrine, it consists of three zonal areas. The first area (0–50 km zone) is the distribution of donoers of agricultural products. The second area (50–150 km zone) has denser distribution of all the indexwa than the other two areas. There are few worshippers and no donors in the third area (150–800 km zone). As for the Kanamura Shrine, religious associations (ko) do not function as autonomous religious groups and are dependent upon other religious or administrative organizations in the inner area. However, there are few individual believers in the outer area, it has their own managers and members, and function independently of the ujiko, or other, religious organizations. It is cleared that people in this area worshipped the Kanamura Shrine not as the tutelary deity but as a removed efficacious deity.
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- 1.
Inari shrines, which originated as branches of Fushimi Inari, are widely distributed throughout Japan. Umeda (1983) writes that the Kasama Inari is merely one branch of Fushimi Inari, which the Kasama Inari denies.
- 2.
Worshipers entering the sanctum receive a prayer from a Shinto priest by stepping into the worship hall. Kasama Inari organizes ko prayers for 12 persons or more (group worship), and ordinary prayers for individuals (individual worship). There are several different types of prayers. With group worship, they can be classified into the tsuru (crane) style and kame (turtle) style. Besides prayers, kagura (Shinto dance and music) is used as the dedication, and a grand prayer ceremony usually involves a music dedication.
- 3.
In 1913, Kasama Jinsha Kido (later changed to Kasama Inari Kido), abolished in 1930, was laid down from Kasama Station to Kasama Inari Gate for the purpose of transporting worshipers to Kasama Inari. According to the history of Kasama, many worshipers used the train on the 1st and 15th of every month, on event days, and in the flower-watching season.
- 4.
Kanamura and Betsurai-kotaijin are branches of the Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto. The Kaminari Jinja, located in Yamato village, is a branch of the Kashima Shrine.
- 5.
Kanamura, Itakura Raiden Shrine, and Betsurai-kotaijin are the three major thunder shrines in the Kanto region.
- 6.
The spring festival is called ‘Okaminari-machi’ (waiting for thunder). Believers make cakes of red rice or mugwort rice and visit Kanamura in the summer to pray for good rainfall. The old calendar was followed until 1992. The autumn festival of November 23 is thanksgiving for the harvest.
- 7.
A believer is a person for whom a Shinto priest offers a prayer in a hall of worship.
- 8.
The timing of the visits to Kanamura by the Haru-ko and Aki-ko,Emphasis> was determined by Kanamura.
- 9.
In 1995, the association furthest from Kanamura was in Daigo town in Ibaraki. This was a Kinen-ko,Emphasis> but only one person now receives an amulet from a Kanamura priest.
- 10.
The prayer for rain requires managers to bring holy water to their village, which is why transportation is so important in the Kanamura faith.
- 11.
The definition of prayer is to request a Kanamura priest to pray. The Kanamura priest prayed for something for worshipers.
- 12.
The definition of donors refers to people who donate crops, excluding those who give sake.
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Matsui, K. (2014). Spatial Structure of Japanese Religion. In: Geography of Religion in Japan. International Perspectives in Geography, vol 2. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54550-7_3
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