著者

吉野 裕子

出版者

日本文化人類学会

雑誌

民族學研究 (ISSN:00215023)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.45, no.2, pp.134-159, 1980-09-30

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In the serialized reports the writer gave in this journal's previous issues entitled "Studies on Ise Shrine, Part I-III, the contention is that what we conceive of as typically Japanese festivities observed and conducted in the Shrine were actually very much influenced by the old Chinese philosophical thinking of "Cosmic Dual Forces and Five Natural Elements' as envisioned in the enshrining of AMATERASU, the Imperial ancestral goddess in the Ise Shrine. She was the incarnation of the Chinese cosmic god of Tai-Yi, the mythical identification of the North Star and to the Geku goddess, the outer Shrine, the enshrining of the Big Dipper. While festivals observed at Ise Shrine are Imperial Household rituals, the thought of Cosmic Dual Forces and Five Natural Elements was also widely and forcefully applied and practiced in the public domain such as in the festivities, seasonal change customs and in conjurations to avoid ill omens and calamities. The present report is a study of such phenomena. According to ancient Chinese philosphy. CHAOS was the one and only absolute being in the primordial age. Out of this CHAOS, the light, clear and clean Yang (陽) atmosphere rose to form the Heavens while the dark, heavy and murky Yin (陰) atmosphere descended to form the land. Since the two poles of Yin (陰) and Yang (陽) are the spinoff from the same maternal substance, the CHAOS, their roots are identical and therefore, they would attract one another, mingle and react, and as a result, would produce the five natural elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. Every phenomenon was categorized into one of these five natural elements. The colours, directions, seasons, times, virtues, sounds and the kinds of living creatures to such natural phenomena as thunder, wind and so forth were all conformed into one of these five natural elements. To illustrate, the wood spirit symbolizes the Spring of the seasons, blue is its colour, East is its direction, and Morning in time, while the Fire spirit symbolizes Summer, Red, South and Noon, and Metal, Autumn, White, West and Evening respectively. There was another thought regarding these five Natural Elements which was reactionary in its function:one was continuity and amity, while the other was conflict and struggle. Continuity and amity will bear Fire from the Wood while Fire will bear Earth and the Earth, the Metal and the Metal bears Water while Water bears Wood. This is the plus or positive factor relation. The conflict and struggle are negative or minus relation in which the Wood overcomes Earth, and Earth the Water and Water the Fire and Fire the Metal, with Metal overcoming the Wood. These two opposing and reactionary functions serve to guarantee the perpetuation of all living matter. What the Chinese emphasized most was the smooth transition of the four seasons. They believed that people should actively participate and assist the natural transition of seasons and to this end the ancient Chinese emperors wore blue clothes and blue jewels to meet the Wood spirit on the first day of Spring (calendar date) and walked out to the East suburb to personally welcome the Spring. By the same token. in summer they wore red clothes and red jewels and walked out to the South suburb. Thus, by personally greeting the four seasons, they encouraged the natural transition of the seasons. For the Japanese, a race dependent on rice crops, they too would seek a regulated transition of the four seasons and the principle practiced in China would be utilized and practiced.