著者

波平 恵美子

出版者

一般社団法人 日本東洋医学会

雑誌

日本東洋医学雑誌 (ISSN:02874857)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.59, no.1, pp.17-23, 2008 (Released:2008-07-23)

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現代医学は極めて体系的に発達し普遍性の高い医療体系である。しかし,それは数十万年の間種を絶やすことなく生き抜いた人類が発達させた無数で多様な医療のひとつでしかない。このような立場を採る医療人類学は,様々な伝統的医療が具体的にどのように人々に採用され支持されているかを研究し,世界を席捲しつつある現代医療を相対化する。

著者

波平 恵美子

出版者

日本文化人類学会

雑誌

民族學研究 (ISSN:24240508)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.42, no.4, pp.334-355, 1978-03-31 (Released:2018-03-27)

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This article discusses symbolic meanings of the belief in which a drowned body becomes deified as Ebisu-gami. Japanese fishermen usually are under a prohibition or a taboo that they should not take pollution caused by death into the sea, because they belive the sea is a sacred place and pollution, especially concerning death, might cause dangers to them. Nevertheless, they pick up a drowned body whenever they find it on the sea and deify it as Ebisugami, a luck-bringing deity. In Japanese folk belief Ebisu-gami is worshipped as a luck-bringing deity by fishermen, farmers or merchant and is also a guardian deity of roads and voyages. A remarkable attribute of Ebisu is its deformity. The deity is believed to be one-eyed, deaf, lame or hermaphrodical. It is also believed to be very ugly. People sometimes say that it is too ugly to attend an annual meeting of all gods which is held in Izumo, Simane Prefecture. In Japanese symbolic system deformity and ugliness are classified Into Kegare (pollution) category as I have represented in my articles (NAMIHIRA, E. : 1974 ; 1976). Some manners in Ebisu rituals tell that Ebisu is a polluted or polluting deity, e. g., an offering to the deity is set in the manner like that of a funeral ceremony, and after a ritual the offering should not be eaten by promising young men. Cross-culturally deformity, ugliness or pollution is an indication of symbolic liminality'. In this sense. Ebisu has characteristics of liminality at several levels (1) between two kinds of spaces : A drowned body has been floating on the sea and will be brought to the land and then be deified there. In Japanese culture, the land is recognized 'this world' and the sea is 'the other world'. A drowned body comes to 'this world' from 'the other world'. (2) between one social group and another social group ; In the belief of Japanese fishermen only the drowned persons who had not belonged to their own social group, i. e., only dead strangers could be deified as Ebisu. The drowned person had belonged to one group but now belongs to another group and is worshipped by the members ; (3) between life and death : Japanese people do not perform a funeral ceremony unless they find a dead body. Therefore, a person who drowned and is floating on the sea is not dead in the full sense. That is, the person is between life and death. The liminality of Ebisu-gami is liable to relate to other deities whose attributes are also 'liminal'. Yama-no-kami (mountain deity) or Ta-no-kami (deity of rice fields) and Doso-shin(guardian deity of road) are sometimes regarded in connection with Ebisu. Japanese folk religion is a polytheistic and complex one. Then, it is significant to study such Ebisu-gami that are interrelational among gods and have high variety in different contexts in the Japanese belief system.

著者

波平 恵美子

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.42, no.4, pp.334-355, 1978-03-31

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This article discusses symbolic meanings of the belief in which a drowned body becomes deified as Ebisu-gami. Japanese fishermen usually are under a prohibition or a taboo that they should not take pollution caused by death into the sea, because they belive the sea is a sacred place and pollution, especially concerning death, might cause dangers to them. Nevertheless, they pick up a drowned body whenever they find it on the sea and deify it as Ebisugami, a luck-bringing deity. In Japanese folk belief Ebisu-gami is worshipped as a luck-bringing deity by fishermen, farmers or merchant and is also a guardian deity of roads and voyages. A remarkable attribute of Ebisu is its deformity. The deity is believed to be one-eyed, deaf, lame or hermaphrodical. It is also believed to be very ugly. People sometimes say that it is too ugly to attend an annual meeting of all gods which is held in Izumo, Simane Prefecture. In Japanese symbolic system deformity and ugliness are classified Into Kegare (pollution) category as I have represented in my articles (NAMIHIRA, E. : 1974 ; 1976). Some manners in Ebisu rituals tell that Ebisu is a polluted or polluting deity, e. g., an offering to the deity is set in the manner like that of a funeral ceremony, and after a ritual the offering should not be eaten by promising young men. Cross-culturally deformity, ugliness or pollution is an indication of symbolic liminality'. In this sense. Ebisu has characteristics of liminality at several levels (1) between two kinds of spaces : A drowned body has been floating on the sea and will be brought to the land and then be deified there. In Japanese culture, the land is recognized 'this world' and the sea is 'the other world'. A drowned body comes to 'this world' from 'the other world'. (2) between one social group and another social group ; In the belief of Japanese fishermen only the drowned persons who had not belonged to their own social group, i. e., only dead strangers could be deified as Ebisu. The drowned person had belonged to one group but now belongs to another group and is worshipped by the members ; (3) between life and death : Japanese people do not perform a funeral ceremony unless they find a dead body. Therefore, a person who drowned and is floating on the sea is not dead in the full sense. That is, the person is between life and death. The liminality of Ebisu-gami is liable to relate to other deities whose attributes are also 'liminal'. Yama-no-kami (mountain deity) or Ta-no-kami (deity of rice fields) and Doso-shin(guardian deity of road) are sometimes regarded in connection with Ebisu. Japanese folk religion is a polytheistic and complex one. Then, it is significant to study such Ebisu-gami that are interrelational among gods and have high variety in different contexts in the Japanese belief system.

著者

波平 恵美子

出版者

The Japanese Association of Sociology of Law

雑誌

法社会学 (ISSN:04376161)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.2005, no.62, pp.19-30,189, 2005-03-30 (Released:2011-04-13)

参考文献数

13

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Since the Japanese nation state started in 1868, there have been differences between customs among the Japanese people and legal institutions over 'approval' of death, treatment of the remains and worship of the dead. Although the nation and the people have compromised the differences, from now on the legal institutions have to be more regulated because of the thorough changes of family, community, work environment and etc..The differences have been found in three phases of death, i. e., (1) 'approval' of death, (2) treatment of the remains and (3) worship of the dead which have been embedded the traditional family system, 'ie'.On the approval of death the Meiji government made the regulation in which a dead body should be diagnosed by modern medical doctors though all diagnoses could not be done because of the shortage of doctors. In the process of modernization for one century the regulation had been realized and the difference has disappeared. Another big difference occurred in the dispute about cadaver organ transplantation which accompanies a diagnoses of 'brain death'. As a compromise of the long time dispute there are legally two kinds of death, i.e., 'brain death' and 'heart death'.On the treatment of the remains the big difference was formed in the military system. In the pre-war system the remains and spirits of dead soldiers belonged to the government, and the rights of the soldiers' families were secondary. On the third phase of death, worship of the dead, the spirits of dead soldiers were deified in Yasukuni-jinja, a Shinto shrine though most Japanese dead spirits were worshipped in Buddhism.Accompanied with globalization of economic systems Japanese social structure is basically changing which certainly brings changes of the Japanese people's custom over death. Now the regulation of the matter becomes much more necessary than before.

著者

波平 恵美子

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.38, no.3, pp.230-256, 1974-03-31

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The purposes of the thesis are to analize Japanese folk belief with three basic concepts, hare, kegare and ke, and to discuss the structure of the folk belief. The concept of hare is concerned with the sacred, the pure, the clean, the good and the happy. The concept of kegare is concerned with the filthy, the bad, the ominous and sin. The concept of ke is concerned with the common, the usual, the profane, the neutral, not hare and not kegare. Generally speaking, Japanese religious activities are separated into two parts : one is concerned with the concept of hare and the other is with the concept of kegare. New Year ceremony, ceremonies concerning with farming and fiahing, rites of passage and any kind of ceremonies held have in a Shinto shrine are considered hare events. Death, child birth, menstruation, illness, injury and sexual intercourses are in the concept of kegare. Therefore, a funeral ceremony, a graveyard, a situation of child birth, woman in menstruation and a deformed person are kegare matters. In Chapter I, I discuss thess concepts in detail and set a model. In Chapter II, I mention abundant data concerning the religious life on community level. The case of Section (1) is an agricultural mountain village. The village looks like being full of evil spirits and petulant gods. Futhermore, more than forty per cents of the households in the village are considered having predisposition to witches. The spirits and gods easily find kegare matters and cause illness and unhappiness. Therefore, the villagers are very sensitive to kegare and this concept is emphasized in their religious life. The case of Section (2) is a prosperous fishing village. The villagers often have Shinto ceremonies and bless good fishing in the ceremonies. Most parts of their religious activities are concerned with the concepts of hare. The concept of kegare is repressed in their life. The case of Section (3) is another agricultural mountain village. The villagers get their livelihood from agriculture and forestry half-and-half. The villagers have very complex and unstable religious ideas. They have replusion towards Buddhism more or less, although the village has Buddhist temples as a custom lasting several centuries. Some households cut their ties with those Buddhist temple and they hold Shintoist funeral ceremonies handled by a Shinto priest. In their religious life, Buddhism is sharply opposied to folk beliefs and Shintoism. The opposition can be considered a conflict between the concepts of hare and kegare. In Chapter III I discuss the models of hare, kegare and ke and the structure of Japanese folk belief.