Susano mask

This is an Iwami kagura mask of Susano. Sometimes spelt Susanoh, sometimes Susano-O, sometimes Susano o mikoto. Susano appears in several kagura dances, but the most common, and most often performed as a finale, is the dance telling the story of his defeat of the 8-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi.

According to Yamato mythology Susano is the brother of Amaterasu, and he was kicked out of the High Plain of Heaven for numerous bad deeds attributed to his violent temper. The dynasty founded by Susano existed long before the Yamato rose to power, and from the stories of him locally, a completely different Susano is portrayed. He was a Culture Hero who brought metal working and other technologies from the Korean peninsular, and promoted intercourse between western japan and Korea. In actual fact the stories have him first arriving in Iwami before he moved to Izumo and slayed the dragon. Ever since Susano's descendant, Okuninushi, gave Japan to the Yamato, they have been denigrating him, but he rightly deserves the title of Father of Japan.

The mask is for sale, so please contact me or leave a message if interested.

Kagura Mask Index

Japanese Historians

Japanese Historians and the National Myths, 1600-1945.
The age of the Gods and Emperor Jinmu.

John S. Brownlee

UBC Press
ISBN 9 780774806459
256pp


In front of Heian Shrine in Kyoto is a small sign in English giving a short history of the shrine, and one phrase jumped out at me.... "2660 years of Imperial rule".
This is of course a totally absurd number, with the current Imperial line MAYBE going back about 1600 years. It's the equivalent of stating that Columbus discovered America in the 4th Century and not the 15th Century.
The date of 660BC comes from the Kojiki, a book written in the early 8th Century to justify the Yamato Clan's rise to power, and to "correct" false versions of history. The early part of the Kojiki concerns itself with the founding myths of Japan, but even nowadays the Kojiki is treated as history by some, in a way some people view the Bible as history.
Brownlee's excellent book looks at how Japanese historians have dealt with the founding myths since 1600, when a new generation of neo-Confucian scholars discovered that the dates used in the Kojiki were completely inaccurate. In the later Edo-period, a new school of thought arose called Kokugaku, National Learning, and they sought to return to a "pure" Japanese thought before the introduction of Chinese thought and culture. They believed the myths were historical truth. When the Meiji Restoration occured, and the new government attempted to create a new Japan based firmly on the Imperial institution, they adopted the Kokugaku view. From then until the 1930's, historians were intimidated, pressured, and coerced, until every single Japanese historian claimed publicly that the founding myths were historical truth.
The chapter on notable Japanese historians of the 1930's examines in details the lives of these men and how they succumbed to the nationalism that drove Japan.
There is an epilogue that looks at the situation in post-war japan, and this could be a book of its own, as even though scholarship is no longer so tightly controlled by the State, education is, and the national myths still occupy a position that overlaps into history. February 11th, the date the Kojiki gives for tyhe ascension of Jimmu, is still the National Foundation Day, a brief look at Japanese tourist websites will reveal that Jimmu is written about as the "first Japanese Emperor", not the mythical first Emperor, and a recent Junior High School history text book has a map of Jimmu's advance from Kyushu to the Kinai, without making it clear that this is myth, and not history.
Excellent book providing background material to the current problems with Japanese school history books.

Not Harajuku!!

Harajuku is a neighbourhood of Tokyo renowned for it's young Japanese cosplayers who hang out there. It has become one of the "must see" sights for tourists to Japan. I've never actually been to Harajuku. Never actually been to Tokyo. It is my intention to never visit Tokyo.

Anyway, it may look like these photos were taken in Harajuku, but in fact they were taken on Iwaijima, a tiny island of 500 souls off the south coast of Yamaguchi. And these boys are not cosplayers, but participants in a sacred ritual that dates back more than 1,100 years!

They are part of the crew of huge rowing boats that sail out to sea to meet and guide 3 boats that have come from Kyushu, bringing Shinto priests to the island for a week of ceremony and matsuri that occurs every 5 years.

Just got back from a fantastic 2 days there,... took 500 photos,... experienced some wonderful hospitality...... will post more later.....

Another post with video

Bon Odori

The population of the village has doubled in the past few days. This is O Bon, somewhat similar to the Mexican Day of the Dead, the time that the spirits of the ancestors return to their earthly homes. There is a mass exodus from the cities as children, and grandchildren, return to their home villages. Gravestones have been washed and cleaned, and in our village a matsuri is held.

There are food stalls, games, and of course. kagura. First off the kids performed a couple of dances, then it was time for the village group to dance.

The Ebisu dance is always popular at matsuri's, as he throws bucketfulls of candy out to the kids in the audience.

And of course the Yamata no Orichi dance where Susano battles the eight-headed serpent.

But the main event of the night is the Bon Odori. Every region has their own version of the dance, but it usually involves the villagers dancing in a circle around a central platform that holds the drummer and singers.

Kannon Falls

When we have visitors and it's hot, instead of heading to the beach to cool off we usually head to a waterfall. There are a lot of waterfalls in our area, and the highest, and also the most accessible is Kannon Falls.

Located up a small valley that runs down to the Gonokawa river at the village of Shikaga, the falls are about 400 metres up a pleasant path that follows the stream dappled in the sunlight filtering through the trees. The falls are more than 50 meters high, and end in a largish pool that is waist-deep in the middle.

It's a popular place in the summer and there are usually several families there, splashing, picnicing, and fishing, though no locals come here after dark as long ago a woman climbed to the top of the falls and committed suicide by jumping, so it is believed her ghost haunts the area.

The falls are named for Kannon, the Japanese name for the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, and there is a small shrine to her near the base of the falls. Note the figure of the Virgin Mary in the bottom right. In parts of east Asia, and among Japan's "hidden christians", Kannon was equated with the virgin mary, allowing them to appear to be worshipping the buddhist Goddess, but secretly worshiping Mary.

Shrines in Temples ?

In contemporary Japan there is a hard distinction between shrines and temples. Shrines are shinto, and temples are buddhist. This distinction came about when the government "seperated" the buddhas and the kamis in the late 19th Century.

In my opinion it was a bit like trying to unscramble eggs, as for most of Japanese history the religious practises were a hybrid of various local cults mixed in with buddhism, daoism, confucianism, and other influences from Korea and even India.

All these photos are from 2 buddhist temples in Miyoshi, Hiroshima. The top photos shows a small Inari shrine. The second photo is intriguing, anbd I haven't been able to find out anything about the figure, but the gohei (wand with paper streamer) indicates this is a shinto shrine.

As buddhism was adopted by the ruling families in central Japan they used it to extend their control over the whole of Japan. As buddhism became more commonplace, temples were built next to shinto shrines so that the buddhist priests could pray for the kami and lead them to enlightenment. Later, shrines were built inside the grounds of the temples and the kami used to protect the temples. The first record of this latter type of shrine-temple was here in Miyoshi.

Grand Toit (inside part 2)

The inside of Shimane Arts center in Masuda, known as Grand Toit, has always fascinated me each time I visit.

The floors and walls are of highly-polished wood, so that with the changes in light due to the passing of the seasons, the time of day, and the weather, create an everchanging display of reflections.

More inside Grand Toit

Outside Grand Toit

Japanese Ogre / Demon mask

This is a fairly standard Oni mask in the Iwami Kagura tradition, though I did lengthen the beard a little and black out the teeth a la hanya mask.

Kagura Mask Index

Grand Toit (Inside.)

The Shimane Arts Center, known as "Grand Toit" was designed by Naito Hiroshi and opened in 2005. Located in Masuda, at the western end of Iwami, the building is built around a courtyard with a shallow reflecting pool. There is probably a correct architectural name for such a feature, but I don't know it.

Pictures of the outside of the building can be seen here

The reflections of the buildings tiles with the tiles under the water makes for some interesting effects.

At night a whole new universe of reflections comes alive!

Summer Matsuri 2

Yesterday I posted about the civic matsuri's that are going on right now throughout Japan. The other type of matsuri going on now are the matsuri's based on local shrines. These matsuri's can occur at any time of the year, but they tend to be either in the summer, or in the Fall. Countryside villages will have their matsuri's in the Fall, after the harvest has been completed. In the summer it tends to be coastal fishing villages or river villages, and often these matsuri will involve boats.

The video and photos show secenes from one of my favorite matsuri's, the one at Kuromatsu, a fishing village not far from Gotsu. The kami, Ichikishimahime, is fetched from an offshore island back to the village by a procession of boats.

I will be posting more on this matsuri as it is interesting and unusual in several ways.

Another common type of matsuri this time of year is Houranenya. Last weekend there was one down in Masuda, and 2 weeks ago one in Gotsu Honmachi. During Houranenya the kami is taken to boats and then paraded along the river.
I general I tend to prefer the village matsuri's over the civic matsuris. They are village-based and therefore more intimate. The food is locally made and much cheaper, and outsiders tend to be treated as guests.