Emplacing a Pilgrimage: The Oyama Cult and Regional Religion in Early Modern Japan

360 Pages·2008·25.966 MB·English

by  Barbara Ambros

Emplacing
a Pilgrimage
The Ō yama Cult
and Regional Religion
in Early Modern Japan
Harvard East Asian Monographs 297

Emplacing
a Pilgrimage
The Ōyama Cult
and Regional Religion
in Early Modern Japan
Barbara Ambros
Published by the Harvard University Asia Center
and distributed by Harvard University Press
Cambridge (Massachusetts) and London, 2008
© 2008 by The President and Fellows of Harvard College
Printed in the United States of America
The Harvard University Asia Center publishes a monograph series and, in coordination with the
Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the Korea Institute, the Reischauer Institute of Japanese
Studies, and other faculties and institutes, administers research projects designed to further schol-
arly understanding of China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and other Asian countries. The Center also
sponsors projects addressing multidisciplinary and regional issues in Asia.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ambros, Barbara, 1968–
Emplacing a pilgrimage : the Ōyama cult and regional religion in early modern Japan / Barbara
Ambros.
p. cm. -- (Harvard East Asian monographs ; 297)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-674-02775-6 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Mountain worship--Japan--Oyama (Kanagawa-ken) 2. Oyama (Kanagawa-ken, Japan)--
Religious life and customs. I. Title.
bl2211.m6a46 2008
299.5'61350952136--dc22
2007050303
Index by David Prout
An earlier version of Chapter 3 was published as: “Localized Religious Specialists in Early Modern
Japan: The Development of the Ōyama oshi System.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 28, nos. 3–4,
(2001): 329–72.
An abbreviated earlier version of Chapter 6 was published as: “Reconfiguring Ōyama’s Pantheon.”
Kōyasan Daigaku Bulletin of Research of the Institute of Esoteric Buddhist Culture 2 (Special Issue, 2003):
27–45.
Printed on acid-free paper
Last figure below indicates year of this printing
18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08
To Alex Lee
a friend and great inspiration
to all who knew him

Acknowledgments
This study had its beginning in the kind suggestion of Tamamuro Fumio.
I had worked on pilgrimage in the Heian period previously, which had
piqued my interest in the topic of pilgrimage. However, the promise of
abundant source material led me to consider shifting to the early modern
period. Furthermore, Allan Grapard’s work on sacred sites had im-
pressed me deeply and inspired me to write my dissertation on a specific
sacred site, preferably a mountain. When I was not quite sure which site
to choose, my doctoral advisor, Helen Hardacre, suggested that I talk to
Tamamuro Fumio. When I asked him whether he knew of any early
modern pilgrimage center that needed further study, he recommended
that I study the Ōyama cult.
All shortcomings of this study are, of course, my responsibility, but
I would like to acknowledge the kindness and assistance of the many
scholars and friends in the United States, Europe, and Japan who al-
lowed me to complete this project. First and foremost, I would like to
thank Helen Hardacre, my doctoral advisor at Harvard University,
without whose unwavering support this study would have been impos-
sible. Her insightful advice during the research phase of this project and
her patient comments on the various drafts of the manuscript consti-
tuted the greatest encouragement. Tamamuro Fumio of Meiji Univer-
sity made important documents available to me along the way. His con-
stant support and his willingness to share his masterful expertise in
early modern religion were invaluable.
viii Acknowledgments
Throughout my work on this project, I was fortunate to receive the
support of Matsuoka Takashi, Miyake Hitoshi, the late Miyata Noboru,
Nishigai Kenji, Sugane Yukihiro, Suzuki Masataka, Umezawa Fumiko,
and Shimazono Susumu. I would also like to express my gratitude to the
many scholars at the local archives that provided the bulk of the source
material for this dissertation: the municipal archives of Isehara City, the
town of Samukawa, Atsugi City, and Setagaya Ward. I am particularly
indebted to Mr. Ōnuki at the Isehara City Archives, who selflessly de-
voted hours of his time to answering my many questions and making
documents available to me. Thanks are also due to Takahashi Atsumi
and Yamamoto Akiko, who helped me read and transcribe some of my
sources.
At Harvard, Harold Bolitho and Mikael Adolphson read and gave
substantive comments on my manuscript. Robert Gimello gave me
much needed insight from a Buddhist studies perspective. Many helpful
suggestions also came from scholars at other universities, including
Professors Gail Bernstein, Richard Gardner, Allan Grapard, F. G. Note-
helfer, Paul Swanson, Sarah Thal, Ronald Toby, Constantine Vaporis,
Anne Walthall, and Kären Wigen. In addition, Professor Charles Hallisey
and the graduate student members of the Harvard Buddhist Studies
Workshop gave me valuable feedback in the beginning stages of this
project. I owe endless gratitude to the dissertation support group in
Tokyo whose members included Michael Burtscher, Steve Covell, Betsy
Dorn, Michael Eastwood, Terry Jackson, Hiromi Maeda, Reiko Sono,
Alex Vesey, Duncan Williams, and Noell Wilson. Their comments on
my early drafts greatly improved the manuscript. I would also like to
thank Mark Byington and Gray Tuttle, who participated in a similar
group at Harvard, as well as Paula Maute, Susan Oehler, and again
Duncan Williams, who meticulously worked through my manuscript to
improve it stylistically. I would also like to thank all the students in my
sacred mountains and pilgrimage seminar, who helped me continue to
approach this topic with fresh eyes.
My research in Japan could not have progressed without affiliations
with the Institute of Religious Studies at the University of Tokyo during
1998 to 2000 and with the Faculty of Comparative Culture at Sophia
University from 1999 to 2000. I must also acknowledge the institutes
and fellowships that made this research possible: the Harvard Center for
Acknowledgments ix
the Study of World Religions, which gave me the opportunity to receive
considerable advice from many international scholars of religion during
my two years of residency from 1995 to 1997; the Edwin O. Reischauer
Institute of Japanese Studies, which provided me with financial support
for summer research in Japan and during my penultimate year at Har-
vard; the Japanese Ministry of Education, whose grant allowed me to
pursue my research in Japan from 1998 to 2000; the Japanese Society for
the Promotion of Science, which supported me as a postdoctoral fellow
at the Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo from 2002
to 2003; and the University of North Carolina University Research
Council, which provided financial support during the final stages of the
publication process from 2006 to 2007.