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

360 Pages·2008·25.966 MB·English
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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.

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