Alicja Ozga

Shamanism in Japan

Japanese shamanism is a constantly evolving field of research, despite the fact that its roots still remain mysterious. One of the most common theories states that its nature is secondary, it might be related to tungusic or altai people, spread to Korea, Hokkaido and Ryūkyū Islands, then mixed with Polynesian and Melanesian beliefs, and with time became part of today’s Japanese Buddhism and shintō traditions. The article describes the characteristics of Japanese shamanism: it’s cosmology, silhouette of a shaman, most important myths and practices and also it’s important relation to Japanese theatre.
Shamans act like a bridge between humans, deities and otherworld, and they’re the only living people capable of coming in contact with the dead. In Japan there are two kinds of shaman: female priestess miko and Buddhist ascetic monk yamabushi. Japanese shamanism is one of the rarer examples of female-focused type. They believed only a woman could control the spiritual force. Miko is responsible for performing spirit possessions and fortunetelling. Yamabushi on the other hand was living deep in the mountains and by undergoing a strict training was able to enter trance state. He was close to local people who sought advice from him in many important everyday decisions, as well as regarding special events.
There are also other groups performing shamanistic practices, but they’re considered less authentic, mostly because they don’t have the abilities to experience ecstatic vision or to enter trance state. Among those are, for example: blind mediums itako, kitsunetsukai (fox or snake owners) and onmyōji (in and yo fortunetellers). In the article the Authors attempt to construct an alternative definition of a shaman – because the strictly narrow definition doesn’t seem to reflect the complexity of beliefs found in Japanese culture. Nowadays shamanism is popular among many Japanese new religions and sects, and also had its impact on pop culture, which furthers the impression of how important this subject matter is for Japan.

Jeanne Favret-Saada (2012). Śmiercionośne słowa, zabójcze uroki. Przeł. Katarzyna Marczewska. Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa, ss. 397

In ancient Japanese beliefs there was no specific concept of the underworld even though those beliefs were based on a cult of ancestors. The land of the dead, anoyo, had no specific location. It was not situated underground, nor in heaven – it was somewhere close to the world of the living, so that the spirits of the ancestors could watch over their relatives. More information about the Land of the Dead appears in the chronicles of Kojiki and Nihogi describing the death of the goddess Izanami and her departure to Yomi. A more extensive image of the underworld, especially a vision of hell with multiple levels, appeared on the Japanese Islands with the arrival of Buddhism. This article analyses different visions of the underworld that have developed in Japanese beliefs throughout history. Both Shintoist and Buddhist beliefs are discussed, as well as myths and legends about deities, demons and creatures related to death and the Land of the Dead.