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

Description

Towering over the Kanto Plain, the sacred mountain Ōyama (literally, "Big Mountain") has loomed large over the religious landscape of early modern Japan. By the Edo period (1600-1868), the revered peak had undergone a transformation from secluded spiritual retreat to popular pilgrimage destination. Its status as a regional landmark among its devotees was boosted by its proximity to the shogunal capital and the wide appeal of its amalgamation of Buddhism, Shinto, mountain asceticism, and folk beliefs. The influence of the Ōyama cult--the intersecting beliefs, practices, and infrastructure associated with the sacred site--was not lost on the ruling Tokugawa shogunate, which saw in the pilgrimage an opportunity to reinforce the communal ideals and social structures that the authorities espoused. Barbara Ambros provides a detailed narrative history of the mountain and its place in contemporary society and popular religion by focusing on the development of the Ōyama cult and its religious, political, and socioeconomic contexts. Richly illustrated and carefully researched, this study emphasizes the importance of "site" or "region" in considering the multifaceted nature and complex history of religious practice in Tokugawa Japan. Emplacing a Pilgrimage: The Ōyama Cult and Regional Religion in Early Modern Japan Acknowledgments Contents List of Table and Figures Emplacing a Pilgrimage: The Ōyama Cult and Regional Religion in Early Modern Japan Introduction: The Ōyama Cult in Regional History The Development of the Oshi System The Ancient and Medieval Periods The Early Modern Transformation 1. From a Mountain Retreat to a Pilgrimage Center Sacred Mountains in Japan A Medieval Mountain Retreat New Boundaries in the Early Modern Period Conclusion 2. A Regional Kogi Shingon Academy Restructuring the Monastic Complex, 1590–1618 Consolidating an Early Modern Shingon Temple Complex, 1618–1690 Full Institutional Formation, 1690–1750 Institutional Tensions, 1750–1867 Conclusion 3. The Emergence of the Ōyama Oshi From Yamabushi to Oshi, 1600–1670 Parishes as the Basis for Oshi Status, 1670–1700 Licensing Systems and Increasing Professionalization, 1700–1750 The Saturation of the Kantō Region and Status Differentiation, 1750–1800 Shintoization of the Oshi, 1800–1868 Conclusion 4. Managing the Mountain A Shogunal Prayer Temple Pilgrimage to Ōyama The Clergy’s Contact with Pilgrims The Oshi’s Contact with Pilgrims The Oshi’s Parish Rounds Conclusion 5. The Emergence of a Regional Pilgrimage Pilgrimage in Early Modern Japan Pilgrimage Routes to Ōyama Pilgrimage Confraternities Conclusion 6. Reconfiguring the Pantheon The Principal Deities in the Ōyamadera engi Tapping into Ancient Mythology: The Ōyama jiki Devotion to Fudō and Sekison in the Ōyama Fudō reigenki The Impact of Shirakawa Shinto in the Myōōtarō raiyu and Sōyō Ōyama fu Nativism and the Afurijinja kodenkō Conclusion 7. A New Order, 1868–1885 The Disassociation of Kami and Buddhas The Oshi during the Bakumatsu Era and the Restoration Dismantling the Buddhist Institutions The Creation of New Shinto Institutions Gonda Naosuke and the Great Teaching Campaign The Emergence of Ōyama Keishin Kōsha Conclusion Epilogue Reference Matter Notes Works Cited List of Characters Index Harvard East Asian Monographs