Votive Pictures

7/27/2019 Votive Pictures

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/votive-pictures 1/6

Votive Pictures: A Japanese SuperstitionAuthor(s): Ensho AshikagaSource: Western Folklore, Vol. 13, No. 1 (Jan., 1954), pp. 29-33Published by: Western States Folklore Society

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1496770 .

Accessed: 25/04/2014 04:49

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Western States Folklore Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Western

Folklore.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:49:30 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=wsfs

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1496770?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp





http://www.jstor.org/stable/1496770?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=wsfs



Votive ictures:A

JapaneseuperstitionENSHO ASHIKAGA

IN JAPAN are foundmanyvotivepictureshungin Shintoshrines nd Bud-dhisttemples.These pictures re called ema in Japanese, iterallymeaningthe pictures fhorses. he ema, ntheform fframed abletswith hevron-

shaped tops,are generally ung in a hall ofworship r in a gallery, ut a

shrine rtemple npossession fmanypictures asa specialbuildingnamedEmad6 (an ex-votohall) to containthem. n mostcases theEmad6 servesas a resting lace forvisitors.

Generally peaking, votiveofferings presented o a shrineor templebya personwhois goingto pray o a deityorBuddha,orwhoseprayer asbeenanswered. eople's prayersrevarious;consequentlyhere re all sortsofofferings,mongwhich are founda considerablenumberofvotiveoffer-ingsfor upplicatinghe cureof diseases s wellas preventionf them.This

factmustbe due to the beliefthatthewill ofa deity r of a Buddha couldpreventor cure diseases. The StandardDictionaryof Folklore saysthat

reports rom ll partsof the worldindicatethat cures have been effectedbythe nterventionfsaints rgodsorbyfaith, rayer, rmeditation.'t isnaturalthatpeople of old, whenthenature of a diseasewas not compre-hended,should have believed that theirwishesforprevention nd curescould have been realizedby a god's will or by prayer. t shouldbe takeninto consideration, owever, hatthe beliefof presentingrticlesforpre-

vention and cures aims also at the satisfactionf theirrespective esirestherewith.

Offeringsresented o shrines nd temples o prayforcuresand preven-tion,or presented s a tokenof one's gratitudeforhavinghad a diseasecuredare too numerous o be mentionedhere.The ema or votivepictureis one that has showna development f its own. There are twokindsofema, largeand small,and thesmall-sizedne,which s dealtwithhere, sregarded s a product f uperstition.he following ill llustrate henatureoftheema of small size:

1. Saka-matsu Inverted ine tree).-A picture f an inverted ine tree spresentedo theSakamatsuhrinenWakayama or hepurpose fprayingor

1StandardDictionaryofFolklore (1949), , 270o, cures.

[29]







30 WESTERN FOLKLORE

thecure of trichiasis. he presentationf such a picture eemsto have comefromthe partial similarity etween the sounds of the word for invertedpine treeand of the word for trichiasis -the former s in Japanese called saka-matsu,the atter s called saka-matsuge.

2. Namazu(Catfish).-A person

who is troubledwith leucodermamakesan

offeringf thepictureof a catfish. his is said to have been caused by the factthatleucodermaand catfish re both soundednamazu in Japanese.The templenoted forthisofferings the Mine Yakushi-d62 of H6ryfiji,Nara.

3. AAkaei Stingray).-A suffererrompiles or hemorrhoids,ivingup eatinga stingray,'praysforhisrecoveryherefromo thedeitydedicatedto the HirotaShrinenear Sumiyoshin Osaka, and presents hereto votivepictureof a stingrayafterhiscompleterecovery. he deity t this hrinewasoriginally hetutelarygod of a place, but, because of theJapaneseword for piles havingthe samesound as thatfor place, it is said, theyhave come to prayto thedeityfor their

recovery rompiles; both thewordsare pronounced i in Japanese. To giveupeatinga stingray s in Japanese expressed s Akaei o tatsu, nd theverbtatsumeans to sever, to cut off, break offor with, ' tc.; hence akaei o tatsu,literallymeaning to break off relations)with or to sever (one's connections)witha stingray, mpliesthat t effects radical cureofhemorrhoids, livid andpainful swellingformedbydilatationof a vein at theanus. And also, since thedeityof thisshrine s to watch over and protect place (ji), he is regardedasprotecting personfrompiles (ji).

4. Fujin no ashi (A lady's legs).-A picturerepresenting lady'slegswith ared waist cloth is offered o the Mizutsukai Shrine in Ashikaga, Shimotsuke

(Tochigi Prefecturef today).This offerings made in returnforone's answeredprayerfor the completecure of a disease fromthe waistdown.

5. Tanishi (Mud snail).-On theoutskirts fSatte, town n Saitama Prefec-ture, is a hall sacred to Acala(-ndtha),'commonlyknown as Tanishi Fud6, towhompeople prayfor uringdiseaseswithout ating anymud snail. The offeringmade to this mageof Acala is a pictureof tanishi, mud snail.

6. Kusakari-kago A basket forgrass).-To the Yakushi-d6at Tera-machi,Ushigome,Tokyo, is presented pictureof a basket forgrassby an offererf afervent rayerfor the cure of an eyedisease.

7. Me (Eye).-It is widelypracticed n various districts o make an offeringof a tableton whichtwo or moreeyesare painted.This is also forthepurposeof prayingfor the cure of an eyedisease.

8. Hina (Doll).-A pictureof a doll is presented o theAwashimaShrine nKii Province,thepurposeof which is to prayforthe cure of venerealdiseases.

9. Kokue no ka-hanshin The lowerhalfofthebodyin black).-The pictureoffered o the Kushida Shrine at Hakata represents he lowerhalf of the bodywearingblack cloth; thisis also to supplicatefor the cure of venerealdiseases.

9To thisYakushi-db(Temple dedicated to the Buddha of Medicine) a coarselymade gimlet isalso presentedby a personhaving ear trouble; this probablyhas the implicationof boringwiththe

gimlet.See M. Fujikawa, Shink6 to Meishin (Belief and

Superstition) Tokyo, 1928), p. 120o.-A broad flatfishwhichcan giveseverewounds with tssharp spines; it is used forfood n Japan.4Acala, known as the God of Fire, is believed to have the power of keeping down all the evil

spirits.SA speciesof river nail foundin rice fields; n Japan some people eat them.

6For detailed accounts concerningthe folk belief in the deity worshiped at the AwashimaShrine, see Taro Nakayama, Nihon Minzoku-gakuJiten A Dictionaryof Japanese Folklore) (2ded.; Tokyo, 1936), , 55-57, Awashima shink6.







VOTIVE PICTURES 31

10. Me no ji (The letterme ).-A votive ablet n which he ettermeiswrittenanbe found n various istricts;his s for hepurpose fprayingorthecureofan eyedisease. he letterme means n eye.

11. Unagi Eel).-A picture fan eel is presentedo the Mishima hrinen

Kyoto,he

purposefwhichs to

prayor n

easydelivery,lipperys an eel.

12. Awabi Abalone).-Theyoffer picture fan abaloneto theHanazonoShrine n KusanoVillage, waki District, ukushima refecture,o prayforpreventiongainst happedhandsorfor hecureof venereal iseases; nd it issaid that heparishionersftheshrine o noteat abalone.

The presentationf the ema ofsmall size,as seen in the above illustra-tions, n most cases aims at the cure of diseases;however, ttentionmustbe givenalso to thefactthat there re numbers f votivepicturesused forotherpurposes; .e., forthe purposeof praying orfamilywell-being, or

better ortune, or mpregnation,r for ontrol fthepassions uch as tem-perance, tc.These are,ofcourse, heproducts fsuperstition,r theprod-ucts ofa mistaken elief n deitiesand Buddhasbywhom,people thought,humanprayerswould be answered.

Concerning he originof ema, it is generallybelieved that an ancient

Japanesecustomofofferingo a deity live horse as a present r as a feefor ugury r exorcism eveloped ntotheema, argeand small, f ater ge,gradually osingits originalmeaningwith the changeof times.Fromthe

archaeological ointofview, t is furtheraid thattheclayfiguresfhorsesdiscovered romvariousprovinces re said to be remainsof the transition

periodfrom he ivehorseofferingo theso-called ma presentation.hese

figures, ifferentrom hoseofthehaniwa,archaicclay gravefigures, avebeendiscovered rom heprecinctsf Shinto hrines;hence t is presumablethatthese horsefiguresre theremains howing hechangefrom he livehorseoffering.'esidestheuse oftheclayfiguresfhorses, heofferingfalive horse seemsto have been substituted y that of a woodenhorse or of

a paperhorse.According oJapanese iterature,he ema made ts firstappearanceduringtheHeian period 794-1185): in theHokuzan-sh6,, theauthor,Fujiwara-no-Kimit6966-1041) records hat n the seventhmonthof the thirdyearofTenryaku 949), itatate-uma, standingwooden horsewas used in placeof the live horsepresented y the Bureau of the ImperialStablesbecauseithad metwith n accident.The woodenhorsenowin thepossession ftheHachimanShrine fTamuke-yama, ara, s said tobe one ofthe tatate-umaused at thattime.It is also mentioned n theHonch6 Monzui

compiledby Fujiwara-no-Akihira (989-o1066) that shikishi-uma,a picture of a horse

painted on shikishi (a square piece of thick,fancypaper), was presented totheKitanoShrine n theninthyearofKwank6 10xo12); nd thiswasfollowed

7Naoichi Miyaji, Jinja to K6kogaku ( Shinto Shrine and Archaeology ),K6kogaku K6za, XVI(Tokyo, 1929),200-202.







32 WESTERN FOLKLORE

by thepresentationf a wooden tabletrepresentingut a horse,which srecorded n theKonjaku Monogatari ompiledbyMinamoto-no-Takakuni

(1oo4-1o77).8

The popularization f ema, however, eems to have takenplace in theKamakuraperiod (1186-1333),duringwhich time the custom of offeringtabletsrepresentingarious mplements esides a horsewas also practicedwidely;this s rather hought o have developed from n ancientcustomof offering eapons and the like as a token to a god. Then, fromtheMuromachi period (1334-1573) to the Edo period (1603-1867), the ema had,fallen nto corruption, avingadded manyotherthings n representation,and thusbecoming uperstitious.t must not be forgotten,owever, hatthere was also the ema

presentedmerely s an ornament; his was rather

due to thevogue bywhichpeople wereswayed o have artists aintbeau-tifulpictures, nd so it is needlessto saythat some ornamental ma have

nothing o do withreligion.As statedbefore, he ema maybe tracedback to the presentation f a

live horseto a deity n ancientJapan; however, riefmention houldbemade here of a similarcustompracticed n ancient China whichmaybe

thought ohave been brought oJapan. n China,thiskindof votiveoffer-

ing is called chihma (lit. paper horse ),commonly nown as chia ma. A

live horse, s in the case of ancientJapan,was offered o a deity duringtheCh'in Dynasty 221-2o6 B.C.); but itwas substitutedbyyiima or a wooden

horse,whichwas furthereplacedbychihma or a paperhorseduringthe

reign of Hsiian Tsung Ming Huang Ti (713-756 A.D.) of T'ang (618-90o6).This chihma was presented o thespiritof an ancestralhall. But later,printedmageof deity r Buddha on a five-coloredaperwasburnedbeforetheconsecrated piritof one dead; this was also called chihma. It is alsosaid that n ancienttimes horsewas picturedforridinguse on theupper

partof a paper representing deity ran ancestral pirit,which sthereasonwhy twascalled chihma.

The customofburningthe chihma in honor of the spiritof the deadseemsto have been practicedforthe first imeduringthe Sung Dynasty(96o-1279) and to have been introduced ntoJapan.' In theZen templesofJapan,whenprayers offeredr theUrabon service s held forthesakeofthedead,theHannyashin-gyo12nd a picture fa horse, rinted n paper,

s Miyaji,op. cit.,p. 202; KokushiJiten A DictionaryofJapaneseHistory), Tokyo, 1940), I, 832 a.Tz'u

yiian 15thed.;

Shanghai, 1947),p. 1154b,c.

10 Shink6Mochizuki,BukkyoDaijiten (A ComprehensiveDictionaryofBuddhism), Kyoto,1944),I, 289 c.

11See the author's articleentitled, The Festivalforthe Spiritsof the Dead in Japan, WesternFolklore, X (1950),217-228.

' See the author's article entitled, The Sutra of the Heart of Wisdom, The Way,I (Los An-geles,1949),2-4.







VOTIVE PICTURES 33

to whichpapercoinsare added,are hungfrom hepillarofthemainhall,and are burned aftersfitra-chanting.he burningofpaperbearinga pic-tureofa horse s said tobe for hespirit's idinguse. It is notknownwhenthis custom

was first racticed n Japan; however, t isbelieved that the

custompracticed ythe Zen sectofSungwas introduced ntoJapan.In thismanner,both the ema in Japanand the chih ma in China have

similaritiesn theirearly tageofdevelopment. his fact lone will refuseto acceptthetheoryhattheema is ofJapanese rigin.Furthermore,uringthe Nara (646-793) and Heian periods,Japan was busy importing nd

assimilating 'ang civilization,nd also the firstppearanceofema,as men-tionedbefore,was madein theJapanese iterature uring he Heian period;hence it follows hat the ema of

Japanmust have been

broughtn from

China. Nevertheless,heema in its aterstage houldbe considered o havedeveloped n a waypeculiarto Japan,withtheexceptionof thecustomof

burning heema at theZen templeswhichwas also introduced romChina

duringtheSungDynasty.From the Theoryof Plural OriginofCulture, t mustbe said thatthe

ema has independentlyeveloped n Japan;however, rom he Theoryof

Single Origin of Culture, it is regarded s havingits originin ancientChina. Although here re the evidences fforded y theresults f excava-

tions that the horsehad lived in JapanduringtheStoneAge,the commonopinionofall is that horses n Japanwereimported rom he Asiatic con-tinent,which has been also verified y theetymological tudy f theJapa-nese word forthehorseor bytheethnological nvestigationf thecustomofoffering horse to a deity.

To conclude,the ema in generalwas a productof primitive eligion;but later, osing tsprimary se as an offering,t developed ntoa sortofornament; nd then, specially n theEdo period (1603-1867), theema of

small izecametobe used as an objectof folkbelief, rrather fsuperstition,which would satisfy ne's desireforthe cure and prevention f diseases,better ortune,tc.Thus, a numberof smallemahavecometobe presentedto a smallshrineby the roadsideor to a populargod attracting eople onaccountof somewonderful owerdisplayed yhim.And,eventoday, omedilettanti ollect them as theirfavorite urios. As to the question of the

originof theema,it is rather ifficulto drawa conclusion;etymologicallyand ethnologicallypeaking,however, t maynot be goingtoo farto say

that thehorseofferingustomof ancientChina had somethingo do withthe development of the ema in Japan.18 okun6 Oda, Bukky6Daijiten (12th ed.; Tokyo, 1929),p. 252 b-c, Ky6ma.14Kokushi Jiten,op. cit.,674 a; Shinji Nishimura,Bunka Idd-ron (A Studyon Cultural Migra-

tion) (Tokyo, 1930),p. 323-





Votive Pictures

Documents

Transcript of Votive Pictures