Folkloristic study about changes of religious service to the war dead and views of the ancestor

2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 10610300
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 文化人類学(含民族学・民俗学)
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: IWAMOTO Michiya The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Assistant Professor, 大学院・総合文化研究科, 助教授 (60192506)
• Project Period (FY): 1998 – 2000
• Keywords: Ancestor worship / religious service to the war dead / final year mourning (50th anniversary of the death) / loyal spirit monuments / shrine for the war deads / union memorial services / the war bereaved / memorial service to righteousness citizens

Research Abstract

I could get the point whether in a community of Sado island of Niigata prefecture, the religious service to the war dead and memorial service had what kind of effect on views of the ancestor of the area I itemize the new knowledge which I could get by the following and this study.
(1) It fitted the grave in an area where the inhabitants do not erect a permanent gravestone but to erect war deads monument since the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War (differences of the grave monument and the praise monument for the spirits of dead soldiers are unclear) with Aikawa-town of Sado east northern part once, it came to be an opportunity, and I came to erect it with the grave monuments of a family except that also as a family tomb at the same time. The probability whereby this spread except the death in battle bereaved family also is high.
(2) There were many areas where before the Sino-Japanese War, the inhabitants erect it in public cemetery area inside of a village with war deads' mon uments, when it becomes after Siberia dispatch of troops, it would be moved to a tendency to erect such as a road armpit and temple hall precincts at the public place, and it charged character of the prayer for victory and dead soldiers' hero worship will from character of the grave monument.
(3) In each village, the beginning was doing memorial of a war dead in memorial service and a same shape type to righteousness citizens, then the form changed to enshrines at the administrative towns and villages unit (In union memorial services at the temple) and the Sado whole island (Shrine for the war deads), in connected with (2), and the religious service would be complicated.
(4) It is erected after World War II rather, and are as for facilities of loyal spirit monument and a war dead religious service, many examples. It is integrated on the 50th anniversary of the death which is specially the final year mourning of this place by shrine precincts at the same time, then destroyed the war dead monument, and there also was the Ancestors' souls bereaved family who it generally tries to make fuse, and the dealing of ceremonious processing was really varied.