2022 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
The Religious Practices and Mummified Bodies of the Mount Yudono Ascetics
| Project/Area Number |
22K13202
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| Research Institution | Nagoya City University |
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Principal Investigator |
カスティリョーニ アンドレア 名古屋市立大学, 大学院人間文化研究科, 准教授 (70853547)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2022-04-01 – 2024-03-31
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| Keywords | Mount Yudono / Issei gyonin / Sokushinbutsu / Confraternities / Shugendo |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
During the first year of the research project I conducted philological analysis on a group of document known as the “Four Petitions of the Keicho Era”, which show the religious and economic ties between early seventeenth century Yudono ascetics (issei gyonin) and their lay patrons. In this first year of research I also studied the Tooku kiko by Nagakubo Sekisui (1717-1801), which is a fundamental text for understanding the ritual modalities chosen by Yudono lay devotees to worshiping the mummified bodies of the Yudono ascetics such the sokushinbutsu of Junkai Shonin. This year I as well focused on the ritual meaning and circulation of painted hanging scrolls and healing talismans, which were made by eminent Yudono ascetics after completing ascetic retreats at Senninzawa.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
The Edo period primary sources (travel diaries, legal documents, ritual texts), which I am engaging for elucidating the economic and religious interactions between Yudono ascetics and lay patrons, show a multiplicity of ceremonial, talismanic, and even legal activities performed by Yudono ascetics on behalf of their lay devotees. The analysis of this religious material culture such as painting scrolls, paper talismans, carved stelae, and sacred tumuli built by the Yudono ascetics requires more time than expected given the complexity and pervasiveness of the phenomenon. The study of the primary sources concerning Junkai Shonin indicates a possible connection between this famous Yudono ascetic and Mount Koya. This crucial aspect needs extra time to be adequately investigated.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
By the end the 2023 I plan to publish two articles. One article focuses on the material culture of the Yudono ascetics will be published on a special issue of the Cahiers d'Extreme-Asie. A second article, which analyzes the circulation paper talismans performed by Edo period Shugendo practitioners and other itinerant religious professionals, will be published on the Journal of Religion in Japan in the following months. For what concerns fieldwork I am planning a field-trip to Nagano prefecture, Usuda-machi, and to Chiba prefecture, Katori-shi, to study sacred stelae and tumuli made by Yudono ascetics for local Yudono confraternities. In August 2023 I will present some of the preliminary results of my research to the annual conference of the European Association of Japanese Studies (EAJS).
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| Causes of Carryover |
Due to COVID 19 pandemic restrictions and the high load of teaching as well as administrative duties at my university I was not able to use the entire amount for the past fiscal year. In the next fiscal year I plan to use the above mentioned amount to make fieldwork at Mount Yudono in fall 2023, pay the open-source fees for an article to be published on the Journal of Religion in Japan, invite Professor Caleb Carter to give a talk at Nagoya City University during the fall, buy new books on Shugendo as well as new technical equipments such as a high resolution document scanner for my research.
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