Cultural Anthropological Research on the Rite of Passage in Japanese South-Western Islands : Special Emphasis on the Ritusls of Old Age and Death

Research Project

Project/Area Number	04610188
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	文化人類学(含民族学・民俗学)
Research Institution	Fukuoka University
Principal Investigator	MATSUNAGA Kazuto Fukuoka Univ., Fac.of Humanities, Prof., 人文学部, 教授 (90078460)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	NAKANISHI Yuji Fukuoka Univ., Fac.of Humanities, Assoc.Prof., 人文学部, 助教授 (50237327) KATATA Jun Fukuoka Univ., Fac.of Humanities, Prof., 人文学部, 教授 (90037052)
Project Period (FY)	1992 – 1993
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1993)
Budget Amount *help	¥1,700,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000) Fiscal Year 1993: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000) Fiscal Year 1992: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Keywords	ancestral god / pollution of death / Shinto funeral ceremony / Okinawa / longevity culture / longevity ritual / TOUKACHI / KAJIMAYAR / 死後のカミ観念 / 葬儀 / トーカチ / カジマヤー / トゥシビ(生年祝) / 通過儀礼 / 老人 / 葬制
Research Abstract	Matusnaga, the chief researcher, analyzed the process in which the dead person transfers to ancestial god in Tokunoshima Island where Buddhism is not well spread into people's mind. He found that : (1) only the ancesrtal god is enshrined in each household, (2) the notion that death is unclean and polluted is not firmly rooted in these area, but (3) the notion its rather recognized in relation to the village gurdian god. His research also revealed the need for further analysis on the relationships between that notion and the varieties of gods. Katata, the joint researcher, collected and analyzed data mainly from the longevity rituals which celebrate the age 85,88, and 97 in Okinawa. He found that these rituals function as the preparatory process from longevity to death in which long-lived people in Okinawa can peacelully accept one's natural span of life. Also, he found that the ritual plays the role of : (1) assumed funeral service, (2) reassuring and reinforcing their kinship and other relationships, and (3) facilitaing the process from old age to death. Nakanishi, another co-researcher, did fieldwork in Nago-shi and Motobu-cho concerning folk beliefs on longevity, and made participant observation for the longevity rituals of age 88 and 97. from these observations he particularly took note the following two points. First, until 1960s those who reach age 97 are considered in two ways between the living and the dead. Secondly, in keeping with the aging of the people in Okinawa, the longevity ritual has shifed from the age 60s and 70s to 80s and 90s. He also proposed the coming problem to analyze the notion and behavior of CHOUJU-NI-AYAKARU (to share similar good luck with a long-lived person) in the context beyond old age and death.