Systematic understanding of ancient Japanese spirit belief and research on its specific aspects about MUSUHI/MUSUBI

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K12926
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 02010:Japanese literature-related
• Research Institution: Mejiro University
• Principal Investigator: NABA(MORI) YOKO (森陽香) 目白大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (00845175)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 上代文学 / 古事記 / 万葉集 / 風土記 / 日本書紀 / 霊魂信仰 / 他界観

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research examines the ``belief in spirits'' held by the ancient Japanese, which is said to be at the basis of the establishment of literature, through ancient texts such as the Kojiki, Nihon Shoki, and Man'yoshu. In particular, since the gods Musuhi and Musubi, who were at the center of ancient beliefs, are thought to be the gods that govern the "requiem of souls," we will focus on the "requiem" aspect of the various aspects of soul worship, and mainly examine the Man'yoshu. As a result of considering the relationship between songs and ``requiem,'' we learned about the meaning of the universal action of ``listening,'' views on the other world, the power of ``requiem'' held by the literature of song itself, and changes in the concept of God. I was able to clarify about this.

Free Research Field

上代文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

『萬葉集』は１２００年以上ものあいだ途絶えることなく読み継がれ、多くの研究も積み重ねられてきたが、特に霊魂信仰という側面に焦点をあてると、今なお解明しきれない課題が多く残されていることを明らかにした。また、そのうちのいくつかの問題点について、特定の歌を取り上げて論じたり『萬葉集』全体を見わたしたりと様々な研究手法を用いて具体的に論じた結果、日本文学そのものの意義について迫ってゆくための道筋を見出すことに近づいた。