Spatial Structure of Japanese Religion - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 122

The Kanamura association had three managers. The Kanamura and the
Ujiko organization of Akagi shrine had the same members, so that they seemed
to be just one group. However, the form of religious events indicates these
groups differed from each other. The most important difference was the pres-
ence and way to have a meal with kami . In a tutelary shrine, the meal was
always held at the Shuku after a festival, and all Ujiko members gather for the
meal with the kami .
Kamisama is dedicated in the shuku , where people eat together after wor-
ship. The Kanamura association has no such meal with kami , except after nis-
san-hajime . I think it is one of the reasons religious events related to Kanamura
are performed by a particular person, such as the Uwado or a manager, and not
by all members. The ritual for preventing disasters in January and the delegate
visit in November provide evidence of religious activity. For example, at
nissan-hajime in March, a pentagonal wooden board passing was a religious
activity, and that is why a meal with kami was held then. This differs from the
celebration after the festival of the Akagi shrine in several ways. At Akagi, the
celebration was held in a community center, not at the Shuku where the kami is
not present. Moreover, other religious events related to kami of the outside
occurred at the community center. It seems that Kanamura was also accepted as
a kami of the outside, but that did not mean Kanamura was inferior to a tutelary
shrine. Kanamura was worshipped to prevent disasters from outside and when
farming began in spring. People prayed to Kanamura for important things
related to the social life of the community. In this sense, Kanamura was supe-
rior to a tutelary shrine.
Analysis of religious behavior assessed the frequency of visits and the order
of visit on New Year's Day. For example, Mr T regularly visited Kanamura
once a year in January, and made monthly visits to a tutelary shrine or small
shrines. These data imply Kanamura ranks second to the tutelary shrine and the
Shinshoji Temple, although Kanamura was visited more often than the Kasama
Inari and Hitoko tonushi shrines.
We can identify regional characteristics in the Nakahigashi area. Religious
events in this area included delegate visits to Osugi and Atago shrines in
January, a visit of all members to Kanamura in January, the summer festival in
August, and the main festival in December. All these events, except the summer
festival, were overseen by the Ujiko organization of a tutelary shrine. There
were four religious organizations. Associations to visit Osugi and Atago had
two managers and two of the members took turns to visit them. Visitors were
confi rmed at the New Year party.
The association to visit Kanamura differed from the other two organizations.
Although the associations had the same members, the delegation and visiting
systems were different. The managers and visitors were the same as those of the
Ujiko organization, and the Kanamura association did not have a rotation sys-
tem of visiting. It seems that the Kanamura association was not independent,
and existed to distribute the amulets to each household. Members met before
the visits to confi rm the delegates and collect a membership fee. The