Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 4.3
Number of Naritasan Religious Associations by Prefecture (“List of Naritasan Religious
Associations and Temple Support Groups, 1972” and “List of Naritasan Religious Associations,
2009”). Notes: (1) The number of religious associations in 1972 includes substitute worship asso-
ciations. (2) The number of religious associations in 2009 includes substitute worship associations
and temple support group
large number of
ko
in Fukushima was that it includes the
ko
that moved there
from Tokyo.
Ko
can be classifi ed into seven categories: (1)
ko
of local residents, (2)
ko
of
employees of a company, (3)
ko
of a company and its affi liated companies, (4)
ko
of companies with whom transactions take place (including affi liates), (5)
ko
of the same profession, (6) parishioners of the
sendatsu
(ancestor), and (7) elec-
tion support organizations. Conditions for registration as a
Narita-ko
include
having a
sendatsu
and
komoto
(representative), performance of the
ogoma
(sacred fi re rite) once a year, association members visiting Naritasan, and
ko
members preparing a list of
ko
members (although some
ko
do not have a
send-
atsu
). Without
sendatsu
, the
ko
can continue only when the status of the repre-
sentative gets passed on.
Ko
numbers halved in the 37 years from 1972 to 2009, but it is diffi cult to
identify exactly when the numbers started decreasing. The reasons for the
decrease in the number of
ko
are: (1) individual worship became easier because
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