Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
were clearly separate. In contrast, the life in the forest is cyclical, and forest people
were aware of the life cycle of plants—growth, decay, return to earth, the emergence
of sprouts, and new growth. The cyclical notion of samsara originated in forests
where high temperatures and humidity helped the rapid growth of vegetation.
The concept of “deserts” and “forests” used here is rather ideological. However,
the Japanese were originally forest people and understand and sympathize with
Kenko-Hoshi's idea that the Buddha exists in every living thing. In contrast, the
polytheistic notion of several Gods who must all be appeased probably developed as
an expression of gratitude to nature, which sustains forests and provides rich har-
vests and other benefi ts.
2.1.2
Shrines and Village Shrine Groves
The deep bond between forests and the Japanese appears in various ways. Recall the
birth scenes of Kaguyahime and Momotaro in folklore and old fables. The former
lived in a bamboo forest. The latter was born inside a peach. The tales show the
Japanese believed that thick bamboo forests and upstream forests were sacred
places where the Gods dwelled or to where they descended (Yabe 2002 ). In Japan,
Gods are represented as one or two pillars, showing that the Japanese attribute tree-
like qualities to them. The Japanese consider that forests are sacred, their Gods once
dwelled in large trees, and that forests were home to divinity and goodness.
The origin of shrines shows that while forests were originally considered sacred,
the concept of shrine building did not exist. While Japanese Gods were believed to
dwell in himorogi (sacred trees), iwakur a (sacred rocks), and kamunabi (sacred
mountains), permanent shrines for these Gods were built later (Ueda 2004 ).
Figure 2.1 shows goshimboku (God tree), three Cedars, in the grounds of Futarasan
Shrine (Nikko City, Tochigi), in a position from where the sacred mountain
(Nyohousan) behind the shrine's hall can be worshipped. A Shimenawa , (braided
rope) is wrapped around the massive trees (which are more than 300 years old), and
heisoku (wooden wands) reveal the yorishiro (the God's dwelling place, an object
that attract spirits). Figure 2.2 shows an enormous rock, enshrined as sacred and
used to train shugen-do monks, on the Furumine Shrine (Kanuma City, Tochigi).
Evergreen trees such as sakaki and shikimi are often used as himorogi ; the religious
belief that evergreen trees are the yorishiro of Gods was later extended to sacred
trees such as the kambashira and mihashira .
Chinju-no-mori (village shrine groves) highlight the relationship between the
Gods and forests more clearly. It is apparent from everyday life in Japan that yashiro
(shrines) and shaso (forests) are inseparably linked (Fig. 2.3 ). Figure 2.4 shows a
model of the spatial composition of a shaso . At the entrance to the sanctuary from
the public road stands a Torii , a symbol that separates the sacred from the profane.
Upon entering the grounds by walking under the Torii , one observes a path that leads
to a shrine hall. The hall comprises a shinden (the place to where the Gods descend)
and a haiden (worship hall). At the back of the shrine hall is a yama , where the Gods
reside. The ordinary forests that surround the shrine are often on sacred land that
Search WWH ::




Custom Search