Spatial Structure of Japanese Religion - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 59

Scarcity and dispersal are signifi cant in the tertiary belief area, but where
enthusiastic believers exist and branch shrines play the role of a branch in a
remote area, a belief in Kasama Inari has developed.

3.1.7 Characteristics of Kasama Inari Belief Area

The concentric circle model of the belief area was used mutatis mutandis to classify
regions in the Kasama Inari belief area (Table 3.1 ). This classifi cation reveals sev-
eral characteristics.
It is possible to distinguish multiple regions within the belief area of mountain
and other religions with a strong element of a God-mode, like the Kasama Inari
faith. In an area further than 50 km from the belief base, ko organizations are quite
active, and invitational branch shrines exist in the secondary to tertiary belief areas.
These elements of belief expression within the belief area are also common to
mountain religions. Unlike the mountain religions, the elements of Kasama Inari do
not function as a social bond for local communities, and the primary belief area of
Kasama Inari within 50 km of the mountain religions was small. The belief area of
Kasama Inari does not have an area structure equivalent to the core-domain-sphere
described by Meinig ( 1965 ), but forms a doughnut in which the core of the distribu-
tion of believers falls within an area of 50-150 km of the shrine.
The belief area of Kasama Inari spreads west from the shrine to the southeast
sector, but the prevalence of the belief in the north sector is low. This is not a simple
concentric circle and has a sectoral characteristic. Factors supporting this include
the local geography, such as the difference in population size between the south and
north areas of Kasama Inari , and historic factors when Kasama Inari developed into
a God mode, along with the religious characteristics of Kasama Inari itself.
Although the sectoral nature is signifi cant, another factor that enables a regional
classifi cation of the belief area by distance from Kasama Inari is the characteristic
of ko distribution . Many ko exist within 50-150 km, which is close enough for a
one-day recreational trip. Few ko were found in an area within 50 km, where wor-
ship activities play an important function, because other recreation is diffi cult. The
belief area was probably formed in conjunction with a leisure function, and in rela-
tion to religious mindsets. I expect the belief area would differ depending on the
characteristics of the religion. As with new religious groups and religions that pur-
sue relief from the serious hardship of life, I expect distance would be less
signifi cant.
This section is an attempt to defi ne regional classifi cations for the belief area
using the distribution patterns of the believers, but I think it is also necessary to
analyze the content of the belief in each area, and consider the historical factors
behind the belief area formation.