Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
(2) The Spatial Characteristics of the Kanamura Faith in 1995
In 1995, half of the Kanamura associations in Toyosato district were dantai - ko
and half were nichigetsunenzan - ko (Table 3.4 ). Of the Kanamura associations
in Toyosato district, most were territorial relation groups in principle. In this
section, I consider three points: period of organization, managers, and religious
forms.
Many associations of daidai-ko were organized after 1940, except in Kamisato
district, which was organized in 1991. The founding period for nichigetsunenzan - ko
in most of the districts is unclear, but I assume many associations were organized
before 1940 because two, the Kamigo central youth club and Oyama district, were
established in 1931. Organizations were founded after 1940 for three reasons. First,
the organization of ko was encouraged by persons who were connected with
Kanamura . Dantai - ko were encouraged by the people who lived in Raijin district,
which was a shrine town. Business people wished to boost commerce by attracting
more visitors, so invitations to visit the shrine were mailed. Although Kanamura
priests were not directly connected with the associations, they were given 30 % of
the income as a reward. In the 1930s, this type of association was called kangiku
dantai-ko . One reason to visit Kanamura was to admire the chrysanthemums as a
form of recreation. The name of this type of association was changed during war-
time. Although most of the records of dantai - ko were scattered and lost, an associa-
tion of the Imakashima-Kaihata and Koya districts was organized by the people
living in Raijin district.
In contrast, Kamisato district differed. A Shinto priest of a tutelary shrine in the
district died in 1990, and the chief priest of Kanamura held a festival at the shrine
afterwards. The managers of ko in Kamisato district organized a dantai - ko to visit
Kanamura in 1991 to thank the chief priest. There was a ko with a delegate system
to Osugi Shrine in Sakuragawa village in Ibaraki before the Second World War. In
those days, the fi ve districts in northern Imakashima were united under one ko.
Delegate visits to the Osugi Shrine were stopped during the war, and after the war,
people wanted to revive the ko. Accordingly, people living in Kamishuku district
began to visit Kanamura instead of Osugi Shrine. The cases of Oyama and Kakunai
districts are similar in that prayers for rain were offered in Kanamura before the war.
The ko managers could be appointed by different systems of election. The hered-
itary system of managers of Kanamura associations in Toyosato district was not
followed. Although many fi xed-term members may be in charge for a long time, the
managers in Kanamura associations in nine of eleven groups in Toyosato were
changed annually or biennially. One attribute of managers was that a representative
of the Ujiko organization of the tutelary shrine or the head of the district was in
overall charge. This means that a Kanamura association can unite with other reli-
gious or neighborhood associations managed by other persons. Since the Kanamura
association was not an independent organization, it was natural that the managers
changed every year or so because their term depended on other organizations.
Next, I describe the timing of shrine visits, delegate visitors, and rites. Delegate
visits of dantai - ko were made in autumn, and those of nichigetsunenzan - ko, in
January. The timing of dantai - ko visits was determined by Kanamura, so the
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