Spatial Structure of Japanese Religion - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 81

frequency of delegate visits to Kanamura was less than that of Yoshikawa district.
Managers went to Kanamura as delegate visitors once a year, a clear indication that
delegate visitors were not determined in rotation but were fi xed by managers. It is
remarkable that a rotation system of delegate visitors was not adopted by the
Kanamura association in Toyosato district, which thus differs from other ko. The
association has no religious rites, such as drawing lots or a meal with kami , and this
means that the association does not function as an independent ko.
Of the two types of Kanamura associations organized in Toyosato district, nich-
igetsunenzan - ko originated from the prayer for rain, and dantai - ko were founded
after 1940 by people living in a shrine town to encourage visits. The organization of
the ko was united with other religious or neighborhood associations, and the ko was
headed by the manager of another organization. Accordingly, the ko were not inde-
pendent because no religious events were performed and the frequency of visits to
the shrine was low.
In fi scal year 1995, 261 believers lived in Toyosato district (Fig. 3.26 ). Only
persons whose addresses were verifi ed at the time of the visit were included. Most
(183, 70.1 %) lived in Kamigo district, a part of Ujiko region. Believers were clus-
tered in Raijin, Hon-Kanamura, and Muko-Kanamura, close to Kanamura; and
Oshuku and Kamishuku in central Kamigo district. In 1995, over three-fourths
(75.6 %) of believers visited Kanamura in January, whereas in 1931, visits were
spread over the entire year. In 1931, more than 75 % of the prayers were for sol-
diers' safety, but in 1995, most prayers were for family safety, and most were offered
in January (see Fig. 3.17 ).
In 1996, 227 out of 3,135 households (7.2 %) in Toyosato district had members
who were believers. We can see the large difference between Ujiko region and the
other regions. In Ujiko , 166 out of 1,229 households (13.5 %) had members who
were believers; other regions only had 61 out of 1,906 (3.2 %). However, the pro-
portion of believers varied within the Ujiko region. In Kamigo district, where
Kanamura was founded, 16.1 % of households had believers. In contrast, there were
only two believers in Konomata, four in Tegomaru, and none in Nobata. The com-
bined total of these three districts was a mere 2.5 % of the regional total. Even if
these districts were parts of Ujiko region, they were other villages before 1889, so
their religious consciousness of Kanamura was different from that of Kamigo. At
district level, Raijin, which was once a shrine town, had a huge 67.7 %, followed by
Node, Muko-Kanamura, and Hon-Kanamura in the second group (Table 3.5 ).

3.2.3.2 An Aspect of the Kanamura Faith in the Konomata District

Konomata district in the southwest of Toyosato district (see Fig. 3.24 ) is on fl at ground
about 20 m above sea level. The Nishiyata River fl ows in a north-south direction to the
east, and paddy fi elds are cultivated in the river basin. The Konomata district was the
fi ef of the Toyota family from the twelfth century to 1603, when the land became the
fi ef of the Sugaya family. When the Sugaya family moved in 1698, the land was a
shogunal demesne (Toyosato Town History Compilation Committee 1985 ).