Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the interpenetration and tension between the religious and the economic in a Shinto shrine from the perspective of the insiders. Although seeking economic (secular) gain is not appropriate for a religious (sacred) organization, a shrine cannot operate without economic interest.

Paper long abstract:

This paper elucidates how a Shinto shrine situated in a rural depopulated area acts as a company to sustain itself. McLaughlin et al. (2020), suggest that scholars of religion must investigate corporate forms because corporate forms have a religious type of mindset. Contrarily, I suggest rather than finding religion in corporations what if we investigate corporate tendencies in religious organizations? Since 2018 I have been doing fieldwork in a Shinto shrine while working as a miko (shrine maiden). I was bewildered when a Shinto priest called himself a salaryman and shrine a company. Indeed, kannushi’s job is not only doing purification rituals, but they must do lots of other things. Moreover, kannushi receive bonuses, increments in status, salary, and health insurance facilities. It can be said that a Shinto priest is “less an employee than an archetypal salaryman” (Nelson 1997). In the HKN shrine for the staff, the shrine is a ‘company’ and kannushi is a salaryman. The Shrine pays taxes. Moreover, like a company to survive competition the shrine does advertisements and events to attract more worshipers. It selects designs of omamori (amulets) and goshuincho (notebook for collecting shrines or temples’ stamps) from the perspective of sales. As an artisan makes goods, shrines turn goods into omamori. If we notice that the Japanese term houjin that is attached to religious organizations, Shukyou houjin, itself translated as ‘corporation’ however different than the US it includes schools and kin groups that would not be recognized as corporations in the US (Riles 2011). Through examining a model of a Shinto shrine, we can see that religious corporation has a paradox as a term itself. A religious corporation is religious i.e., sacred, and a corporation i.e., secular at the same time. In this paper, I will explore the interpenetration and tension between the religious and the economic in a shrine from the perspective of the insiders. Although seeking economic (secular) gain is not appropriate for a religious (sacred) organization, a shrine cannot operate without economic interest. How does the administration manage the shrine, maintaining the appropriate relationship between them?

Paper short abstract:

Exploration of the ways time was kept in early Sōtō School monasteries provides insight into a intricate ecology of interactions between various groups of human and non-human agents, putting into sharp relief the chronometric aspect of Dōgen’s idea from Uji that “whatever there is, is [also] time.”

Paper long abstract:

Dōgen famously stated in his Shōbōgenzō Uji that “whatever there is, is [also] time” and involves “lining up” (hairetsu 排列) the self and the whole world. Bruno Latour’s maxim to account for the “agency of things” sheds new light on the meaning of these enigmatic statements. It further shows how “measured” and “lived” time were less antagonistic in Early Sōtō monasteries than they are today.

Time concepts and time units are cultural and social artifacts, identified through interaction of human beings, material tools, and the environment. The Zen monasteries founded by Dōgen and his Dharma descendants were no exception to that rule. The ways they used to measure and communicate time exemplifies how monastic life was dependent on an ecology comprising, besides the congregation and its patrons, various man-made devices as well as a host of natural agents, from distant stellar bodies to ants cohabiting monastic dwellings. Following these interactions and their components throws into strong relief the lived engagement of Dōgen and his monastic communities with time, which has so far been predominantly discussed in terms of concepts alone, and in strict opposition to measured time.

Time in Zen monasteries was organized on the basis of civic, lunisolar calendars and the system of twelve stellar hours (shinkoku 辰刻). These calendars could be obtained from the outside. For implementation of their schedules, however, monasteries largely had to rely on their own time-reckoning devices. These varied according to the material and cultural resources they commanded. Monastic regulations by Dōgen and Keizan contain evidence of the multifarious agents – material, animate, and human – involved in determining and communicating time, and the division of functions between them. Exploration of the methods of keeping and announcing time for the co-ordination of monastic life reveals a complex array of interactions between various groups of monastics, material tools, and natural agents. The resulting image shows how measuring and communicating time was a colorful process involving manifold sights, sounds, and a distribution of labor that allowed ordinary monastics to concentrate on the activity at hand while conforming to a tightly knit daily schedule.

Paper short abstract:

The utilization of mythology in contemporary Japan, especially in Miyazaki and Shimane prefecture, is by no means limited to tourism promotion. This paper shows how different stakeholders construct narratives that create images of ancient Japan and thus influence Japanese cultural identity.

Paper long abstract:

References to mythology can be found seemingly anywhere in contemporary Japan. Especially Miyazaki and Shimane prefecture heavily advertise their essential role in Japanese myths in tourism campaigns and use it as branding to attract more visitors. This utilization occurs not only on the prefectural level but also on the regional and national level: municipal tourism bureaus, local volunteer organizations, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), and the “Japan Heritage” Campaign are just as much involved. Looking at this kind of presentation, a connection between archaeological discoveries and mythology that blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction is particularly noticeable. Incidentally, such a mytho-historical narrative can also be found in (nationalist) discourse as a tool for arguing for an unbroken Japanese heritage stemming from ancient times.

These observations raise numerous questions: What is the role of contemporary mythology in Japan? How and why is mythology utilized and applied to different contexts, such as identity construction, tourism promotion, and community building? How are Miyazaki and Shimane prefecture and their respective connections to mythology presented by different actors, and for what purpose? Who are the main stakeholders in the “mythology business,” and do their aims correspond, or do they create tensions?

Focusing on the online presence of different stakeholders in and on Miyazaki and Shimane prefecture, this paper aims to analyze the various approaches to mythology in contemporary Japan. I chart the complex network of relationships between stakeholders and illustrate their diverging interests to show today’s meaning of mythology. Special attention is put on the connections between mythology and various aspects such as (contents) tourism, spiritualism and Shinto, nature and primordialism, and nostalgia and its different characteristics. Thus, I situate mythology within the areas of tourism, nationalism, and heritage management to show its ongoing importance for various stakeholders and possibly recurrent narratives. I argue that today’s utilizations of mythology display certain nuances of nationalism, which will often unknowingly influence the (online) visitor.