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Paper short abstract

Early modern ritualist provided ritual services to influence the good or bad outcomes of divination. These rituals made use of saimon narratives that gave meaning to the performance. This talk reflects on cosmological aspects of Kōjin/Gozu Tennō and Banko/Dokō narratives and their role in ritual.

Paper long abstract

Systematized divination in Japan developed in close relation with the reception and transformation of Chinese cosmologies and techniques through various interconnected traditions: Onmyōdō, medicine, mathematics, esoteric Buddhism, and Shugendō. The object of divination (uranai) was usually set as determining or knowing the positive or negative value (kikkyō) of a sign, a situation, or a combination of parameters. However, this value was almost never completely absolute. Undesirable outcomes could be averted or circumvented. Meanwhile, in some cases even a positive configuration needed to be confirmed or guaranteed. This is at least what transpires from divination manuals, manuscript or printed, produced in the 17th century. This is particularly true for divination regarding long-term endeavors such as coupling or building, which also have social meaning and consequences. In these texts, the results of divination, good or bad, are moderated by injunctions to perform rituals dedicated to specific deities, among whom we often find Kōjin, Dokō, or Ujigami.

Diviners—shugenja, onmyōji, or others—were able to provide this additional service to their clients. This is at least what is suggested by the existence of “ritual narratives” (saimon) transmitted in the archives and collections of such specialists. What is more, printed divination manuals themselves bear witness to these practices through manuscript additions.

In this regard, the Hoki naiden, a late medieval calendar-divination treatise, and other compilations derived from it such as Hoki-shō, appear to have played a major role in the diffusion of narratives about Kōjin and Dokō.

The juxtaposition of multiple levels of content and meaning in the same textual space raises the question of their mutual relation. In this presentation, we will take a closer look at the interconnections between the ritual narratives and the technical contents of specialized manuals, starting with Hoki naiden before looking at manuscript notes at the back of divination books.

In particular, we will try to reflect upon the links between the cosmological dimension of Kōjin/Gozu Tennō and Banko/Dokō narratives, the structure of the texts themselves, and the meaning and purpose of the ritual performances they convey.