CHAPTER XV

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POPULAR GODS AND SHRINES OF SHINTOISM.

The characteristics of “Pure Shintô” are an absence of an ethical and doctrinal code, of idol-worship, of priestcraft, and of any teachings concerning a future state, and the deification of heroes, emperors and great men, together with the worship of certain forces and objects in nature. It is said that the _Kami_, or gods, number 14,000, of whom 3,700 are known to have shrines; but, practically, the number is infinite. Each hamlet has its special god, as well as its _Mirja_, or shrine; and each child is taken to the shrine of the district in which it is born, a month after birth, and the god of that shrine becomes his patron. Each god has its annual festival, while many have particular days in each month on which people visit their shrines.--MISS ISABELLA BIRD.

THE SEVEN HOUSEHOLD GODS.

Mr. Griffis says: Every Japanese child knows the _Shichifuku Jin_, or the seven Patrons of Happiness. They have charge of long life, riches, daily food, contentment, talents, glory and love. Their images, carved in ivory, wood, stone, or cast in bronze, are found in every house, sold in the stores, painted on shop-signs, and found in picture-books. They are a jolly company, and make a happy family. On New Year’s Eve, a picture of the Treasure-ship (Yakarébuné), laden with Shippí (the seven jewels) and with all the good things of life which men most desire, is hung up in houses. The ship is coming into port, and the passengers are the seven happy fairies who will make gifts to the people. These seven jewels are the same as those which Momotaro brought back from the Onis island.

[Illustration: DAIKOKU, THE RICE-GOD, ON HIS THRONE OF RICE-BAGS.]

First there is Fukoruku Jin, the patron of long life or length of days. He has an enormously high forehead, rounded at the top, which makes his head look like a sugar loaf. It is bald and shiny. A few stray white hairs sometimes sprout up, and the barber, to reach them, has to prop a ladder against his head to climb up and apply his razor. This big head comes from thinking so much. His eyebrows are white like cotton, and a long, snowy beard falls down over his breast. When in a specially good humor, he ties a handkerchief over his high, slippery crown, and allows little boys to climb up on top--that is, if they are good boys, and can write well. When he wants to show how strong and lively he is, even though so old, he lets Daikoku, the fat fellow, ride on top of his head while he smokes his pipe and wades across a river. Daikoku has to hold on tightly, or he will slip down and get a ducking. Usually, the old shiny-head is a very solemn gentleman, and walks slowly along with his staff in one hand, while with the other he strokes his long eyebrows. The tortoise and the crane are always with him, for these are his pets. Sometimes a stag, with hair white with age, walks behind him. Everybody likes Fukoruku Jin, because every one wants to get his favor and live until, like a lobster, his back is bent with age. At a wedding, you will always see a picture of white-bearded and shiny-pated Fukoruku Jin.

[Illustration: FUKORUKU JIN, THE GOD WHO CAN BESTOW LONG LIFE.

From a Japanese Picture showing their conception of the way in which the gods can supervise affairs in various places.]

Daikoku is a short chubby fellow, with eyes half sunk in fat, but twinkling with fun. He has a flat cap set on his head, a loose sack over his shoulders, and big boots on his feet. His throne is two straw bags of rice, and his badge of office is a mallet or hammer, which makes people rich when he shakes it. The hammer is the symbol of labor, showing that people may expect to get rich only by hard work. One end of it is carved to represent the jewel of the ebbing and the flowing tides, because merchants get rich by commerce on the sea, and must watch the tides. He is often seen holding the counting-board, on which you can reckon, do sums, subtract, multiply or divide, by sliding balls up and down a row of sticks set in a frame, instead of writing the figures. Beside him is a ledger and day-book. His favorite animal is the rat, which, like some rich men’s pets, eats or runs away with his wealth.

The great silver-white radish called _daikon_, two feet long and as big as a man’s calf, is always seen near him, because it signifies flourishing prosperity. He keeps his bag tightly shut, for money easily runs away when the purse is once opened. He never lets go his hammer, for it is only by constant care that any one can keep money after he gets it. Even when he frolics with Fukoruku Jin, and rides on his head, he keeps his hammer swinging at his belt. He has huge lop ears. Once in a while, when he wishes to take exercise, and Fukoruku Jin wants to show how frisky he can be, even if he is old, they have a wrestling-match together. Daikoku nearly always beats, because Fukoruku Jin is so tall that he has to bend down to grip Daikoku, who is fat and short, and thus he becomes top-heavy. Then Daikoku gets his rival’s long head under his left arm, seizes him over his back by the belt, and throws him over his shoulder flat on the ground. But if Fukoruku Jin can only get hold of Daikoku’s lop ears both fall together. Then they laugh heartily and try it again.

[Illustration: DOMESTIC ALTAR OF THE GODS OF DAILY FOOD AND OF RICE.]

Ebisu is the patron of daily food, which is usually rice and fish, and in old times was chiefly the latter. He is nearly as fat as Daikoku. He wears a court noble’s high cap. He is always fishing or enjoying his game. When very happy, he sits on a rock by the sea, with his right leg bent under him, and a big red fish, called the tai, a fish like a perch, under his left arm. He carries a straw wallet on his back to hold his fish and keep it fresh. Often he is seen standing knee deep in the water, pole in hand, watching for a nibble. Some say that Ebisu is the same scamp that goes by the other name of Sosanoō.

[Illustration: HOTEI, THE GOD OF HAPPINESS.]

Hotei is the patron of contentment, and, of course, is the father of happiness. He does not wear much clothing, for the truth is that all his property consists of an old, ragged wrapper, a fan and a wallet. He is as round as a pudding, and as fat as if rolled out of dough. His body is like a lump of rice pastry, and his limbs like _dango_ dumplings. He has lop ears that hang down over his shoulders, a tremendous double chin, and a round belly. Though he will not let his beard grow long, the slovenly old fellow never has it shaven when he ought to. He is a jolly vagabond and never fit for company; but he is a great friend of the children, who romp over his knees and shoulders, pull his ears and climb up over his shaven head. He always keeps something good for them in his wallet. Sometimes he opens it wide and then makes them guess what is inside. They try to peep in, but they are not tall enough to look over the edge. He makes tops, paints pictures or kites for the boys, and is the children’s greatest friend. When the seven patrons meet together, Hotei is apt to drink more wine than is good for him. Toshi-toku is almost the only one of the seven who never lays aside his dignity. He has a very grave countenance. He is the patron of talents. His pet animal is a spotted fawn. He travels about a good deal to find and reward good boys who are diligent in their studies, and men who are fitted to rule. In one hand he carries a crooked staff of bamboo, at the top of which is hung a book or roll of manuscript. His dress is like that of a learned doctor, with square cap, stole and high-toed slippers.

Bishamon is the patron of glory and fame. He is a mighty soldier. He wears a golden helmet, breast-plate and complete armor. He is the protector of priests and warriors. He gives them skill in fencing, horsemanship and archery. He holds a pagoda in one hand and a dragon sword in the other. His pet animal is the tiger.

Six out of the jolly worthies are men. Benten is the only lady. She is the patron of the family and of the sea. She plays the flute and the guitar for the others, and amuses them at their feasts, sometimes even dancing for them. Her real home is in Rin Gu, and she is the queen of the world under the sea. She often dwells in the caves of the sea or ocean. Her favorite animal is the snake and her servants are the dragons.

Once a year the jolly seven meet together to talk over old times, relate their adventures, and have a luxuriant supper. Then they proceed to business, which is to arrange all the marriages for the coming year. They have a great many skeins of red and white silk, which are the threads of fate of those to be married. The white threads are the men, the red are the women. At first they select the threads very carefully, and tie a great many pairs or couples neatly and strongly together, so that the matches are perfect. All such marriages of threads make happy marriages among human beings. But by and by they get tired and lazy, and instead of tying the knots carefully, they hurry up the work and then jumble them carelessly, and finally toss and tangle up all the rest. This is the reason why so many marriages are unhappy. This work done they begin to frolic like big boys. Benten plays the guitar, and Bishamon lies down on the floor resting upon his elbows to hear it. Hotei drinks wine out of a shallow red cup which is as wide as a dinner plate. Daikoku and Fukoruku Jin begin to wrestle, and when Daikoku gets his man down he pounds his big head with an empty gourd, while Toshi-toku and Ebisu begin to eat tai fish. When this fun is over, Benten and Fukoruku Jin play a game of checkers, while the others look on and bet; except Hotei, the fat fellow, who is asleep. Finally they get ashamed of themselves for gambling, and after a few days, the party breaks up and each one goes to his regular business again.

THE SACRED MOUNTAIN.

Almost the first object which meets the gaze of the traveler after crossing the Pacific Ocean and as he nears the land, is the matchless mountain, Fuji-yama. Its snow-covered heights rise some 13,000 feet above the sea. To the people of Japan this is the sacred mountain. It is depicted on all their lacquer-ware, their china-ware and their drawings. It is described in all their poems and sacred books. It has a strong hold on the people. It is a sleeping volcano. Nearly 2,000 feet of its sides are cultivated. Then comes a wide belt of forest. The ascent of the mountain is a sacred pilgrimage, and there are accordingly a number of roads to the top, with nine huts on each road. The pilgrims are dressed in white robes, and pray to the rising sun while climbing the mountain sides. Sometimes one may see several hundreds of Shinto pilgrims in their white robes turning out from their shelters, and joining their chants to the rising sun. The view of the long sweeping sides of this mountain, rising from an almost level plain and climbing away to the clouds, through which it thrusts its snow-crowned top, is one of the grandest in the world.

[Illustration: THE SACRED MOUNTAIN, FUJI-YAMA.]

SHINTO TEMPLES AND GATE-WAYS.

The temples are usually of very simple style, being constructed of wood and thatched. They contain no idols; but in the courtyards or approaches figures of real and imaginary animals are not at all uncommon, especially in the case of large temples. The approach is spanned by one or more _torii_. The _torii_, it is now generally admitted, was originally a perch for the fowls offered to the gods, not as food, but to give warning of daybreak. Its present use is not for this purpose, but is simply as a decoration. At the outer shrine of Isé, which is called the _gékû_, there is an immense number of votive _torii_ standing close to each other in long rows. But the more common form of votive offering is a large lantern, several feet in height, and formed either of wrought stone or of bronze. These are sometimes of very large size, even ten or twelve feet high, and are often crowded thickly near the approaches alike of Shinto and Buddhist temples. The worshiper does not enter the temple to worship at a Shinto shrine. He stands in front of it, striking his hands together, and offers, bowed, and usually in silence, the short and simple prayer which his own necessities dictate.

[Illustration: SHINTO SHRINE, NEAR YOKOHAMA, JAPAN, WITH WORSHIPERS, VESSEL OF HOLY WATER, ETC.]

[Illustration: A TENTO, OR “HEAVENLY LANTERN.”]

THE SACRED SHRINES OF ISÉ.

First for sacredness among the Japanese Shinto temples are the Shrines of Isé. These are to Japan what Mecca is to Mohammedan lands and what Jerusalem was to the Holy Land. Thousands of pilgrims visit these shrines every year. Sir E. J. Reed, thus describes his visit:

“At the entrance we were met by two Shinto priests, who had been deputed to show us the sacred place. Passing under the _torii_, we were at once amid trees of an age and magnitude not often equaled. Within the temple-limits we came first to a small edifice, in which was the white horse of the deity of the place, which happened to be an artificial horse, the real one having recently died, and another not being forthcoming at present, for reasons which I did not learn. Soon afterward we came to two living black horses, consecrated to the service of the temple, and more particularly for the god of the place--‘the god of food, clothes and house living,’ according to one authority; or, ‘the god of the earth’s produce,’ as another has it, to ride upon in the processions of the great temple ceremonials.

[Illustration: SHRINES OF ISÉ, THE MOST SACRED PLACE OF SHINTOISM.]

“There are secondary deities worshiped there, the chief of whom is the adopted grandson of the sun-goddess and the great-grandfather of the first Mikado, Jimmu Tenno, who commenced his reign in the Japanese year 1. According to the legend, the goddess wished to send her adopted son, Oshi-ho-mimi-no-mikoto, down upon earth to subdue it, but he put forth his own son instead as leader of the expedition. The goddess then presented Ninigi-no-mikoto with various treasures, the most important among which--and here we touch upon the central sacredness alike of the race of Mikados and of the symbols of the Shinto faith--were the mirror, sword and stone, or ball (afterwards the regalia of the Japanese sovereigns). She also attached to his person the other two inferior gods of Geku. With reference to the mirror, she said, ‘Look upon this mirror as my spirit; keep it in the same house and on the same floor with yourself, and worship it as if you were worshiping my actual presence.’

“Passing under another _torii_ of plain, unpainted timber, like all the _torii_ of the Isé shrines, we came to the outer gate of the temple proper, to which alone of three successive gates we and the other pilgrims were allowed to approach. With certain extremely rare exceptions, extending only to the Mikado and commissioners of his, none but priests are allowed to pass this first gate. It was an open gate, however, with a simple white curtain or cloth thrown across it, blowing about as the wind listed. Through this open gate, or past the sides of it, if you preferred to stand there, you could see the next gate, and beyond that again was a third, and then came the temple proper, which could not be seen. This was all! The buildings, as far as seen, were all of the plainest possible kind, not unlike substantial, well-thatched farm-buildings at home. The mirror at this outer temple was not the original mirror, and the priest did not for a moment lead us to suppose that it was. There was, in fact, no pretence of any kind about the place. The ancient buildings and the plain white curtain were left to produce that which is perhaps the deepest and most lasting of all impressions made by religious externals, namely, that of combined simplicity and antiquity. Of this outer temple I need only add, that it is in every respect a sequel and appendage to the inner and more ancient temple, having been built by the desire of the goddess of the older Isé temple, who wished to have the deity Toyouké near her. This, the outer and later temple, dates from the reign of the twenty-second Mikado of the present reigning dynasty, Yuriaku, in the year 479 A.D.

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF A SHINTO TEMPLE, SHOWING THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR WORSHIP.]

“Soon afterwards we started for the inner temple, Naiku. Here is kept the original sacred mirror, which is the most precious emblem of the Shinto faith, and which, with the sacred sword and ball, is also the authenticating memorial of the imperial dynasty. So all Japan has regarded it for 2,500 years, even down to 1868, and so most of the people regard it still. This temple came to be built in the following manner: The sacred emblems of the national religion had, up to the time of the great Mikado Sujin, been kept in the imperial palace or temple; but he, as some say to increase their safety, and as others allege because he viewed a rebellion which broke out as a mark of divine disapprobation of their remaining in his custody, gave them into the charge of his daughter, in a temple dedicated to them. They were subsequently removed and carried from place to place, but at length, in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Suinin Tenno, and therefore in the year 3 B.C., it was resolved to fix the mirror at the village of Uji on the River Suzugawa, and there and then the present temple was built. The old building does not exist. On the contrary, a new temple is erected every twenty years, but each new temple is an exact repetition of the original, and therefore the present one is a perfect representation of the architecture of Japan at the time of Christ. The principal deity here worshiped is Amaterasu, the sun-goddess herself.

“The gate-way was open, and hung, like that of the other temple, with a long white curtain, and beyond were seen another _torii_ and other gate-ways, but nothing could be seen of the temple itself, and as little, of course, of the heaven-wrought mirror within. As we stood, however, the pilgrims continued to come, of both sexes and all ages, and casting upon the ground a few coins, some wrapped in paper, stooping, clapping their hands, and uttering a few words of prayer, thus attained and completed the object for which their journeyings had been undertaken. I asked if this was all they saw and did, and was told that it was. I inquired if they attended no religious service, saw no dances, heard no music, received no advice; and found that as a rule they did not. Was no blessing pronounced, no simple memorial of some kind presented to them? Nothing; but they all bought little mementos of the place at the stall in the grounds or at the shops in the village. What was it they said during the minute or two that they stooped before the shrine? They no doubt asked for whatever they wanted in particular, and generally for long life, and the means of life and happiness in the years to come.

“Our companions, the priests, suggested that we ought to see one of the ceremonial dances of the temple, and to this we gladly assented on learning that it would not be a repetition of what we had seen at Osaka and Nara, but that it was one of the most ancient description, handed down from generation to generation at these Isé shrines. The room had an altar at the end opposite the entrance, over which was a large mirror. Round the altar and walks were an abundance of _goheis_, and of bands and tassels. At the altar-end of the room a priest sat on one side, and along each of the side walls were the musicians and dancers, all sitting on their heels. The musicians, who were also singers, were all men; the dancers were quite young girls attired in white and red, with frontlets of brass, from each end of which depended a cord and tassel. On the tops of their heads were large bunches of flowers; their back hair was in a queue, with tassels attached, surmounted with gilt bows and ribbons. There were two equally young girls in red and blue with plainer head-dresses, who in a certain way attended on the others. The dance began by a subordinate priest coming in by a side entrance with a wet branch of the sacred _sakaki_ tree in his hand. After bowing to the shrine, he turned to the visitors, and waved it a few times swiftly before them, and then disappeared. Returning again to the same entrance, he handed in to the two blue-and-red attendants, trays of herbs, rice and fruits in succession. These were borne ceremoniously elevated to the six priestesses, who conveyed them in a similar manner to the altar, placing the contents of the first two trays upon an inner altar, and those of the remaining four upon an outer altar, then returning the trays to their two attendants, who passed them out of the building.

[Illustration: CEREMONIAL DANCE OF THE SHINTO PRIESTS.]

“While this was proceeding, the band sent forth what sounded to me as wailing, imploring, importunate sounds, with an occasional rap upon the drum for emphasis. The priest, who wore the ancient head-dress like that of the Mikado, now rose, and after a few obeisances before the mirror sat down upon his heels, facing the altar, and intoned a prayer, or novito, from a large sheet of paper held outspread before him, the musicians, and dancers, and attendants all sitting with bowed heads to its end. Small branches of _sakaki_ were now brought to the priestesses, and the dance took place to an accompaniment of livelier music. The dance comprised no very active movements, but consisted mainly of short, slow and grave promenading, with occasional stately bowings and much slow waving of the branches. This over, a boy entered, dressed in the military undress robes of a _kugé_ (court noble) of the olden time, and holding in his hands a branch of _sakaki_, with a pendant hoop, doubtless in lieu of a mirror. He danced, as it is called, to much louder music, but the dancing was little more than further promenading and making certain sweeping movements with the branch of sakaki, with an occasional high step. Of course, it is a great pity for the significance of all this to be lost; but nothing explanatory could be elicited from any of the Japanese present, and from the answers of the priests I infer that if the various movements of these dances ever had any great and special significance, the remembrance of it is pretty nearly or quite lost. The priest next came forward again, and, after elevating the written prayer a few times before the shrine, left the building by the side door. The process of placing the fruits and other offerings upon the altar was now reversed, and everything was removed from the altars and taken away, the music meanwhile playing loud and joyous strains. With this ended the most ancient of the dances in the most sacred national shrine of Japan.”

Very great changes have occurred in Japan since the year 1868, when the Mikado became the temporal as well as the spiritual head of the Empire. The interests of Shintoism have suffered in the change. Prof. Max Müller estimates that there are now only 200,000 Shintoists in all Japan.

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