Emperor and Shrine: Commemoration, Ideology, and Identity
October 28. 9:25AM-2:30PM, East Zone E-112
This event is jointly funded by:
Forum for Interdisciplinary Religious Studies (FiReF-FIRSt), University of Göttingen
Progress 100 Strategic Partnership “Reiterations of the Past,” Kyushu University
Schedule:
9:25 Welcome
9:30 Reconstructing a Palace and Building a Shrine: Heian Jingū as a Marker of National and Regional Identity
Ellen Van Goethem, Kyushu University
10:15 Shinto Shrines in Hawai’i: Translating Between Secularisms, 1898–1941
Karli Shimizu, Hokkaido University
11:00 Underneath the Grand Yellow Imperial Roofs of Martyrs’ Shrines: Taiwan’s Colonial Past, Present and Onwards, and the Political Symbolism at Play
Liza Wing Man Kam, University of Göttingen
Lunch
13:00 Whose Shrine? Community and Meaning in the Land of Shinto and Power Spots
Caleb Carter, Kyushu University
13:45 What to Do with the Dead Tennō? Funeral Rites, Burial Sites and Commemoration of the Dead in the Japanese Imperial Family
Michael Wachutka, Tübingen University Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto
Abstracts:
Ellen Van Goethem
Kyushu University
Reconstructing a Palace and Building a Shrine: Heian Jingū as a Marker of National and Regional Identity
Heian Jingū was established in the late 19th century as a commemorative monument to mark the 1100th anniversary of the founding of the Heian capital. With the enshrinement of the spirit of Kanmu Tennō, who was deified specifically for this purpose, and Heian Jingū’s designation as major imperial shrine (kanpei taisha), the complex also became one of the highest-ranking shrines in the newly devised national hierarchy of Shinto shrines.
This paper will highlight a number of key moments in Heian Jingū’s existence to address how the shrine became a site of production for both regional and national identity. Through Heian Jingū, a variety of actors created a multitude of images, narratives, and representations of these identities, which themselves varied over time. It will thus become clear that from its inception until the present day, Heian jingū has been the product of a complex, sophisticated, and continuous process of (re)invention and transformation, guided by the historical, social, and ideological contexts within which it evolved.
Karli Shimizu
Hokkaido University
Shinto Shrines in Hawai’i: Translating Between Secularisms, 1898–1941
In the late 19th century, Japan underwent the ambitious project of modernisation. This came to include the establishment of the political system of secularism and the reorganization of its pre-modern traditions into the new categories of religion, non-religion, and superstition. During the same period, fears of overpopulation led Japan to encourage its citizens to migrate overseas, not only to settle in Japan’s new colonies, but also to find work in foreign lands. Hawai’i, which became an American territory in 1898, became one of the most popular destinations for Japanese migrants, and by 1900, ethnic Japanese made up almost 40% of Hawai’i’s population. As these migrant workers increasingly began to put down roots in Hawai’i, they also began establishing Shinto shrines. Under the Japanese system of secularism, Shinto shrines were classified as legally secular, while in the U.S., Shinto shrines were seen as religious organisations at best, or barbaric superstitions at worst.
This presentation looks at several Shinto shrines in Hawai’i to examine how their Japanese migrant communities navigated the differing location of shrines in Japanese and American secularism. First, it will examine how these Japanese migrants modernised their pre-modern shrine traditions to follow newer conceptions of shrines as public, modern sites. Then it will examine how Japanese migrants translated their shrines into the American religious sphere.
Michael Wachutka
Tübingen University Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto
What to Do with the Dead Tennō? Funeral Rites, Burial Sites and Commemoration of the Dead in the Japanese Imperial Family
The fundamental prerequisite for imperial succession is the end of the preceding reign. Although, just as in 2019, abdications have happened in the course of history, the end of a reign usually occurs with death of a Tennō. On 23 December 2018, Emperor Akihito celebrated his 85th birthday. However, casting a shadow upon this happy occasion, the now abdicated Heisei Tennō’s state of health has been a cause for concern for a number of years after he had to undergo a prostate cancer operation in 2003 and a coronary vessel bypass procedure in February 2012. Largely repressed from consciousness and left unspoken, if not downright taboo, the maxim “mors certa hora incerta” applies to everyone: Although the actual moment is unknown, death is certain for all—and an emperor is no exception. Thus inevitably, even if only behind closed doors, the question arises: “What to do with the dead Tennō?” when the time finally comes. With reference to Emperor Akihito, an answer was presented to the public with some surprising details at a press conference in November 2013 by the head of the Imperial Household Agency. One of the most astonishing “innovations” in this respect is that for the first time in over 400 years a Japanese Tennō is going to be cremated after his death, but there will also be changes in the funeral ceremony and the layout of the mausoleum.
This presentation considers the announced revisions within the context of all other imperial burials that have taken place in Japan to date, which—for various political, social, and individual reasons—were subject to major changes in the course of history with regard to their type and nature, location, architectural style of monument, ceremonial sequence, and ideological implication.
Caleb Carter
Kyushu University
Whose Shrine? Community and Meaning in the Land of Shinto and Power Spots
Throughout the modern era, Shinto has been regarded as an ancient tradition and key signifier of what it means to be Japanese. In this sense, shrines play a central role in the idea of Japan as a national community. This distinctly modern ideology relies on a constellation of symbols that are maintained through institutional, political, and popular discourses.
Practice and ideology, however, do not always agree. While some practices within Shinto adhere to a national symbolic structure, others push against it. The recent phenomenon of “power spots” (pawāsupotto) exemplifies the latter. This talk will discuss the presence of power spots amidst a competitive landscape of discourse and practice that raise questions about the relationship between religion and place. At the center of this conversation is the matter of how shrines grapple with conflicting modes of meaning and representation. Does the clergy who manage them privilege national symbolics, popular trends, or something in between? The power spot phenomenon offers a window into these larger negotiations that center on community, meaning, and place in contemporary Japan.
Liza Wing Man Kam
University of Göttingen
