Infiltration of Ise Shrine worship in the Sengoku period and its background: The case of Izumoda-no-sho in Kambara district, Echigo province

Abstract

This paper discusses the process and background of the infiltration of Ise Shrine worship in Echigo province (Niigata prefecture), where many people began to worship the Ise Shrine during the Sengoku period. The Ise Shrine, consisting of Naiku and Geku, has been visited by worshippers from all over Japan since the Sengoku period. Onshi (the exorcist of Ise Shrine) who run an inn in front of the Ise Shrine, made a great contribution to attracting pilgrims to the Ise Shrine. Such pilgrims were called doja in the medieval age. It is not clear even today how and why Ise Shrine worship spread throughout Japan. Therefore an attempt is made in this paper to investigate the following: 1) the original business and dwelling places of various Onshi; 2) the activity of doja and the existence of shimmeisha, i. e., subordinate shrines of the Ise Shrine; and 3) the production base and social structure in the doja's home villages. Ise Shrine worship in Izumoda-no-sho area in Kambara district, Echigo province, is examined in this study. It is known that some doja were under the charge of the Geku onshi Kita family in the villages within Izumoda-no-sho through the doja-baiken, transfer contract of doja rights in 1560. It is characteristic of Echigo province that although in the medieval age the Ise Shrine had little religious influence there, its worship spread widely during the Sengoku period. The results are as follows: 1) In the case of the Geku onshi Kita family, the merchants who sold doja rights to the Kita family worked to attract new doja, rather than the Kita family. The Kamaya family, who were merchants selling iron pots from Noto province (Ishikawa prefecture), moved to Yamada, a town in front of Geku, and became Geku onshi in the Sengoku period. This means that merchants participated in finding new visitors. 2) In the case of doja at Izumoda-no-sho belonging to the Kita family, onshi tried to attract new doja from newly developed villages, and especially to induce the developers to become doja. The doja Haga family moved to Suginomori village in Izumoda-no-sho in the early 16th century, and established many branch families who formed new villages nearby. They were the heads of the village during the Edo period. Also, shimmeisha were built in the newly developed villages during the Edo period. 3) The basic product of the doja village was aoso (a kind of hemp), which was a staple product in Echigo province during the medieval age. Its trade center was under Kumano oshi during the Muromachi period, but during the Sengoku period the leader changed to Kurata Gorozaemon, originally Ise onshi. It is assumed that other products as well as aoso were traded in this region. This means that Ise onshi, who took on the character of merchant, played an intermediary role in connect the village with the trade route. Accordingly, the spread of Ise Shrine worship in Echigo province in the Sengoku period was highly related to social and economic aspects. Onshi worked not only to expand worship but also trade. Therefore regional changes such as the development of new villages and rebuilding of the trading system fostered Ise Shrine worship in the local community during the Sengoku period.