The duality of the image of the Other/Alien in Japanese culture: from the demonic to the divine
pdf (Русский)

Keywords

Japan, believes, Ebisu, the Other/Alien, Stranger, otherness

How to Cite

1. Павленко Н. The duality of the image of the Other/Alien in Japanese culture: from the demonic to the divine // Journal of Frontier Studies. 2018. № 4. C. 147-168.

Abstract

This article analyzes the ambivalence of the image of the Other/Alien in Japanese culture and the prerequisites for its formation associated with internal and external processes in Japanese society. Under the conditions of alternation of periods of isolation and openness, cultural influence from outside and complete isolation, the images of the Other were also subjected to constant transformations. All this led to the fact that often the image of Alien shifted its value orientations to diametrically opposite. The Alien could be the bearer of evil or the bearer of good. After the policy of isolationism was declared by Bakufu in 1640, and the subsequent measures were taken to maximize control over the movement of citizens through the country, an Alien was not only a foreigner, but also any Japanese traveling around the country. The appearance of any Stranger in a particular area was something exceptional. The very fact of the journey was exclusive, because only monks, samurai and merchants could travel, who have received special permissions, or some anti-social elements, an outcast or a troublemaker. Being outside the borders of a traditional residence suggested that he was the bearer of some special properties: holiness vs demonic, government authority or exceptional courage, courage, etc.. In such conditions, the Alien most often turns out to be a creature endowed with properties that go beyond the usual, i.e. supernatural or close to them; he becomes a part of the world of animals, or the world of gods/demons. All this gave rise to ideas about the connection of the Other/Alien with the divine or demonic. Objects belonging to the Other were also endowed with similar properties.

The article discusses in detail the concepts of Marebito, Ebisu and “visiting gods”, demonstrating the dualism of the Japanese concept of the Other/Alien.

https://doi.org/10.24411/2500-0225-2018-10028
pdf (Русский)

References

Dionisopoulos-Mass, R. (1976). The Evil Eye and Bewitchment in a Peasant Village (Greece). The Evil Eye. (C. Maloney, Ed.) New York.

Goff, J. (2001). Conjuring Kuzunoha from the World of Abe no Seimei. A Kabuki Reader: History and Performance, 384.

Hika, M. (1971). Ryukyu no Saishi to Sekaikan wo meguru Mondai (Problems Centering Around the Ritual and World View of the Ryukyus). (T. Oto, & T. Ogawa, Eds.) Okinawa Bunka Ronso (Essays on Okinawa Culture) 2, pp. 461-467.

Leach, E. (1964). Anthropological Aspects of Language: Animal Categories and Verbal Abuse. (E. Lenneberg, Ред.) Cambridge: New Directions in the Study of Language.

Maloney, C. (1976). The Evil Eye. New York.

Muratake, S. (1975). Kami Kyodotai Hojo (God, Community, and Fertility). Tokyo.

Nakane, C. (1970). Japanese Society. (Vol. Chapt. 2). Berkeley.

Namihira, E. (1978). Suishitai wo Ebisu to Shite Matsuru Shinko: Sono Imi to Kaishaku (Ebisu: A Liminal Deity in Japanese Folk belief). Minzokugaku Kenkyu (The Japanese Journal of Ethnology), Vol. 42, pp. 334-355.

Noriko, T. (2010). Japanese Demon Lore: Oni from Ancient Times to the Present. Utah State University Press.

Okada, A. (1955). Kirishitan Bateren (Japanese Catholics). Tokyo.

Okano, H. (1960). Marebito (Visiting God). (Т. 4). (N. M. Kyokai, Ред.) Tokyo: Nihon Shakai Minzoku Jiten (Social and Ethnographical Dictionary of Ethnology).

Origuchi, S. (1975). Origuchi Shinobu Zenshu (Complete Works of Origuchi Shinobu) (Vols. 1,2,7). Tokyo.

Reminick, R. (1974). The Evil Eye Belief among the Amhara of Ethiopia. Ethnology(3), pp. 280-291.

Sakurada, K. (1968). Gyoson no Dento (Tradition of Fishing Village). Tokyo.

Seki, K. (1960). Namahage (Masked Dance). Nihon Shakai Minzoku Jiten (Social and Ethnographical Dictionary of Japan). (N. M. Kyokai, Ed.) Tokyo.

Smith, J. Z. (2004). Relating Religion: Essays in the Study of Religion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Sumiya, K. (1963). Amami Oshima Kunnaka no Kami Matsuri (Ritual of Kunnaka, Amami Islands). Shakai to Densho., Vol. 7(No. 1.).

Takeuchi, T. (1960). Kojiki (Beggar). (N. M. Ethnology), Ed.) Tokyo: Nihon Shakai Minzoku Jiten (Social and Ethnographical Dictionary of Japan).

Takeuchi, T. (1960). Yosomono (Outsider). Nihon Shakai Minzoku Jiten (Social and Ethnographical Dictionary of Japan)(Vol. 4), pp. 1942-1945.

Teitelbaum, J. (1976). The Leer and the Loom Social Controls on Handloom Weavers (Tunisia). The Evil Eye. (C. Maloney, Ed.) New York.

Westermarck, E. (1906). The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas. (Т. Vol. I.). London.

Westermarck, E. (1924). The Origin and Development of Moral Ideas (Vol. 1). London: Macmillan And Company Limited.

Yamaguchi, M. (1975). Bunka no Ryogisei (Ambiguity of Culture). Tokyo.

Yoshida, T. (1967, Jul.). Mystical Retribution, Spirit Possession, and Social Structure in a Japanese Village. Ethnology, Vol.6(No.3), pp. 237-262.

Yoshida, T. (1972). Nihon no Tsukimono (Spirit Possession in Japan). Tokyo.

Yoshida, T. (Apr. 1981 г.). The Stranger as God: The Place of the Outsider in Japanese Folk Religion. Ethnology, Vol. 20(No. 2), pp. 87-99.

Yoshida, T., & Ueda, H. (1968). Spirit Possession and Social Structure in Southwestern Japan. Proceedings, VIIth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Science Council of Japan 2, (pp. 377-378). Tokyo and Kyoto.

Yoshida, T., Maruyama, K., & Namihira, E. (1974). Technological and Social Changes in a Japanese Fishing Village. Journal of Asian and African Studies(9), pp. 1-16.

Гомер. (n.d.). «Одиссея».

Павленко, Н. В. (2018). Семантика образа лисы в японской культуре как отражение концепта Другого/Чужого. Журнал фронтирных исследований(3), стр. 41-58.

Трынкина, Д. А. (2013). «Волшебные лисы Японии». Журнал Вестник Московского Университета, Серия 8: История, стр. 99-116.

Эльманович, С. Д. (2002). Законы Ману. Манавадхармашастра. (Г. И. Ильин, Ред., & С. Д. Эльманович, Перев.) Москва: «ЭКСМО-Пресс».

Якушенков, С. Н., & Якушенкова, О. С. (2010). Чужое тело сквозь призму встречи цивилизаций или Личико Гюльчатай. Каспийский регион: политика, экономика, культура(4 (25)), стр. 111-117.

Якушенков, С. Н., & Якушенкова, О. С. (2012). Тело варвара: конструирование образа Чужого на китайском фронтире. Каспийский регион: политика, экономика, культура(4), стр. 234–241.

Якушенкова, О. С., & Якушенков, С. Н. (2013). Первые английские представления о зомби как отражение «встречи с Чужим» в условиях гетеротопии плантационного хозяйства. Каспийский регион: политика, экономика, культура(2), стр. 242–251.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.