続伊勢神宮考 : 祭りと星座
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概要
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An Ancient Chinese philosophy that is closely related to astrology defines the North Star as a cosmic god called Tai Yi and that the Big Dipper, which circles around the North Star, is Tai Yi's minister as well as the god of agriculture. Being the biggest shrine in Japan, the Ise Shrine is composed of the Naiku (Interior Shrine) and the Geku (Exterior Shrine). Enshrined in the Naiku, is the Sun Goddess Amaterasu, the mythical founding ancestress of the Japanese royal family and in the Geku is Toyuke, the goddess of agriculture. In the writer's previous thesis, "A Study of the Ise Shrine", it was reasoned that through an adaptation of the Chinese philosphy Tai Yi and the Big Dipper were mythical goddesses who embodied Amaterasu of the Naiku and Toyuke of the Geku respectively. As such, considering the fact that the North Star and the Big Dipper are enshrined as the gods in the Naiku, and the Geku, it is only natural to assume that the constellation, the North Star, plays an important role in the festivals observed at the Ise Shrine. Of the several important festivals conducted at the Ise Shrine, the most important one is the Harvest Festival which is observed twice, viz., at 00:00 hrs on September 17th, and at 12:00 hrs on September 17th under the lunar calender. (The Harvest Festival is the festival in which the new crop is offered to the god.) . As the above dates fall approximately on October 21st and 22nd of the current calendar year, the position of the North Star at 00:00 hrs on October 22nd was checked. The bayonet points Straighf North, and at 12:00 hrs on October 22nd, it points due South. Naturally in broad daylight, it is invisible to the naked eyes ; however the ancient Japanese understood this by their calculation. According to the Chinese philosophy, North means "Ne" (子) , the sign of the Rat in the twelve zodiac signs whereas South means "Uma" (午) , the sign of the Horse. "Ne", in its azimuth position represents North, and in its season, Winter Solstice, and in its time. 00:00 hrs. In this sense. Winter Solstice represents the coming of spring while 00:00 hrs means the beginning of a new day. Using the same logic, "Uma" represents South in its azimuth, position the Summer Solstice in its season, and 12:00 hrs in its time. The length of the daylight becomes shorter from the Summer Solstice. The Sun commences to fall from noon thus begins the setting of the Sun. The Meridian is the line symbolizing the cycle by which living things sprout and decay, and in turn decay and sprout. This cycle is a universally applicable principle to all living things and the ripening of rice year after year is no exception to this principle. The constellation, symbolic of this cycle, is embodied and is reflected in the hours of the festivals. In other words, the festivals are observed at the hour when the constellation is in this position. It is generally assumed that since October 20th, happens to fall on the harvest time, so the festival is held during this period. However, consideration of the harvest time that decides the dates of the Festivals, the position of the constellation also plays an important part in the selection of the dates and hours of the Festivals.
- 日本文化人類学会の論文
- 1975-06-30