Who Benefits?: Religious Practice, Blind Women "(Goze), Harugoma," and "Manzai"
It is often pointed out that Japanese religion centers on "worldly benefits" (genze riyaku) and on practices allowing a petitioner to attain divine boons. Since high and low, rich and poor, young and old have always pined for such benefits, religious practice is easily viewed as a force un...
| Published in: | Japanese journal of religious studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[2014]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
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| Further subjects: | B
Chapbooks
B Religious Practices B Buddhism B Singing B Koras B Religious Studies B Horses B Performing artists B Prefectures B Religious songs |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | It is often pointed out that Japanese religion centers on "worldly benefits" (genze riyaku) and on practices allowing a petitioner to attain divine boons. Since high and low, rich and poor, young and old have always pined for such benefits, religious practice is easily viewed as a force unifying all social classes and strata. This article questions such a notion by examining the religious activities and performances of blind women (goze) of Echigo province (present-day Niigata prefecture). Like other itinerant performers, goze often performed songs linked to the procurement of this-worldly or practical benefits. One favorite was called harugoma, and was intimately linked to silk production; another was manzai, which ushered in good luck, health, and wealth during the New Year s season. This article presents annotated translations of these two goze songs and analyzes the social meanings of performances, both for performers and listeners. It demonstrates that the pursuit of this-worldly benefits through religious practice contributed just as much to the identification, maintenance, and reproduction of social differences as to social harmony and unification. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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