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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Groemer, Gerald 1957- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Nanzan Institute [2014]
In: Japanese journal of religious studies
Year: 2014, Volume: 41, Issue: 2, Pages: 347-386
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)
Description
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.
Contains:Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies