C^inkon Kis^in, Pt. II, Capp. 1-2.

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II.1. "Remarks".

pp. 135-6 particular adhaerents of early Omoto

p. 135 "Asano Wasaburo ... joined Omoto in 1916 ... as the main author and editor of Omoto’s magazine Shinreikai".

p. 136 Tomokiyo Yoshisane joined Omoto in "1918 ... and in 1921 he founded a small new religion called Shindo Tenkokyo".

p. 136 "Masaharu joined Omoto in 1918 and, like Asano and Tomokiyo, contributed many articles to the Shinreikai ... . In 1930 he founded Seicho no Ie".

"Nakano Yonosuke ... joined Omoto in 1929 ... and finally founded his own new religion named Ananaikyo".

p. 136 retention vs. abolition of c^inkon & kis^in

"Whereas Asano and

Tomokiya continued to practice spirit possession in their new organisations --

in rituals called seishin toitsu and

chinkon kishin respectively --

Taniguchi and Nakano abolished the practice of spirit possession".

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II.2. "Honda’s & Nagasawa’s c^inkon & kis^in".

p. 150 (II.2.1.3) constituents of the human soul, according to Honda C^ikaatsu

"The spiritual guide (naobi ...) is the imperishable fraction of the supreme deity every human being receives before birth (Reikon hyakushu : 41-50 ...). The four essences are

the rough essence (aramitama ...),

the harmonious essence (nigimitama ...),

the wondrous essence (kushimitama) and

the prosperous essence (sakimitama ...).

They evoke courage,

intimacy,

wisdom and

love respectively, and

are therefore responsible for effects such as progress,

peace,

skills and

profit (Shinto montai : 36-44 ...; Reikon hyakushu : 51-90 ...)."

pp. 153-4 (II.2.1.4) citations by Honda C^ikaatsu (Kinmon Hirayama daikyosei kakka : 92f.) concerning the soul in mythology

p.

in the section (of the Nihon s^oki) __

it saith that __

153

wherein Onamoc^i hideth himself "in the world of the dead"

"he "invested him with the pure Yasaka jewels"

 

when Empress Jingu goeth to Korea

she invited the rough essence [aramitama ...]

 

"there is certainly a divine method through which a soul [reikon ...] takes possession of some material body [buttai ...]. The Izumo no fudoki announces that Susanoo is not likely to have attached his soul to plants and trees [fn. 56 : "Susanoo would not have allowed leaves to drop to the ground if he had attached his soul to them."]; and the

154

kan’yogoto [fn. 57 : oath by the governor of Izumo (in the 8th volume of the Engi s^iki)] says that [the deity Onamoc^i] "instilled his own benign spirit into a many-spanned mirror"."

p. 160-1 (II.2.1.4) spirit-possession of a female spirit-medium; men as spirit-media along with women, according to Honda C^ikaatsu

p. 160

[361f.] "In the beginning the woman’s body will shake and in the end she will not remember anything as if she was asleep. At this point you may reverently ask for the deity’s name."

p. 161

"Men, such as Soejima Taneomi ..., ... served as Honda’s mediums alongside women, particularly, Honda’s daughter Kaoruko in 1887".

 

[360] "It is good that women recite "ma-na-ka-ta-ra" morning and night. When menstruating, ... they should abstain from spirit possession."

pp. 163-4 (II.2.1.4) distinction between c^inkon & kis^in, according to Honda C^ikaatsu

p. 163

"Whereas chinkon was an active practice, during which the performing subject caused his, her or another soul to take possession of some object or human,

kishin was chinkon’s passive form, with the performing subject receiving a deity into himself or herself".

pp. 163-4

pp. 163-4 "the spirits’ movements could be learned through practicing chinkon (Reigakusho ... : 372)."

p. 164 "Practitioners had to be aware of the different levels of divine worlds to know ... methods of kishin".

pp. 170-2 (II.2.2) explanation of history, according to Honda C^ikaatsu

p. 170

(Reigakus^o, quoting the Kojiki) " "his Augustness the Male-Who-Invites ... jinglingly taking off ... the jewel-string forming his august necklace, ... bestowed it on the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity ... . Now the name of the necklace was the August-Store-house-Shelf-Deity."

But these jewels were handed down from Amaterasu Okami to her heavenly grandchild Ninigi no Mikoto. ... there were the

"eight-foot [long] curved jewels and mirror that had allured

p. 171

[the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity from the Rock-Dwelling,] and also the Herb-Quelling-Great-Sword"."

p. 172

There is a similarity between

"the Great Deity’s attaching her soul to the jewels, mirror and sword

and inviting a separated and roaming heavenly guided spirit".

pp. 172-3 (II.2.2) other explanations of the origin of the imperial caerimony c^inkon-sai

p. 172

[quoted from Kojiki kami rikai III:332f.] Inbe no Hironari’s "Kogo shui stating that the ritual of chinkon was a relic from Ame no Uzume" (Kogo-s^ui XXV:11a);

p. 173

"the Kujiki ... of the Mononabe clan’s ... recorded that the ceremony of chinkon originated when their founding ancestor, the deity Nigihayahi, received it from heaven".

pp. 177-8 (II.2.2) the deities of c^inkon are identical with those of c^ikon-sai

p. 177

"the deities Honda taught to be invoked during a session of chinkon

Ikumusubi, Tarumusubi and Tamatsumemusubi –

are among the eight deities at the centre of chinkonsai ...;

p. 178

and the Ame no kazuuta, too, was part of the court ritual as well as of Honda’s chinkon (cf. Haguenauer 1930:323-327 and 339f.).

 

Consequently, Honda explicitly connected chinkonsai and chinkon. He did this by employing the Ryo no gige’s explanation of the chinkonsai as the core explanation for his chinkon."

Haguenauer 1930 = M. Charles Haguenauer : "La Danse Rituelle dans la Ce’re’monie du Chikonsai". J ASIATIQUE 216:299-350.

pp. 181, 183 (II.2.3.1) writings by Nagasawa Katsutate

p. 181

"Nagasawa Katsutate (... 1858-1940) ... continued research on Honda’s Spirit Studies and had many student himself, among whom were Deguchi Onisaburo, Tomokiyo Yoshisane and Nakano Yonosuke. ...

 

Nagasawa’s main work, Kamigakari hyakushu (... "One hundred poems during spirit possession") was published in 1934 by his pupil Take Eidayu ... . ... The poems ... all concern spirit possession and Spirit Studies. According to Take’s preface, the poems were revealed to the mediator Nagasawa during sessions of kishin between 1926 and 1929, with Take acting as spirit medium. They are, thus, believed to be of divine origin ... . ...

The second primary source is Kannagara (... "Deities") ... . ...

p. 183

Nagasawa’s statement included numerous quotations from ancient Japanese, Chinese and Greek sources ... . ...

 

The third primary source is Omoto jiken ni taisuru iken (... "Opinion on the Omoto incident"), a 130-page shorthand record taken during ... 15th and 16th September 1940. ... Nagasawa ... described how Onisaburo had studied spirit possession as well as Hirata’s teachings with him, Nagasawa, and defended Omoto’s doctrine".

pp. 184-5 (II.2.3.2) biography of early life of Nagasawa Katsutate

p. 184

"Nagasawa Katsutate was born on the 8th day of the 8th month of Ansei 5 (14th September 1858) in Fujimimura Shimizu ..., a hamlet in Shizuoka prefecture’s Abe ... district, which today is part of the town

p. 185

Shimizu ... . ... He was later also introduced to Western philosophy by Hattori Tadaoki ... . Parallel to serving at the Miho shrine [fn. 139 : "The Miho shrine is locted ... at the Pacific coast of the Miho peninsula ... . The shrine ... rever[e]s Onamuchi and Mihotsuhime ... as its main deities".] Nagasawa was appointed head priest of the small Yamanashi shrine ..., alternatively called Mikasa Inari shrine ..., in the direct vicinity of his family’s home".

p. 186 (II.2.3.2) a session of spirit-possession performed by Nagasawa Katsutate

"In ... spring 1888 ... – Honda performed a session of spirit possession at a small shrine on the Hayama ..., a hill on the premises of the Sengen shrine. ... Honda’s wife Chikako acted as saniwa and their teenage daughter kaoruko as kannushi. Nagasawa had prepared ten difficult questions from the Kokiji and the Nihon shoki and another twenty questions on Western philosophy for the occasion. Kaoruko – or the possessing deity Konohana Sakuya Hime ... – answered all questions satisfactorily". {The daughter may have been coached by her parents beforehand, as to the answers to the quaestions.}

pp. 186-7 (II.2.3.2) biography of late life, and death, of Nagasawa Katsutate

p. 186

"Nagasawa became head priest of the Miho shrine ... in 1898 ... . ... In 1891 he received permission to found a religious confraternity, the Inari Kosha ..., at the Yamanashi shrine on the grounds that it was the oldest shrine revering Ame no Uzume, the deity of spirit possession. ... Nagasawa’s disciple Nakajima Atsuo ... wrote in his obituary that Nagasawa reiterated the importance of knowledge and

p. 187

constant practice for success with spirit possession ... ....

Nagasawa died on 10th October 1940 ... and was buried in the Baiinji ..., ... within easy walking distance of the Yamanashi shrine".

p. 187 (II.2.3.3) confirmation in traditional scriptures of the validity of spirit-possession, according to Nagasawa Katsutate

(Kannagara : 1) "In instances vital to the state the emperor himself performed spirit possession [kamigakari ...], learned about divine thoughts and then decided."

(Kannagara : 2) "the ancient spirit possession recorded in the Nihon shoki had an accurate method. a strictly correct form, possessing deities of high [rank] and revelations which were certainly true."

pp. 188-9 (II.2.3.3) "formless" spirit-possession, according to Nagasawa Katsutate

p. 188

"For centuries, he wrote, worthwhile instances of spirit possession had occurred when high-ranking deities had considered it inevitable to warn humans about impending calamities."

 

"Nagasawa ... regarded the incompetence of Buddhist deities as proven because they were incapable of answering questions properly {viz., in spirit-possession sessions}, and thus led believers astray {i.e., into disbelieving the validity of spirit-possession} ... .

After a long period of decline, Nagasawa explained, Hirata Atsutane had initiated the study of spirits and deities, but only Honda Chikaatsu had developed a practical method of communicating with the divine world at will. ... About his teacher Honda and the method of spirit possession he developed, Nagasawa wrote : ... .

 

[Kannagara : 2] ... he practised ... a means of inducing a deity or spirit into taking possession of a person. He also matured well in the formless spirit possession inspired from within, has been accurate and rigorous in interrogating dubious spirits as a saniwa ..., and was quick in calling evil spirits to account and binding them. ...

The effect of this miraculous spirit possession is that

it proves the existence of spirits and deities;

it solves puzzles in old and contemporary philosophies;

it amends errors in the interpretation of the classics ... .

Supporting and supplementing theoretical studies it is intimately concerned with the world and the human heart, but

spirit possession is secret and not easily taught to people. Because only those who are well-informed, ... and proficient in profound truths can grasp its mysterious depth, there are only a few people who can understand it."

p. 189

"Similar to Spiritualism, whose "psychical research" he was well aware of, Nagasawa advocated that spirit possession should not only be experienced, but also studied theoretically. He appreciated Honda for not only ... believing in the deities’ existence, but also for conducting research into ... the universe’s origin".

 

"Several poems in Kamigakari hyakushu are concerned with doctrinal topics – such as

the one spiritual guide and the four essences (poems 74-98) or

the perceptible and imperceptible worlds (poems 63-69) ...,

but otherwise his writings focus on the one topic of spirit possession. Concerning spirit possession Nagasawa supplied additional information on Honda’s oral teachings ... as, for instance, in Kannagara :

 

[Kannagara : 2] In formless spirit possession the phenomenon of possessing does not manifest itself outwardly.

pp. 190-1 (II.2.3.3) efforts in, and benefits of, spirit-possession, according to Nagasawa Katsutate

p. 190

(poems 1, 2, 56, 57, & 4 of the Kamigakari hyakus^u)

(1) "The divine art is incredibly difficult. By exerting oneself steadily, ... one will somehow accomplish it."

(2) "It is said to be difficult, but if one exerts oneself ..., one will at some point surely arrive at the heart of the way."

(56) "If one does not practise and master the divine art, there is no way to

p. 191

know the spirits’ blessings or the deities’ truths."

(57) "If one does practise and master the divine art, one is enlightened to earlier ages as well as to this age and also knows the future ages."

(4) "If one does study and master the divine art, one will come to know even where the souls go in the world to come."

 

(praeface to the Kamigakari hyakus^u)

"in order to fully understand the matters of the world beyond[,] one must practise and master spirit possession [kamigakari ...]. Only after one has practised and mastered spirit possession, and has grasped the real existence of the divine world, one will understand the mysterious meaning of the divine classics and the reasons behind the current appearance of the universe. And through this, one will in due time naturally come to understand the supreme metaphysics".

pp. 196-8 (II.2.4) c^inkon kis^in lineages of transmission

p. 196

"Ohata Harukuni ..., author of Kame uranai zakki (... "Miscellanea on divination with tortoises") ..., ... spent his entire life ... gathering more that sixty methods of divination with tortoises. ...

Honda ... spread the methods of divination with tortoises in the world."

p. 197

"Sato Akihito (... 1913-1986) ... wrote several books on chinkon, kishin and Honda’s Spirit Studies, such as Kohoshiki chinkonho ... (... "The divine method of chinkon ...") ..., in 1964; Kohoshiki yusai kirokusen (... "Selected records of the imperceptible ceremony following the old rules"), a three-volume collection of records taken during session of kishin between 1964 and 1967 with Sato acting as mediator ...; and Kenshin Honda ... (... "The canon of Spirit Studies from Honda ...")".

p. 198

"The Kenshin Honkai ... was founded and registered as a religious confraternity of Nagasawa’s Yamanashi’s shrine, although its headquarters were in Inagawa ... in Shizuoka. Its express purpose was ... to testify to the existence of spirits and deities ... – the programme was written in 1936 ... . ... The Kenshin Honkai ... practised chinkon and kishin. ... Because chinkon and kishin were practised in shrines, questions to the deities often related to specific theological issues."

 

"Besides Inaba and Sato of the Kenshin Honkai, Nagasawa Katsutate had ... disciples such as Miyagijima Kinsaku ... who frequently acted as his spirit medium ... . Another disciple often acting as Nagasawa’s spirit medium was Take Eidayu ..., a priest of the Oyama shrine ... at the foot of Mount Afuriyama .., Kanagawa prefecture, who registered as disciple in 1922 and became very well trained in spirit possession."

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BUNKA WENHUA : TU:BINGER OSTASIATICHE FORSCHUNGEN, Band 7 = Birgit Staemmler : Chinkon Kishin : Mediated Spirit Possession in Japanese New Religions. 2009.