Public Lecture 公開講座 「心のケアの多様性―東北地方の巫女(シャマニズム)をめぐって」

2019年11月28日に東北学院大学教養学部が開催する「大人の教養倶楽部」の第11回の公開講座の講師につとめました。本年のテーマである「多様性の教養学、あるいは教養学の多様性」に合わせて「心のケアの多様性―東北地方の巫女(シャマニズム)をめぐって」の題目で、心のケアのスペシャリストとして東北地方の地域社会を支えてきたイタコやカミサマという巫女の成巫過程と仕事の内容について講演しました。Link

Hand and foot shrine 手足の神社

At the Mikata Ishi Kannon Shrine in Fukui prefecture, people offer prayers to cure various ailments connected to hands/arms and feet/legs. They write their names and prayers on minature wooden votives in the shape of an arm or leg. In the past they would have offered their own hand carved votive. But now the votives are supplied by the shrine. Crutches on display attest to the healing power of the enshrined deity. Some visitors even dedicated their prosthetic limbs.

Ishikiri Shrine’s Hundred Laps 石切神社百度参り

The faithful gather daily at Ishikiri Shrine in Osaka Prefecture to pray for among other things, recovery from illness or injury.

The “Cancer Stifling Temple” がん封じ寺

In Mikawa City, Aichi Prefecture stands a temple named Muryoji 無量寺, which is said to have been established during the Heian Period (794-1185). It is widely known as a place that provides efficacy toward the act of fujiru 封じる (sealing, suppressing, blocking, throttling) against some negative aspect in our lives, for example, ending habits such as gambling or smoking. This temple is alternatively named  ganfuji-no-tera (the “Cancer Stifling Temple”) because of the belief in its power to cure or control illness.