Source: Merveilles & contes, Vol. 8, No. 2 (December 1994), pp. 309-320 Published by: Wayne State University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41390395 . Accessed: 25/04/2014 04:47 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . Wayne State University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Merveilles &contes. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions /';-=09 )(8* =-0/'] This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions TRADITIONAL ETHIC NORMS IN JAPANESE FOLK CULTURE Nelly Tchalakova Basic ethic categories and norms are effective as moral regulations in different societies and are accepted in most cultures, at least as regards their generalized foims (to mention but a few - the concept of good and evil, justice, loyalty, duty, courage, etc.). However, the hierarchical order of these norms, as well as their interpretation, differ from one society to another. In this respect, the Japanese case, with its distinct national peculiarities connected with historical and cultural background, religion and customs, focuses attention, and the debates on traditional Japanese ethos, one of the most dis- cussed issues in Japanese studies, have been drawing argu- ments from cultural anthropology, sociology, linguistics and even medical science. Yet this matter has hardly been consid- ered in the context of Japanese folk culture, though it offers stimulating examples of ethos refraction both in a synchronic and diachronic perspective. Besides, it is tempting to view from this angle the claims that certain Japanese ethic norms are unique in their essence or in their manifestations. The study of the folk culture may add new arguments to this aspect of the debate as well. The traditional Japanese ethic system embraces both norms that have been formed in the country throughout the process of social and cultural evolution and those which have been brought in mainly from China under the influence of Bud- dhism and Confucianism and after that adapted to the Japa- nese way of thinking and behaviour. Although it is difficult to draw a clear line between the two, it may be assumed that most of the categories usually recognized as typically Japanese have, in fact, been borrowed and "Japanized" to one extent or 309 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Nelly Tchalakova another. Nonns of endogenic origin can be traced, in particu- lar, in the Shintoist mythology legitimized in the chronicles Kojiki and NihongL The reference to the two chronicles compiled in the seventh century as a source for folk culture study bears some risk in view of the fact that they are usually regarded as an official mythology, which places them in certain opposition to the popular beliefs. Yet to discount them on this basis does not seem justified, since they incorporated myths which had been circulating in Japanese society before the compilation of the chronicles. The Shinto myths canonized in Kojiki and Nihongi follow a hierarchical order charged with important ethic connotations. This concerns especially the solar myth centered on the goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu-omikami, which is of utmost significance to the officially adopted ethic system, as well as the popular beliefs in Japan since ancient times, as it gives legacy to the imperial cult and justifies the requirement for supreme reverence to the emperor as a descendant of Amate- rasu. The piety for the emperor became - through Shinto - a most important social value and an ethic norm of the highest degree in Japanese society, and it is one major reason for the stability of the monarchical institution which survived through all the ups and downs of history. One may accept that it facilitated the recepii veness of the Japanese to the highly hierarchical neo-Confucian ideas later, in the Tokugawa period. It is interesting to note that in Japanese mythology the most important deity is not a creator but just a divine ancestor with more or less defined functions; thus Amaterasu is not sup- posed to assume global responsibilities. She is not, therefore, menaced by loss of authority and dethronement in popular ethic conscience in case of eventual failure. The same ethic 310 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Traditional Ethic Norms in Japanese Folk Culture immunity was automatically transferred to the emperor, who, under the shogunate, was deprived of real power and confined to ceremonial and religious obligations. Hence, in spite of the great importance of piety for the emperor as a moral norm for all social strata in ancient and medieval Japanese society, this theme has rarely been the focus of attention in folk arts and in local popular mythology. Certainly the sense of enormous distance common people felt between themselves and the divine descendant of Amaterasu, as well as the explicit and implicit taboos concerning everything related to the emperor, did not encourage them to dwell upon this social institution and the sacred person of the monarch himself. Japanese popular culture ventured to approach prohibited topics much later, in the Tokugawa period when urban culture flourished; but even then the inner barriers remained higher and more solid in comparison with European culture (cf. Mikhail Bakh tin's works). Although the supremacy of Amaterasu is recognized undisputedly throughout the country, on a local level other deities are more intimately related with common people and provide guidance and support in their everyday lives; local deities are thus extremely important as moral authorities in popular ethical conscience. Local legends and folk tales are abundant examples of the power kami possess as corrective in human relations.2 One extremely popular character in Japa- nese folklore is, for instance, the Shintoist deity Inary who appears frequently in legends, fairy tales, proverbs, sayings, etc. This god had been initially connected with rice-growing (and therefore extremely highly placed in Shintoist beliefs) but later acquired many other functions as well. Characteristic of Inaiy and also of other Shinto deities is that when they inter- vene in people's affairs they usually correct their mistakes - if their transgressions are too serious, punish them, but they 311 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Nelly Tchalakova also reward them for their good deeds. Yet it happens that deities themselves take liberties which would be reprehensible in ternis of the commonly accepted moral norms if the perpe- trators were simply human beings (a definite similarity with the gods of Greek mythology). The primitive ethic conscience of people in ancient Japan did not label such divine misdeed as sins or even serious crimes - perhaps because the deities were still perceived as personifications of elemental forces which cannot always be grasped by man. However, the same ethic norms which were valid for people could be applied to gods as well if one or more deities disapproved of the transgres- sor's behavior (as was the case with Susanoo, who was exiled from heaven by the other gods after committing a series of serious crimes connected with violation of the rice-growing rules and the Shintoistic requirement for purity). It has often been noted that Shinto has not elaborated an ethic system in depth and detail, and this notion certainly holds true when comparing, for instance, the native religion of the Japanese to the sophisticated categories, norms and principles of Buddhist ethics (a tempting comparison, in view of their coexistence in the narrow space of Japan). But it certainly does not mean that Shinto lacks ethic ideas, even if it does not dwell so heavily on the conflict between good and evil. The moral norms in Shinto are derived mostly from the animistic cults, the cult of the ancestors, which gradually lost its mythological character and became an ethic code, worship of nature and regulator of human relations in a primitive agrarian society. Man must feel gratitude towards kami (including dead ancestors) and parents and strive to achieve the goals they have set for him. Man is essentially good but sometimes may be susceptible to the perfidious suggestions of the evil spirits (magatsuhi) from Yomi-no kuni, the world of darkness. Yet if he prays to kami and makes constant efforts to work hard, be sincere and tolerant and avoid conflict, his 312 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Traditional Ethic Norms in Japanese Folk Culture life will be in hannony with the kami way. The special stress on tolerance and willingness to for cooperation is usually explained with the importance of mutual understanding, aid and collective efforts in a rice-growing culture. The numerous and very popular rites in Shinto connected also with the agrarian cycle are widely known for their reli- gious and social functions as they contribute considerably to the consolidation of the social groups, but they also have distinct ethic dimensions as well. By the homogenization of the community though all the ceremonies and other collective forms of worship, especially the festivals matsuri , group mentality and work ethics are promoted, and the regular participants in these events feel the necessity to conform with the others in all their actions in order to achieve harmony with the kami. The Shintoist rituals performed collectively through- out the year, which symbolize successive stages of the agrarian cycle, the folk dances and other activities, even now, in highly urbanized modern Japan, offer innumerable examples in this respect and present a rewarding subject for observation of Japanese group behaviour, not to mention ethic indoctrination (of course, it should be noted that the Buddhist festivals, still very popular in present-day Japan, follow the same pattern, while the traditions of festive activity aro, no doubt, pre- Buddhist). There is one aspect which provides particularly ethic connotations to Japanese mentality based on Shinto beliefs and folklore in the context of modern society in which the relationship between man and nature has acquired extremely important new dimensions, both ecological and ethical. The centuries-old worship of mountains, trees, stones and other elements of the natural surroundings - that animistic part of the ancient religious heritage which represents one of the most archaic elements in mythological thinking - has made the 313 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Nelly Tchalakova Japanese very susceptible to the threats human civilization created for nature in the twentieth century. In fact, paying divine honors to nature has always had an ethic touch in Japanese society, and maybe this is best mirrored in ancient poetry. The folk songs of Japan are a delicate world in which the loving heart's longing and its fusions with nature are themes occupying almost all of the poetic space. One extremely powerful illustration (in terms of quality and quantity) is the collection Manyoshu compiled in the eighth centuiy, containing folk songs from the past several hundred years. Human love and the natural environment are most intimately interrelated, and all feelings, desires and hopes resonate with nature's rhythm. Nature's role is not only to echo them as background, but to provide a moral support and consolation for the suffering heart. Here the ethic aspect of nature's worship is linked closely to the aesthetic experi- ence and, even more than that, the aesthetic itself becomes an ethic nonn. To ignore the aesthetic side of things and to go below a standard level of sensitivity to beauty was implicitly considered disrespectful to the kami way, and this attitude was by no means limited only to aristocratic culture, as is some- times considered, but was also present in the folk arts, as exemplified by folk songs. It is interesting to note that in Manyoshu and the other poetic collections where folk songs are included, there are no songs in praise of brave warriors (the battle theme, so common in Chinese folk songs, was not considered by the Japanese as appropriate for songs), but later it occupied its due place in the gunki genre, in which warrior ethics became the central theme. Surprisingly, folk songs related to work are rather scant, and whenever work does become an object of poetic concern, it is nearly always mentioned as matter of marginal importance 314 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Traditional Ethic Norms in Japanese Folk Culture (the reason being, evidently, that it is too prosaic and does not fit into this exclusively lyrical genre). Many scholars (cf. Nakamura Hajime, Nikolai Konrad, and others) consider that since the Japanese have a natural disposition to emotional perception of the phenomenal world, they were late to rational- ize (a process which was stimulated by the massive Chinese influence). In the framework of this reasoning it may seem that moral norms concerning working activities are not present in folk songs because they still were not consciously emphasized. Yet it is more probable that this bizarre absence is due more to concern about the peculiarities of the poetic genre than to lack of profound reflection and rationalizing. There are, for instance, numerous tales in which ethic norms related to work are in the core of the narrative. Many similarities can be found if a comparison in terms of ethic norms is made with other folk cultures. The stories about Taketori, old Hanasaka and other industrious people who are rewarded for their hard work and good deeds belong to the most widely spread group of Japa- nese tales. Less common for Japanese tales is the case of the idle, even lazy, but quick-witted character who meets his luck because he is clever enough to make the best use of circumstances (a plot found sometimes in other folk cultures, in Russian tales, for instance). As Eleazar Meletinskii remarked, the most important requirement for a Russian folk tale protagonist portrayed in a positive way is to give sufficient proof of his kindness, intelligence, wit, eventually politeness. Hard work, however, remains somewhat insufficiently emphasized as a moral asset. On the other hand, in Japanese folktales it is always considered to be a high-quality virtue, whether the hero in question is defined as clever or not. But the tales of heroes who perform great miracles are also numerous in Japanese folklore (the stories of Monotaro or 315 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Nelly Tchalakova Issumboshi are good examples), and they are among the most popular. The heroes succeed in their mission thanks to the timely help of animal friends or some other supernatural forces, which by no means can diminish their worthiness in the eyes of the audience. The fairy tales often deal with gratitude and returning a favor - on-gaeshi (the famous stoiy The Gratitude of the Crane [Tsuru-no on-gaeshi ] is a notorious example of the special importance attached by the Japanese to the act of thankful- ness). In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries a great number of tales were collected and written down by monks in the monasteries, and this naturally contributed to the direct introduction of Buddhist motifs in the narrative. But this does not seem the only reason for the appearance of such ideas in the tales; the narrators themselves lived in a world in which Buddhism was already very familiar, so the stories must have included elements of its teaching before they were actually written down. Buddhist deities became popular protagonists in the folk narratives. The boddhisatva Kannon, for example, appears in numerous legends and tales (such as the story about Princess Flowerpot Hachikatsugihime and many others), and often acts as a mighty deus ex machina who grants mercy to common people and helps them in a miraculous way. The introduction of Buddhism from China in the seventh century and its propagation opened the door for many new values and norms which later, in the eighth through twelfth centuries, began to penetrate into wider social strata.4 The ideas of kanna and reincarnation, Buddhist concepts of justice and virtue became familiar topics in legends and tales, in epic sagas about great heroes in battle. By this time Japan was ruled by military lords who were fighting for power and devastating the country. From the late Heian period (twelfth century) until the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate 316 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Traditional Ethic Norms in Japanese Folk Culture (seventeenth centuiy) many calamities befell Japanese society, and periods of unrest lasted longer than the intervals of peace between them. These are, in brief, the circumstances when the great war sagas appeared, such as Heike monogatari . "It seems that at this time only war could inspire sustained flights in literature, writes G. Sansom, the Heike monogatari, which was intended for chanting to musical accompaniment, has the power to move a Japanese listener to tears or to martial ardor".5 This new form of popular narrative which provoked such a profound emotional reaction in the audience was based on specific Buddhist moral conceptions. The ethic norms observed by the samurai germinated from the Japanese-style Soto Zen, which admonished the warriors to look into their own nature for self-reliance and courage, to be loyal to their lords and to be ready to sacrifice their lives in the battle. The military sagas were popular not only among the samurai but also among other social strata, since the warriors were the heroes of the age. The system of ethic norms in Japanese medieval folk culture is most directly revealed in the numerous legends and stories about miraculous events related to the Buddhist teaching. This genre presents astonishing parallels to religious legends in medieval Europe by its didactic pathos, moral lessons and even by the structural characteristics of the discourse. Buddhist literature of the type of Nihon ryoiki , a big collection of legends about miracles, introduces a new phase in the formation of ethic norms in Japanese folk culture. It gives more sophisticated models of the social and psychologi- cal evolution of human beings. Man is not only influenced from the outside, but he is able to find the right way in this world through reflection and meditation as well, and his good deeds can bring him closer to the final goal of human exis- tence - salvation. 317 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Nelly Tchalakova Popular beliefs are reflected also in plastic folk arts which are an important instrument for training by visual means. The figures of the boddhisatvas, the sculptures of legendary characters, the netsuke etc. convey moral ideas and principles by evoking an emotional response. Praying in front of Jizo, the boddhisatva-guardian whose small figures, made of stone, stand along the roads, often dressed in real human clothes, is a way to shorten the distance between man and deity: this act of prayer creates a feeling of intimacy, maybe much stronger than does the more formal communication with gods in shrines and temples which are, after all, places of public worship. Confucian ideas have also contributed to a significant degree for the formation of the ethic concepts both in Japanese official and popular thinking. The norms of filial piety and obedience to the authorities are much more pronounced in comparison with cultures outside the East-Asian region precisely of the strong impact Buddhism had on Japan. The idea that the good feudal lord is a fair judge and an impartial arbitrator in cases of conflict is persistently met in Japanese folk tales, especially those which have been created or revised during the Tokugawa period. The spread of Confucian philosophy and its adoption as an official ideology by the shogunate had complex implications, as some scholars (G. Sansom, D. Keene etc.) points out: on one hand, it successfully enhanced loyalty, but on the other hand, it led paradoxically to the appearance of a parallel ethic system, opposing the official totalitarian principles to a certain degree. Indeed, the urban culture of Tokugawa Japan dis- played at times some criticism towards the authorities, mild and veiled as it might be. There are a few folk tales which could also be regarded as a departure from the officially prescribed way of thinking. For example, The Wife9 s Picture tells the story of Gombey and his wife who outwitted the mighty daimyo, and The Wife from the Dragon Place is a 318 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Traditional Ethic Norms in Japanese Folk Culture similar example of critical attitude towards feudal lords. However, the predominant ethic concepts in folk tales re- mained in conformity with the demand for utmost respect and obedience to the authorities. On this basis it can be assumed that the Confucian spirit had penetrated deeply into the folk ethos and reinforced the moral rules underlining traditional Japanese society throughout the centuries. It could be a gratifying work to make a comparison from the point of view of attitude towards social hierarchy with folk tales in cultures which have a different religious and historic background and this will eventually become the task of a future study. It is evident that although Japanese folk culture in its different forms certainly carries the moral principles which have regulated human and social relations in Japan's past, the way these principles are reflected in it makes them as a whole less rigid than the officially proclaimed ethic norms of those times and richer in nuances and heritage, due to the continuity in traditions, customs and beliefs. Notes 1. The theories of Japan's uniqueness (Nihonjiron) will not be an object of attention here, but they certainly have to be taken into consideration in the academic aigument when the Japanese traditional ethos is being discussed. 2 The deities, kami , are the essence of Shinto beliefs ("kami" meaning "upper, ""superior, "and hence "godly"). Kami may be natural objects, animals, the souls of the dead, etc. - practically anything considered to possess a quality which makes it superior to other things of the same order. 3 See S. Ono, Shinto , The Kami Way , Tokyo, 1962, pp 102-110. 4 Its influence was at first limited to the literati, the aristocracy, and the monks. But gradual (although partial) fusion of Shinto and Buddhism into a syncretic complex called "dual Shinto" (i ryobu Sfiinto) contributed to the penetration of Buddhist ideas and values into the whole society. This fusion was facilitated by many circumstances, for instance, certain parallelism in symbols: the solar character attributed to Buddha Vairochana (Japanese name: Daiichi) who came eventually to be identified with the native goddess of the sun, Amaterasu. 5 G. Sansom, Japan, A Short Cultural History , 1943, p. 346. 319 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Nelly Tchalakova Bibliography Kojiki. Tokyo, Iwanami shoten, 1963. Manyoshu , in : Koten Nihon bungaku zenshu , vol. 2-3. Tokyo, Chikuma shobo, 1962. Mayer, Fancy Haggin. Ancient Tales in Modern Japan : An Anthology of Japanese Folk Tales (selected and translated by F.H.Mayer). Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 1984. Meletinskii, Eleazar Moiseevich. Problems of the Historical Morphology of the Folk Tale , in: Pierre Miranda, ed. Soviet Structural Folklorists . The Hague, Paris, Morton, 1974. Nakamura, Hajime. Ways of Thinking of Eastern Peoples : India , China , Tibet , Japan. Honolulu, East- West Center Press, 1964. Ono Monotori, Shinto : the Kami Way . Tokyo, Bridge way Press, distributed by C.E. Tuttle, 1962. Sansom, George. Japan, A Short Cultural History . New York, Appleton- Century-Crofts, 1962. Sioris, Geoige, Mytiiology of Greece arid Japan. Archetypal Similarities . India, Sterling Publishers Ltd., 1987. Tagetori monogatari. Tokyo, Iwanami shoten, 1955. Tyler, Royall. Japanese Tales (selected, edited and translated by R. Tyler). New York, Pantheon Books, 1987. Yaganita, Kunio. Nihon mukashibanashi meii. Tokyo, Nihon hoso kyokai, 1948. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nelly Tchalakova, a native and citizen of Bulgaria, obtained her doctorate in Japanese history from Moscow State University, in the former USSR. She has taught Japanese history and culture at the Center for Eastern Languages and Cultures at the Sofia University "Saint Kliment Ochridki." She is the author of numerous articles on Japanese history and culture in Russian, Bulgarian and English, as well as the translator from the Japanese of eight works, notably a novel of Oe Kenzaburo (1994 recipient: Nobel Prize for Literature). 320 This content downloaded from 182.178.246.250 on Fri, 25 Apr 2014 04:47:12 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions