Sacred Spaces in Medieval and Early Modern Shintō Rituals

Abstract

It is customary in Shintō shrines to delineate sacred spaces and other boundaries by means of stylized gates (torii 鳥居) and fences (mizugaki 瑞垣). These liminal markers of sacred space were in use from before the early modern period. I would like here to investigate the various uses and significance of these particular markers in early modern Shintō rituals, especially insofar as they relate to a certain lineage of syncretic Shintō typically referred to as Shinbutsu shūgō shintō 神仏習合神道—hereafter referred to simply as Shinbutsu Shintō—in which Shintoistic deities (shin 神) are understood to be temporary manifestations of Buddhist divinities (butsu 仏). In particular, I will focus on the ordination rite called kanjō 灌頂, which involves the pouring of water onto an acolyte’s head, of a single sub-branch of this lineage known as Miwa Shintō (Miwaryū shintō 三輪流 神道). I hope to show how torii gates and mizugaki fences were used during this ritual as a means of creating a sacred space. Miwa Shintō was developed out of Ōmiwa Shrine 大神神社, located in Sakurai City 桜井市, Nara. According to the origin account of this sect, an account made famous during the middle of the early modern period, Miwa Shintō was founded at the moment when a Buddhist monk by the name of Keien 慶円 (1140-1223), also known as Miwa shōnin 三輪 上人, or the Sage of Miwa, and Miwa myōjin 三輪明神, the god of Mt. Miwa, exchanged vows and esoteric teachings with one another. Fortunately for us, Miwa Shintō has preserved numerous documents relating to ritual conventions, for which reason we know a great deal about the contemporary structure of this sect’s sacred spaces.1 Sacred Spaces in Medieval and Early Modern Shintō Rituals