Imperial Shinto tradition lives on amid controversy

Press, 25 January 1989, Page 29

Imperial Shinto tradition lives on amid controversy

By

ERIC TALMADGE

2 of

Associated Press NZPA Tokyo Hidden behind the forbidding stone walls of the Japanese imperial palace, a handful of ritualists keep both myth and controversy alive as they serve the ancient gods of Shinto. In spite of criticism that their calling is an anachronism or even unconstitutional in modern Japan, they expect no change in their work, and so far there has been none in the early days of the transition to Emperor Akihito. The ritualists, who form the core of imperial Shinto, were summoned immediately after Emperor Hirohito died on i January 7. Clad in white > robes, they offered rice, ’ fish and other sacraments ; at three wooden shrines, said Toshinobu Maeda, J one of the ritualists. > The shrines — dedi- ' cated to the sun goddess, ; the imperial ancestors ; and the gods in general — ; are not open to the public 1 and only rarely to the ' news media. The secrecy , adds to the aura of mys- • tery around imperial ! Shinto and the person of < the Emperor, who, ac- ; cording to Shinto tradij tion, descended from the * sun goddess. ■ Hirohito. renounced ; what he called the'“false j conception” of imperial J divinity in 1946, and < Japan today has a constii tutional ban on links be- . tween Church and State. ‘ But the cult of imperial ; Shinto, which has revered i the Emperor as a living j god for over a millenium, t is still bound up in palace ; life — and death. t t

On the morning of the Emperor’s death, the chief ritualist, Motofumi Higashizono, read a proclamation informing the sun goddess of Hirohito’s passing and the accession of his son, Akihito, Maeda, said in interviews with the Associated Press at his palace office. The reading was over in about three minutes and was followed by similar proclamations at the two other shrines, said Maeda, aged 72, who has been a court ritualist for 15 years. Both his father and grandfather had palace-related jobs. He was a banker before joining the court, and is now the second-ranking ritualist.

Maeda said he foresaw no change in the content or closed nature of the palace rites under Akihito, who was widely seen as more open and democratic than his late father.

“I expect the ceremonies will be the same, and will be presided over by the new Emperor just as they have been by emperors in the past,” he said.

Maeda acknowledged that the rituals were based on the concept of the Emperor’s divinity, despite Hirohito’s renunciation after World War 11. But Maeda said, “There has been no change before or after the war,” and defended his belief that the monarch had a special relationshp with the gods. “The Emperor’s relation to the sun goddess isn’t a scientific belief, it’s more of a tradition,” he said. “It’s hard for me to explain, because I grew

up in an atmosphere where it was taken for granted.”

Reflecting the stress on purity in Shinto, Japan’s indigenous faith, court ritualists are banned from eating meat before entering the area around the shrines. No-one with a relative who has recently died is allowed into the sanctuary. Akihito would not enter the shrines until he had finished mourning next year, Maeda said. Along with the six ritualists are five women who care for the sun goddess’ and imperial ancestors’ shrines. The women’s sequestered lives are governed by severe rules; they must be unmarried and live at the palace, two to a room.

Maeda said it took at least three hours to set their hair in a centuriesold style which from behind resembles the shape of a mushroom. The women sleep on hard, raised pillows which keep the heavily oiled coiffure from flattening out.

All but one of the women are under age 25, and most leave after a few years. "Recently, the number of applicants hasn’t been that great,” Maeda said. “Some years there may be seven, some years none.”

Many historians believe the Emperor’s role as priest-king without political power has allowed the monarchy to survive largely unchallenged since at least the eighth century A.D. But the religious nature of the Chrysanthemum Throne came under strong pressure after World War 11, when Allied

occupation forces sought to wipe out the emperorworship that they claimed fueled the Japanese war machine.

Opposition to the palace rituals today is most often voiced by such groups as Christians and the Communist party, which suffered repression before Japan’s military leadership was destroyed in 1945.

“To conduct ceremonies which treat the emperor as a living god ... can never be condoned,” said a statement issued by Mitsuhiro Kaneko, head of the Communit Party’s secretariat.

Japan’s constitution, written mainly by United States Occupation authorities, bans Government backing of sectarian activities. Under the previous constitution, Shinto was the State religion. The Government’s position is that the emperor has no special status in Shinto and that the religious ceremonies he perforins are done in a private capacity. Seeking to avoid controversy, the Government has decided that only part of Hirohito’s funeral will be a State event, while the Shinto ceremonies will be designated as traditional imperial family rites. Court ritualists are private employees of the emperor, not state officials. However, critics point out that since the imperial household receives Government funds, the ritualists are indirectly supported by taxpayers. The banning of State Shinto failed to sever the close relationship between the Emperor and popular T

Shinto, which evolved from prehistoric nature worship and holds the Emperor as its high priest. This belief is particularly strong at the Grand Shrine of Ise, the ancient centre of sun goddess and emperor worship. Before World War 11, the shrine was designated the nation’s most holy place, and received State funding.

A female relative of the Emperor is bestowed the ceremonial title of "grand custodian of the Ise shrine,” a title which, though at times ignored, dates back more than 1000 years. Emperor Akihito’s sister, Atsuko Ikeda, currently holds the post, which in effect makes her the high priestess of Shinto and gives her the responsibility of presiding over the shrine’s main rituals.

A senior priest, Kenichi Yano, said his opinion that the Emperor was a “god-like presence” was probably not held now by most visitors to the Ise shrine, who instead offered prayers to their own ancestors.

“Our shrine is dedicated to three things; the sun goddess, the emperor and our Japanese ancestors. Which one of those aspects is given priority depends on the attitude of the times,” he said.

In Japan today, most people follow both Shinto and Buddhism and see no conflict. Buddhism appeals more to the need for personal salvation, while Shinto, whith its rites of passage and seasonal festivals, binds a community together.