Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
ETHNOLOGY
& ANTHROPOLOGY
OF EURASIA
Archaeology Ethnology & Anthropology of Eurasia 35/3 (2008) 105112
E-mail: Eurasia@archaeology.nsc.ru
105
ETHNOLOGY
E.L. Frolova
Novosibirsk State University,
Akademika Lavrentieva 2, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
E-mail: janefr@mail.ru
Introduction
In traditional Japanese society, beliefs concerning life
and the life cycle were shaped by the idea of mans
spiritual evolution. As the individual passed from birth to
old age, his personality became more and more complex
and acquired more and more features determining social
age. The life span was divided into distinct periods:
childhood, adolescence, maturity, old age, and death.
Limits between them were crossed by means of strictly
observed passage rites, which dened the individuals
social status. In a culture oriented toward stability,
the regulated succession of stages in the life cycle
endowed an individual existence with social meaning
(Traditsionnoye mirovozzreniye..., 1989: 87).
Events such as naming (equivalent to birth), rites tied
with adolescence, and death involved manipulations with
Copyright 2008, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Archaeology & Ethnography of the Siberian Branch of the Russian
Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi: 10.1016/j.aeae.2008.11.009
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mo train was put on. After this rite, the girl was considered
an adult and marriageable (Povest o Genji, 1992: 74).
The initiation rite marked the childs transition to the
status of a competent clan member liable to a full (or
nearly full) range of rights and duties. The infant name
(jimei or jimyou) was changed to a new and real one
(jinmei).
In samurai families of the HeianMuromachi
periods (9th16th cent.), the initiation rite was named
eboshigirei. The so-called eboshioya (cap father)
put on an eboshi (a black silk cap worn by courtiers
(Fig. 6)) on the boys head. After the eboshigirei
ceremony, the boy changed his infant name warawa into
an adult one (eboshina). To form the new name, one or
several symbols from the eboshioya name were normally
borrowed. This procedure was named ichijikakidashi
conferment of one sign (Kida, 1999: 65). Conferment
of a sign was also practiced during adoption. Okagami
(The Great Mirror, a historical tale of the 11th cent.)
reads as follows: The son of this gentleman by the name
of Tadatoshi was adopted by his grandfather, Minister
Ono-no miya, who called him Sanesukeh and favored
him very much. The hieroglyph sane in this passage
is part of the ministers name Saneyori (Okagami...,
2000: 70). The 13th cent. Tale of the Taira House also
attests to this custom: I am Munezane, the junior son
of Count Shigemori Komatsu. When I was three, I was
adopted by the Minister on the left side, Tsunemune.
I was given a new name (Povest o dome Taira, 1982:
589). Conferring a hieroglyph from the name of a
wealthy and prosperous adopter upon the adoptee may
be interpreted as an attempt to bequeath a part of the
formers vital force. Precisely such a man was likely to
play the role of eboshioya.
Reliable data about the initiation rite in families
of lower classes (e.g., peasantry) are known from the
Kamakura period (11851333). For instance, in the
village of Kuriyama, Tochigi Prefecture, the rite was
performed on January 21 for all youths who attained the
age of 20 the age of adulthood in modern Japan. This
rite, as it was performed during the Edo period (1600
1868), is still regarded as an important eternal national
value (Niwa, 1975: 48). One of the most esteemed village
dwellers was elected. This man took on responsibility for
further education of the initiated boys. Together with
the parents, he gave new names to the boys, introduced
them to adult duties, and taught them the sacral rites of
the community. The youths, dressed in new short cotton
jackets, progressed along the main street. The walk
alternated with an imitation of battle encounters and
ritual dances. Boys hit each other with wooden swords or
bats such that bruises and scrapes were left on the body
essential elements of the initiation. The generation
forming initiation rites determined the age structure
of the community. They were instrumental in tying the
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