Relationship to Jodo Shinshu Buddhism

 

   It is said that in the 8th century, the Nara era monk Taicho opened Gokayama’s highest peak Mt. Ningyozan (1726 m). As a mountain of the Hakusan religion and with Tendai Buddhism replacing primitive nature worship, a pan-Jodo Buddhism began to spread.

  Jodo Shinshu Buddhism came about in the 13th century during the Kamakura period. In the latter half of the 14th century, the 5th head priest of Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, established Zuisenji Temple in what is today Nanto City’s Inami, and it is said that the religion spread to the surrounding areas from there. There are still many mysteries surrounding Jodo Shinshu’s propagation in Gokayama, but the establishment of Jodo Shinshu in the area is attributed to an individual known as Doshu of Akao. In the mid-15th century, the Gokayama-born Yashichi (common name of Doshu) traveled to Honganji Temple in Kyoto’s Yamashina area. Learning the faith and becoming the favorite pupil of the 8th Rennyo priest, his name was changed to Doshu. After returning home, he established a dojo (present-day Gyotokuji Temple), or prayer hall, as his base and vigorously worked to spread the religion.

  When world-renowned woodblock artist Shiko Munakata visited Gyotokuji Temple, moved by the character and faith of Doshu, he left behind carvings of Doshu’s words and reclining figure. The Kanazawa-born Zen expert D. T. Suzuki named Doshu as one of the three greatest Japanese devotees of Jodo Buddhism.

   After Doshu’s death in 1516, the center of Gokayama’s religion and politics moved to Shimonashi’s Zuiganji Temple, a lower temple of Inami’s Zuisenji Temple. When the Ishiyama Honganji War erupted in the 16th century (1570 ~ 1580), surviving documents indicate that niter used for gunpowder was offered from Gokayama to Honganji every year.

   After that, the dojos for Buddhist worship established in each village during the early days of Kaga rule served as bases for the faith.

   Even today, every household feels gratitude for the work of the sect founder Shinran, and gathering relatives every year in the fall, a special event houonko is held. The strength of this piety is deeply connected to the Gokayama landscape and scenery, influencing the maintenance of Buddhist dojos and the size of the houses, as well as connected to the soul and unity of the villagers, keeping alive the bonds that hold Gokayama together.

 

 

 

 

 

Gokayama Paper (Gokayama Washi)

 

   The origin of Gokayama paper dates back to over 600 years ago. There is a theory that defeated vassals fled to Gokayama from Echizen (present-day Fukui Prefecture) and taught techniques for production of paper. According to surviving documents, in the early days of the Edo period, the Kaga master Maeda Toshinaga was presented with paper for documents. With increasing production output, it is believed that the paper was bought not only for Kaga use but for ordinary individuals as well. During the Kaga regime, with rice cultivation uncommon in the mountainous terrain of Gokayama, money would be earned through niter production and sericulture in the summer and papermaking in the winter and would be sent to the Kaga overlords twice per year. Papermaking was a very important winter industry—even being used as currency, paper was developed under the protection of the Kaga domain, and even as time continues to go by, Gokayama is regarded as a high-quality paper production locale even today.

  The tradition of Gokayama paper, together with Toyama Prefecture’s Yatsuo paper and Birudan paper, is generally known as Etchu paper and is designated as a national traditional craft. Pure mulberry paper is also used for reparation of cultural assets and properties, and the robust Gokayama paper is often used in light and ventilation fixtures in gassho buildings. Paper for use in shoji sliding doors, collages, lanterns, umbrellas, calligraphy, stationery, and woodblock prints is also being produced. Here, there are facilities where you can observe the papermaking process as well as experience it for yourself. Translating the warmth of traditional practices to the modern day, Gokayama’s local products are popular with both Japanese and international tourists.

 

Gokayama Washi   Shimonashi, Nanto City   TEL: 0763-66-2016 (Japanese Only)


Higashi Nakae Washi Seisan Kako Kumiai   Higashi Nakae, Nanto City  TEL: 0763-66-2420 (Japanese Only)


Gokayama Washi no Sato  Higashi Nakae, Nanto City  TEL: 0763-66-2223 (Japanese Only)

 

 

Traditional Songs & Dances of Gokayama

 

   Gokayama is home to Toyama Prefecture’s representative kokiriko and mugiyabushi songs and dances, and more than 30 pieces have been handed down through the generations. Of those, 12 were chosen as national intangible cultural assets under the title of “Gokayama Song and Dance.” Today, 4 preservation societies (Etchu Gokayama Mugiyabushi Hozonkai, Etchu Gokayama Kokirikouta Hozonkai, Etchu Gokayama Minyo Hozonkai, and Otani Mugiya Hozonkai) are preserving these traditions with the aim of translating them to posterity.

   These preservation societies organize shows for the Gokayama Mugiya Festival (Shimonashi Village) and Kokiriko Festival (Kaminashi Village) in September of every year as well as the frequent World Heritage Village (Ainokura and Suganuma) light-up events.

 

Kokiriko

   Kokiriko is an ancient folk song centered in Kaminashi Village. Recorded in ancient writings it is derived from dengaku with religious ritual elements and began sometime around the Taika Reform (about 1400 years ago). It is said to be the oldest folk song in Japan. Danced since ancient times at the Kaminashi Hakusanguu Shrine established in the Muromachi period, the tradition ceased during wartime in the Showa period. It was at this time that the poet Yaso Saijo, who had read the book Odorino Ima to Mukashi, Dances of Present & Past by Kunio Yanagida, sought out kokiriko. Then, following the war, a local historian found the old lady Shii Yamazaki, who recalled the song she had sang in her youth. From there, kokiriko began to gain attention. Reflecting the ancient Japanese soul as well as the sincerity and simplicity also found in the Nara era Manyo poems, the cultural value of Kokiriko was widely recognized. In 1969 (Showa 44), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology included it in middle school music education materials, and today, it is included in primary school music textbooks.

   Every year, at the Kaminashi Hakusanguu Shrine festivals in spring and autumn, the dance is performed to pray for and celebrate a good harvest. Dances include the sasara dance, in which men dance in warrior hunting costumes and ayai hats, energetically playing the sasara percussion instrument, as well as the shide dance, in which women with Katsurahimo (decorative bands tied around their heads) dance with kokiriko bamboo rod instruments decorated with Kamishide (paper streamers). The musical performance includes ancient instruments, such as Bou-sasara (a rod sasara) and a chime made from a field hoe, as well as other instruments, such as a bamboo flute, large drum, and hand drum. The name kokiriko is derived from the Kokiriko-take (bamboo rod) instrument held by one of the musicians. It is made from a designated length of the same smoked bamboo used in gassho ceilings.

  On September 25 and 26 of every year, the Kokiriko Festival takes place on the grounds of Kaminashi Hakusanguu Shrine.

  Additionally, the “Kokiriko Danced through Four Seasons” performance takes place at fixed intervals throughout the year.

 Preservation association: Etchu Gokayama Kokiriko Uta Hozonkai                                             

 

 

 

Mugiyabushi

   More than 800 years ago, the Heike clan that had once enjoyed extraordinary glory in the capital at the height of their prosperity lost their standing. They eventually lost the Battle of Dan-no-Ura against the Minamoto clan.

   After losing the Battle of Kurikara to Kiso Yoshinaka’s forces in May of 1183, the defeated warriors fled to Gokayama at the remote upper streams of the Shogawa River with grief in their hearts. Replacing their bows and arrows with hoes and scythes, they sowed wheat and vegetable seeds, made hemp textiles, and established a safe land far from others’ gaze. The oral tradition remains to this day that these warriors are the ancestors of the inhabitants of the former Taira Village.

   The origin of the mugiyabushi song and dance is the yearning for the Heike clan’s former glory. As the song was often sung when wheat (mugi) was being cut, it naturally came to be known as mugiyabushi. Wearing crested kimonos, hakama, white tasuki cords, and a sword as well as holding a straw hat, the men dance a noble, gallant dance to the mournful melody of the samurais’ loss.

At the time of the opening of the Nippon Seinenkan (Japan Youth Hall in Tokyo), mugiyabushi was endorsed as one of Japan’s 7 representative songs and dances. There are many dances for both men and women, such as the hayamugiya, in which women dance to a fast tempo, and the nagamugiya, for celebration.

  On September 23 of every year, the Gokayama Mugiya Festival is held on the grounds of Shimonashi’s Jinushi Shrine.

Preservation association: Etchu Gokayama Mugiyabushi Hozonkai                                             

 

 

 

 

Toichinsa

   A small bird called the saichin lives in snowy Gokayama, and on sunny spring mornings, it chirps along toi, or water pipes. It is said that fascinated by its beautiful sound and nimble movements, women hummed, sang, and danced hoping to be able to work as cheerfully and gallantly as the saichin. The combination of toi and saichin led to the creation of the name toichinsa.

Preservation association: Etchu Gokayama Minyo Hozonkai