Ritual and Well-being in the Contemporary Shikoku- Pilgrimage: The “Spectrum of the Sacred”
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Ryofu Pussel
Abstract
This article is an ethnographic study of contemporary ritual and well-being in the Buddhist 88-temple-pilgrimage on Shikoku Island, Japan, drawing on some findings of my PhD thesis. It will be shown how rituals are employed by pilgrims to gain this-worldly benefits and well-being, such as happiness, assurances about the future, success, and lives that can be lived free from problems and dangers, which mirror how contemporary pilgrims see their obligations and responsibilities in society. Further in-depth analysis of pilgrimage items and related rituals clarify what pilgrims deem ‘sacred’, and how they respond to this, why and through what experiences and actions they set things as ‘sacred’: ‘spaces’, items, and rituals are regarded as very sacred or more or less sacred. This research finds that there is a ‘sacred’ on a continuum, which it labels as ‘spectrum of the sacred’.
© 2013 Akademie Verlag GmbH, Markgrafenstr. 12-14, 10969 Berlin.
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Introduction: Well-being in Ritual Practices
- The Price of Ritual
- Can Happiness be Created in Rituals?
- Fast Food and Fun.
- Die Organisation von Wohlbefinden in japanischen Kindergärten
- Rite of Redemption.
- Ritual and Well-being in the Contemporary Shikoku- Pilgrimage: The “Spectrum of the Sacred”
- The Auspiciousness of the Performative Body – Ritual Dancing in Folk-Religious Festivals in Japan
- Folk Performing Arts, Community Life, and Well-being: Why shishimai Matters in Toyama, Japan
- Bullfighting, Self-Enhancement, and Well-Being in Rural Japan
- Whose Festival is it?
- Shinjo Matsuri: Community Revitalization through the Construction and Circulation of Decorated Floats
- Rituelle Modulation, Liminalität und die nembutsu-Praxis im ländlichen Japan
- The Happiness of the Family.
- Wisdom on the Pursuit of Happiness in Daily Life.
- Transnational Ecstasy and Japanese Ganbarism: Cultural Patterns in the Pedagogy of Outward Bound Japan
- From Fighting to Joy in Kendo
- The “Performance” of Kyōgen.
- Well-being and Risk-taking Behavior.
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial
- Introduction: Well-being in Ritual Practices
- The Price of Ritual
- Can Happiness be Created in Rituals?
- Fast Food and Fun.
- Die Organisation von Wohlbefinden in japanischen Kindergärten
- Rite of Redemption.
- Ritual and Well-being in the Contemporary Shikoku- Pilgrimage: The “Spectrum of the Sacred”
- The Auspiciousness of the Performative Body – Ritual Dancing in Folk-Religious Festivals in Japan
- Folk Performing Arts, Community Life, and Well-being: Why shishimai Matters in Toyama, Japan
- Bullfighting, Self-Enhancement, and Well-Being in Rural Japan
- Whose Festival is it?
- Shinjo Matsuri: Community Revitalization through the Construction and Circulation of Decorated Floats
- Rituelle Modulation, Liminalität und die nembutsu-Praxis im ländlichen Japan
- The Happiness of the Family.
- Wisdom on the Pursuit of Happiness in Daily Life.
- Transnational Ecstasy and Japanese Ganbarism: Cultural Patterns in the Pedagogy of Outward Bound Japan
- From Fighting to Joy in Kendo
- The “Performance” of Kyōgen.
- Well-being and Risk-taking Behavior.
