“Senzo no Hanashi” or “About Our Ancestors” is a work by Yanagita Kunio written during the Second World War, in response to questions about what would happen to the spirit of young men who died on the battlefield. “Senzo no Hanashi” was later considered as representing Yanagita Kunio’s thoughts regarding ancestors. “senzo no Hanashi” was also criticized for conceiving contradictory thoughts about ancestral spirits compared to several of his previous works. However, Yanagita’s views on ie or family seem to have changed in “Senzo no Hanashi” as well. Consequently, to gain a better comprehension of Yanagita’s view on ancestral spirits in “Senzo no Hanashi”, we need to first understand his views on the continuity of ie. Ancestor worship, which is the core of Japanese belief, is widely related to the Japanese ie system. Moreover, the first part of “Senzo no Hanashi”, particularly chapter 1-14, contains a discussion of the ie system. Therefore, this research aims to describe Yanagitas Kunio’s view regarding the continuity of ie in “Senzo no Hanashi” by examining how these views have changed from his previous works. By grasping Yanagita Kunio’s view on ie in “Senzo no Hanashi”, it is hoped that we will be able to gain a better understanding of the concepts of ancestral spirits that Yanagita developed in his work. The initial findings suggest that there is new meaning of the continuity of ie constructed by Yanagita Kunio in “Senzo no Hanashi”.

Authors:
Rahaditya Puspa Kirana, Okayama University, Japan
Masafumi Motomura, Okayama University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Ms. Rahaditya Puspa Kirana is a University Doctoral Student at Okayama University in Japan. Her research interests focus on a Japanese folklorist Yanagita Kunio and his thoughts on ancestor worship in Japan.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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