In addition, Otsu was home to two powerful Buddhist temples, Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei, and Onjo-ji, in the city. Saicho, the founder of Enryaku-ji, was born in Otsu. By the eleventh century, Enryaku-ji is said to have owned sixteen valleys, three major temple sites, and three-thousand buildings housing priests.
During the tenth century, quarrels between major Buddhist institutions resulted in the militarizing of the great religious institutions. These hired mercenaries or trained young monks in the military arts in order to defend their properties, as well as to attack opposing temples. These warrior monks or Buddhist mercenaries were the sohei. For their historical significance, see The Teeth and Claws of the Buddha by Mikael S. Adolphson.
The issue of religion in the eleventh century requires a brief explanation. There were two faiths: Shinto and Buddhism. Shinto is the native religion that worships kami, gods that are manifestations of the world around us. Buddhism, on the other hand, is an import of the Indian religion which came to Japan via China and Korea. Shinto is of the greatest significance in Japan, because the emperors are descended from the gods and represent them during ceremonies involving the rice culture. The rice culture, however, meant life or death to the Japanese people of the time. For this reason, Buddhism never attempted to oppose Shinto. Rather, it adapted to it, making the native gods Buddhist avatars. This explains why Enryaku-ji is involved in the many spring-rice-planting celebrations by the Shinto shrines. The Sanno-Sai Matsuri in the novel is still celebrated by both Shinto and Buddhist priests.
Religious observations and rituals attracted fairs that catered to crowds by selling religious objects, amulets, memorabilia, etc, and by entertaining people with acrobats, dancers, musicians, storytellers, and various other performers, such as puppeteers. These fair performers were members of the hinin-class, the so-called non-persons of society. They traveled the highways of the land and had no homes. The kugutsu-mawashi were traveling puppet operators who performed at fairs or by special invitation at country estates. Like other itinerant people, these strolling players of Japan subsisted on what people were willing to pay. Like others, such as the asobi, women who danced and sang and sold their bodies, they were considered undesirables by the authorities. Travelling puppeteers usually carried their puppets in a box that would become the stage on which the puppeteer let the dolls perform. They were the forerunners of Bunraku, the Japanese puppet theater.
The continuing prevalence of hunting as a sport is another example of old customs surviving in spite of Buddhist teachings against the taking of life or the eating of animals. Hunting with bow and arrow and with falcons was well known in Japan before the advent of Buddhism and was practiced by emperors and the nobility. An imperial reserve, where pheasants were protected and harvested for the imperial table and special court observances existed at the time of this novel in Omi province and had a Taira administrator. Falcons were trained and treasured throughout Japan’s history. There are many screens from later centuries that depict collections of falcons displayed in the manner described in this novel.
Last but not least, something must be said about wedding and marriage customs in the Heian period. Most marriages were arranged between families, and husbands lived with their brides in the wife’s parents’ home. This, no doubt, assured the young woman’s safety and comfort but may also have allowed her father to influence politics by controlling her husband. Something of the sort is described in Lady Murasaki’s Genji, where Genji, an imperial prince, moves into his father-in-law’s house after marriage. The matter of the consummation of a marriage not being binding unless performed on three consecutive nights assured the bride and her family that the suitor was committed to the match. He could, of course, walk away before the third night. He could also divorce his wife by merely telling her so. In general, sexual relations tended to be casual and no special importance was attached to virginity or to the husband’s faithfulness. Noblemen traditionally had more than one wife and also kept mistresses. A noblewoman’s security lay in her producing sons, in her family’s protection, and in owning her own property. And finally, to clear up a misconception: the Japanese did indeed kiss. It appears that a Western misconception, possibly caused by Lafcadio Hearn’s assertion that Japanese lovers never kissed, has been accepted as historical fact. Thus, I offer the evidence of the Ishimpo, an ancient medical text used in Heian Japan, which describes kissing as part of its instructions for love-making. The custom of kissing certainly did not die out either, for later examples may be found in the shunga, those graphic woodblock depictions of lovers.
About the Author
I. J. Parker was born and educated in Europe and turned to mystery writing after an academic career in the U.S. She has published her Akitada stories in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, winning the Shamus award in 2000. Several stories have also appeared in collections, such as Fifty Years of Crime and Suspense and Shaken. The award-winning “Akitada’s First Case” is available as a podcast. Many of the stories have been collected in Akitada and the Way of Justice.
The Akitada series of crime novels features the same protagonist, an eleventh century Japanese nobleman/detective. The Old Men of Omi is number thirteen. The books are available on Kindle, in print and in audio format, and have been translated into twelve languages.
Books by I. J. Parker
The Akitada series in chronological order
The Dragon Scroll
Rashomon Gate
Black Arrow
Island of Exiles
The Hell Screen
The Convict’s Sword
The Masuda Affair
The Fires of the Gods
Death on an Autumn River
The Emperor’s Woman
Death of a Doll Maker
The Crane Pavilion
The Old Men of Omi
The collection of stories
Akitada and the Way of Justice
Other Historical Novels
The HOLLOW REED saga:
Dream of a Spring Night
Dust before the Wind
The Sword Master
The Left-Handed God
Contact Information
Please visit I.J.Parker’s web site here.
You may contact her via e-mail at Heianmys@aol.com. (This way you will be contacted when new books come out.)
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