Hijiri and the Mountains around Heian-kyo

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  • 聖（ひじり）と平安京周辺の山々

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The mid-Heian period, from the 10th century to the 11th century, was a major landmark in the study of the monks called ‘Hijiri’. For it was at this time that the Hijiri began to appear. However, in the studies on the Hijiri in those times, only two types were considered : a) Hijiri sach as Kuya (‘Amida-hijiri,’ ‘Ichi-hijiri’) and Gyoen (‘kawa-hijiri’) who were active in Heian-kyo (presentday Kyoto); or b) monks who secluded themselves in sacred mountains in rural areas such as Shoku in Mt. Shosha in Harima Province or Zoga in Tonomine. In addition, most of the research works to date have examined the Hijiri in the context of the history of the Jodo (Pure Land) sect, as the precursors of the Jodo sects within so-called ‘Kamakura New Buddhism’. However, many of the hijiri who appear in the records and tales of that time during the mid Heian period were c) monks who secluded themselves in the mountains surrounding Heian-kyo (Higashiyama, Nishiyama, Kitayama). Many of the Hijiri who can be confirmed to have existed in the middle of the Heian period were clearly of a different classification than the Hijiri of type a or type b. Therefore, in this paper, I will first obtain an idea of the actual situation of the activities of the Hijiri who used the mountains around Heian-kyo as their place activity place, which has not received much academic attention until now. Although they secluded themselves in the mountains and practiced asceticism, they did not exist independently of the people of the capital ; rather, it was only with the support of the people of the capital that they could devote themselves to asceticism. If we examine how people in the Heian period perceived the mountains around Heian-kyo, which became a place of activity for many Hijiri through such work, we can see that the mountains collectively called ‘Higashiyama’ and the mountains collectively called ‘Nishiyama’ were regarded as containing various entrances to Jodo (Pure Land) described in Buddhist scriptures, while the mountains called ‘Kitayama’ were regarded as the residence of non-Buddhist ‘reii’ such as tengu (long-nosed goblin), sennin (mountain hermit people), oni (ogres) and deities not enshrined.

Journal

  • 常民文化研究

    常民文化研究 1 (2022) 125-159,vi-, 2023-03-30

    Institute for the Study of Japanese Folk Culture Kanagawa University

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