중세 불교 사원의 남색 정당화 담론 고찰―승려와 지고(稚兒)의 남색을 중심으로―

Abstract

This study analyzes the discourse surrounding the pederastic relationships between monks and chigo within Buddhist temples in medieval Japan, where monks’ transgressions became pronounced. The monks’ relationships with chigo should not be viewed merely as a trend of pederastic culture or a sign of the corruption within Japanese Buddhism. It is crucial to reconsider the position of the chigo, who were thoroughly subordinated in their relationships with monks, from the perspective of subaltern studies. Two primary arguments that justified and glorified monks’ sodomy at that time were misogyny and the sanctification of the child-acolyte. It was considered a violation of monastic vows for a monk to engage with women, who were deemed impure due to menstruation and childbirth. However, the logic posited that intercourse with a boy, who appeared like a woman but was not one, did not constitute a violation. Additionally, there was a belief that a boy, after undergoing the ritual of aganjō, transformed into an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Kannon, and thus, intercourse with the boy was seen as a means to lead monks towards salvation and rebirth. Within this discourse, only the instrumentalized perspective of monks and adult males is depicted, and the voices of the chigo themselves are conspicuously absent.