보이지 않는 것에 대한 인식과 그 표상 —지식으로서의 모노노케(物の怪)—

Abstract

This study analyzes the Japanese Mononoke representations in relation to religious knowledge, with reference to the changing times. It examines the reason for the change in representation of Mononoke at different times and the effect of diffusion of Chinese knowledge. In the Middle Ages, picture scrolls begin to be described as Mononoke, which could be divided into two types. In the first type, the appearance of Mononoke cannot be seen and it is represented through human abnormal behavior. In the second type, Mononoke are represented by various monsters such as snakes and demons. At the beginning of the Edo period, Mononoke representations began to appear in the form of ghosts. These were represented as women with long hair, wearing a Kyokatabira and without a lower body. This is how the Japanese currently represent Mononoke as well. The reason for this was the change in recognition of the other world. The Edo period was a society of strict identity systems, and the failure of human relations was the most difficult for people to accept. Therefore, people’s interest was no longer in the other world but in reality. Hence the internalization of the other world changed the representation of Mononoke from Youkai to human. Another point to be questioned is that why were ghosts depicted without legs. In China’s Shiji, as mentioned in Wuzazu, it has been indicated that there is no foot to transcendental existence. Wuzazu is a popular work in the early Edo period, and it can be said that influx of Chinese knowledge enabled the birth of ghosts in Japan.