生活の知識から祭りの知識への伝統化 ―社会の変化に対応するための伝承方法―

Abstract

On the studies on Matsuri (Japanese festival on the traditional way), researchers are exploring how people learn traditions of the Matsuri and how the traditions change during this process. Processes of learning and succeeding Matsuri traditions are observed as Legitimate Peripheral Participation, therefore, changing traditions accidentally happens when setting up and executing Matsuri are precisely not the replication of the previous year. On the other hand, some researchers mention the changing society makes succeeding Matsuri practice hard because the basic culture of the Matsuri community is also changed. These studies even imply some changes on Matsuri can be regarded as invented traditions. The invention of tradition has been discussed by anthropologist on tourism for years. Kecak dance in Bali is well known as one of invented traditions: Kecak dance was originally a trance ritual and later it was given the story of Ramayana and has been completed as a show for tourists. The point of invented traditions on anthropology of tourism is that hosts discover/invent their own tradition when they compare themselves or their culture to the guests or guests' culture. In this paper, I would like to discuss the practices which is kind of the invention of tradition to bequeathing the ways of doing Matsuri to the next generation. Furthermore, I tried to state that the practice is slightly different from the invention of tradition since it happens in a same community. In this point, I used the term which is traditionalisation or the conversion of knowledge to the tradition instead of the invention of tradition. The Tatemon festival of Uozu which is dealt within this paper, is fisherman's Matsuri and has 300 years of history. The Matsuri is held to pray for a good catch of fish and safe sailing. Since fishermen know many ways of making a knot and tying something up, big floats for Tatemon is built up just by timber and ropes. However, recently fishery has been declining and many people in the village are working for companies, and this results in people not knowing how to tie the timber up. For that reason, during the Matsuri season, an old fisherman in this village shows up to teach how to make the knots. Whilst it was common knowledge for fishermen, the old man teaches those ways of tying as tradition of Matsuri so that young generation can recognise that it is necessary for them to know even though they are not even fishermen. This is the phenomenon I previously called "the conversion of knowledge to the tradition" of Matsuri in a same community.