The Tattoo Ascetic and the Sleeping Priestess
It is not especially uncommon for people to repeatedly dream of those they have lost. The death of someone in one's circle can have some manner of subconscious effect on their mental state, especially if they were close. By seeing such a person in our dreams, we can grieve, process and find comfort regarding their death, and gradually come to accept their passing. It is likely that this manner of thinking, rather than being a recent development, has existed throughout human history. Ruins that appear to serve as memorials for the dead can be found all over, dating from distant eras chronicled as part of ancient history, demonstrating that humans have mourned our dead since a time when we had only just diverged from other animals.
It is possible that our feelings towards the dead, which we generally thought had been forgotten, can resurface in our minds as afterimages that take the form of dreams.
It is specifically because it is, to an extent, such a familiar issue to us that dreams featuring the dead have long been the subject of a variety of tales. Amongst these, however, I have found a notable tale which bears considerable similarities to the dreams regarding the Manor of Sleep.
A Priestess Who Shows Others Her Dreams
One very interesting story regarding dreams is a folk tale from the Tohoku region which talks about a priestess who gives others dreams.
When the priestess, carrying the grief of others on their behalf, falls into sleep, the karma she bears becomes a dream, and that same dream visits those around her.
The story tells of a priestess who takes on and bears others' pain, but this itself is extremely vague, and along the lines of a mere allegory. As such, it is unfortunately difficult to read anything concrete from it. In some regions, however, there exists a very similar folk tale called "The Tattoo Ascetic".
The Tattoo Ascetic
This story tells of a reclusive nun who takes on the grief of those who a make a pilgrimage to her, engraving it onto her own body in the form of a tattoo.
It is said that upon engraving every inch of her body with the sorrow brought to her, she began to see that pain as dreams, which she shared with those who had entrusted their grief to her. The keywords "dream" and "tattoos", a sublimation of emotions, can also be seen in a story called "The Tattoo Maiden". This is a sad story about a woman who repeatedly engraves her body with tattoos each time she loses a lover as a form of memorial, so that she will not forget them. However, it lacks the religious element that is found in The Tattoo Ascetic, and I believe it fair to call it a popularised copycat of the same tale.
Note: Tattoo = irezumi ('inserted ink', 'engraved blue')
Photo: The snake and holly pattern as depicted in "Tattoo Folklore", a study of folk tales from the mid Edo period.
As I was studying literature on the subject, I came across a man named Akito Kashiwagi, who was active as a folklorist between the late Edo and early Meiji periods. He is known for having conducted research into folk tales, fairytales and ancient songs from across Japan at the time. According to surviving records, he spent a time conducting fieldwork across the Tohoku region for the sake of his academic inquiry regarding a song called "The Sleeping Priestess" transmitted in some parts of Mutsu. Since this era saw a deluge of research into ancient Japanese culture and native customs, there may have been others like him.
One's understanding of folklore cannot expand based purely upon one's own imaginings, discussing ideas seated at a desk in a land far away from its subject. It is only by setting foot in those places, feeling their air, eating their food and experiencing their lifestyle first-hand that one can begin to discover what lies hidden at the root of indigenous culture.
Accordingly, he embarked on a project spanning some years, and visited the so-called "untrodden land of folklore", enclosed by mountains and snow, where the Sleeping Priestess tale originated. Of great interest is that his investigation records make mention of a ritual performed at a certain shrine, whose description bears such marked similarities to the story of the dream priestess and tattoo ascetic that it may be considered as its origin.
According to records left by Akito Kashiwagi, he stayed at the home of the Kuze family, who presided over an old shrine in northern Tohoku, where he encountered the "Sleeping Priestess" upon which the song was based. Of interest is that this priestess plays a very similar role to that described in the "Tattoo Ascetic" legend above.
What is the "Sleeping Priestess" Lullaby?
The "Sleeping Priestess" that was the subject of Akito Kashiwagi's research is a lullaby found in parts of the Tohoku region. As the name suggests, it is a song about a priestess who serves the gods. In his writings, "Songs and Legends", he examines lullabies from a variety of regions and the legends surrounding them; however, he seems to have devoted particular attention to the Sleeping Priestess, as much is written about it.
"Nemuri Miko (The Sleeping Priestess)"
neirinasayo hatate
neirinasayo hatate
naku ko wa fune nose tsui no michi
ichiwara kisete onmekashi
neirasena sakamihagi
neirinasayo hatate
neirinasayo hatate
miko-san aima ni okitsukaba
shishi ni ki ugatte imii-no-gi
kumon hiraite yasukarazu
The reason why "The Sleeping Priestess" is generally regarded as a lullaby is, of course, due to its repetition of the phrase "neirinasayo", meaning "go to sleep". The author himself initially interpreted the song as a lullaby for children, thinking that the appeal at the beginning was directed at the child, and makes reference to this interpretation. However, as the lyrics make mention of such things as putting a crying child on a boat, the last passage, driving stakes into the limbs, taboo and so on, it seems as if the song is full of descriptions meant to frighten young children. It would be only natural for a lullaby to contain a message directed at children; however, as the song says that "if you are naughty, you will be put onto a boat and sent away", "if you misbehave, something scary will happen to you as it did to the priestess, so be good", etc., it appears to come under the category of "threatening songs" meant to scare disobedient children into obeying. Similar to the common phrase, "If you misbehave, demons will come for you," such songs contain claims that induce a type of trauma.
It is interesting that it is a priestess who is used as the symbol of the frightful experience that will befall the child, as they are servants of the gods, and therefore ought to be holy beings. One can even read within it a nuance suggesting that the priestess is being punished for having committed a sin, or that she is being used as some sort of sacrifice. The song appears to refer to the priestess as a warning to the child.
Note: hatate = adate (disobedient child)?
Similarities with Songs and Legends
In the second volume of Songs and Legends, the previously published version of The Sleeping Priestess is compared against one closer to its original form. As the author himself alludes, the song as written below appears to be from a somewhat older time.
The Sleeping Priestess (Original)
neiryasayo hatate
neiryasayo hatate
naku ko wa kagobune tsui no michi
ichiwara kizande onmekashi
neiryasena sakamihagi
neiryasayo hatate
neiryasayo hatate
miko-san awai ni okitsukeba
shiseigi ugatte imii-no-gi
kumon hiraite yasukarazu
At the time of the book's writing, an image used as reference was accompanied by the following words: "Pierce the the living flesh, engrave her with the holly, and drive in the tattooed stakes. Appease her for all eternity as she slumbers in the rift."
Photo: An illustration accompanying "The Priestess and Sleep", the fourth section of Songs and Legends 2 by Akito Kashiwagi. It appears to represent the spirit world in which the priestess sleeps.
What Akito Kashiwagi focuses on is the fact that the part generally sung as "ichiwara kisete" (to be dressed in one's finest kimono) was originally "kizande" (engrave). Here, he notices that the priestess is put in the position of a sacrifice, and supposes that the song as a whole indicates some sort of act involving physical pain being inflicted upon her.
Note that the tradition regarding the illustration talks about "engraving" the "holly" into the "living skin". While "holly" can refer to the plant, it is also used metaphorically when talking about pain and aches (the latter of which is written using a character containing the one meaning "holly"), due to its serrated leaves that are prickly to the touch. In other words, she sleeps with pain carved into her skin. This description matches that of the Tattoo Ascetic, and also the records of the Kuze priestesses who took on others' pain. It also seems noteworthy that the tattooed stakes that are driven into her contain the word "tattoo" itself.
The Kuze Shrine - a shrine presided over by the Kuze family - was supposedly the model for the priestess in the song, and was called "the shrine where one can offer up their pain". The duty of the priestess of the Kuze Shrine was not merely serving the gods and carrying out festivals, as is generally claimed today, but also had a more shamanic aspect to it. This, too, seems not to refer to summoning a spirit, as would be done by a so-called medium, but in fact the opposite, and acting as a vessel.
As a shrine run with the intention of accepting offerings of pain, was containing this grief within them the priestess' reason for existence?
Having read several old books related to the subject, it appears as though the Kuzes' Sleeping Priestess' duty was to take on the grief of those who visited the shrine burdened by great misfortune and sorrow they were unable to resolve themselves. They would then have that pain engraved upon their own bodies in the form of tattoos, taking on people's suffering in their stead.
Commonalities between the Tattoo Ascetic and and the Kuze Sleeping Priestess:
- Takes on people's grief, bringing peace to their hearts
- Uses tattoos as a symbol representing emotions
- The priestess/ascetic bearing the tattoos sees the pain within their pattern in the form of dreams
As far as I can tell from the above, is seems as though it could be said that the priestess of the Kuze Shrine is the very same as the Tattoo Ascetic of legend.