- The Priestess who Bears the Holly
The Kuze Shrine was said to be a place where one could offer up their pain. However, this was limited to pain of the heart - that is, grief - and appears to have referred specifically to the pain of bereavement. It appears as though this ritual to say a physical and mental farewell to the dead involved making a pilgrimage to the Kuze priestess. One record contains an eyewitness account of people visiting the shrine to say their final farewells to deceased family members, their bodies inside hemp sacks.
In winter, while the snows fall, each of the worshippers who make pilgrimage to the shrine pull carts bearing large sacks behind them, their faces covered.
Something about them reminds me of a funeral procession.
(Excerpt from notes appearing to have been left by Mr. Akito Kashiwagi)
While the Kuze priestess seems to sometimes have been referred to by the name of "sleeping priestess", upon which the lullaby was likely based, she also appears to have been called "the tattooed priestess" due to the fact that she would bear the grief of those who had lost loved ones in the form of tattoos.
By examining the duty with which she was tasked, we can see clear parallels between it and the "Sleeping Priestess" lullaby. To demonstrate these links between her, the song, and the tattoo ascetic, I will summarise below three rituals that appear to have been performed at the Kuze Shrine: the Rite of Purple Ink, the Piercing of the Soul, and the Rite of Commandment.
The ritual in which the ink used to tattoo the priestess is created.
It seems as though the worshippers who visited the Kuze Shrine to "offer up their pain" to the priestess did so not by merely confiding their sorrows to her in the hope of attaining peace, but rather by having her bear a physical manifestation of that pain. Specifically, blood extracted from bodies of the deceased (blood of the dead) would be mixed with blood from those left behind (blood of the living) to create "purple ink", which would then be used to tattoo the body of the priestess. By doing so, she would take on people's pain - their grief at being parted from the dead - on their behalf.
The central roles in this ritual appear to have been played by a pair of women known as "Engravers". They were brought in from neighbouring villages, and from the time they entered the Kuze Shrine they permanently lived side-by-side, dedicating the rest of their lives to serving the shrine.
Those who engrave the holly upon the priestess must mix together the scarlet and indigo of living and dead blood. With the Ink of the Soul thus created, carve the holly into her skin.
(From the Rite of Purple Ink Tome)
In the Commandment Tome, which appears to have been stored at the Kuze Shrine, I have found mention of what I guess to be the "Rite of Commandment", the ritual which follows this one. Within it are pages that seem to have contained a registry, where visitors to the shrine would write their names in their own blood. This is another expression of the shrine's unique beliefs about blood, viewing it as a symbol of pain.
- The Piercing of the Soul
The ritual in which the ink of the soul is used to tattoo the Tattooed Priestess.
The worshippers' grief and anguish are carved deeply into the priestess' skin from head to toe in the form of a holly pattern entwined with a snake. As a ritual representing the shamanistic nature of the Kuze priestess, I believe it was likely viewed with particular importance by the priestess who was to receive the tattoos, of course, as well as the Engravers who applied it.
The tattoos engraved during the Piercing of the Soul would gradually spread across the priestess' body each time more pain (holly) was offered up to her. This probably means that the ritual itself was repeated over and over until her entire body was covered in tattoos.
What sort of circumstances did the priestess live in until she had taken on many people's pain through the Piercing of the Soul and fulfilled her duty (been fully covered in tattoos and put to sleep)? Though this is based on personal recollections, and I cannot say with any certainty whether it was real or dreamed, I will describe the priestess-looking woman I saw sleeping in a prison hung from a high ceiling. If that suspended cell is the "Hanging Prison" mentioned in old books, then the priestess would have awaited the day of the ritual within.
As is broadly known, the act of being tattooed entails great physical pain. These days, tattoos are mostly viewed as an element of fashion, or a means of self-expression, with many (primarily young) people wearing them like accessories. However, piercing as deep as the dermis and dyeing it with pigments naturally comes with a reasonable amount of pain. When it comes to large, traditional designs, the pain is intense enough to make a grown adult faint.
In the Kuze priestess' case, the pain caused by the ritual is a sacred one received through the transfer of another's. I cannot imagine that any measures were taken to ease the burden upon them. Given what was inflicted upon her body in the process, it must have been a very tough ritual for a young woman to go through.
- The Engravers
A pair of women. They create the ink of the soul and tattoo the priestess.
The Engravers were responsible for creating the ink of the soul and tattooing the priestess; however, in order to carry out these duties, they were forced to make bodily sacrifices.
The first was that, in order to know the pain of having one's body tattooed, they would have countless needles stuck into their bodies. This is likely a mimicking of the act of tattooing, the process of which involves piercing the skin with a needle and injecting it with pigment.
The other involved gouging out their own eyes, so that the priestess would not be taken in by worldly desires that would tether her to the world of the living. The act of taking away their eyesight was not only a ritualistic one meant to rid the priestess of her regrets towards life, but also something done so that the Engravers would not be led astray by their eyes when tattooing the priestess, and instead make sure the pattern they engraved was guided by a more spiritual force. Furthermore, their eyes, of which they had been physically deprived, would never return. It also seems to carry the meaning of a warning that once they entered the Kuze Shrine, they would never be able to return to society.
Incidentally, it appears as though once the Engravers's eyeballs had been removed, hemp ropes would be passed through the sockets so as to criss-cross through both eyes. However, I have as yet been unable to locate any documents indicating any specific reason why this was carried out. As the rope was not merely used to cover their eyes but passed from left to right to bind them, it is conceivable that this was done to seal them shut and tie the physical bodies linking them to the world of the living into a world shared only by them and the lone priestess.
Here, I would like to make note of the fact that the Engravers were made up of a pair of women of the same generation, who would eat and sleep together, serving the shrine until their deaths. They were treated as a pair, almost as if they were twins.
Twins themselves are often viewed as special, almost divine entities. They are frequently believed to be a single body that split into two within the mother's womb, and whether this is considered an auspicious or ill omen, some sort of implication is conferred upon it. Take for example the "Twin Festival" still found to this day in the mountains of the Chubu region, a "kamioroshi" ritual held once twins reach a certain age. The twins are dressed in white, their obis tied together with a red cord, apparently with the nuance of them returning to one body and harbouring a divine power within.
Although the Engravers of the Kuze Shrine were not actually twins themselves, perhaps treating them as a pair may imply that they are servants of the gods based upon this reasoning.
- The Handmaidens
The girls who served as the priestess' caretakers.
Photo: Part of a film reel found in the projector owned by the family of Akito Kashiwagi. It shows images of girls who appear to be Handmaidens.
Between the pain of having her skin pierced by countless needles and her sorrow at no longer being able to return to society, the tattooed priestess must have experienced a great deal of distress. It was the duty of a group of young girls known as "Handmaidens" to support her both mentally and physically.
There were usually four Handmaidens, who, like the priestess and Engravers, were selected from the girls who lived in nearby villages. They appear to have been young, between roughly the ages of five and nine. From the day the priestess was brought into the shrine they would wait on and take care of her, or serve as a companion for her now that she was no longer permitted to return to the outside world. As a ritualistic duty, they would also nail dolls to the walls that served as a substitute vessel for people's pain, performing what was known as "impaling the sin" apparently in order to soothe the priestess afflicted by the pain of the tattoos.
The Handmaidens were also preordained to fulfil their final duty of "piercing the priestess' four limbs". Though I need to do a bit more research on this point, in its most literal interpretation, this may refer to something similar to crucifixion, an act that is mentioned frequently throughout history.
I find it extremely interesting that such young girls would so readily and without a hint of doubt agree to perform something so brutal as "piercing" someone. One might say it demonstrates the results of having been raised in an area under the influence of the Kuzes, and receiving thorough training as Handmaidens.
Once their term of service was completed, the Handmaidens would seemingly be sent home once more, living uneventful lives as parishioners like all of the other girls of the village. The reason why they were allowed back into normal society without being silenced, despite having had such an important role as carrying out the tattooed priestess' ritual, likely lies in a combination of their youth, and the workings of the egos of those who required the sleeping priestess as a human sacrifice. A substantial number of women from villages near the Kuze Shrine likely had experience serving as Handmaidens during their childhoods, and this tacit understanding allowed them to create priestesses according to their needs.
The ritual in which the priestess is put to sleep.
Once the Rite of Tattoos was complete and the priestess' entire body was covered in tattoos, she would be lowered into the depths of a deep pit known as the "Abyss", built beneath the Engraving Shrine. The Abyss, the entrance to the underworld itself, is not a place for the living to set foot. Therefore, it was at this point that the priestess' connections to our earthly world were severed entirely. Finally, she would arrive at an enormous underground cavern in the deepest part of the Kuze Shrine, known as the "Rift", where she would be impaled by the Handmaidens and sealed within a small shrine to sleep forever more.
It goes without saying that this refers to the priestess being offered as a living sacrifice to the gods. Within this small shrine inside the underground cave, staked down and trapped, the priestess had no way of returning to the surface, her life drawing to a close alongside the corpses of past priestess, still bearing her tattoos.
Evidence of the custom of driving stakes through people's limbs can be seen worldwide dating back to ancient times. The most well-known example of this is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, but in any case, the nuances here are more of punishment than any ritualistic element. Within the Kuzes' rituals, I sense something strongly suggestive that the act was carried out in order to soothe the Tattooed Priestess' spirit and definitively send her off to the underworld - that is, as a preventative measure to keep her confined so that she would not return to reality. It also likely carried the nuance of using physical restraints to trap her there, so that the pain of others engraved upon her wouldn't return, and the priestess wouldn't awaken.
Note: Meaning of "sleeping" priestess
Connection between "dreams" and the tattoo
What was the "piercing" for?
The punishment for a priestess unable to fulfil her duties. The stripping of the tattoos.
Though discussing the emotions of the subject with regards to a ritual whose significance lies in the act itself may be meaningless from a macro perspective, many priestess must have felt frightened upon leaning of their fates, and that they were to become sacrifices.
If a priestess learned of the duty she had been charged with and refused to proceed any further with the ritual, or had taken on the tattoos but was unable to sever her attachments to the world of the living, the skin bearing the tattoos that served as her reason for existing was entirely stripped off and she was "washed away" - in other words, killed.
This "tearing" is referred to in The Tearing Tome. The document, which appears to date from long before the time of the final Kuze family head, Yashuu, seems to make mention of this "tearing" carried out as punishment for those who were unable to become priestesses. The stripped skin was kept in a small shrine, bringing repose to the soul of the priestess from whom it was taken, whilst also serving as a warning to the next priestess.
Photo: Tattoos from the collection of the Aomori Museum of Ethnology. The snake and holly pattern can be observed within.
Based upon Yuu's research, it appears as though the expression "wash away" observed in such regions is used as a metaphor for "kill". However, it seems more likely that a verb relating to water would be found in a coastal region. It seems unusual for such a word to be in use in mountainous areas such as these.
- The Significance of the Tattoo's Design
Photo: The mitsu-uroko or "three scales", the crest of the Hojo clan. Its origin lies in the three scales left behind by the priestess. This is a stylistic example of the intimate relationship between priestess and snake.
The snake, the symbol of the priestess. The holly, representing the pain.
The design of the tattoos engraved upon the Kuze priestess featured a combination of snake and holly.
Priestesses and snakes have been very closely linked since ancient times. Serpents were believed to be incarnations of dragons that served the gods, and were feared as dragons that had descended to earth. Perhaps the most extreme example of this is found in a legend about the shaman Himiko, who was said to have painted a pattern resembling snake scales onto her skin. This was in an attempt to imbue herself with the power of the gods by taking part of a snake into her own body.
Such tales are not limited to the age of mythology. Even after mankind attained dominance over nature, it seems to have been engraved upon people's hearts and minds. It is said that Hojo Tokimasa attained prosperity under the guidance of a priestess who served as the messenger of a dragon god, and therefore took a three scales design as his family crest to represent the scales of a snake.
Furthermore, in ancient literature we frequently see illustrations depicting avatars of supernatural powers, such as people being attacked by a divine snake. Snakes were often used as symbols of supernatural disasters and forces beyond human understanding. The priestess of the Kuze Shrine being clad in a snake design seems to conform faithfully to such examples.
There are also various theories regarding the holly. The most common of these appears to be the claim that it serves as a metaphorical representation of the pain borne by the priestess. This is due to the fact that, as discussed earlier, the word "holly" was once written using characters meaning "aching tree", owing to the painful prickling sensation felt upon touching its serrated leaves. It was also known as oni no metsuki ("demon eye-jabber") and believed to possess the power to ward off malignant spirits, as seen in the way it is used during setsubun alongside sardine heads as a warding symbol. As an evergreen tree, perhaps the image of it earnestly living on even amidst the snow also had some part to play in its perceived divinity. The motif featured in the priestess' design was probably derived from these characteristics.
When the priestess' dreams are reflected back.
This seems to refer to when the dreams caused by the pain engraved into the priestess in the form of tattoos return to the people from whence they came.
It was believed that when the pain was reflected back, the tattoo would take on the divine power of the snake and attack its original holder. This was an absolutely forbidden outcome, and any and all possible methods were to be used to prevent it.
Though the Unleashing is spoken of figuratively in the form of a legend, I have been unable to find any writings that clearly describe what it actually entails. The only records I can find of the Unleashing having occurred at all are from the time of Yashuu Kuze, the final head of the Kuze family - in other words, this was an irregular event that was not usually supposed to come to pass, and the Unleashing that occurred during Yashuu's time must indicate that the ritual failed in a most dire manner.
The legend of the "tattoo ascetic" states that something caused the pains the nun had taken into her body to rebound back to their original owners, following which the snake in the tattoo's pattern came to life and devoured them whole. In line with this, it is conceivable that the Unleashing brought about by the priestess who bears the snake is a catastrophe caused by her by way of a curse, spoken of as a supernatural phenomenon.
While I can only speculate as to the events that triggered the Unleashing, I believe it may have been a combination of two factors:
- Refusal to bear the holly (become a priestess)
- Tattooing of the eyeballs (according to the account of the Tattoo Ascetic)
I believe that the meaning of "engraving the tattoos upon her eyes" (even considering whether or not this is actually possible) does not refer to literally tattooing her eyes, but probably rather means the etching of "wounds" - that is, pain and grief tying her to the world of the living - into the priestess' eyes, some sort of thing leading her to harbour regrets towards life seared into her eyes.
When interpreted in such a manner, it is consistent with the cause of the Unleashing, as I will discuss later, which I believe to be an actual event.
- The Rift Shrine
A building constructed to prevent the Unleashing from spreading.
If worst were to come to worst and the Unleashing occurred, the entire shrine was to be surrounded by a massive building created to stop it from spreading to the outside world. This building, which functioned as a wall, was called the Rift Shrine, and its name seems to carry the implication that it was used to contain the Kuze Shrine within the "other world", one separate from our own.
They did not merely isolate the place physically from the outside world, but also sent the priestess who had brought about the Unleashing to the underworld using supernatural methods employing human sacrifices.
The home of the Kuzes, completely isolated from the outside world and covered entirely by the Rift Shrine and multiple layers of reinforcement, was transformed into an enormous manor with an extremely complex layout. As the structure of the manor can be verified through the testimony of Kaname Ototsuki and other "Manor of Sleep" patients from the time, this appears more or less certain.