reviews | 197

Komatsu Kazuhiko 小松和彦, Izanagi-ryū no kenkyū: Reki-

shi no naka no Izanagi-ryū tayū いざなぎ流の研究―歴史のな
かのいざなぎ流太夫― [Studies on Izanagi-ryū: A historical
survey of Izanagi-ryū tayū]
Tokyo: Kadokawa Geijutsu Shuppan, 2011. 702 pages. Cloth,
¥6,825. isbn 4046532408; 978-4046532408.

Komatsu Kazuhiko is not only an eminent folklorist, but is also famous as an expert
on the study of Japanese supernatural beings known generally as yōkai 妖怪. He is
also the current director of the prestigious International Research Center for Japa-
nese Studies (Nichibunken). Some may have noticed that the Nichibunken home
page now provides links to databases on yōkai that can be accessed from around the
world, and it was Komatsu who supported the construction of these databases. He
was acclaimed as a talented researcher from the time he was still young, and now
has a formidable resumé, including field research for over forty years on the folk
traditions called Izanagi-ryū of the village of Monobe 物部村 in Kochi Prefecture
(currently the town of Monobe in the city of Kamishi).
The book under review is not only a robust compendium of Komatsu’s fieldwork,
but it also includes the local history (from medieval times to the present) of the
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area around Makiyama 槇山, a hill in the middle of Monobe. Komatsu discusses the
religious knowledge and rituals performed by religious specialists called Izanagi-
ryū tayū いざなぎ流太夫 as a central part of local history. Based on sparse historical
records and oral transmissions by the tayū, he puts together an explanation of the
performance of festivals, rituals, and prayers, thus attempting to identify the “ori-
gins” of Izanagi-ryū. He then painstakingly reconstructs how these “origins” devel-
oped and were formed through history, resulting in a grand historical drama. On
the basis of very limited evidence, Komatsu puts together the pieces like a puzzle
to form a broad picture of the whole, admittedly requiring quite a bit of imagina-
tion. On the other hand, he has absorbed the results of recent research to describe
in detail the history of Izanagi-ryū, especially that of the Edo and modern periods.
The result is an extraordinary book that provides a good mix of imagination and
stoic evidence, and which can be read both as academic research or as a historical
novel. In addition to the Introduction and Conclusion, the book consists of five
parts: 1. society and life around Makiyama; 2. the history of Makiyama; 3. the ances-
tors of the Izanagi-ryū tayū; 4. legends of fugitive Heike warriors; and 5. the ritual
activities of the Izanagi-ryū tayū in the modern era.
The first section records the industry, annual events, and rites of passage in the
local society of Makiyama based on ethnographic fieldwork; historical discussions
begin in Part 2. In the medieval period, Makiyama was an estate (shōen 荘園) and
part of a shrine-temple complex in which social groups called myō 名 centered
around the land-holding “lord” (myōshu 名主) vied for influence. In the “warring-
states” period a man named Chōsokabeshi 長宗我部氏 came into power and ruled
over Makiyama when the Sendō family 専当家 of the current myōshu was victorious
in battle as Chōsokabeshi’s retainer. Formerly, the Okanouchi family had wielded
more power than the Sendō family by adopting a member of the Sendō family
and forming a branch family. However, at the crucial battle of Sekigahara, which
marked the end of the warring-states period and ushered in the Tokugawa-ruled
Edo period, Chōsokabeshi aligned himself with the ultimately defeated “West-
ern” forces, after which a man named Yamauchi became lord of the Tosa domain.
Yamauchi preserved the myō structure of the medieval “village” community, and
appointed a village official called Namoto to the post of myōshu. This marks the
important transition from the medieval period myō community to the premod-
ern “village” community, while the basic residential structure was preserved. As it
entered the Edo period, however, the Okanouchi family (formerly a “branch fam-
ily”) replaced the head family by being promoted by the domain lord Yamauchi
to “head of the myō” 名本, thus becoming top village head 大庄屋. In the modern
period the Okanouchi family took on the family name “Komatsu,” thus transmit-
ting the lineage of the Taira family.
Part 3 examines historical records from 1497 concerning two priests named
Sōnoichi 惣市 and Kōtō 勾当, presumed to be the progenitors of the Izanagi-ryū
tayū. These two served at the shrine of the tutelary deity of Makiyama. Even through
 reviews | 199

the Edo period, these two families continued as hereditary priests of the shrine, and
their rituals underwent little change. The Sōnoichi family was in charge of oracles
(takusen 託宣), and the Kōtō family was in charge of the kagura performances, and
both of these merged into the Izanagi-ryū rituals. These priests performed not only
the rituals of the Makiyama tutelary shrine, but also incorporated rituals from other
local tutelary shrines, thus becoming the progenitors of the Izanagi-ryū tayū, and so
the current shrine rituals can be traced back to the medieval period. Next, Komatsu
examines entries concerning shrine priests 神職, onmyōji 陰陽師, shrine mediums
神子, and shugen 修験 traditions in the Makiyama fudoki 柀山風土記 (1815) and the
“Regulations” (seiten jōrei 政典条例) of 1848–1860, and considers the role of the
Izanagi-ryū tayū within the social conditions of the late Edo period. Religious fig-
ures called hakase 博士 were found throughout the Tosa domain, and the Ashida
family 芦田家 was officially recognized by the domain to have authority over them.
These hakase performed healing and divinatory prayers with bows (yumi-kitō
弓祈祷), and can also be considered progenitors of Izanagi-ryū tayū. The distinc-
tion between the priests who performed shrine rituals and the hakase who per-
formed prayers with bows was maintained through the middle of the Edo period,
but a major change was brought about when the Yoshida family established a head-
quarters in Tosa for regulating shrine priests, and likewise the Tsuchimikado fam-
ily established a headquarters for regulating onmyōji. As a result, the distinction
between shrine priests and hakase was made ambiguous, and the tayū began to per-
form both shrine rituals and healing prayers. From this time, Izanagi-ryū tayū have
performed both shrine rituals and healing prayers.
Part 5 explains how the legends of fugitive Heike warriors became crucial for the
Okanouchi family to become head of the village in the modern period. By claiming
to be descended from fugitive Heike warriors, they were able to claim a distinc-
tion from other local families. In addition, the Okanouchi family sponsored a large-
scale festival for the deity of heaven (ten-no-kami matsuri 天の神祭り) by inviting
powerful priests such as Sōnoichi and Kōtō, and the twelve kagura dancers who
performed at the festival of the tutelary shrine. This festival for the deity of heaven
celebrated both the deity of heaven and that of Onzaki 御崎 (the old local deity).
The festival for the deity of heaven was started by the head of the village, but the
village families and the farmers around Makiyama were forced to accept it, and thus
both the festival for the deity of heaven and the Misaki festival spread among the
old families.
The final section examines the impact of the Meiji Restoration and the religious
policies of the Meiji and later governments on the tayū. Based on a detailed look
at these religious policies, Komatsu shows that among the tayū there were those
who maintained their activity by promoting Shinto (shintō shūsei ha 神道修成派).
Recently, however, there has been a severe drop in local economic activity and seri-
ous depopulation, resulting in a lack of successors to the tayū, and the commu-
nity is reaching its limits. Komatsu then considers the influence of a researcher on
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the local community and on Izanagi-ryū itself, self-reflecting on the impact of a

researcher’s activities on the lives and consciousness of local residents.
I have outlined the contents of the book, but what can be said about the rela-
tionship between Izanagi-ryū tayū and onmyōji? In the past Komatsu has described
Izanagi-ryū tayū as onmyōji who still live on in the present time. This is probably
based on the fact that tayū perform exorcisms, and employ deities such as the
shikiōji 式王子 that are reminiscent of the shikigami 式神. Komatsu does not explic-
itly claim that Izanagi-ryū tayū are onmyōji in the book under review, but he does
point out that the spiritual knowledge of the tayū includes aspects that are similar
to Onmyōdō. As research on Onmyōdō advances, it is my hope that these points
will provoke an active discussion of the issues involved.
The truly groundbreaking aspect of this book is the historical portrayal of
Izanagi-ryū against the backdrop of historical changes in a local area from medi-
eval to contemporary times. Komatsu appears to have determined that it is impos-
sible to understand Izanagi-ryū by studying just Izanagi-ryū alone. By expending
great effort and time, Komatsu has painted an elaborate picture of the historical
background, and paid close attention to minute details. The historical role and
transformations have been placed in grand relief by carefully painting the historical
background and placing Izanagi-ryū therein. It is inevitable that various readers will
quibble over the interpretation of certain historical records, or challenge the appro-
priateness of this or that hypothesis, but Komatsu seems to anticipate and welcome
such disagreements and discussion. Through this book Komatsu has clarified one
solution to the grand puzzle that is Izanagi-ryū, and provided a monumental work.
As we gaze on this monument and discuss its content, yet another new solution to
the puzzle may present itself.
[translated by Paul L. Swanson]

Hayashi Makoto
Aichi Gakuin University