Yamagata: Communing with the Living and the Dead

"Journeys in Japan"

Hi, I'm Kanoa.

I remember my Japanese mother once telling me

there are over eight million gods living in Japan.

I was surprised and extremely curious as how that came about

and the faith behind the people.

I'm here in Yamagata Prefecture to find out why.

Hawaii-born Kanoa is exploring a mystical corner of Yamagata.

Murayama is known for its deep-rooted worship of Kannon Bosatsu,

Goddess of Mercy...

as well as millions of Shinto gods.

You probably saw this hag in the woods.

It's getting scarier and scarier.

Please be kind to me in the afterlife.

Me, too.

Votive paintings reflect the wishes of parents.

And a statue of mother and child transcends religious barriers.

People here have easily moved

between various religions' objects of devotion.

On Journeys in Japan, we travel in the present and the beyond,

in Yamagata.

Yamagata, Communing with the Living and the Dead

The Murayama region is some 300 kilometers north of Tokyo,

in the heart of Yamagata Prefecture.

I've arrived at a famous view point here in Yamagata Prefecture.

What an amazing breathtaking view!

In Higashine City, Kanoa meets up with guide Ono Tomoaki.

(Ryusenji Temple)

You are familiar with St. Mary, right?

Of course.

The Virgin Mary is Christian, right? This is a temple.

Isn't it odd to find her statue here?

Let's go and see it.

This is very different from the Mary figures I know.

The Virgin Maria Kannon "appeared" at this temple

by a curious turn of fate.

This is such a new expression of the face of Maria.

I've only seen Maria in traditional churches,

but I've never seen it in a fusion form with Japanese culture.

The designs around it also are very traditional Japanese carvings.

I've never seen a Virgin Mary statue like this.

How did it end up in a temple?

From the late 16th century,

Catholicism was banned and its followers were persecuted.

One hidden Christian entrusted this statue

to the temple's head priest

before leaving on a trip.

When the chief priest was asked to guard this Virgin Mary,

he could not deny the request, and hid the statue under a floor.

There it remained, safe and unscathed,

until the freedom of religion law was enacted in the late 19th century.

The temple knew it was irreverent

to keep the statue under the floor in darkness.

So, they had to figure out what to do.

At the time, they could not show the statue of Mary.

They decided to disguise her as the long venerated Kannon.

They added that aureole behind her

and worshipped her as Koyasu, or Merciful Mother Kannon.

They were very kind and generous.

Preserved despite the risk and religious taboos,

it is a beloved object of local worship.

It must feel so refreshing to live out here in the mountains.

If you look, you could still see traces of snow.

This mountainous area is fairly isolated.

A Buddhist statue, or "Ojizosan" as we say in Japanese.

Jizo is a merciful Bosatsu and the guardian of children and wayfarers.

Often found along paths,

they have been fixtures of the Japanese landscape since olden times.

What is that?

That looks very scary.

I don't think it's a Buddhist statue.

Let's see here.

These are features I've never seen on an Ojizosan,

so I'm not sure...

The stone statue sits alone under a cedar tree.

You could see there are some offerings, drinks,

some candies and some money,

which is indicating that it's a worshipped symbol.

I wonder what it means, some kind of god?

It's very strange because I don't see any signs of civilization.

There are no houses...

I barely see any cars.

So I wonder what makes people stop

and come all the way down here to offer.

What's behind the worship of this enigmatic figure?

Hints can be found at Hongakuji Temple in Murayama City.

A set of 150-year-old picture scrolls has been preserved here.

What is the story in this scroll?

This scroll is named the Rokudoe,

but commonly known as Mandala of Hell.

It's a depiction of what happens in hell.

Buddhism teaches that deeds in this lifetime

will determine lives to come.

According to ancient Buddhist mythology,

Enma Daio, or Great King Enma,

judges the deceased based on their deeds.

- Is Enma a special deity?
- Yes. It is.

"You can lie, but you set the temple on fire."

"We have a mirror that shows your deeds."

That is what the demon is saying.

You can't get away with your lies anymore.

It's very grotesque, to be honest.

The design, the artwork is absolutely fascinating,

beautiful, so detailed, but the message is very strong.

It's hard to imagine seeing this as a child.

I would be so scared, but I would definitely do no bad deed

as I'm too scared to go to this place.

This makes you want to refrain from doing bad things.

It does.

I saw a statue under a cedar tree near a roadside deep in the woods.

It was odd. I wonder if it was Enma.

Probably not Enma.

See this old lady with the fierce look?

This is whom you probably saw in the forest.

She's Datsueba, the first entity you see after dying.

Datsueba snatches the clothes of the dead and hangs them from trees.

How much the branches bend reflects the weight of their life sins.

Over 100 statues of Datsueba can be found in Yamagata.

At shrines, temples, and along roadsides...

near homes or even in the forest.

Their expressions all differ greatly.

I hear you know a lot about Datsueba.

Could you show me some in the area?

Certainly.

Shikama Hiroji has been photographing Datsueba for 60 years.

How did you discover her?

Hiking in the mountains

I came across a stone statue the opposite of Jizo.

It had a frightful expression.

Noticing her everywhere I went, I became fascinated.

Shikama is captivated by this temple's Datsueba.

It's getting scarier and scarier.

Datsueba!

Terrifying!

I'm speechless.

It's so scary.

I've only seen it carved in a rock or on a painting,

but you could see the features are very, almost evil in a way.

The tongue is out, the mouth is open, the teeth are black...

It's very scary.

What a frightening look.

I wonder if she's capable of judging us.

I'm afraid to look her in the eyes.

Please be kind to me in the afterlife.

Let's see why Yamagata hosts so many Datsueba.

This ukiyoe print is from the mid-19th century,

in the folding days of the Tokugawa government.

It depicts people pleading with Datsueba to grant their wishes.

(Kitabatake Shrine)

Datsueba is responsible for organizing materials

for judgement in the afterlife.

She is like a prosecutor or a court secretary.

- She compiles the information.
- That's right.

People began worshiping her,

because they wanted her to send flattering information.

That makes sense.

Datsueba worship enjoyed an almost cult-like boom about 170 years ago,

a little known fact today.

That deep dedication to Datsueba is now a thing of the past.

It makes me feel sorry for her.

May I touch her?

Actually, what she likes most is a back rub.

I give her one every time I see her.

- She seems to be enjoying it.
- Yes.

I think I will stroke her, too.

I've never touched a statue before.

We're usually not allowed to touch statues,

so I'm very nervous and also she's very intimidating. So...

here it goes.

But it feels nice.

It feels like I'm giving her some kind of comfort.

And it also closes the bridges, the distance between her and I.

She's starting to look not so scary anymore.

She looks pleased. It's strange, because she really appears happy.

(Komatsuzawa Kannondo)

The many paintings in its main hall are distinctive.

Many depict wedding ceremonies.

- Wedding ceremonies?
- Yes.

All those are Mukasari paintings.

It means "wedding" in the local dialect.

Parents feeling sorry for prematurely deceased children

dedicate these paintings to the temple.

This is so they can marry in the beyond. Look at this one.

It says the man passed away at 21.

He must have died before marriage.

His parents think he would be lonely if he stays single.

- That's sad.
- I'm close to tears.

Various thoughts and wishes have been imbued in the paintings.

When I first saw all the paintings,

I thought, maybe it was for a traditional wedding ceremony present,

but after learning that this is a wish from parents

with early-deceased children to not be lonely in the next life,

I'm overcome with emotion

and so honored to see this part of Japanese culture.

It's very new to me.

And I hope every wish on this wall comes true.

Parents and relatives of the deceased usually create the paintings.

But professional artists also specialize in this genre.

Takahashi Chikako has been creating the unique artwork for 17 years.

What great colors.

This has a very contemporary feel. Lovely.

Who was this done for?

Twins who died

in the womb...

This piece imagines their wedding.

Their mother wanted them in Japanese wedding kimono.

So, one has a traditional hairstyle, the other a modern look.

What do you feel when painting?

I summon the feelings of family members when painting.

I paint them as if they are my family.

This is just

a brown tortoiseshell hair ornament,

but I deliberately made it sparkly.

Any mother is devastated by a child's death.

They often dedicate paintings

only after coming to terms with their loss.

The twins died

about 28 years ago.

But they are offering the paintings

only after their daughters reach marriage age.

How do they react when you hand over the artwork?

They cry, but they begin smiling through the tears.

They say, "Thank you."

They feel joy and pain at the same time.

They are seeing their beloved one at long last.

Mothers feel they can finally

console their child's soul.

The paintings bridge parents in this world to their children in another.

Nowadays, the temple receives Mukasari paintings

from across the country.

Another art work... Another wish...

I grew up around Western religious beliefs,

where only one deity was worshipped.

It was interesting to learn about

the Japanese perspective

where multiple gods are worshipped

for many different reasons.

Their interpretation of the afterlife is fascinating.

Each soul fairly sentenced to their destiny

based off the choices they've made in life.

Whether worship is towards one's ancestors or a higher being,

it seems as if gratitude is the key intention

as well as the hope to pass down good morals for the future generations.

To reach Murayama, it's an hour by air

from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to Yamagata.

You can also take the Yamagata Shinkansen.

This temple is home to a Datsueba statue made around the 8th century.

I wanted to show you this.

Datsueba on my palm!

But her face is not so menacing.