. FlG. I.—THE OLD AND THE NEW SIDE BY SIDE IN JAPAN. The torii (sacred gateway) at the foot of Nantai-san, the holy peak above Lake Chuzenji. dear Nikko, in Central Japan. Note the electric light, the telephone wire, and the English translation of the notice. god takes place to the accompaniment of the blowing of conch-shells and the shrill rattling of the shakujo— the official staves of the Buddhist priests hung with rings of brass. Presently the Eri-dane, who has pre- viously undergone a period of rigorous ascetic training, accompanied by frequent lustrations at a spring sacred to the genius
. FlG. I.—THE OLD AND THE NEW SIDE BY SIDE IN JAPAN. The torii (sacred gateway) at the foot of Nantai-san, the holy peak above Lake Chuzenji. dear Nikko, in Central Japan. Note the electric light, the telephone wire, and the English translation of the notice. god takes place to the accompaniment of the blowing of conch-shells and the shrill rattling of the shakujo— the official staves of the Buddhist priests hung with rings of brass. Presently the Eri-dane, who has pre- viously undergone a period of rigorous ascetic training, accompanied by frequent lustrations at a spring sacred to the genius loci, is led in and placed before the shrine. He is dressed in ceremonial garments and bound about with ropes of straw to prevent injury in the subsequent proceedings, and with his arms outstretched so as to resemble the wings of a hopping crow, is seated on a mat under a canopy of maple boughs. Fifteen young men stand round him and chant the office of the Harai, or service of supplication, in answer to which Fudo ing rushes of the Eri-dane lead him to the sacred water once more, this time under the direct guidance of the god, who now prompts him to apply it to his person. No sooner has it touched his face than he is instantly " dispossessed," and the spirit of the god now returns to the gohei—the sacred wand of sakaki wood, hung with strips of white paper, always found in Shinto shrines—in the temple on the mountain top. As the spectators depart they carry away with them frag- ments of the burnt-out torches and set them up in their fields as scarecrows of unique and universal efficacy. Sir James Frazer has kindly pointed out to me the classical parallels to the foregoing in the worship of
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