RT Article
T1 A Short History of the Gannin: Popular Religious Performers in Tokugawa Japan
JF Japanese journal of religious studies
VO 27
IS 1/2
SP 41
OP 72
A1 Groemer, Gerald 1957-
LA English
PB Nanzan Institute
YR 2000
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1703870662
AB This paper traces the emergence and development of the gannin or gannin bōzu, a group of religious performer-practitioners. The gannin, who were active in Kyoto, Osaka, Edo, as well as many rural areas, had their head-quarters at the Kurama temple. Throughout the Tokugawa period, gannin engaged in proxy pilgrimages and provided the public with rites, exorcisms, and entertaining performances. Although the gannin are often portrayed in contemporaneous documents as "disorderly," the gannin maintained a nationwide administrative apparatus supported by the bakufu. To the rank-and-file gannin, this hierarchical organization, which at first may have served the interests of the gannin themselves, appears to have become something of a burden. As a result, gannin continued to seek independence in order to better their lot, thereby irritating their social superiors.
K1 Buddhism
K1 Magistrates
K1 Monks
K1 Priests
K1 Proxy reporting
K1 Proxy statements
K1 Religious Studies
K1 Talismans
K1 Temples
K1 Towns