The Studies of Okonai Ritual in the Kohoku Region of Ohmi : Verification of the Analysis of Yobun Tsuboi

The following three points have been emphasized in studies on the Okonai ritual found in the Kohoku region of Ohmi: (1) it is a ritual influenced by such Buddhist rituals, (2) it is a spring agricultural ritual centered on rice offerings, and (3) it is a religious service maintained by the Toya system. Subsequent studies have taken up the symbolism of the rice cakes and Okawa as their themes. However, after Tetsuo Hashimoto began to undertake comparative studies of the Okonai in the Kohoku area with those of the Kanan area, new methods for studying this ritual was proposed. For instance, Mituo Wada and Minoru Yoneda sought to study the spread and transmission of the Okonai in connection with the influence exerted by local esoteric Buddhist temples on village ritual. However, recently it appears that research into this field has reached a dead end. In my paper, I will consider the work of Yobun Tsuboi, which has been neglected so far by Okonai scholars. Tsuboi studied the Okonai of Nose, Azaitown, East-Azai-district in Shiga prefecture in order to study the cultural transformation of villages based on slash-and-burn economies. I believe it is possible to gain hints for further research by reexamining Tsuboi's study. Tsuboi firmly believed that the Okonai ritual had incorporated elements of the slash-and-burn culture. But some of this insights are worth investigating, including such points as: (1) the economic and cultural values were transformed with the adoption of the Okonai, and ( 2 ) the background peculiar to each village was taken into the Okonai ritual. There is some doubt concerning Tsuboi's conclusion of Nose as a slash-andburn village. However, his suggestion that the conduct of the Okonai conferred a kind of status to its participants is interesting. Because the adoption of the Okonai requires long term maintenance of the Toya system, it above all indicates that the economy has been stabilized. For the Okonai to spread in the Kohoku region, it was necessary to establish the village shrine and to accept belief in the efficacy of ritual prayers. At the same time, I believe a stable economy and the desire to improve the social position of the village in relation to other villages in the region were also necessary