With preparations for the next Shikinen Sengū at Isë Jingū properly underway, the survey that Jinja Shinpō carried out about hatsumōdë this year asked specifically about the distribution of Jingū Taima and gathering support, primarily financial, for the Shikinen Sengū.
Jingū Taima are the ofuda for Isë Jingū, and Jinja Honchō’s official position is that every household in Japan should have one. They are distributed through local jinja, mainly at the end of the year, although you can receive one at almost any jinja throughout the year. One of Jinja Honchō’s most consistent campaigns is to increase the number of Jingū Taima distributed, and this is pushed strongly on local jinja.
The first question Jinja Shinpō asked was how the jinja distributed Jingū Taima. Almost two thirds said that they distributed them at the jinja itself and through sōdai and other lay adherents going door to door. The next most popular was just making them available at the jinja, which was 15%, and then making them available at the jinja and having the priests go door to door, at 11%. The remainder did it in other ways — for example, at the jinja, and both priests and lay people going door to door.
They also asked whether the number of Jingū Taima the jinja had distributed had risen, fallen, or stayed the same. Just over half (189) said that the numbers had stayed the same, while 135 said they had fallen, and 45 said that they had risen. This is what we would expect, given the steady downwards trend in the numbers distributed.
The most common reason given for the numbers not changing was that the jinja got a fixed number of Jingū Taima, and distributed them to the same people every year. A few jinja, however, reported working very hard to keep the numbers steady. One priest, for example, said that the population of the rural areas was falling, so they had made special efforts to distribute Jingū Taima on the new housing estates.
The main reason for falling numbers was population decline. One priest commented that they distributed Jingū Taima to 99% of the households in their area, but the number of households was falling so the number of Jingū Taima was also falling. Another said that the fall was small at the moment, but that they expected a sharp fall sometime soon. That probably means that the local population is aging, and so when the current people start to die, there are no younger people to replace them. While some priests are actively involved in projects to revitalise local areas, that is a long-term plan — there is nothing they can do about this problem in the short term.
Another set of reasons were to do with changes that blocked the traditional methods of distribution. For example, the local residents’ associations might stop cooperating, or more households might not join. When housing changes from individual houses to blocks of flats, it becomes impossible for the people going door to door to reach the door. And even people who do want a Jingū Taima no longer feel any obligation to get it from their local jinja.
The relatively few jinja that had seen an increase mainly said that they had distributed more at the jinja itself. It is tempting to look at the reports from jinja that saw a decrease, and speculate that a good proportion of these are larger jinja, and that they are effectively “poaching” recipients from smaller, local jinja. The broader issues here are something I want to come back to in a later post. A few also mentioned the influence of the start of the preparations for the Shikinen Sengū, which is raising awareness of Jingū, and thus of Jingū Taima, and one priest mentioned increased awareness of Jingū among young people.
A significant number of jinja were also taking active steps to encourage people to receive Jingū Taima, and I want to write about those next time.
This is a broad question, and forgive me if you feel it is beyond the scope of this discussion – but why don’t people, especially young people, want to live in rural Japan ? I have visited the Kyoto area, the countryside is attractive an not particularly remote, whereas the cities are densely populated and accommodation expensive and cramped.
As I understand it, the fundamental problem is the location of jobs. If you don’t want to work in tourism, agriculture, or forestry, and don’t want a ninety minute commute in each direction, then you have to live in the cities. In the really rural areas, there are also no shops, schools, or doctors.
Obviously, this is a simplification, but I believe this is the fundamental cycle that areas outside major cities, and even major cities outside Tokyo, are trying to break.