Picturing Ise: A Dialectic Between Enclosure and Disclosure

Junko Miki

《The Journal of Asian Arts & Aesthetics》 6期 (2020/05) Pp. 47-57

https://doi.org/10.6280/JAAA.202005_(6).0005

摘要

On the main sanctuary site at Ise Shrine stands the main shrine building along with two subsidiary treasure houses. Significantly, the sanctuary site is enclosed by four layers of wooden hedges and fences, and it is forbidden for the general public to step inside them. Thus, we are not able to observe the complete figure of the shrine building, and only its thatched roof can be seen over the tall hedge. This longstanding custom at Ise functions as a ＂discipline of enclosure＂ that conceals the shrine building's configuration. Interestingly, in spite of this custom, certain examples of pictorial art reveal the shrine building in concrete representations. The relatively few existing portrayals of Ise Shrine can be roughly divided into three types according to date and style. The first type is pilgrimage mandala of the 16th and the 17th century, the second type is Ukiyo-e landscape of the 18th and the 19th century, and the third type is scroll pictures depicting the ceremonies at Ise Shrine, which is ordered by the Emperors between the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. Nowadays, after the age of photography, the configuration of the main shrine building is widely known. In this sense, the building, which stands on the main sanctuary enclosed by the hedges, pretends to be concealed. This fact suggests that the discipline of enclosure is by no means a matter of absolute religious dogma. Rather, it has been modified over time according to the cultural context. The shrine building has appealed to the public through the aesthetic interplay between enclosure and disclosure-that is, through the dialectical interrelationship between concealing and revealing. This paper discusses the mechanism and meaning of such pictorial dialectic between concealing and revealing.

關鍵字

Ise Shrine ； architecture ； pictorial image ； Japanese painting ； photography

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