Stomping on Sacred Grounds
Edo-Period Religious Institutions and the Shifting of Sumo Wrestling’s Uncanny Image
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22024974 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christoph Reichenbaecher (0009-0000-3347-0779, Aichi Prefectural University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 2-3 |
| Pages | 152-186 |
| Publication date | 2023-12-20 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Religion in Japan (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2211-8349 • E-ISSN: 2211-8330 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/22118349-01202009 |
| OpenAlex | W4390991698 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 2 |
This paper investigates the changes in the uncanny expressed in historical examples of sumo wrestling. Various pre-modern instances show sumo as a wild and relentless combat, often resulting in the injury or death of one of the wrestlers. However, due to sociopolitical changes in the early Edo period (1600–1868), a new mode of conduct emerged at shrines and temples that complied with regulations in the urban space and forced wrestling to adapt and curtail the uncanny. Eventually, a further drastic image shift occurred when popular culture picked up sumo wrestling. Finally, in the latter half of the nineteenth century, sumo wrestling turned into a “sport” while still retaining uncanny elements in its conduct. Thus, this paper concludes that religious institutions tamed sumo wrestling’s classical uncanniness; at the same time, new conduct secured the integration of uncanny elements within modern sumo wrestling
Aesthetics · Art · Linguistics · Political science · Sociology · Uncanny · Computer Science · History · Japanese History and Culture · Law · Martial Arts: Techniques, Psychology, and Education · Philosophy · Sports, Gender, and Society
| Highly cited | No |
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