Ritual as an Instrument of Political Resistance in Rural Japan

Abstract

Ritual has been acknowledged as an important form of social practice, especially as it is employed by subordinated peoples to demonstrate their opposition toward a dominant ideology. So far, however, the recognized effects of such ritual activities have been limited to simple consciousness-raising. The following analysis assigns a more instrumental role to the performance of ritual itself. It adopts a historical perspective in examining how an innocuous drum ritual, which originally marked the beginning of a local Shintō shrine festival, emerged as a medium of political resistance during Japan's modernization. More specifically, it interprets the ritual as an institutionalized opportunity for negotiating power relationships and redressing perceived social injustices. These assertions are supported by the symbolic structure of the ritual, continual efforts by the authorities to suppress its development, and several instances in which the ritual performance escalated into genuine acts of politically motivated violence.

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