9:45 AM - 10:00 AM
[HGG01-04] Possibilities of Spatial Scientific Research Using Shrines
Keywords:Shrine, Votive offering, The 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake, Spatial science
The shrine is a sacred area as a Japanese culture that has continued for more than 1000 years and it consists of buildings, forests, votive offerings, etc. In this presentation, I introduce the perspectives of spatial scientific research on shrines, based on the field surveys on votive offerings and landscapes of them. This study focuses on shrines located in alluvial plains like the Osaka Plain. For GIS analysis, a database was created for each plain according to the items such as the types, year of offering, material, contents and condition of the offerings. The types are torii gate, guardian dog, lantern, purification fountain, banner support, and others. The year of offering was recorded in the Western calendar year converted from the Japanese one. Based on the database, the number and distribution of the offerings in a certain unit year were clarified.
The 2,046 offerings and the landuse of the precincts were investigated at the 81 shrines in the lower reaches of the Muko and Yodo rivers. It is possible to recognize large increase events continuing in a few eras and small increase events triggered by wars and era changes, from the graph on annual changes in the number of votive offerings. The change in the number triggered by a natural disaster is a small increase event of about 10 years at most. From the GIS analysis based on the number or its ratio of votive offerings at the time of an increase event, the heavily damaged belt zone in the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake could be reconstructed and estimated the extension on the map. The same analysis was attempted for the damage caused by the 1854 Ansei Nankai earthquake. Furthermore, based on the GIS analysis using other votive offerings with regional characteristics, the uneven distribution of culture and popularity was mapped.
This research can be summarized as follows. Since it is possible to estimate the damaged area from the number or its ratio of votive offerings, the GIS analysis method can be applied not only to natural disaster but also to culture and popularity in areas and times where detailed records are not available. These estimates were performed by conceptually substituting votive offerings for event deposits. Other spatial scientific research items on shrines include building use and landuse. In order to clarify the geographical conditions for maintaining of the sacred area, it is necessary to survey and discuss the regional characteristics of each study item on shrines and their changes.
The 2,046 offerings and the landuse of the precincts were investigated at the 81 shrines in the lower reaches of the Muko and Yodo rivers. It is possible to recognize large increase events continuing in a few eras and small increase events triggered by wars and era changes, from the graph on annual changes in the number of votive offerings. The change in the number triggered by a natural disaster is a small increase event of about 10 years at most. From the GIS analysis based on the number or its ratio of votive offerings at the time of an increase event, the heavily damaged belt zone in the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake could be reconstructed and estimated the extension on the map. The same analysis was attempted for the damage caused by the 1854 Ansei Nankai earthquake. Furthermore, based on the GIS analysis using other votive offerings with regional characteristics, the uneven distribution of culture and popularity was mapped.
This research can be summarized as follows. Since it is possible to estimate the damaged area from the number or its ratio of votive offerings, the GIS analysis method can be applied not only to natural disaster but also to culture and popularity in areas and times where detailed records are not available. These estimates were performed by conceptually substituting votive offerings for event deposits. Other spatial scientific research items on shrines include building use and landuse. In order to clarify the geographical conditions for maintaining of the sacred area, it is necessary to survey and discuss the regional characteristics of each study item on shrines and their changes.