絵馬に描かれた身体及び技芸の表象分析

Abstract

“The votive picture tablet” is the wooden board which is dedicated when praying at a Japanese Shinto shrine or temple. The custom of offering the votive tablet was originated in dedicating a real horse for God during the Nara era. Various pictures had been drawn by the Edo era. An individual dedicated a small votive tablet for the safety of family and the prosperity of business. Since the wish to Shinto and Buddhist deities was frankly not made to others, communication of people and Shinto and Buddhist deities was realized with the pattern of the votive picture. In this research, the cultural code was read and solved by analyzing the representation of art and body images on the votive picture. The pattern in connection with the body images is related to the divine favor of Shinto and Buddhist deities. They are the contents for self-actualization to which an individual and a group can pray for progress.