The animal welfare society to which I belong (JAWS) has an article in its latest newsletter which contains details of a shocking Shinto event involving cruelty to horses. It calls into question the whole ethos of Shinto as a religion that purports to care about nature.
The horse as sacred mount
The annual rite known as Ageuma shinji takes place in Mie Prefecture at the Inabe and Tado shrines, in April and May respectively. As such it stands alongside other horse events at Shinto shrines, such as the more well-known Yabusame (video) and Kasagake (article). Put on for the entertainment of the kami, the rituals involve an element of divination. In this case it has to do with the size of the harvest.
Horses have a special place in Shinto as mounts of the kami, able to move between this world and that of the spirit, as detailed in a previous blog entry.
At the Tado and Inabe Shrines however horses are forced up steep slopes and made to jump over a wall. If they slide back or refuse, they are pushed, pulled and coerced against their will. The idea is that if the horse succeeds, there will be an abundant harvest.
The conditions are such that they would be banned at any international event. According to the JAWS representative, Dr. Koichi Aoki, it is a shocking spectacle, cheered on by jubilant onlookers.
In recent years the event has been monitored by animal rights observers. In 2008 a horse crashed into the wall and broke its nasal bone at the Inabe shrine. At the Tado shrine a terrified horse failed to surmount the wall and ran in terror through the crowd, seriously injuring five people.
In 2009 a horse broke its foreleg at Inabe Shrine, and at Tado shrine video evidence was collected of men using violence on a horse before the event to stimulate it to greater effort.
In 2010 a horse fell before the slope and died after breaking a vertebra in its neck. The same year the Kuwana police, under pressure, launched an investigation into animal cruelty. Papers were sent to the public prosecutor’s office and charges followed.
Green Shinto has no hesitation in condemning cruelty to animals as an utter disgrace. A religion that has cultivated horses as messengers of the kami is here guilty of preserving a tradition that endangers horses. The wall-jumping is in defiance of international standards, contradicts all attempts to turn Shinto into a universal religion concerned with the protection of nature, and makes a complete mockery of the notion of living in harmony with our fellow creatures. It is, quite simply, sickening!
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Information for this entry is taken from the JAWS newsletter no. 78 (Autumn, 2011). The London-based charity can be contacted at jawsuk@jawsuk.org.uk, or see the website http://www.jawsuk.org.uk/
A Japanese video of the event can be seen here together with further details, where it is reported that five people were arrested and face animal cruelty charges. In defense of the rite, traditionalists maintain that the cruelty is justified on the absurd grounds that because it’s been done for centuries it is somehow okay!
Horses at the Kasagake event at Kamigamo Jinja, where the animals are treated with the respect they deserve
Judging other people’s culture like this is ridiculous. They should stick to places where they have influence.
Thank you, Avery, for the comment though personally I fail to see anything ridiculous about the situation, nor would I agree with your sentiments. ‘Gaiatsu’ (foreign pressure) has often proved to be an agent of change and improvement in Japan. Besides which, if you bothered to do any research rather than throw out glib and unhelpful remarks, you’d find that those working on the ground with JAWS are Japanese veterinary surgeons and animal rights advocates grateful for the support they are getting.
John, as a former long-time resident of Mie, I still consider it a second home of sorts. If I might be so bold as to join the ranks of the “ridiculous” (Lol), is there currently any petition circulating regarding this, either in English and/or Japanese? I know loads of folks in Mie alone, as well as surrounding prefs. (Nara, Aichi, Kyoto) who would surely add their voices in protest – as ridiculously foreign as that may seem. ;- )
Haha… but a seriously good idea. I’ll take it up with the JAWS folk…