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日本語訳は下方にあります。 --- METHOD NO. 24 (JULY 1, 2003) Email-Bulletin "METHOD" is a free monthly on "Method Painting, Method Poem, Method Music (Methodicist Manifesto)." Publishers are three Japanese artists, Hideki Nakazawa, a (visual) artist, Shigeru Matsui, a poet, and Masahiro Miwa, a composer. You can read the manifestos of Methodicism at http://aloalo.co.jp/nakazawa/method/ This issue, METHOD NO. 24, carries a text by Masahiro Miwa and a web piece by Hideki Nakazawa, and word and info by the three Methodicists. >>>METHODICIST'S TEXT OF THIS MONTH: Matarisama-Dolls And The Cult of Istamia by Masahiro Miwa, composer The remote Matari Valley, known for its strange "matarisama" custom, is home to the Matara Myojin shrine. Though this shrine is dedicated to the god Matara, protector of Sarugaku*, the actual object of worship is the saint Istamia (sometimes referred to as Isidanomiya), who is said to have saved the valley from peril by relaying a message from the gods to the villagers. Only the highest-ranking priests are allowed in the holy perimeter surrounding Istamia's shrine. The reason for this is that eight gods are said to carry out an endless heavenly "matarisama" in this hall. No one has ever seen these gods, however, day and night, the echo of this perfect "matarisama" could be heard by all outside the shrine. The people of Matari Valley, from the earliest age, lived alongside "Istamia's matarisama" and when the autumn festival came, following the rules of "suzukake," they performed their own "matarisama" for the gods. To perform the "matarisama" of Istamia's shrine without pause or error was seen as something only possible for gods. At the same time as being seen as proof of the existence of an orderly spiritual world, this "matarisama" was believed to clean the suffering of the material world. It was a symbol of the truth and beauty of the universe that endured beyond generations. In other words, "matarisama" and the rules of "suzukake" were in themselves a message from ancient times, a proof of the existence of the gods, a testament for the ear. In recent years, the people of Matari Valley suddenly committed mass suicide in Matara Myojin shrine; not a single survivor was found in this shocking drama. "New era," "the words of Istamia," etc. strange inscriptions were found scribbled at the scene but the reason for this tragedy remains a mystery. It is only after these sordid events that the interior of Istamia's shrine came to be seen. Inside, eight i
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