近世前期郷鎮守における神宮寺と本末関係の形成：近江国甲賀郡森尻村矢川寺を事例に=The Formation of the Shrine-temple for a Tutelary Deity and its Hierarchical Relationship during the First Portion of the Early-modern Period: The Example of Yagawadera in the Koka District of Omi Province
Yagawa Daimyojin at Morijiri village in Koka district in the province of Omi is thought to have been the local deity of the Ikeharasoma no sho, an estate in the area, during the medieval period. Yagawadera, which was the shrine-temple, conducted rites that were characteristic of the Shinto-and-Buddhism symbiosis, known as shinbutsu shugo. After the estate system had been dismantlement at the end of Waring-States period, Yagawadera was confronted with the need to build a new foundation for a reorganized economic structure suitable for a medieval shrine, and by controlling the rites at local temples of the villagers associated with the shrine, it was able to construct a new order in the religious power structure of the region. In order for the local priest of Yagawadera to lead these rites for the villagers associated with the shrine, it was necessary for him to attain the status of ajari (S. acarya), which is required to perform esoteric Buddhist rituals. Therefore, an ecclesiastical relationship with Sojibo, a cloister of Enryakuji, which carried on the Ano tradition of Tendai esoteric Buddhism, was established, and Yagawadera became a branch temple, subordinate to Sojibo. When the bakufu reorganized the temple system, Sojibo tried to use the ecclesiastical relationship to make both Yagawadera and the local temples direct subordinates, branch temples of equal rank. Yagawadera resisted and initiated a lawsuit. In the hierarchical order of the temples was formed.
