The origins of the the hare/ke, public/private dichotomy in Japanese scholarship.

[Matthew Stavros]

Greetings,

In 1967, Kawakami Mitsugu published his magnum opus on residential architecture in medieval Kyoto (Nihon chūsei jūtaku no kenkyū). In the opening of the book, he wrote of the distinction between public and private space within the homes of the Kyoto elite, using the terms hare and ke in reference to each respectively. Both hare and ke are historical terms, appearing frequently in documents from the period. The suggestion that premodern Japanese made a clear distinction between their public and private lives/selves, however, is historiographical, an idea apparently first articulated by Yanagita Kunio.

Attempting to track down the origins of the hare/ke dichotomy in secondary scholarship, I have come across something of a conundrum. The earliest case where I find Yanagita using the terms hare and ke is in his Meiji-Taisho-shi sesō hen (first published posthumously in 1967). His use there, however, seems to assume a high level of foreknowledge on the idea, as if he’d explained it in details elsewhere or, perhaps, that it’s not his original idea.  

Another thing that makes me wonder if the idea indeed originated with Yanagita is the fact that Kawakami never once cites Yanagita. One possible explanation for this, of course, is the fact that Yanagita’s book was published the same year as Kawakami’s. In that case, then, where did Kawakami get his idea on the strong premodern distinction between public and private lives?

Are there any Yanagita scholars out there who might be able to give me some help? I’m guessing that Yanagita’s ideas on hare and ke were part of an intellectual discourse long before the 1967 publication of Meiji-Taisho-shi sesō hen, but I’ve had no luck tracking down any published materials. In sum, I’d simply like to identify where the idea first came from--in terms of secondary scholarship--with the hope of pinpointing Kawakami’s intellectual inspiration.

Thanks and regards, 

Matthew Stavros

www.mstavros.com
www.pmjs.org

[Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney]

Orikuchi traces back to the imperial court in kodai -- would it be something you are looking for?

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--
Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney
William F. Vilas Research Professor
University of Wisconsin at Madison

[Gian Piero Persiani]

According to an article by Masuda Shigeo ("Heian no waka-shi de 'hare' to 'ke' to wa nani ka," 1987), an earlier occurrence of the dichotomy in Yanagita's work is Shokumono to shinzou 食物と心臓 (1940). Here Yanagita calls "hare no hi" days in which rural/peripheral communities wore their Sunday best and ate rice (still a rare delicacy at the time in some areas).

Hope this helps,

Gian Piero Persiani
University of Oxford

[Mikael Bauer]

Dear all,

I use the term 'public-private' extensively in my (to be submitted) dissertation
on Kofukuji. Now, to address the history of this temple I wrote a rather lengthy
theoretical chapter on the application of the distinction public-private in a
pre-modern context. One Japanese author to be (critically) consulted regarding
the inseparability of these two categories, is Ihara Kesao's work on
Kokusei-Kasei:

Ihara Kesao, Nihon ch�sei no kokusei to kasei, T�ky�, Azekura Shob�, 1995.

In the first part of his work he points out the dangers of applying modern
notions of public and private to a pre-modern context. Instead, he argues for
the inseparability of both categories in a pre-modern context (also realizing
that the terms 'Kokusei-Kasei' are modern constructs). The modern, on its turn,
displays the possibility of both spheres to be separated. I argue that the
distinction between pre-modern and modern notions of the public-private
paradigm help us to understand institutional and religious developments, but
also the rise of different notions of 'what knowledge' is and how pre-modern
knowledge is theoretically different from modern 'science' etc.

In western historiography there are many interesting theoretical works on this
issue, for example:

McKeon, Michael. The Secret History of Domesticity, Public, Private, and the
Division of Knowledge. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2005.
or:
Richard Sennett, The Fall of Public Man, 1974

Now, McKeon obviously does *not* address the non-european context, but he does
provide an extensive theoretical reflection on the distinction public-private,
the shift from pre-modern to modern and the rise of the Civil Society (in
reference to Habermas et al.) parallel to literary (such as the diary or the
novel), artistic (such as the invention of perspective) and architectural
developments. It is my conviction that a theoretical reflection on these topics
can only enrich our own field of pre-modern studies and make our work more
relevant to modernists.

Hope this helps,

Best,

Mikael Bauer

Mikael Bauer
Phd. Candidate
East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Reischauer Institute Graduate Student Associate
Harvard University
H-Buddhism Editor

[Mark Schumacher]

Lord Stavros-san

At the risk of sounding the fool, could you give us the KANJI for hare/ke?
The terms are quite familiar in the world of the lunar calendar, with Hare-no-hi 晴れの日
days considered sacred days, while all other days of the months were known as Ke-no-hi 褻の日.
Japan's most important festivals, under the lunar calendar, were almost always held on Hare-no-hi days.

I'm attaching an image below, which comes from my own site:
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/12-zodiac.shtml

If the image does not appear below, please visit the above URL page, and scroll down to
the section entitled "Zodiac Trivia in Japan, Lunar (Old) Versus Solar (New) Calendar."

sincerely
mark in kamakura

--

MARK SCHUMACHER Tel/Fax: 0467-24-2384 (in Japan) and 81-467-24-2384 (outside Japan)

[Mark Schumacher]

UPDATE.........I meant to write
"At the risk of ME sounding the fool....."

Lord Stavros-san

At the risk of ME sounding the fool, could you give us the KANJI for hare/ke?

[Matthew Stavros]

Dear Mark,

Yes, those are the same characters for the hare and ke that I'm inquiring about, except I have seen katakana used quite frequently instead of kanji.  

As you suggest and your site confirms, 晴 and 褻 are indeed ideas that were applicable to various contexts and settings, although the dichotomy behind the terms' usage seems to have been the same in all cases: lucky vs unlucky; open vs closed; front vs back; sunny vs shady; public vs private, etc. Comparing the set to yin and yang is helpful in this respect and I believe there are many overlaps. 

Just to prevent too much digression--although it's a terribly interesting topic to me--my concern is with the question of who began to use hare and ke in a scholarly context to discuss the differentiation of public and private life in premodern Japan. I have the impression that Kawakami was inspired by Yanagita, but can't be sure. It is this that I'm hoping to get some help with. 

Mark, again let me say how interesting your web site is. 

Matthew Stavros
www.mstavros.com
www.pmjs.org

[rptoby]

The articles on 褻 and 晴 in 『国史大辞典』 may be helpful. In his brief note on 褻, Nakamura Yoshio quotes a line from the Kyōgen Keiryū 鶏泣 (n.d., 岩波文庫『能狂言』中) in which ke and hare are paired:

「褻にも晴にも歌一首と申すが、夫は最前の歌でござる」

The play is undated in both the 日本古典籍総合目録 and 『日本古典文学大事典』,  and I got no hits on a performance in the 連歌･演能・雅楽データベース, so it may be difficult to date the play's origin, but this suggests that the ke/hare binary was well established by Muromachi times, and the implication that 褻にも晴にも歌一首 is a set phrase in contemporary argot, though tracking it down may be a challenge.

One thought, using the Shiryō Hensanjo 古記録 and 古文書 databases. There are only 21 hits for 褻 in the kokiroku DB, each with full citation (晴 generates far too many hits [17,000+], since most diaries begin the day by noting the weather); the earliest, from the 小右記, is dated 1005. You could check to see if any of these ke are paired with a hare.

The GeNii DB yields nearly 60 hits for a search of 晴 and 褻 as paired keywords. Some, like the following, might be helpful.

岩坪健「末摘 花の二面性ー晴と褻」『人文学』185 (2010): 25-56.
岡部隆志「晴と褻の混乱ー柳田國男『明治大正世相篇』を読む」『共立女子短期大学文科 紀要』 50 (2007):1-18.
 『日本及日本人』1580 (1985) 、特集「”褻と晴”の三つのパラダイム」.
服部智恵子編『句集　褻と晴と』（富士見書房、2003）.

Ron Toby

[Christopher MAYO]

Dear Matthew,

Inge Daniels (The Japanese House: Material Culture in the Modern Home, p. 208, fn. 10) claims that Yanagita Kunio defined annual events as festive days (hare no hi) and contrasted it with the profane (ke) as early as 1951 in his Japanese Folklore Dictionary (Minzokugaku jiten 民俗学辞典, p. 449). This might explain why Yanagita treats it as an established term in his later works. 

Best,

Chris

[Matthew Stavros]

Thanks to each of you who provided me guidance on hare/ke. Your suggestions sent me in all the right directions and I now have a great deal (more) to ponder on the subject. By way of disclosure, I'm exploring how the hare vs ke paradigm can be transposed geographically onto Kyoto's medieval urban landscape. Not to spoil my thesis, I think the binary can me mapped with striking consistency onto the dichotomy that separated the capital proper from its surroundings. I find a sort of Rakuchu (public, formal, official, state, ritual) vs rakugai (private, personal, individualized, informal, etc.) type pattern. This topic is a key point in my current work.  

I'm very much looking forward to Mikael's dissertation. Please notify the group when it's out. 

Many thanks to Ron, Christopher, Gian Piero, Emiko, and Mark in Kamakura! 

Matthew Stavros

[Peter MacMillan]

Dear Colleagues

Can anyone provide assistance in translating or for help in applying kana readings to the following terms related to Shugendo? The person who asked for my help is is willing to pay for the assistance so if anyone is interested please contact me privately. They need the information as soon as possible. I have put the readings for some of the words but I am not confident about them.
The title of the paper is 熊野本宮の修験道

Peter MacMillan



観芸、珍暁、淨
寛、鑑真、淨阿、聖宝、観西、道命、覚宗、相澄、房覚、覚讃、定慶、印猷、玄印、
猷勝、行宗、印盛、実康、定仁、覚深、覚南の先達山伏をあげ...




長床衆

ながとこしゅう

神倉聖



滝籠衆



補陀洛渡海



興福寺

こうふくじ

永興

えいこう

真喜

しんき

仲算

ちゅうざん

林懐

りんかい

義睿



円善

えんぜん

長円

ちょうえん

『本朝法華験記』

ほんちょうほっけげんき

浄蔵

じょうぞう

宗南房



鶏山房



勝明房



式部



仁禅房



勝明房



長秋記

ちょうしゅうき

九條兼実→九条兼実？

くじょうかねざね

宮修明門院



後鳥羽院修明門院熊野御幸記



走り入堂・濡れ草鞋入堂



撫物



長床執行法橋任尊



長床前一阿闍梨性禅



阿闍梨覚俊



権律師長能



覚讃



一遍聖絵



諸山縁起



熊野山宿、西方峰宿、備の宿、粟谷宿、備の別所の宿、八重宿、吹越宿



徐魔童子すなわち罪障消滅自在童子



行尊僧正伝



夏一



相澄・定慶･玄印･仁尊



性禅丹後法印



大菩提山等縁起



観久筑前禅師



観芸、珍暁、淨寛、鑑真、淨阿、聖宝、観西、道命、覚宗、相澄、房覚、覚讃、定慶、印猷、玄印、猷勝、行宗、印盛、実康、定仁、覚深、覚南



晦山伏

[Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney]

Of course, Miyake Hitoshi can even in his dream.  But he is too senior to do so.  His students/former students must be around in Keioo where he taught a long time and at Kokugakuin the last 6 years. 

[Nobumi Iyanaga]

Dear Prof. MacMillan,

I think you will find many of the names and terms in some specialized
dictionaries, especially the 密教大辭典, 修験道辞典...
Others might be found in more general dictionaries, such as those in
the database Japan Knowledge. A good reference is Cahiers d'Extr^eme-
Asie, no. 18, a special issue on Shugendoo, which I edited (<http://www.efeo.fr/blogs_post.php?bid=20&nid=212&l=FR
>).

I am not a specialiste, but some of the names/terms are well known, or
cannot be mistaken. For example...:

On Jun 28, 2011, at 10:05 AM, Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney wrote:

>>
>> 観芸、珍暁、淨
>> 寛、鑑真

がんじん

>> 淨阿

じょうあ

>> 聖宝

しょうぼう

>> 、観西、道命

どうみょう

>> 、覚宗、相澄、房覚、覚讃、定慶、印猷、玄印、
>> 猷勝、行宗、印盛、実康、定仁、覚深、覚南の先達山伏をあげ...
>>
>> 長床衆
>>
>> ながとこしゅう

yes

>>
>> 神倉聖
>>
>> 滝籠衆

たきごもりしゅう

>> 補陀洛渡海

ふだらく　とかい

>> 興福寺
>>
>> こうふくじ

yes

>>
>> 永興
>>
>> えいこう
>>
>> 真喜
>>
>> しんき
>>
>> 仲算
>>
>> ちゅうざん
>>
>> 林懐
>>
>> りんかい
>>
>> 義睿
>>
>> 円善
>>
>> えんぜん
>>
>> 長円
>>
>> ちょうえん
>>
>> 『本朝法華験記』
>>
>> ほんちょうほっけげんき

yes

>>
>> 浄蔵
>>
>> じょうぞう

yes

>>
>> 宗南房
>>
>> 鶏山房
>>
>> 勝明房
>>
>> 式部

しきぶ

>>
>> 仁禅房
>>
>> 勝明房
>>
>> 長秋記
>>
>> ちょうしゅうき

yes

>>
>> 九條兼実→九条兼実？
>>
>> くじょうかねざね

yes

>>
>> 宮修明門院
>>
>> 後鳥羽院修明門院熊野御幸記
>>
>> 走り入堂・濡れ草鞋入堂
>>
>> 撫物

なでもの

>>
>> 長床執行法橋任尊
>>
>> 長床前一阿闍梨性禅
>>
>> 阿闍梨覚俊

あじゃり　かくしゅん

>> 権律師長能
>>
>> 覚讃
>>
>> 一遍聖絵

いっぺん　ひじり　え

>>
>> 諸山縁起

しょざん　えんぎ

>>
>> 熊野山宿、西方峰宿、備の宿、粟谷宿、備の別所の宿、八重宿、
>> 吹越宿
>>
>> 徐魔童子すなわち罪障消滅自在童子
>>
>> 行尊僧正伝
>>
>> 夏一
>>
>> 相澄・定慶・玄印・仁尊
>>
>> 性禅丹後法印
>>
>> 大菩提山等縁起
>>
>> 観久筑前禅師
>>
>> 観芸、珍暁、淨寛、鑑真、淨阿、聖宝、観西、道命、覚宗、相
>> 澄、房覚、覚讃、定慶、印猷、玄印、猷勝、行宗、印盛、実康、
>> 定仁、覚深、覚南
>>
>> 晦山伏

つごもり　やまぶし？

I hope this helps.

Best regard,

Nobumi Iyanaga
Tokyo Centre of EFEO

[Peter MacMillan]

Dear Colleagues

Thank you very much to all of you for your kind and helpful suggestions on Shugendo.

By the way I might just mention that I attended the English Noh play Pagoda last night at the National Noh Theater in Tokyo. It was wonderfully produced and very moving. The play itself is beautifully written. It is playing in several other venues over the next weeks and I strongly recommend it.

Peter MacMillan

[Richard Emmert]

Dear List,

Thanks to Peter MacMillan for his kind words about Theatre Nohgaku's
English noh play Pagoda. Tomorrow night, the 30th, we are performing
in Kyoto at the Kongo Noh Theatre. Though we had a very good audience
at the National Noh Theatre in Tokyo last night, it has been more
difficult to get the word out in Kyoto. We have many tickets left. If
you live in or near Kyoto, please considering coming tomorrow night.
Takasago in Japanese as a half-noh begins from 6pm. Pagoda will begin
at 6:45. If you request tickets before noon tomorrow (tic...@theatrenohgaku.org
), we can still give you the "in advance" price of ¥5000 general and
¥3000 for students. Please check out our website for further
information.

Thanks,

Rick

Richard Emmert
Theatre Nohgaku Artistic Director
www.theatrenohgaku.org