The Contribution of a Temple and its Ceremonies to the Settlement of a Mountain Village

: The Case of Heishoji, Ayado Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture

Abstract

　　　Most activities for the reinvigoration of farming and mountain villages try to connect external economic power such as top-down public investment, industrial invigoration utilizing regional resources, and exchanges with urban citizens. However, these actions produce negative effects, such as the destruction of the regional environment and basically leaving local residents feeling exhausted. Therefore the focus should be on the ordinary everyday lives of villagers for sustainable and internal reinvigoration. In this paper, I focus on the social interaction of a temple as a resource embedded in the everyday life of a region and investigate its effect on residents and their happiness.
　　　According to a questionnaire carried out in Ayado Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, the main reasons why people choose to live in this area are because of its “nice environment,” and because “it is my home,” the primary factors indicating happiness being “mutual aid, strong bonds,” and a “nice environment.” The main occasions emphasizing this “mutual aid, strong bonds” were events such as ceremonies. The importance of Heishoji, where many of these events take place, was confirmed during this research.
　　　The number of events was previously in decline due to the absence of a priest in Heishoji. When a new priest came in he set about preserving and growing the events held at the temple. In particular, the “Yonenbutsu” and “Bon-Odori” events gave the priest high regard in Ayado and created deep bonds between residents. The villager’s autonomous financial system for the ceremony of Kannon of Heishoji is creating strong bonds equal to its financial usefulness. These events and this system no doubt contribute to regional activity and construct important conditions for the reinvigoration of the region.