Abstract
In Japan, there are many imitative pilgrimage places patterned after Shikoku's 88 image pilgrimage site. This research makes 8 miniature pilgrimage sites of the north Harima district an analysis object, and aims at making the organizing process definite through the related analysis with the contributors and each pilgrimage area in the relations with the community. The contributors of pilgrimage are called “Seshu”.
The results of the distribution analysis of the residence area of the 88 points' contributors of 8 miniature pilgrimage sites indicated that the contribute area was being opened clearly outside the individual supported area (“Danka” area) of each temple. The statistical analysis of the whole contributors' list (872 contributors) of Sairinji 88 pilgrimage course, which is one of the 8 pilgrimage sites, showed that there were the semi-supported area where most of the contributors donated in some groups and the devout area where the few pious person donated a lots of money except for the supporter area. There were two ways to contribute for the pilgrimage site: (1) the local celebrity and the people that faith was deep paid for a large sum of money to engrave their name on each 88 pilgrimage checkpoint (“Fuda-sho”) as a reward, (2) the general people could participate even from a small sum. As a results of these researches, the characteristics of the organizing process of the miniature pilgrimage courses in the north Harima district was put together in three points; (1) the process was not formal process, but such as movement process that everyone who want to participate to build the pilgrimage can contribute the project, (2) the process was progressed in reflecting the community structure of the area, (3) the process created the additional image that associates the contributors to the Shikoku's 88 image.
