Apparition and Rumors : Shamanism in Genji-monogatari(<Special Issue>Language and Shamanism)

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to discuss the relation between apparition and rumors over it, and extensively between language and shamanism. Although many cases of the super-natural have been reported, the real appearance of a ghost is quite rare. In the same way, there are lots of ghost tales in classic literature and folklore, but few of them are based on facts. Therefore, in reading such texts, it is important to examine not how apparitions appeared but how they are narrated and represented. Here I will read the strange case of a ghost in the Aoi part of Genji-monogatari and follow the process in which rumors over it cause a ghost effect of discourses. I will also make clear how the tale is related to Yoru-no-nezame.