DISCOVERY 



129 



Apollo Smintheus (" Mouse Apollo ") and of Dionysus 

 Brassareus (" Fox Dionysus "). Such worship was 

 probably addressed originally to the Lord of the Mice 

 (himself a mouse) and to the Lord of the Foxes (himself 

 a fox), in order to induce them to use their authority 

 with their subjects in forbidding them to ravage the 

 fields and vineyards of the suppliants. The worship 

 of Baal-zebub (" Lord of the Flies ") was also, perhaps, 

 similarly designed as a means of getting rid of 

 plagues of flies, and the Greeks themselves are known 

 to have adopted similar rites. 



The ceremony of the Go-ho just described I found, 

 upon investigation, to be connected with another 

 strange cult, of wider scope and more elaborate ritual. 



the outside world of these " mysteries," the ritual 

 and psychology of which provide a study of exceeding 

 interest and of some scientific importance. The limits 

 of the present paper, however, only permit of a brief 

 reference to the main features of the practice itself, 

 based upon the actual experiences of the writer on 

 the spot. 



The pilgrim clubs are known as Koju, and their 

 ascetic members are called Gyoja. The Mecca or, 

 rather, the Delphi, of their cult is the great extinct 

 \-olcanic peak of Ontake-san (san means mountain), 

 which lies to the north of the famous Nakasendo, 

 ■• the inner mountain road," in Central Japan. The 

 Nakasendo railway line also now passes within a few 



Fig. z.—.VT the door of THE SACRED SHRIXE OX THE TOP OF FUJIY.\JW. 

 The original shrine was first built i.ioo years ago. The man on the right with the white fillet round his head is the 

 Kann-ishi — "Guardian of the God" — of the mountain. 



known as Kami-oroshi. This is mainly practised by the 

 most popular of those pilgrim clubs whose chief object 

 is to seek spiritual enlightenment and, incidentally, 

 certain material benefit, by the ascent of those sacred 

 mountains which are held to possess special sanctity 

 and to afford the closest opportunities of personal 

 intercourse with the invisible powers dwelling on their 

 summits. Kami-oroshi means " bringing down the 

 god " and refers to the rite in its general aspect, while 

 Kangakari (" causing the god to rest ") refers rather 

 to the climax of the ceremony, the point at which the 

 god is believed to have actually taken up his temporary 

 abode in the person of the chosen " medium," through 

 whom he is now about to communicate with those 

 who have come to seek his aid. Little is known to 



miles of the southern base of the mountain, and affords 

 easy access for the numerous pilgrim bands who 

 throng its slopes during the short climbing season of 

 midsummer, when alone it is the goal of their journey- 

 mgs. 



The first introduction of the writer to the " seance " 

 itself was on the summit of Ontake-san some years 

 ago. Concealed behind the topmost shrine, a party 

 of white-robed gyoja sat in Indian file facing the 

 member of the band acting as the medium {nakaza — 

 " seat between ") between themselves and the gods 

 they had come to consult. At their head and facing 

 him was one who, under the title of maeza (" seat 

 before "), played the part of precentor and spokesman 

 on behalf of the rest. The nakaza, with closed ej-es, 



