Dog gravestone - Inusotoba

Japanese: 犬卒塔婆 - いぬそとば

...In the lower reaches of the Tone River, young brides who are members of the Jyukuya-ko and Yusan-ko groups regularly perform this ritual every year from February to April, but it can also be performed extra when a female dog dies. They attach a straw bag containing rice balls to a Y-shaped stupa called a dog stupa and carry it to the sound of a gong and drum to the river or a three-way intersection on the outskirts of the village, where it is then set up. This is a prayer event for safe childbirth, in hopes of a safe birth. ...

From [Stupa]

...In the Tendai and Shingon sects, the gravestones are inscribed with the five characters for emptiness, wind, fire, water, and earth, or the corresponding Sanskrit characters, with the words "in the name of the deity Bodhiya" written underneath, while the Jodo sects inscribe the name of the deity, and the Nichiren sect inscribes the name of the deity underneath the title. The branched gravestones used for the final anniversary of a deceased's death and the Y-shaped dog gravestones (dog memorial services) seen in the Kanto and Tohoku regions for prayers for safe childbirth are thought to be pre-Buddhist customs. [Akata Mitsuo]...

From [Animal Memorial Service]

...In Western Japan, it was customary to build a 1,000-metre graveyard and hold a memorial service for a person who had caught 1,000 wild boars and deer, since it was equivalent to killing a human. In particular, when a bear was caught, a grave was built for each animal to avoid the curse of seven generations of descendants. In the Kanto region, women's associations would hold a memorial service for their dead dogs by erecting a two-pronged dog stupa to pray for safe childbirth, and when a large number of pests were exterminated from agricultural crops, a monument was also erected to commemorate the souls of the insects (mushi-kuyo). When a horse or cow that had been used was killed, a statue of the horse-headed Kannon was erected at the site to show the spirit of the dead by holding a memorial service for them and to prevent the recurrence of the same disaster due to resentment. Although religious people were involved, it should be recognized that the underlying belief was that animals also have souls and can feel anger and resentment just like humans, and that a memorial service would console and appease them. ...

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Inu Sotoba" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…利根川下流域では十九夜講やユサン講などの講員である若い嫁が，毎年2月から4月ころにかけて定期的に行うが，雌犬が死んだ際に臨時に行うこともある。犬卒塔婆とよぶY字形の塔婆に握飯を入れた藁苞（わらづと）をつけて，村はずれの川や三差路まで鉦（かね）･太鼓で送っていき，そこに立ててくる。これは無事に子どもが生まれてくることを願う安産祈願の行事である。…

【卒塔婆】より

…墓標塔婆は天台宗，真言宗では上から下へ空，風，火，水，地の5字，ないしそれにあたる梵字を記し，その下に〈為法名菩提也〉と記し，浄土諸宗は名号，日蓮宗は題目の下に法名を記す。民間の最終年忌の際の枝つき塔婆，関東･東北にみられる安産祈願のためのY字形の犬卒塔婆(犬供養)は，仏教以前の習俗を伝えるものと思われる。【赤田光男】。…

【動物供養】より

…西日本では1000頭の猪鹿を捕らえた者は人1人を殺したことに当たるとして千匹塚を建てて供養を営む慣習があり，ことに熊をとった場合は1頭ごとに墓を設けて，子孫7代までの祟りをさけるなどの習慣もあった。関東では，安産を祈って女人講が死んだ犬のため二股の犬卒塔婆を立てて犬供養を行い，また農作物の害虫などを大量に駆除した際には，虫の霊を供養するためやはり碑を立てて記念とすることもあった(虫供養)。使用していた馬や牛が斃（たお）れたとき，その場に馬頭観音像を建立したりするのも，その霊を供養することで慰霊の心を示し，その恨みによって同じ災いが再発することを防ごうとする気持ちを示したもので，宗教者の関与もあるが，基底には，動物にも霊魂があって人と同じく怒り恨む場合があり，供養によって慰められ和らぐという信仰が働いていると認めるべきである。…

※「犬卒塔婆」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

<<: Dogsled - Inushori (English spelling) dogsled

>>: Inusenburi - Inusenburi