Human sacrifice - Hitobashira

This is the act of offering a living human being to a god in order to accomplish a difficult task such as a large-scale building project or embankment construction. It is thought to be a type of human sacrifice to obtain the god's protection or to purify the area where the work is being carried out. There are many legends in Japan and Europe about burying humans in the foundations or walls of bridges and buildings, and human bones have actually been discovered, but it is difficult to determine whether these are just legends or actual events. The Nihon Shoki, in the 11th year of Emperor Nintoku's reign, tells the story of the construction of the Manda embankment. The embankment collapsed, making the work difficult. At that time, a god named two people in a dream and told the emperor that the work would be successful if he offered them to the river god. One drowned in the river, and the other escaped being sacrificed through his own ingenuity. It states that the work was successful as a result.

In various parts of Kyushu and the Tohoku region, when a carpenter working on building a shrine or a ship encountered technical difficulties, his daughter would teach him how to solve the problem and he would successfully complete the job. However, fearing that his daughter might reveal his shame or technical secrets, the carpenter killed her, and this could also be considered a kind of human sacrifice legend. It is likely that no human sacrifices were actually used, but the reason so many legends about human sacrifices exist is that construction work was dangerous and many fatal accidents occurred, combined with the spread of belief in vengeful gods, which gave rise to human sacrifice legends.

[Emiko Namihira]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大規模な建築工事や堤防工事などの難事を成し遂げるため、生きた人間を神へ捧(ささ)げ物とすること。神の加護を得るため、あるいは工事が行われる場所にまつわる穢(けがれ)を祓(はら)うための人身供犠(じんしんくぎ)の一種と考えられる。日本やヨーロッパで、橋や建物の土台や壁の中に人間を埋めたという伝説が多くあり、実際に人骨が発見されることもあるが、それが伝説にすぎないのか実際に行われたのかの判別はつきにくい。『日本書紀』仁徳(にんとく)天皇11年条には茨田堤(まんだのつつみ)を築く話がある。堤が崩れ工事は難航した。そのとき神が夢のなかで天皇に、2人の人間を名指し、2人を河神に捧げれば工事は成功すると告げた。1人は河で水死し、1人は自分の才覚でいけにえになることを逃れた。その結果この工事は成功したと述べている。

　九州や東北地方の各地には、神社建築や船の建造にあたった大工が技術的な困難に直面したとき、その娘が解決法を教え無事に仕事を成就した。しかし、娘の口から自分の恥が、あるいは技術上の秘密が漏れることを恐れた大工は娘を殺してしまうという伝説があり、これも一種の人柱伝説といえよう。おそらく、実際には人柱をたてることは行われなかったであろうに多くの人柱伝説が存在する理由は、工事は危険を伴い人身事故が多発したことと、祟(たた)り神信仰の流布とが相まって人柱伝説を生んだのだと考えられる。

［波平恵美子］

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