The influence of the theory of the spiritual power

Matsumoto adopted the theory of spiritual power which was originally suggested by

James George Frazer’s theory of magic. In his book The Golden Bough, Frazer described the

belief in magic according to a man’s ability to possess a special power, such as controlling

natural forces. Frazer claimed that this belief in the special power is universal for people in the

lower stages of human evolution. ³⁵² Although Frazer did not use the term “spiritual power” to

address this special power, his concept of the belief in spiritual power spread among the Western

scholars. The term “spiritual power” appears in the ideas of Matsumoto’s French teachers who

adopted Frazer’s theory of the belief in magic and spiritual power. For example, in his bookThe

Gift, Mauss claimed that he found the existence of the concept of the spiritual power which plays

an essential role in the social life of the native peoples of Polynesia, Melanesia and the Indians of

the American Northwest.³⁵³ Concretely, Mauss wrote that the spiritual power, which he called

mana, was an essential element in potlatch, the seasonal festival, because it was the source of authority and wealth.³⁵⁴

352 Frazer, James George,The Golden Bough. A study in magic and religion, Wordsworth Reference, 1993, pp.

54-91: Chapters “Sympathetic Magic,” “Magic and Religion,” “The Magical Control of the Weather,”

“Magicians as Kings”.

353 Mauss, Marcel.The Gift, translated by W. D. Halls, Routledge, London,1990, pp. 8, 10-13, 30, 38-39, 48, 75.354 Ibid, pp. 8, 10.

Matsumoto adopted the concept of the spiritual power in his interpretation of the legends

in Japan. Matsumoto presented it as a belief in a special power possessed by people with high

morality, contained in the fishing instruments, and possessed by god’s descendants.

First, he pointed out the primitive belief in the spiritual power stemming from moral

virtues in the Ainu legend of the owl god and in the Japanese legend Princess Toyotama in his

book The Research of the Japanese Myths. Matsumoto claimed that the Ainu hero received the

spiritual power of the animal god because of his moral qualities (dōtokuteki seishitsu, 道徳的性

質) and this spiritual power (reiryoku, 霊力) made the hero a rich man and a chief of the

village.³⁵⁵ Matsumoto explained that the hero possessed a high moral character because the owl

god let the hero kill him and thereby letting the hero win the hunting competition.³⁵⁶ Hence,

according to Matsumoto, the Ainu people believed that the spiritual power was transferred from

the animal god to the hero.

Furthermore, he implied from the legend of Princess Toyotama that the ancient Japanese

people also thought that the spiritual power came from moral excellence.³⁵⁷ This time

Matsumoto explained that the hero possessed the spiritual power because of his moral virtues

which was proven by the fact that he became rich and won against his older brother: “Also in

Princess Toyotama Legend greedy Umisachihiko became poor and subjugated, and

355 Matsumoto, Nobuhiro,Nihon shinwa no kenkyū, Dōbunkan, 1931, pp. 96, 98, 99. Matsumoto, Nobuhiro,

“Ainu no potoracchi” (1930),Nihon minzoku bunka no kigen I: shinwa-densetsu, Kōdansha, 1978, p. 330.

356 Matsumoto, Nobuhiro,Nihon shinwa no kenkyū, Dōbunkan, 1931, p. 97.

357 Ibid, pp. 44-45.

Yamasachihiko acquired treasures from a different tribe and became the winner. A loyal person,

that is a bounteous person, in the tradition of tribal spirit will become the winner in the end rather

than a selfishly motivated person.”³⁵⁸ From these points, Matsumoto conjectured that the ancient

Japanese people believed that the hero obtained spiritual power due to his moral qualities.

Second, Matsumoto brings to attention from the Japanese legend of Princess Toyotama,

that there existed a belief that spiritual power resided in fishing and hunting tools. In his book

The Research of the Japanese Myths, Matsumoto argued that the ancient Japanese people

believed that the success of a hunt was determined by spiritual powers which was also contained

in their fishing or hunting tools.³⁵⁹ However, as seen from his other cases, Matsumoto neither

explained the basis of this Japanese belief, nor did he provide any evidence demonstrating this

belief in the spiritual power of the fishing hook which was an important tool in the legend of

Princess Toyotama. Thus, Matsumoto only presented another hypothesis of the ancient Japanese

belief in the spiritual power.

Third, Matsumoto presented a theory that the ancient Japanese believed in the existence

of the spiritual power coming from the descendants of a god or a deity. In his study of the

Japanese legend of Princess Toyotama in The Research of the Japanese Myth, Matsumoto

pointed out that Princess Toyotama was believed to possess spiritual power since she was

descended from a sea god. Through this hereditary process, the same power was also transmitted

358 Matsumoto, Nobuhiro,Nihon shinwa no kenkyū, Dōbunkan, 1931, pp. 98-99.

359 Ibid, pp. 44-45.

to her offspring.³⁶⁰ In addition, Matsumoto claimed that Princess Toyotama was a shamaness

(miko, 巫女) because she had spiritual abilities (reinō shutoku, 霊能取得).³⁶¹ According to

Matsumoto, this meant that the hero of the legend could win against his older brother because he

too could acquire spiritual power through his wife, Princess Toyotama. ³⁶² Hence, Matsumoto

assumed that the ancient Japanese people believed in the transmission of the spiritual power

from the wife to the husband. As it turned out, Matsumoto connected the concept of the belief in

spiritual power with the theory of exogamy since he concluded that the ancient Japanese people

believed in acquiring spiritual power through exogamic marriages (a marriage with a woman of a

different tribe). Ultimately, Matsumoto presented three hypotheses on the Japanese ancient belief

on how the hero in the Princess Toyotama legend obtained spiritual power in his book The

Research of the Japanese Myth.

Moreover, in the writing “Theories of Ancient Culture”, Matsumoto offered a different

interpretation of the origin of spiritual power in the same story of Princess Toyotama. In this

version, Matsumoto argued that the hero became rich and secured victory over his brother

because he received “the magical power” (juryoku, 呪力) from the sea god.³⁶³ Matsumoto used

term “spiritual power” (reiryoku, 霊力) as well as “magical power” (juryoku, 呪力) to indicate

the same belief that the ancient people had in special powers. In this way, he tried to imagine

360 Matsumoto, Nobuhiro,Nihon shinwa no kenkyū, Dōbunkan, 1931, pp. 50-51, 155.

361 Ibid, pp. 50-51.

362 Ibid, pp. 44-45.

363 Matsumoto, Nobuhiro, “Kodai bunkaron,”Gendai shigaku taikei, Kyōritsusha shoten, 1932, p. 154-155.

various interpretations of the ancient Japanese belief in spiritual power without bringing up

evidence on such beliefs. However, despite using various terms and different explanations of the

special powers, he always pointed out only one effect: to become rich and politically influential.

In this point, Matsumoto’s theory reflects Mauss’ definition of the spiritual power inThe Gift.