고대 일본의 殯의례와 왕권

The Funeral Ritual “Hin” and the Royal Authority in the Ancient Japan

The purpose of this study is to explain the process the mourning and funeral ritual that was called “Hin” had made the royal authority stronger and more stable in the ancient Japanese society. This study focuses on the fact this ritual had been taken place in the “Nantei” that was a garden of the palace. The ancient people singed songs and danced in one room the family member’s dead body was put in order to relief the dead man/woman’s spirit and take it back to this world. This was necessary process for them to acknowledge his/her death. They called this convention “Hin”. The elites had followed the customs in the continental countries and added some elements to this unique convention. They decided to give eulogy and the posthumous name to the dead emperor at the Hin in the beginning of the 7thcentury. Consequently, the Hin became the ritual for making clear the process of the imperial succession and avoiding the political confusion. Depending on this change, the place the Hin was taken place also had changed from out of the palace to its inside. The room for this ritual “Hinkyû” had become being built in a garden of the palace “Nantei”. This change seems to indicate the Hin became more public event. The members gathered in this room were the imperial families and the officials. This garden was accessible for all of them. Despite the Japanese elites might know that this kind room was built inside of the building in the ancient China, they chose this garden. They focused on its accessibility. Because they aimed to open the relationship between the heir and the dead former emperor to all related people more easily. The dead former emperor would be expected to play the role for assuring the relationship among the imperial family members and that between the new emperor and the officials. The Hin had become the source of the new emperor’s power instead of the former emperor’s will.