Novosibirsk State University

2 Akademika Lavrentieva Ave., Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

E-mail: janefr@mail.ru

The article discusses the rites and rituals associated with the main stages of a person's life path in traditional Japanese society. In the ritual schemes of birth, pubertal initiations, and burial, a significant place was occupied by manipulations with the personal name. The act of first naming ("evening of the seventh day") symbolized the entry of a new person into society and gave him a certain status. Initiation rites, which included a change of name, hairstyle, and clothing, usually occurred in adolescence, but in aristocratic families they were often performed at an earlier age. The new name "built" the teenager into the family hierarchy. Significant events at the time of maturity were accompanied by a change of personal name or adoption of a pseudonym. Finally, the funeral ritual provided for the last change of name to a posthumous one, which determined the status of the deceased in the other world, including him in the cohort of ancestors. This tradition goes back to the first legendary Japanese emperors and exists thanks to Buddhism to this day.

Introduction

Ideas about the life and life path of traditional Japanese society were determined by the idea of internal human evolution. As the individual progressed from birth to old age, the personality became structurally more complex, and there was an increase in signs and attributes that determine social age. In traditional Japanese society, the path of life was quite clearly divided into the stages of childhood, entering adulthood, maturity, old age, and death. The boundaries between them were overcome with the help of scrupulously observed various ritual and ceremonial actions aimed at the individual on the part of society. It was the social legalization of the individual, the set of social stages it passed through, that determined the essence and position of a person in society. The strictly regulated progressive course of events gave meaning to a person's life in a culture focused on stability [Traditional Worldview..., 1989, p. 87].

Such life events as naming (birth), puberty initiations, and death were usually accompanied by manipulations with the personal name. Together with other ritual actions and objects, the name served the main role of indicating the presence of a person in the world.

Birth and first year of life

According to the universal normative schemes of traditional society, the birth of a person was at the center of the complex relationships of the family, clan and society. The appearance of a child changed the status of the parents and was welcomed by both the family and the community. The nine months preceding physical birth were a period of hidden movement from the mythical pramir to human society (Iordansky, 1982, p. 235).

The Japanese belief that Tamasiya's soul enters the baby long before it is born is reflected in the ritual tying of the iwata-obi-the "maternity belt" (a long piece of cloth made of white raw silk), which was carried out two, three, four or seven months before delivery. The word iwata- "rock" is-

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moose is a kind of magic spell and a wish for vitality and stamina. Another name for the ritual belt shirushi-no obi - "belt with a mark" is explained by the fact that it is inscribed with the hieroglyph "longevity". To perform the ritual, the dog day was usually chosen according to the lunar calendar, since this sign was considered the patron saint of easy childbirth and the health of the mother. The effectiveness of magic was enhanced by strict adherence to the sequence of actions: the husband handed the belt to his wife with his left hand, she took it with her right, and the wife's mother or midwife wrapped it around the belly of the expectant mother (Fig. 1). If there was a hieroglyph drawn on the belt, it should have been in the navel area (Dunn, 1977, p. 173). It was believed that white silk protects the baby in the womb and ensures its health and safety. In Modern times in Japan, there were white, red and yellow cotton iwata-obi, which represented purity, happiness and the power to resist evil. The belt played the role of a talisman designed to protect the unborn child and mother [Markaryan and Molodyakova, 1990, p. 130].

Pregnant women were treated with special respect by traditional Japanese society, as they ensured the continuation of the family. However, they were not released from their daily duties. In the run-up to childbirth, as well as for several months after the birth of the child, the mother was isolated in a separate room, where only the closest people had access. It is known from the diaries of court ladies of the XI century that the empress, "according to the old tradition," went to give birth in the house of her parents. When labor was approaching and the danger of mythical world activity increased, measures were taken to protect the woman in labor: "people shouted as loudly as possible to scare away evil spirits", "to the temples... messengers were sent to order the reading of prayers" [Diaries..., 2002, p. 97,148]. One of the reasons for the separation of the woman in labor was the idea of her ritual desecration, special proximity to mythical forces, which required the woman and others to observe many prohibitions. Isolation was completed only after a certain period of time. For the XI century, there are data on a period of 50 days, after which the mother and child could return to her husband's house [Ibid., pp. 138-140]. In modern times, a tradition has been established to bring a festively dressed baby to be shown to guests on the 120th day after birth [The Nihon, 1986, p. 504]. In both cases, isolation was removed by the rite of tabe-dzome - "first feeding": the mother or grandmother put a small lump of rice or rice cake in the baby's mouth with chopsticks in front of everyone. The meaning of the rite was that the child had already crossed the dangerous line between the mythical and social world and could accept human writing.

According to traditional Japanese beliefs, a newborn not only had no gender, status, or other human characteristics, but was not even human at all. He did not yet belong entirely to his parents, and the kami deities watched over his development and controlled his actions. A small child under the age of seven was considered a messenger of the deity in Japan, which is confirmed by the proverb "Nanatsu mae wa kami no uchi" - "Up to seven years - among the gods" (Mikhailova, 1983, p. 90).

The first week of life was considered the most important in the life of a newborn, especially its odd days - the first, third, fifth and seventh. In the evenings, special rites were performed on these days: cutting the umbilical cord, cleansing ablution (bathing), burial of the afterbirth (returning it to the mythical world), first dressing, first cutting of hair. In all ritual actions, according to the existing descriptions of rituals of the XI-XIX centuries, one theme dominated-purification, breaking contact with the mythical space and the return of mother and child to the world of people.

The most important rite in the children's cycle was performed on the evening of the seventh day-o-sitiya ("seventh night") or naz-ke-no iwai (the feast of naming). This evening, the child was officially introduced to relatives and friends for the first time and given a name or a pre-selected name was shared with everyone. The act of naming was traditionally considered one of the most important events in a person's life. Only after that did the child become human, so until the seventh day, the mother or midwife gave him a temporary nickname. In some regions of the country, these rites were performed a month or even more after the birth of a child [Ban Ko: kai, 2001, p. 34]. The name for the newborn could be chosen by parents, older relatives, often with the help of fortune tellers and soothsayers, or a Shinto priest. The chosen name was written on narrow strips of paper, one of which was placed at the head of the child and subsequently saved along with the dried umbilical cord (Fig. 2). The remaining strips were given to relatives and neighbors along with the tld-

Figure 1.Tying iwata-obi ("maternity belt").

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mya mot i rice cakes - white and red. In response, relatives, friends and neighbors gave gifts as a sign of respect and joy that the newborn brought to the family. The ceremony ended with a meal, songs and dances (The Nihon, 1986, p. 504-505). The name signified the first status of the child in the human community and was the most effective symbol that separated him from the spirit world. Therefore, from the day of naming the baby, it was safe to take it out of the house. Thus, in the first week of life, the child consistently received signs of belonging to a social community: first clothes, first name, gifts. Food was prepared in his honor, songs and dances were performed, as if he were a small deity.

The rite of "presentation to the deity", performed a month after birth (on the 32nd or 33rd day), has been known since the end of the XVII century. The child was first brought to a Shinto shrine and presented to the patron saint of the Ujigami family or the patron saint of the Ubuso no Komi hearth. After making offerings to the deity of the temple with a request for patronage to the newborn, the priest, on behalf of the deity, performed a ritual of purification and blessing of the child - waving a gohei rod decorated with cut strips of paper over the baby's head, driving away evil spirits. After visiting the temple (miya-mairi), the baby could be carried to visit and shown in the homes of friends and acquaintances, where on behalf of the child, the parents presented everyone with a sweet treat of ame and received in return figurines of inuhariko dogs as a magical symbol of health and rapid growth. When the child was one year old, various tools were laid out in front of him: a sickle, a hammer, a Japanese abacus, a writing brush, etc. According to which subject he will take first, his future was predicted (Markarian and Molodyakova, 1990, pp. 131-132).

Growing up

As a person of traditional Japanese society matured, they went through a series of age-related initiations, some of which entailed a change of name. Initiation rituals were a necessary component of the development of the personality of a child, youth and youth. By legalizing the transition of a teenager to adulthood, the rites accurately determined his social and sexual status. Initiation helped the teenager master cultural and social rules and guaranteed him recognition from others [Gromov, 2000, p. 103].

Initiation rites of young age in Japan were held on the occasion of reaching the age of three, five and seven (for boys-three and five). Odd numbers, according to traditional beliefs, bring happiness. From the moment the child reached the age of three and performed special rites, a new period of the child's life began, which was emphasized with the help of new clothes, hairstyles, food and a name. Up to the age of three, children were kept short in order to protect themselves, because they believed that diseases " cling to the hair." At the age of three, an important kamioka ceremony was performed - the beginning of hair growth. One of the respected members of the community would take a pair of scissors and pretend to cut three strands on the left side, three on the right, and three above the forehead. Then the head was tied with a white strip of cloth (through the forehead with the ends back), twisting it with colored threads. In some areas, the ribbon was replaced with a white cap sewn with leaves of sedge and the tachibana citrus tree, while they wanted "hair as thick as mountain sedge and strong as evergreen citrus." The white ribbon and cap " symbolized the gray hair that the child wanted to live to see." Newly dressed and coiffed children were introduced to the circle of adults [Markarian and Molodyakova, 1990, p. 133].

In the Middle Ages, in aristocratic families, when a boy was three years old, he was first put on wide men's harem trousers and allowed to taste fish. It was believed that from this moment the period of infancy ended: "When the boy was three years old, they put on a hat for the first time and gave him an adult name - Yoshimune (Taira)" [Novella..., 1982, p.546]. Although initiatory name change was usually practiced in adolescence, 13th-century monuments indicate that it was also performed during rites at a younger age. For the aristocracy, due to socio-political reasons, it was important as early as possible

Fig. 2. "Seventh Night" - the feast of naming.

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declare the child as an adult and a full-fledged member of the family, capable of inheriting rights and property, entering into transactions, and entering into unions. In Samurai families, the ceremony of putting on the hakama and changing the name was held both at the age of three and at the age of five, when samurai introduced their children to their military leaders, declaring the presence of a new warrior in the family.

The Japanese considered the age of seven to be critical. According to their beliefs, during this period, the gods, if they are properly propitiated, grant the child the right to exist. For this purpose, children were brought to a Shinto shrine. For the first time, seven-year-old girls wore kimonos tied with a rigid obi (kimono belt) with cords, and geta (national shoes), decorated and pinned their hair. Boys were dressed in monza (a short upper kimono with family coats of arms) and hakama. The data of written monuments indicate that the rites associated with the age of three, five and seven years already existed in the XII-XIII centuries: "When you are seven years old, and after the rite of majority I will give you to serve in the palace"; "When he was seven years old, they celebrated his majority and named him Daita in honor of his grandfather, whose name was Daitayu " [Ibid., pp. 108, 362]. The tradition of the Shinto holiday of Shichigosan (November 15), when the Japanese bring three-, five - and seven-year-old children to temples in an organized manner, dates back more than 300 years [Markarian and Molodyakova, 1990, p.132].

Rituals at the age of seven directly led the child to the status of an adult member of society. According to the magic of numbers, the next favorable age is 13 years old, and this is where teenage initiations fell.

During the Nara period (710-794), the marriage age began at 13 for girls and 15 for boys. In the IX-XVI centuries. the main initiation was carried out (in aristocratic families) at the age of 11-15, when the boy, according to his parents, reached physical and spiritual maturity. However, there is no strict binding to a certain age. Among the 14 emperors from Montoku (850-859) to Go-Ichijo (1016-1036), five were initiated when they were 11 years old, five when they were 15, and the rest when they were 14, 16, and 18 years old [Okagami..., 2000, pp. 39-50].

The coming-of-age rite of genpuku involved changing the hairstyle and headdress. Initiations of boys were often performed in public [Meshcheryakov and Grachev, 2002, p. 314]. Young men who belonged to the aristocratic society in the Heian period (794-1185) were called varawa until they reached adulthood and did not cover their heads. During the genpuku ceremony, the children's hairstyle was first loosened (the hair was parted in the middle and twisted on both sides under the ears (Fig. 3)), the hair was cut in front, and the back was tied in a knot on the top of the head or gathered in a ponytail and braided with a string, then the headdress of kammuri was put on (Fig. 4, 5). The ceremony was called also "covering the head" (ui-koburi, mikoburi or kammuri ray) [The Tale of Genji, 1992, p.73]. After it, a new, adult name was solemnly proclaimed: "In the land of Shinano, in the Kiso area, a scion of the Minamoto family named Yoshinaka appeared. He's thirteen years old... He performed the rite of coming of age and made a vow: "My ancestor in the fourth generation, the noble Yoshiie, declared himself the son of this bodhisattva (Hachiman) and took the name Taro Hachiman. I will follow in his footsteps!" <...> and took the name Jiro Yoshinaka from Kiso" [Novella..., 1982, p. 285].

The girl had a child's name until the age of 7 or 13, until the moment when she was first put on mo (folded

3. Children's hairstyle of a young man.

4. Kammuri headdress.

5. A young man and a young man in Kammuri.

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Fig. 6. Ebosi headdress.

the train, which is tied to the back of the belt with ribbons, belongs to the women's ceremonial dress) and obi, as an adult woman. The rite of coming-of-age for girls in aristocratic circles was called tyaku-mo or mogi (putting on mo). During it, the girl was put on a mo train and tied up her hair, which had previously been let down over her shoulders. After the rite of majority, she was considered an adult, suitable for marriage [The Tale of Genji..., 1992, p. 74].

Initiation was the transformation of a child into a full-fledged member of the family, endowed with independence and a full (or almost complete) set of rights and responsibilities. Child's name (jimei or jime:) it was changed to a new one (jimmie), which was considered the only real one.

In the samurai class of the Heian - Muromachi era (IX-XVI centuries), the initiation ceremony was called eboshi-giray. Ebosi (black silk cap - headdress of courtiers (Fig. 6)) was put on the young man by the so-called ebosioya - "cap father". After the eboshigirei ceremony, the boys changed their childhood name (varavana) to their real adult name (eboshina). For its formation, one or more characters from the name ebosioi were often taken. This was called ichijikakidashi - "granting one badge" (Kida Junichiro, 1999, p. 65). The award of the badge was also practiced during adoption. In the Okagami Monument ("The Great Mirror", XI century) says: "The son of this Lord Tadatoshi was adopted by his grandfather, the minister Onono Miya, who called him Sanesuke and was very fond of him." The character sane here is taken from the name of this minister - Saneyori [Okagami..., 2000, p. 70]. The Story of the House of Taira (13th century) also confirms the existence of this custom: "I am Munezane, the youngest son of Prince Shigemori Komatsu. When I was three years old, I was given to the left Minister Tsunemune as a foster son. I got a different name" [Novella..., 1982, p. 589]. The bestowal of a name badge can be interpreted as an attempt to "inherit" some of the life force that the name of an adult, noble and successful man, who was usually invited to play the role of ebosioi, undoubtedly possessed.

The rite of initiation in the lower classes, such as villages, is only known for certain from the Kamakura period (1185-1333). Thus, in the village of Kuriyama (pref. Tochigi) was held on January 21 for all young men who turned 20 years old - the age of majority in modern Japan. This rite, as it was practiced in the Edo period (1600-1868), is considered by the Japanese to be one of the" most important national unchangeable cultural values " (Niva Motoji, 1975, p.48). From among the most worthy villagers, a man was chosen who took responsibility for the further upbringing and education of the young men of the given year. Together with his parents, he gave young people new names, introduced them to the circle of adult responsibilities and initiated them into the sacraments of the community. Young men dressed in identical new short cotton jackets with a belt, walked in a solemn procession along the main street. The procession alternated with simulated combat skirmishes and ritual dances. Wooden swords or sticks were used to strike so that bruises or abrasions were left on the body, which were considered mandatory during the initiation process. Generation-forming initiation rites determined the age structure of the community, served as a means of collective cohesion, and distributed rights and responsibilities between generations [Nihonno..., 1992, p.138].

Maturity

According to the laws of traditional society, only an individual who had passed all childhood and adolescent initiations was considered a full-fledged member of society and acquired the right to an adult name. Marriage was a universal sign of a person's maturity. Starting a family significantly increased the status of both men and women. Marriage has never been a private matter between a young man and a young woman. It was a union of representatives of two families, establishing relations of cooperation and mutual assistance. Marriage was especially important for a woman; she reached the fullness of her existence and could fulfill her destiny only in family life, having given birth and raised children [Traditional Worldview..., 1989, p. 130].

Neither marriage nor divorce in traditional Japanese society involved a change of family or personal name. Belonging to a certain clan and the connection with the ancestral deity was so strong and significant that no one thought of breaking it by changing the family name. Not much is known about the personal names of women due to the tradition of their taboo and almost complete absence in written monuments, but it can be assumed that they also did not change. After

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after marriage, a woman usually moved to her husband's house and lived with her mother-in-law, but still remained a member of her own family and offered prayers to her ancestral deity. Among men, the change of the family name during marriage occurred in the case of" adoption " - the adoption of a poorer son-in-law into the family to continue the family business [Nihon jimmei..., 2001, p.16].

The increase in status after marriage and the birth of a child did not affect the man's personal name in any way. However, such events as military victories, the receipt (or, conversely, the deprivation) of posts or titles, were often accompanied by its change. The change of name was more dependent on other factors - getting a title by a husband, son, or pupil. It is known that Toyotomi Hideyoshi's wife (1537-1598) was named Yasuko, but when he became shogun, she changed her name to Yoshiko, which emphasized the increase in her status. The wet nurse of the third Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651) received new names every time her pupil advanced in her career [Ibid., p. 23]. For religious and magical purposes, the name was changed during a prolonged serious illness or after recovery.

The nominational model of heirs-sons (especially in noble families) was built according to a very complex formula: a "child's" name, a name after initiation, an adzan-type name given by a mentor after a course of science, to whom the young man was introduced when meeting, and finally, a name received or taken in connection with an outstanding event in life (or several such names). names). It could also include pseudonyms (up to several dozen), diminutives, and nicknames. The complete model looked, for example, as follows (mid-19th century): Arai Hakuseki Shie Kimi Arinaka Norinami Denzo Kageyu (generic name, pseudonym, "real name", adzana-type name and everyday name) [Bakumapu..., 1994, pp. 13-14].

The developed tradition of pseudonymization in Japan was probably associated with the taboo of the personal name. Not only artists, but also soldiers, peasants, and merchants were more often known under pseudonyms. For artists, they were chosen most often from the Chinese language: Natsume Soheki* (1867-1916), Tokutomi Roka* *(1868-1927). In the Middle Ages, admission to the university was preceded by a student's pseudonym acceptance ceremony [Gobetsumei..., 1990, pp. 11-17].

In the Edo period (1600-1868), it was customary for artists and artisans to inherit the names of their mentors or idols with the addition of the so-and-so formant: Namiki Gohei (Namiki the fifth), Tsuruya Namboku (Tsuruya the seventh), Ichikawa Danjuro (Ichikawa the tenth) [Chkhartishvili, 2000, p. 15]. Japanese graphic artist and poet Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) changed more than 50 pseudonyms, the most famous of which - Hokusai - first appeared in 1796 [Katsushika Hokusai, 1972, p.2-11].

Names of Buddhist and Shinto clergy should also be attributed to professional pseudonyms. After ordination, monks and priests renounced their worldly life and family, taking on a new name. In different religious schools, the principles of choosing a name differed; in some of them, traditional signs were mainly used: "sun" (Nichiren school), a sign from the hieroglyphic record of the Buddha's name (Shinkyu), "honor" (Josho), etc. Followers of the Confucian teaching chose pseudonyms on the Chinese model, often using the signs "joy" and "happiness": Opo Sorai, Bupu Sorai, Kan Chazan, etc. [Watanabe Mitsuo, 1958, p. 187].

In general, the analysis of pseudonyms of famous personalities in Japan allows us to distinguish several types of them: 1) hereditary (ordinal); 2) toponymic (by place of residence); 3) official (by place of service, study); 4) fantasy (by aesthetic preferences, playful naming); 5) characteristic (by appearance, behavior); 6) deseratives; 7) monastic. As you can see, the general design principles of pseudonyms almost completely repeat the motives for choosing personal names and nicknames, which makes it possible to put pseudonyms on a par with other types of names. The facts of changing a personal name emphasized important stages in a person's life, and his fate could be traced along the chain of names.

Death

The last important milestone in a person's life is his departure to the world of the dead, in the view of a person of traditional society - to the world of ancestral spirits. In Japan, a dignified end to life is perceived as a spiritual elevation. In traditional society, the significance of a person's life was determined by the diversity of social and tribal ties. Hereditary and personal names served as indicators of the status and place in the hierarchy of these relationships. Therefore, people sought to earn a worthy name for themselves, which their descendants could be proud of.

The funerary ritual in Japan included washing, changing clothes, and giving a posthumous name. In a sense, he repeated the rites associated with birth. If the main function of the first username is-

* Natsume is a real surname; Soheki is a pseudonym taken from Chinese phraseology. Co expression:seki tinryu: literally means "rinsing your mouth with a rock and putting your head on the stream", i.e. doing something awkward, going your own way without learning from other people's mistakes, "reinventing the wheel".

** Tokutomi - real name; Roka-pseudonym, "reed flower".

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If the purpose of the speech was to bind a person to the world of people, then the deceased spirit had to get rid of the human name, which was considered as a material substance and bore the imprint of fate. Everything that belonged to the deceased, including the name, was now transferred to the other world and could not be used among living people. Therefore, the names of the dead were not given to newborn members of the family, they were avoided to mention in conversation. When referring to the deceased, they used terms of kinship with the addition of the word "deceased" or a posthumous name, if it was an emperor or nobles [Jutaku Akiko, 1979, p. 112].

The first posthumous names (okurina) were recorded among Japanese rulers beginning with the first emperor Jimmu (660-585 BC). Up to the Emperor Junna (died in 840), they were multi-part, like the ancient names of Japanese gods. Later, the Chinese model of posthumous names - consisting of two characters, mostly with an abstract meaning-prevailed. This system was only adopted during the Heian period (794-1185), when Sinicized names were attributed to ancient Japanese rulers retroactively. For example, the posthumous Japanese name of the legendary Emperor Jimmu (660 BC) - Kamuyamato Iwarebiko Hohodemi no Sumeramikoto, and the name of the "Chinese type" - Jimmu ("divine warrior") - was assigned to him, as well as other early rulers, only in the second half of the VIII century. The posthumous Japanese name of Emperor Temmu was Ama no Nunahara Oki no Mahito, where Oki (kit. Yingzhou) is one of the sacred Taoist mountains-islands inhabited by immortals (Meshcheryakov and Grachev, 2002, p. 386).

An interesting hypothesis is the folding of genealogical lists of Japanese rulers - the earliest prototype of the chronicles. In the funeral rite of the VI-VII centuries, "mourning speeches" began to play an extremely important role, where the ancestors of the deceased sovereign were listed, elevated to the supreme solar deity. In conditions when the order of succession to the throne was not clearly regulated, they served as a justification for the rights of the heir to the throne. Such genealogical traditions of the imperial family were initially read out orally, then they began to be recorded [Baksheev, 2001, p. 14].

With the strengthening of the position of Buddhism and the penetration of mainland ritualism in the VII-VIII centuries.there is a change in funeral rituals. According to Buddhist practice, sutras were brought to the altar erected in honor of the deceased and a posthumous Buddhist name (kaime) was engraved on the tombstone, consisting of hieroglyphs of moral and legal significance. The name was supposed to serve as a guiding star for the believer, illuminating his further path in the other world. Currently, the kaime is written on a special wooden tablet (ikai), which is considered the embodiment of the spirit of the deceased and is placed on the home altar (bundam) for performing memorial rites (Fig. 7, 8).

According to archaic ideas, existence after death was not interrupted, but only moved to another dimension, where the deceased had to live among the spirits under his posthumous name. Both in the world of the living and in the world of the dead, the status of a person was primarily important, so it is not surprising that in the Buddhist tradition there was a practice of "raising" the rank of the deceased by assigning a" good " Buddhist name. Caring for the deceased after death was a matter of family honor and reflected respect for their ancestors [Toyoda Takeshi, 2000, p. 50].

Fig. 7. Ihai memorial plaque.

Figure 8. Butsudan home altar.

1-Buddha statue; 2, 9-yihai memorial tablets; 3-8, 10-ritual utensils.

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Conclusion

Thus, from birth to death, the entire life of a person in traditional Japanese society was strictly ordered and surrounded by numerous rituals and complex rituals. There were several turning points when the personality was internally transformed. In the first days after birth, a wild, nameless creature carried out of mythical space died in the child. The social "birth" of a person was associated with giving him a name.

During the rite of initiation, each initiate ritually died through the rejection of the old name and was reborn again as a socially responsible person bearing an "adult" name. Rising higher on the social ladder, he created his own family, raised children.

Death was perceived not as a complete disappearance, but as a transition to another state, symbolically equated with the birth for a new life, when a person entered the cohort of ancestors. The "earthly" name was discarded, and the deceased received a posthumous, more elevated, according to public ideas. The ancestral cult in Japan was based on the belief that a person continues his life in descendants and finally dies only when his lineage is interrupted. Later, due to the gradual weakening of kinship and community ties, this cult is based mainly on tradition, preserved as a cultural norm.

The existence of an extensive naming system was caused by the need to encode an authentic name, to name which meant to allow oneself to be mastered. The possibility of changing names over the course of a lifetime led to the emergence of a rather complex anthroponymic model that functioned from the early Middle Ages until the" family revolution " of 1872.

Echoes of ideas about the independent existence of a name and its identity with the named object are often traced in modern Japanese society.

List of literature

Bakumatsu yishin jimmei jiten (Biographical dictionary of historical personalities of the XVI-XIX centuries) / ed. Miyazaki Tomihachi, Yasuoka Akio. - Tokyo: Shinjimbutsu Orai, 1994. - 544 p. (in English).

Baksheev E. S. Drevneyshie istoki pogrebalnogo obryada mogari po arkheologicheskim dannym periodov Dze-mon i Yayoi [The oldest sources of the mogari funeral rite based on archaeological data from the Je-mon and Yayoi periods]. Istoriya i kul'tura Jap'i, Moscow: Krafta+, 2001, pp. 7-25.

Ban Ko: Kai. Kindai no ningen to dento: (Man and Tradition in Modern times). Tokyo: Iwanami seten Publ., 2001, 178 p. (in English).

Watanabe Mitsuo. Nihonjin no namae: Sono rekishi to samazamana kata (Japanese Names: History and different types of names). Tokyo: Hokushindohan Publ., 1958, 247 p. (in English).

Gobetsumei jiten kodai-kinsei (Dictionary of pseudonyms from ancient to Modern times). - Tokyo: Kinokuniya seten, 1990. - 623 p. (in Japanese).

Gromov D. N. Vozrastnye initiatsii: puti istoriko-psikhologicheskoi rekonstruktsii (po fol'klornykh i istoricheskim istochnikam) [Age initiations: ways of historical and psychological reconstruction (based on folklore and historical sources)]. International Conference, Petrozavodsk, 2000, pp. 100-103.

Dzyu:Gaku Akiko. Nihonjin no namae (Japanese names). - Tokyo: Daishinkan seten, 1979. - 253 p. (in English).

Diaries of the court ladies of ancient Japan. Minsk: Harvest Publ., 2002, 320 p. (in Russian)

Iordansky V. B. Khaos i garmoniya [Chaos and Harmony]. Chief Editor. East lit., 1982. - 343 p.

Katsushika Hokusai. Graphics. Art. Berlin: Gos. izd-voGDR, 1972, 168 p. (in Russian)

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The article was submitted to the Editorial Board on 23.10.07.

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