Japan Ancient Spirit Medium Tradition Slowly Fading Away
Mount Osore holds its twice annual religious festival visited by busloads of tourists. Here, you’ll meet the “itako” – elderly women who lead séance-like ceremonies for communicating with the spirits. This time, however, the tradition seems to fade away. Only four mediums attended the recent festival.
The itako are the last remaining believers in Japan’s ancient shamanistic tradition that are older than Buddhism and modern forms of Shintoism. They’ve survived government efforts to stamp them out. Now, they are vanishing. Three of the last itako died last year of old age. Only four remain. Their youngest is a 40-year old believer, who was not able to attend this year’s festival due to health reason.
In the 1930’s they numbered about a hundred. The popularity of the itako tradition is mostly rooted in the fact that it was one of the few occupations for the blind in Japan. About a decade ago, their number dwindled own to around 20.
The tradition still remains popular among visitors who wait in line for several hours to see one. For a séance, the itako charges about 3,000 yen or roughly $30 for a 10-minute ceremony. It is doubtful whether it will continue on to the next decade.
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