Mount Tsukuba cult: Specifics of the ritual and ancient Japanese poetry

The study aims to utilize a broad mythological-poetic material to determine the depth and specific manner in which ancient Japanese poetry reflected traditional beliefs about the fertility cult and whether there was a gradual poetic reinterpretation of this cult. The scientific novelty lies in a comprehensive examination of the genesis of the Mount Tsukuba cult, exemplified by the “utagaki” ritual, its reflection in the ancient poetry of the “Man'yōshū” anthology and the transformation of the perception of this cult in ancient Japanese lyrical poetry. For the first time, new descriptions of episodes from the ancient ritual are introduced into scholarly discourse and all fragmented information about this ritual from various ancient sources is compiled into a unified system. The paper explores the ritual within the context of ancient lyrical works that reflected the societal moral and ethical codes of that time. Through specific poetic examples, the original primacy of the fertility idea is demonstrated, illustrating how such ideas gradually intertwined with aesthetic views. The study notes that the ancient fertility ritual, documented in texts from the 8th century as a common practice, gradually acquired new characteristics in the poetic tradition that did not reflect the essence of the ritual. The ritual itself and its place of enactment gradually transformed into a poetic object of romantic love, indicating a reinterpretation of the Mount Tsukuba cult associated with this ritual.