Leadership, Ritual Power and Festival Management in a Japanese Fishing Community
abstract
The article provides an anthropological overview of the critical processes of empowermentand disempowerment of ritual leaders in a small Japanese fishing community. The main topicof the paper is a winter festival that takes place during the New Year’s Eve in Kamishima island (IseBay), whose management and celebration represent an important catalyst for local leadership,which is related to the transformation of the local institutions and to the power relations amongthe various local leaders.
Keywords: Anthropology of power • Folk religion • Leadership • Japan • Fishing community • Ritual power • Festival management