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Idology in Transcultural Perspective pp 17–46Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

On Popular Idolatry: A Reflexive Symbological Spin

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Abstract

This chapter lays out the symbological foundation of idology by means of synthesizing the semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic aspects of popular idolatry—as analytically significant components of forming a new academic discipline. The authors suggest it is necessary to surpass the ad hoc arbitrarily and non-empirically elaborated inference-makings on specific idols and idol groups in favor of systematically identifying and analyzing the working mechanisms of symbolic agency as a combination of cultural, social, economic, political, and technological forces that operates in the field of idol-production. For that purpose, the authors demonstrate the integral value of cross-textual interpretations, logical analyses, and ontological observations in the study of idol symbolism—with an aim to highlight the transformative power of ritualized fan practices and of adored characters and celebrated personalities in industrial and nonindustrial, physical and digital, and sacred and secular social environments, as well as in-between sites of sociocultural production.

The idol is worshipped because it is neither a person, nor a miraculous machine, but a god.

—Gell (1998: 123)

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Conducted between 1994 and 1996, Aoyagi’s initial fieldwork in Tokyo as a graduate student resulted in an ethnographic description of popular idolatry in the form of a doctoral dissertation published in 1999. Available online at: https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0089261.

  2. 2.

    All diagrams were created by Aoyagi. Photographs of scenes, events, and activities were taken by Aoyagi during his fieldwork and carefully selected with respect to the ethics of social scientific research.

  3. 3.

    Details of this conference can be found at: https://nomadit.co.uk/conference/easa2012/p/1048.

  4. 4.

    Konishi Shō defined “modernity” as “a qualitative rather than a chronological category, a historical consciousness of time and space as realms of constant progression toward a better future” (Konishi 2013: 7).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan

    Hiroshi Aoyagi

  2. Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Mateja Kovacic

Authors
  1. Hiroshi Aoyagi
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  2. Mateja Kovacic
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Correspondence to Mateja Kovacic .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kokushikan University, Tokyo, Japan

    Aoyagi Hiroshi

  2. Senshū University, Tokyo, Japan

    Patrick W. Galbraith

  3. Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Mateja Kovacic

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Aoyagi, H., Kovacic, M. (2021). On Popular Idolatry: A Reflexive Symbological Spin. In: Hiroshi, A., Galbraith, P.W., Kovacic, M. (eds) Idology in Transcultural Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82677-2_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82677-2_2

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-82676-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-82677-2

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