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Ritual Cleaning

Cleaning is a very important part of the life of a priest (or miko, for jinja that have them). The article from Isë Jingū in the 27th January issue of Jinja Shinpō was about the ritual for cleaning the outside of the sanctuaries there. The ritual is carried out on the day before the major annual matsuri, and on the 10th, 20th, and final days of each month. Six priests are involved: one negi (a senior priest), two gon-negi (also quite senior at Jingū), one gūshō, and two shusshi (junior… Read More »Ritual Cleaning

Records of Matsuri

The 27th January issue of Jinja Shinpō included a long article by a Revd Saitō, a priest in Akita Prefecture who played an important role in a large project to record unique matsuri in the prefecture. The immediate trigger for this project was the Great East Japan Earthquake. It inspired Revd Saitō to think again about the importance of preserving jinja and their traditions for the future, and within that he felt that the preservation and restoration of matsuri and other rites was a particularly difficult problem. This was not… Read More »Records of Matsuri

Three Sacred Mountains

The 27th January issue of Jinja Shinpō reported on a meeting between the chief priests of three important jinja: Shirayama Himë Jinja in Ishikawa Prefecture, Oyama Jinja in Toyama Prefecture, and Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha in Shizuoka Prefecture. Each of these jinja is central to the veneration of a particular mountain: Mt Shirayama in Ishikawa, Mt Tateyama in Toyama, and Mt Fuji in Shizuoka. The reason for this meeting was that, from 2023, the three prefectural governments have been cooperating to attract tourists on the basis that they are the… Read More »Three Sacred Mountains

Misomayama

The preparations for the 63rd Shikinen Sengū at Isë Jingū continue. According to the 3rd February issue of Jinja Shinpō, the Tennō designated the “misomayama” on January 15th. The misomayama are the forests from which the timber necessary for the rebuilding will be harvested. For the last few centuries, they have been in the Kiso region, a mountainous part of central Japan in Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. That tradition was followed this year, with Kisotani National Forest and Urakiso National Forest being designated. Because these are national forests, Jingū will… Read More »Misomayama

Architectural Changes

One of my patrons recently asked me whether there had been changes in jinja architecture over time, particularly after disasters, and whether there had been controversies of the sort there were in Europe. (If I mention “Viollet-le-Duc”, anyone with knowledge of medieval French architecture will shudder in horror.) As with everything in Shinto, the answer is complex, and depends on the jinja. The first point to bear in mind is that traditional jinja architecture is wooden, and while wooden buildings can last for over a millennium (the oldest one in… Read More »Architectural Changes

Shishimai

The 20th January issue of Jinja Shinpō included two articles about Shishimai, concerning closely connected events. “Shishimai” seems to be generally translated as “lion dance”. “Mai” is certainly “dance”, and they are indeed dances, but “shishi” do not generally look that much like lions. The Japanese name is for a large group of dances, with examples found all over Japan. They can be very different from one another, but in the basic form the “shishi” is danced by one or two people under a sheet, holding and operating a lacquered… Read More »Shishimai