The Shikinen Sengū Begins

The front and back pages of the April 15^th issue of Jinja Shinpō were devoted to the news that the process of the 2033 Jingū Shikinen Sengū has formally begun.

Jingū, in Isë, Mië Prefecture, central Japan, is a complex of 125 jinja centred on the Kōtai Jingū, which enshrines Amaterasu Ōmikami, and the Toyo’ukë Daijingū, which enshrines Toyo’ukë Ōmikami. The whole complex is rebuilt once every twenty years, and the sacred treasures for the kami are all replaced at the same time. This is the Shikinen Sengū. “Sengū” means “move the sanctuary” — the rebuilt sanctuaries are on sites next to the old site, and they alternate between the two sites over the centuries. “Shikinen” means “fixed year”, and indicates that the matsuri is not held every year, but is held on a fixed cycle. The first one was held in 690, and although there was a break of around a century during the civil wars of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the tradition has been maintained: the next Shikinen Sengū will be the 63^rd.

This is the biggest event for the Shinto community in Japan. It takes almost ten years (the final ceremonies will be held in October 2033, if all goes according to plan), involves thousands of people, and has a budget of billions of yen, all raised from private contributions. I anticipate writing quite a lot about it — but a lot can happen in nine and a half years.

Jingū has very close links to the Tennō and Imperial family, and the matsuri there are widely regarded as matsuri performed specifically on behalf of the Tennō. Historically, the Shikinen Sengū was commanded by the Tennō, and funded by the state. The interruption during the civil wars was largely because the state was not sufficiently together to fund anything on this scale in that period. Wars and epidemics in other periods simply delayed things by a few years. However, after World War II the American-imposed separation of state and religion meant that this was no longer a legal option. There was supposed to be a Shikinen Sengū in 1949, but Shōwa Tennō issued a proclamation suspending it the day before state and religion were separated in December 1945 (that is, on the last day on which he had the authority to do so).

This created a number of problems for Jingū (“how do we pay for this?” was not the least of them), but one of particular symbolic importance was the question of how to keep the Tennō involved in the process. Legally, he no longer had the authority to command that the Shikinen Sengū be performed, but the priests at Jingū were not willing to act independently of him. It seems that the 1953 Shikinen Sengū (the 59^th) was carried out on the basis of the earlier proclamations, and the fact that it had only been suspended, not cancelled. Preparations for the 60^th, in 1973, were begun in April 1964, when the Daigūji (“Big Chief Priest”, the most senior priest at Jingū) sent a letter to the Imperial Household Agency asking about the Shikinen Sengū, and received a reply indicating that the Tennō wanted it to be carried out.

In early 1984, the Daigūji was granted an audience with the Tennō, who referred to the Shikinen Sengū. This was followed up, in April, by a letter from the Daigūji to the Imperial Household Agency, which received formal confirmation of the Tennō’s decision in reply. The same pattern was followed for the 62^nd.

In January this year, the current Daigūji had an audience with the Tennō, who expressed his hope that preparations for the Shikinen Sengū would proceed without any problems. The Daigūji then sent a formal letter to the Imperial Household Agency asking about, and on April 8^th received an official reply confirming that the Tennō would like the preparations to begin. As the editorial in Jinja Shinpō notes, this is the third time the procedures have taken this form, so it seems likely that this is how it will be done until the next major change in Japan’s political structure.

Jingū held a press conference to announce the beginning of preparations. There are more than thirty matsuri involved in the Shikinen Sengū, as well as the construction of the new sanctuaries and creation of new sacred treasures. The first matsuri are expected to be held next spring, so I will probably not be posting many articles about the Shikinen Sengū just yet. Expect more as the events start happening.

Someone at the press conference raised the question of gathering funds from overseas, but the article does not give the answer. I cannot see any sign on Jingū’s website that they are doing so yet, but I will let people know if they start.