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 have to pay market rates for the trees, as the state per se cannot provide any support for the rebuilding. On the other hand, the current state of forestry in Japan may well mean that Jingū simply has to pay the people who fell the timber and take it away — the wood itself may not have a market value. (This is a serious problem, and much of the country suffers seriously from hay fever every year because it is not economic to touch the forests on Japanese mountains.)
Originally, the timber was harvested from the mountains around Jingū, but they failed to manage that sustainably, and within a few centuries they had to move further afield. Kiso has sustained the ritual for several centuries now.
About a hundred years ago (in 1923), Jingū, then under state management, began a program to reforest the mountains around Jingū in such a way that it could supply its own needs again, and do so sustainably. It was estimated that this would take two centuries. At the last Shikinen Sengū, in 2013, some of this timber could be used for the first time, and about 23% of the material needed was sourced there. This was smaller timber, taken from trees felled as part of the process of thinning the forest. Because very old trees are needed for some of the main timbers, the current estimate is that all the timber will come from these forests in 2113 (or, just possibly, 2093 — I read an article suggesting that the trees are growing faster and straighter than predicted, thanks to the care they are receiving). There are projections suggesting that Kiso will no longer be able to provide the necessary materials late in this century, so it is not entirely clear that the local source will be ready in time. (I would like to know what they will do about that, but as I would have to live past 120 to find out, I suspect I never will.)
In any case, the process of harvesting the timber begins with two matsuri, one at each site, which will probably happen in early June (based on last time’s schedule). After that, the timber is felled and transported, and members of the Shinto community in the areas along the route hold events to welcome and see off the tree trunks, at least for the most significant material. In the past, they would pull the carts or boats with the trunks on, but these days they are loaded onto trucks until they get to Isë.
Then people get to pull the carts.
Given that, as Head Of State, the Tennō is (AIUI) constitutionally prohibited from playing a religious role… How does he perform this necessarily religious duty?
Good question. I should do a blog post on the full answer, but the quick version is that he does it in a personal capacity, rather than as Head of State.