Felling Purification

One of the regular columnists in the “Thoughts in the Forest” section of Jinja Shinpō is Kanzaki Noritakë, a scholar of traditional culture and chief priest of a jinja in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan. In the September 30^th issue, he wrote about a ceremony he was asked to perform before the felling of a tree.

The tree in question was a massive cedar, growing beside the steps up to a local jinja, and beside the community hall. It had become old, with its interior hollowed out, and branches dropping off. Thus, the community decided that it had to be cut down, before it either injured someone or damaged the community hall. Unfortunate, but even trees do not live for ever.

Before they cut it down, however, the community wanted to honour it, and they had Revd Kanzaki come to perform the ceremony. A shimënawa was hung on the trunk of the tree, and a himorogi with offerings set up in front of it. The kami called down for the matsuri was Kukunochi-no-kami, who appears in the ancient myths with responsibility for planting trees across Japan (if I recall correctly, only in the Nihonshoki, and in variants), and who also plays a role in local kagura. Thanks to the second point, Revd Kanzaki could expect the locals to know who this kami is.

He actually says in the column that he doesn’t need to describe the matsuri — anyone reading Jinja Shinpō knows what the standard structure is like. (If you don’t, it is described in my book. (Affiliate link! I have to say that.)) However, he did want to say something about the norito.

A matsuri for felling a tree is categorised as a miscellaneous matsuri, and there are a number of books that provide sample norito for such matsuri, including this particular one. The one that he uses is from the esoteric Buddhist tradition (Tendai and Shingon), and he quotes a bit from it in the column.

The structure is very similar to that of a contemporary Shinto norito, but it talks about the Buddha, and asks Buddhist figures to ensure that the spirit of the tree quickly finds peace, and that there is no trouble, or injuries, for the people cutting it down. Revd Kanzaki emphasises that, among the common features of the “Shinto” and “Buddhist” prayers from the days when the distinction was a lot less clear than it is (supposed to be) now, is a respect for the spirits of natural things, such as trees, or mountains. The prayers purify those spirits, and ask the kami or Buddhas to protect the people working in that environment. This is, he says, Japanese animism, and he hopes to pass it on to the next generation.

I do not know how strong this tradition is in contemporary Japanese Buddhism (and it probably depends on the Buddhist tradition), but it certainly remains strong in Jinja Shinto.