David Chart

I have now finished reading the Society of Shinto Studies journal special issue about the Daijōsai, and there were some points that struck me as particularly interesting. For the purposes of this blog post, I am going to assume that my readers know the broad outline of the Daijōsai, and of the debates over its origins and meaning — in short, I am going to assume that you have read my essays on the subject (available from Amazon). If you haven’t, I’m afraid that this might not make a lot… Read More »Daijōsai Offerings

One of the problems with studying Shinto is the names of the kami. First, there are a lot of kami, and they tend to have long names. Masakatsuakatsukachihayahiamëno’oshihomimi no Mikoto, Amaterasu Ōmikami’s son and the mythical ancestor of the Tennō, is a good example. Simply remembering the names is tough to begin with. (Many kami have standard “short forms”; Masakatsuakatsukachihayahiamëno’oshihomimi no Mikoto is normally referred to as Oshihomimi.) Then there is the problem that many kami have multiple names. Amaterasu Ōmikami is officially called “Amaterashimasu Sumeōmikami” at Jingū, but this… Read More »The Names of the Kami

My patrons on Patreon have just received the paid essay for January, about Miho Jinja. This is a jinja with over 1300 years of history, in the ancient province of Izumo (modern Shimanë Prefecture). The most distinctive thing about it is its matsuri. They are famous for, apparently, preserving a great deal of the ancient forms of local festivals. If you missed this one but want to get it, you can sign up to my Patreon for next month, and add $1 to your support to receive it as a… Read More »New Patreon Essay

I have mentioned before that Shinto is much more open to practitioners of other religions than one might expect from a western perspective, and there was a clear example reported in Jinja Shinpō on January 13th. On Awaji Island, part of Hyōgo prefecture in central Japan, there is a memorial to the students who were killed in action in World War II after being called up by the government. This was originally built by the local government, but the number of visitors dropped off, and the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995… Read More »Multi-Religion Ceremonies

Every year, the Jingū Taima, the ofuda from Jingū that the Shinto establishment would like every household in Japan to venerate, are distributed to jinja across Japan so that they can be handed on to individuals. However, the ofuda are not just posted to the jinja. There are a number of ceremonies involved in the distribution itself. The first takes place at Jingū in September, and is attended by representatives of Jinja Honchō, including the president and chairman, as well as by the priests of Jingū. At this ceremony, the… Read More »Distributing Jingū Taima

This year marks the 1300th anniversary of the completion of the Nihonshoki. The Nihonshoki is the first official history of Japan, starting from the creation of Japan, and continuing up to the reign of Jitō Tennō at the end of the seventh century. It is a very important source for early Japanese history, and an even more important source for Japanese myth. Although the Kojiki, which was completed in 712, and is thus slightly older, is more famous today, the Nihonshoki is the more important text for the study of… Read More »Nihonshoki 1300 Years