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Another Oversight Council Meeting

On October 24th, Jinja Honchō held the regular autumn meeting of its Oversight Council. A couple of years ago, I commented that these meetings used to be boring events at which everything was rubber stamped without debate, but that things had changed! Now, they are boring because everyone argues about the presidency, and no progress is made… OK, that is slightly unfair. As normal, all the resolutions necessary to keep Jinja Honchō going were passed, without any noticeable opposition. A regulation needed to be changed as a result of Tsurugaoka… Read More »Another Oversight Council Meeting

Harvest and the Kan’namësai

The October 21st and 28th issues of Jinja Shinpō included numerous articles on harvest matsuri and the related Kan’namësai, a matsuri celebrated at Isë Jingū. The harvest matsuri are called “nukiho” or “nuiho” matsuri. Both readings are written the same way, with characters that mean “pull out rice”, and this may mean that the origins of the tradition go back to before rice was harvested with sickles. Whatever may be the truth of that, sickles are used now. Nukiho matsuri are carried out at the actual rice field, with the… Read More »Harvest and the Kan’namësai

Responding to the Judgement

As I said in my last post, the Supreme Court has now ruled on the question of who is the president of Jinja Honchō, and has ruled that it is not Revd Ashihara. Jinja Honchō and their lawyer have issued statements in response to this, as reported in the October 28th issue of Jinja Shinpō. They do not appear to be seeking compromise and reconciliation. Let us start with the legal side. Jinja Honchō’s lawyer claims that the court decision makes it clear that the president is effectively appointed by… Read More »Responding to the Judgement

Supreme Court Decision

On October 2nd, the Japanese Supreme Court issued its judgement in the case over the disputed presidency of Jinja Honchō. The court decided that the plaintiff (Revd Ashihara, who wanted the courts to confirm that he was the president of Jinja Honchō) could not appeal to the Supreme Court, because the grounds of his appeal did not meet the conditions for such an appeal in a civil case. Strictly speaking, then, they said nothing about the content of the case, but the decision means that the judgement of the lower… Read More »Supreme Court Decision

Secretariat in Kazakhstan 2024

At the beginning of October, I went to Kazakhstan with one of my colleagues from Jinja Honchō, Revd Mitsui, to attend the XXII Meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, and the first meeting of the Forum of Young Religious Leaders. Strictly speaking, Revd Mitsui was attending the meetings, and I was there to interpret for him. This is the third time we have attended these meetings. The first time, I had to provide interpretation. The second time, last year, there were interpreters.… Read More »Secretariat in Kazakhstan 2024

Bilingual Omikuji

One of the jobs I did through Jinja Honchō last year was assisting with the translation of a full set of omikuji, for Joshidōsha (Girls’ Way Company). The company itself has a very interesting history, as it was set up in the Meiji period to support girls’ education by a priest who campaigned for women to be allowed to become priests, and sold paper omikuji to jinja to fund those activities. However, in this post I am writing about the omikuji. Omikuji are often called “fortunes”, although these are called… Read More »Bilingual Omikuji