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For the Future

The July 25th issue of Jinja Shinpō had quite a long article about a matsuri in rural Kyoto Prefecture to mark the designation of Saguri Jinja as a “Jinja to Promote the Revivification of Jinja in Depopulating Areas”. (As normal, the title sounds better in Japanese.) I am pretty sure that I have mentioned these programs before — the Shinto establishment is aware that rural depopulation is a major threat to rural jinja, and has been trying to address that for decades. The problem has not been solved, but it… Read More »For the Future

Big Big Purification

The July 25th issue of Jinja Shinpō had a short article about an Ōōharaë, or possibly Daiōharaë (大大祓) ceremony at Takuhirëshi Jinja, in Toyama. This was performed on the flood plains around the Jinzū River, which runs just behind the jinja (and which has a name meaning “passing kami river”). The ceremony is performed to give thanks for the blessings of nature, and the senior priest at the jinja, Revd Hayashi (who, I think, is the son of the chief priest) started doing it two years ago in response to… Read More »Big Big Purification

Mitama Matsuri

Every summer, Yasukuni Jinja holds a festival called “Mitama Matsuri”. This is one of the most important events in their annual calendar, and a popular summer event in Tokyo; it was reported on the front page of the July 25th issue of Jinja Shinpō. Paper lanterns are hung up throughout the precincts, and there are performances of various kinds — this year, they included a performance of a traditional form of kagura (sacred dance) from Iwatë Prefecture. In years without a pandemic, there are also food and entertainment stands, and… Read More »Mitama Matsuri

The National Council of Female Shinto Priests

As I have mentioned before, Jinja Shinpō has a weekly column called “Komorëbi”, “Sunlight Through Leaves”, which is written by eight or so people who take turns, and take on the task for two years. (Thus, they write a dozen columns each, roughly speaking.) The two year cycle has recently restarted, so people are publishing their first columns. As far as I can recall, there has always been at least one woman among the authors for as long as I have been reading Jinja Shinpō (which is about ten years… Read More »The National Council of Female Shinto Priests

Disputed Presidency

The 1st August issue of Jinja Shinpō carried a couple of articles about the dispute over the presidency of Jinja Honchō. The first reported some legal moves. It seems that Revd Ashihara, the director who was appointed president by the chairman, applied to the Tokyo Legal Affairs Office to record the change of president of Jinja Honchō from Revd Tanaka to himself. (This is a standard procedure, and my understanding is that it is necessary when certain officers of a religious corporation change.) He did this on March 6th. When… Read More »Disputed Presidency

The Chief Priests of Jingū

Jingū, at Isë, is unique among contemporary jinja, at least as far as I know, in having two chief priests. These are called the Dai Gūji (“Great Chief Priest”) and Shō Gūji (“Small Chief Priest”). Both of these people are frequently mentioned in Jinja Shinpō, and as far as I can tell, the distinction between them is as follows. The Shō Gūji is a career priest, and normally someone who has served as a priest at Jingū for years. He (always he) is normally at Jingū, and fills the role… Read More »The Chief Priests of Jingū