My essay on Mirrors, Swords, and Jewels is now available again for purchase through Gumroad. These items are the sacred treasures of the Tennō, but they are also important in other ways in Shinto. This essay discusses that significance, both historically and in contemporary practice. Buy Essay
This post is the third in a short series about the Imperial succession crisis and the Shinto establishment’s attitude. You might want to read the posts about the nature of the crisis, and why the Shinto establishment is opposed to female, and female-line, Tennō, first. The Shinto establishment’s proposed solution to the crisis is to restore (some of) the male-line male descendants of the former miyakë to the Imperial family, possibly by adoption, so that they can succeed as Tennō. Historically, the Japanese establishment was aware of this potential problem… Read More »Adopting Tennō
As I discussed in my last post, the fact that six of the seven members of the Imperial family under the age of forty are women might be taken as a reason to allow women to become Tennō. However, the Shinto establishment is firmly opposed to this. Why? Your immediate hypothesis might well be “Because they are a bunch of sexist fossils”. I have to admit that the evidence suggests that this may well be true of some of them. However, there are, in fact, better reasons for this position.… Read More »Why Only Men?
The Shinto establishment is extremely concerned with the position of the Tennō in Japanese society. There are a number of reasons for this, among them the fact that the ceremonies he performs for, and offerings he makes to, the kami are of great significance in many views of Shinto. The position of Tennō is also hereditary. It can only be held by someone from the Imperial line, and there is an oracle to that effect from Hachiman Ōkami, issued in the eighth century when a Buddhist monk was trying to… Read More »Imperial Succession
My local jinja has just put a sign up on the front of the prayer hall saying “Hatsumōdë by Setsubun”. Hatsumōdë is the first jinja visit of the new year. Traditionally, it is supposed to be done in the first three days of the year, which means that those three days have been extremely busy at most jinja; Meiji Jingū in Tokyo normally gets about three million visitors in that time. Most people just go to the jinja and pay their respects in front of the prayer hall, but quite… Read More »Hatsumōdë by Setsubun
Early in their reign, the new Tennō performs the Daijōsai, one of the most important rituals in Shinto. I’m not going to write about that here, although I did write two essays about it, which you can now buy from Amazon through this handy affiliate link. The rice offered at the Daijōsai is grown in two sacred fields, with many ceremonies. But I’m not going to write about those ceremonies, either. The sacred fields are chosen through an ancient divination ceremony. I’m not going to write about that. I’m going… Read More »Hewing Wood and Drawing Water