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Jingū

Ritual Cleaning

Cleaning is a very important part of the life of a priest (or miko, for jinja that have them). The article from Isë Jingū in the 27th January issue of Jinja Shinpō was about the ritual for cleaning the outside of the sanctuaries there. The ritual is carried out on the day before the major annual matsuri, and on the 10th, 20th, and final days of each month. Six priests are involved: one negi (a senior priest), two gon-negi (also quite senior at Jingū), one gūshō, and two shusshi (junior… Read More »Ritual Cleaning

Misomayama

The preparations for the 63rd Shikinen Sengū at Isë Jingū continue. According to the 3rd February issue of Jinja Shinpō, the Tennō designated the “misomayama” on January 15th. The misomayama are the forests from which the timber necessary for the rebuilding will be harvested. For the last few centuries, they have been in the Kiso region, a mountainous part of central Japan in Nagano and Gifu Prefectures. That tradition was followed this year, with Kisotani National Forest and Urakiso National Forest being designated. Because these are national forests, Jingū will… Read More »Misomayama

Jingū Shikinen Zōeichō

As I have mentioned before, preparations for the next Shikinen Sengū at Isë Jingū, which is expected to be held in 2033, have begun. Last year was concerned with preliminaries, but if things follow the normal schedule the first two matsuri, the Yamaguchisai and Konomotosai, will be performed in May this year. The Shikinen Sengū is an enormous job, involving not only the rebuilding of the main sanctuaries, but also the crafting, following the traditional specifications, of hundreds of sacred treasures. Managing this process is also an enormous job, and… Read More »Jingū Shikinen Zōeichō

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

Attitudes to Jingū Taima

Following on from the previous post, I want to look at the results for Jingū Taima, the ofuda from Isë Jingū that the Shinto establishment wants to see venerated in every household, and the results for local jinja, the so-called ujigami jinja. The first striking result is that only 25% of people have even heard of Jingū Taima. Given the vastly higher level of recognition of Jingū itself, this suggests that there is room for improvement in this respect. Even if 98% awareness of Jingū Taima seems unreasonable, the 50%… Read More »Attitudes to Jingū Taima

Awareness of Jingū

Earlier this year, Jinja Honchō commissioned a survey of people’s awareness of, and attitudes towards, Jingū. This is the third such survey, and they have been held at ten-year intervals. This means that the last one was held the year after the most recent Shikinen Sengū, while this one and the first one were held roughly midway in the cycle. The basic results, the proportions of each answer to each question, were published in Gekkan Wakagi on September 1st. (Gekkan Wakagi is the monthly newsletter that Jinja Honchō sends to… Read More »Awareness of Jingū