| Kami-mukae |
Welcoming or summoning the kami. The first element in the structure of a typical festival. Specifically it means the summoning of a kami to a that is, to a place which is not the usual "seat" of the kami. In some cases the call (keihitsu) accompanies the recitation of and is a sonorous long "o" sound. Cf. |
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| Kami-na-zuki |
The 'month without kami', from October 11 when all the kami (except those who are deaf and do not hear the summons, such as Ebisu) having completed their work protecting the harvest are seen off from their shrines and make a tour to Izumo. In Izumo, this period is consequently known as kami-arizuki or 'the month of kami'. The period may correspond to the month known as saigetsu, the precarious month of abstinence before the harvest was secured when according to the Engi-shiki burial and reburial and other practices were tabooed and the Taoist custom of worshipping the North star as the Heavenly Emperor was prohibited |
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| Kami-okuri |
The ceremony of "sending away" on completion of a to which the kami has been summoned (see Kami-mukae) A high-ranking priest intones and keihitsu sounds |
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| Kamidana |
Kami-shelf or altar. A miniature Shinto shrine often with scaled-down and found in the home and in business premises. The practice of keeping a kamidana increased substantially during the period. A common type of kamidana consists of little shrines side by side in which are enshrined the deity of the local shrine (chinju no kami, and see Ujiko) and very often as well a tutelary or ancestral deity particular to the occupants or their profession. Since the Meiji period it has been customary for kamidana also to incorporate amulets from Ise (taima) or an Daily offerings (shinsen) of rice, salt and water are made, with special offerings of and other foods on special days. O-fuda are renewed at New Year and the shrine may receive an annual visit from the priest of the local shrine whose the kamidana enshrines. Kamidana in work premises such as restaurants and traditional industries may be dedicated to prosperity deities such as or Daikokuten. Kamidana are also found at railway stations, police stations and on board ships; in the latter case the kami enshrined is likely to be a such as See also |
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| Kamo jinja |
It refers to two ancient shrines regarded as one of the elite seven shrines in the and worshipped as guardian shrines of the imperial palace and the capital; the Kamo-mi-oya-jinja (also known as the kamigamo or upper jinja) and the Kamo-wake-ikazuchi-jinja (the shimogamo or lower jinja) They are located in the northern part of Kyoto. The main enshrined kami is tamayori-hime-no-mikoto and the shrines are the venue of the great aoi matsuri of May 15th which includes a ritual involving a The shrines are built in flowing style in which the shinmei-style roof is extended on one side and flows down to cover the steps and front area of the building |
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| Kamo no Mabuchi |
Regarded as one of the four leading scholars of the fukko ('restoration') school, he was a disciple of no Azumamaro He pursued philological studies of eighth century literature, especially and the manyoshu, identifying within these texts an indigenous Japanese spirit of spontaneity which he believed was obscured in all subsequent literature by the introduction of "foreign" (Chinese and Buddhist) ideas |
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| Kampeisha |
"Shrines receiving offerings from the jingikan" (i.e. from the emperor) A post-Meiji shrine rank. Kampeisha taisha were of this kind. See seido |
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| Kanda Matsuri |
One of the three biggest festivals of Edo (Tokyo) celebrated from May 12-16th (or 13th-18th) at the Kanda jinja where the so-chinju (overall protective deity) of the central Tokyo Nihonbashi and Kanda districts is enshrined (see Chinju no kami) A major procession with seventy takes place on May 15. Because of their size and the danger to overhead power lines, floats (yatai) no longer take part and the smaller mikoshi have multiplied in their place. The kind of floats used in pre-Meiji times can however still be seen at the matsuri During the Tokugawa period the matsuri with its magnificent floats was regarded as the festival for the townspeople of Edo and alternated every other year with the "official" sanno matsuri of the Tokyo jinja held for the |
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| Kangen-sai |
'Wind and string music'. The name of a festival held at the jinja at Miyajima, Hiroshima prefecture on June 17th by the old lunar calendar. The famous at Itsukushima is in the sea, and are ceremonially carried across the water and placed before it. is performed on a stage formed by three boats joined side by side which process to the accompaniment of an orchestra consisting in three stringed, three percussion and three wind instruments |
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| Kanmuri |
A formal cap with long narrow strip attached, part of the or costume worn by Shinto priests for ceremonies |
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| Kannagara no michi |
"The way (michi) according to the kami (kannagara) is an alternative rendering of "Shinto" used in the prewar period with the meaning of orthodoxy. Like it is sometimes used to make a distinction between Shinto as variegated popular beliefs (minkan shinko) and "orthodox" Shinto; i.e. that directed principally towards the emperor |
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| Kanname-sai |
Festival of the new rice. A harvest festival now celebrated on October 15-17th at both shrines of the jingu, the imperial household (see Daijosai) and at the same time in virtually every shrine in Japan. Newly-ripened grains of rice from the are offered to the kami. See gyoji |
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| Kannon |
Kannon-sama (in Chinese: Kuan-yin; in Sanskrit: Avalokiteshvara) the bodhisattva of compassion, is the most popular in Japan as indeed throughout East Asia. She is female, is widely associated with childbirth (a notable exception to the general rule in Japan of 'born Shinto, die Buddhist') and takes many different forms, according to need, including in pre-Meiji times being identified with kami (see e.g. Kasuga, Tenjin) The new religious movement kyusei-kyo was founded by Okada, Mokichi as a consequence of possession by Kannon |
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| Kansha |
"Government shrines'. A category of shrines identified as important by the government in 1871/2. Kansha were differentiated from general or miscellaneous shrines. In 1945 there were 209 kansha shrines and 109,824 shosha, of which over 105,000 were small "village" or "unranked" shrines. The kansha/shosha distinction was abolished in 1945 when Shinto was disestablished. See seido |
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| Kappa |
The kappa is an amphibious water-dwelling spirit creature well known in Japanese folklore. He is sometimes regarded as a manifestation of the water-deity and needs to be propitiated with rites and offerings. He prefers still, muddy water but may live in the sea (see Kappa tenno-sai) The kappa is variously described and represented in folk art as a scaly, dark blue creature somewhat like a 3-4 year old boy with a pointed face, webbed and sharp-clawed hands and feet and thick hair. The most significant feature of a kappa however is the saucer-shaped depression on his head which holds water. If the water dries up while the kappa is on land he dies, just as crops die if the supply of water fails |
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| Kappa tenno-sai |
'Heavenly-emperor kappa festival'. A festival held in Tokyo at the Ebara jinja, Shinagawa during the weekend nearest to June 7th. The festival is held to pray for a good harvest and success in the fishing industry, and the which form the procession are borne into the sea. The name of the festival flatters the with the title of 'heavenly emperor', evidently to win his favour as the deity of water |
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| Karaijin/Karaishin |
A general term for the kami of thunder, and by extension for rain (in times of drought) The deities are believed to manifest in the form of a serpent or child. The best-known is the dragon-god, a Chinese and Buddhist deity who is worshipped in a number of Shinto shrines (see under Umi-no-kami) Another Buddhist deity karaijin or karaishin is the deity of lightning. In the Kanto area there is a tradition of erecting a strung between green bamboos when lightning strikes a rice field, to record the beneficence of this deity. Various shrines are dedicated to the thunder or rain deity under the name of Kamo -wake-ikazuchi-no-kami. See |
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| Karatsu kunchi |
Autumn festival (kunchi) of the Karatsu jinja, Saga. It includes a festival procession held in late October/early November which is famous for its huge five-metre high elaborate floats more than 120 years old. The fourteen floats which process in order of seniority represent 1. a red lion (akajishi) the oldest float constructed in 1819, 2. a blue lion (aojishi) 3. the legend of Urashima Taro and the turtle, 4. Minamoto, Yoshitsune's helmet, 5. a sea bream (tai) 6. a phoenix (ho-o maru) 7. a flying dragon (hiryu) 8. a golden lion (kinjishi) 9. the helmet of Takeda, Shingen, 10. The helmet of Uesugi, Kenshin, 11. the robber shutendoji and the helmet of Minamoto no Yorimitsu, 12. a dragon's head, 13. a legendary dolphin (shachi) and 14. another lion |
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| Kariginu |
A decorative priestly robe, modelled on a -style hunting garment. The colours may vary according to the rank of the wearer and the season of the year. See |
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| Karlstad Gospel Tabernacle |
KGT |
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