| O- |
Honorific prefix. Japanese terms sometimes prefixed with the honorific "o-" (or mi- or go-) may be listed under their main word in this dictionary. E.g. for o-negai see Negai, for go-bunrei see Bunrei |
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| O-barae-shiki |
'Ceremony of great purification'. A form of rite based on the oharae in the Engi-shiki, also known as the Nakatomi no harae after the Nakatomi clan who were authorised to recite it. An o-harae is now performed in the imperial household and at shrines throughout Japan twice a year on the last days of the sixth and twelfth months (June and December) The term is used for special end-of-year purification rites e.g. in companies. Individuals may also recite the oharae norito as a form of purificatory practice |
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| o-bon |
Technically a Buddhist festival but never seen as distinct from or incompatible with Shinto, of which it therefore forms a part. As much could be said of many customary "Buddhist" rites not mentioned in this dictionary, but bon must be included because hatsu-mode and bon are the two main calendar customs with religious significance almost universally observed in Japan. Some Shinto purists argue that bon was originally "Shinto" and the Buddhist aspects are a later addition, though without evidence. The word "bon" derives from 'urabon'=Sanskrit ullambana /avalambana meaning 'hanging down'. It refers to rites performed for a dead person to prevent them from being hung upside down—i.e. entering a womb to be reborn in this world. In the Urabon-gyo, the Buddhist sutra invoked to explain the festival in Japan, it is related that the dead mother of Mokuren, one of the Buddha's disciples, was saved from torment in the realm of hungry spirits by Mokuren making an offering to some monks. Bon represents a service for the repose of deceased relatives and is an intensification of memorial rites in general. Ideally, people travel to their 'home village' (furusato) to observe bon. The festival starts with a 'welcoming fire' (mukae-bi) at the entrance of the house to call back the ancestors. Offerings are made to them, usually in the graves are visited (haka-mairi) and special bon-odori dances are performed. Shrines are not involved in the celebrations except in the case of some bon-odori where shrine precincts happen to provide the venue for the yagura, a high stage around which people dance to music. Bon ends two days later with an okuribi or 'sending-away fire' as well as the custom of nagashi, floating lanterns downriver. The festival is an expression of filial piety and pacification of ancestral spirits, as well as a reason to visit one's "home" village. Bon has been observed annually in Japan since 657. Up to 1867 it was celebrated on the 13th—15th day of the 7th month, and since the restoration it has been held in different places on either 15th July or 15th August |
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| O-fuda |
Like these may act both as amulets to ward off misfortune and as talismans to bring benefits and good luck. O-fuda are obtained equally from Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. They come in various sizes and typically comprise a flat and slightly tapering piece of wood (sometimes paper) on which is inscribed or stamped in black and red ink the name of the shrine/temple and the kami enshrined. The o-fuda is wrapped in white paper and tied with coloured thread. O-fuda reflect the and of the shrine or temple |
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| O-harai |
'Ceremony of great purification'. A form of rite based on the oharae in the Engi-shiki, also known as the Nakatomi no harae after the Nakatomi clan who were authorised to recite it. An o-harae is now performed in the imperial household and at shrines throughout Japan twice a year on the last days of the sixth and twelfth months (June and December) The term is used for special end-of-year purification rites e.g. in companies. Individuals may also recite the oharae norito as a form of purificatory practice |
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| O-iwai |
A term used for occasions of celebration, blessing or congratulation which may contain religious, including Shinto, elements. In the iwau meant religious abstinence |
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| O-kiyome |
Cleansing, purification, exorcism. A Shinto concept used in several new religions where it refers to spiritual healing of illnesses as well as purification of a more abstract kind |
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| O-kuni-nushi no-mikoto |
The kami Master of the Great Land. The much-married son of Susa-no-o, he has numerous other names including and is equated with In the and myths he has to undergo a series of ordeals, overcoming various natural forces such as fire, death, jealousy and lifeless matter in order to "animate" the land and make it habitable |
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| O-mamori |
Amulets, charms. The practice of obtaining amulets from shrines and Buddhist temples is almost universal in Japan. O-mamori are traditionally small brightly coloured brocade bags with drawstrings, usually with an inscription giving the name of the shrine and perhaps the benefit (riyaku) for which the amulet has been obtained. Recently, innovative o-mamori including those shaped like (or doubling as) decorative telephone cards have been introduced. O-mamori are acquired by children (see Shugaku ryoko) by people who are sick, at New Year, for passing an examination, for traffic safety (kotsu anzen) and at the time of a pilgrimage or occasional shrine visit. Mamori means "protection" so strictly speaking the function of an amulet is to protect against bad influences, disaster etc. while a talisman (o-fuda) is supposed to attract or channel good fortune, but good fortune is the absence of bad so there is considerable overlap in the function of o-mamori and |
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| O-mato-shinji |
A ceremony usually held at New Year where children shoot arrows to drive away evil influences. See |
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| o-Miki |
The special name for when prepared in various special ways, at some shrines in a special sakadono or sake-hall, and offered to the kami (see Shinsen) It is drunk by the participants at the close of a ceremony as part of the "feast" to receive the of the kami |
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| O-mikuji |
A popular form of divination widely available at shrines. The basic idea is to write down possible courses of action on slips of paper (o-mikuji) place them before the kami and then draw one in order to receive advice. In practice o-mikuji are usually pre-printed slips which give advice, predictions, caution and encouragement to moral virtue. They are kept in a chest of small numbered drawers in a kiosk within the shrine precincts. The shrine visitor makes the specified small donation, then shakes out a stick from a box. Each stick is numbered. The printed slip is then collected from the drawer with the same number. O-mikuji slips containing bad predictions are usually hung from a tree or frame set up for the purpose to "discard" the prediction (sute-mikuji) and avoid the bad luck |
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| O-mochi |
�� A glutinous cake made of pounded rice, generally unsweetened in a Shinto context. It is a popular type of food at festivals, especially New Year. Like mochi may be eaten for protection from illness |
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| O-negai |
Usually o-negai. A prayer or worshipful request addressed to the kami or Buddhas, for example inscribed on an In ordinary speech "o-negai shimasu means 'Would you please...?" |
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| O-shio-i |
'The well of brine'. It refers to a box of purifying sand (shio refers to its saltiness) taken from the wet part of the beach early on the morning of a festival day. In some processions the sand is sprinkled on the road, particularly at corners and crossings |
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| O-ta-fuku |
Literally 'Great luck'. A mask of a woman's round smiling face with flat nose used to bring luck. She is identified with the kami Ame-no-ozume. See Muneage. An otafuku is often paired with or with a hyottoko (written hi=fire and otoko=man) mask, a comic mask of a man's face with one small and one normal sized eye, sometimes a beard or moustache and lips pursed, perhaps to breathe fire |
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| O-tabisho |
"A place on a journey'. A sacred piece of ground, sometimes with a temporary shrine building constructed with appropriate rites which serves as the temporary resting-place for the kami who travels out of the main shrine in a Most often the otabisho is the place where the kami resides during a festival (matsuri) Although the main shrine is normally seen as the "home" of the kami, it is thought that the shrine building may originally have been simply the storage place for the mikoshi while the otabisho was the main ceremonial centre for rites to the kami. During the On-matsuri of the jinja for example the otabisho is at a central place equidistant from the main Buddhist temple and shrine which formed the pre- Meiji jisha complex of Kasuga Daimyojin |
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| O-watari |
A passage or transit of the kami. = shinko-shiki |
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| O-watari |
The main procession of kami at festival times, usually headed by a which may be accompanied by of various kinds, with a retinue of bearers and attendants often in costume. A spectacular example is the procession at the matsuri The journey, which is usually to an or temporary resting-place follows a route which may take the kami among the houses of parishioners and in some cases involves crossing water. In practice the shinko may be the major element in a festival, together with solemn rites and celebrations |
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| O-zoni |
A special soup cooked to accompany and eaten especially at new year festivals |
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