| 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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| Karuta |
A game of cards (karuta='carta') A traditional card game called karuta-tori (grabbing the cards) widely played in homes at New Year is based on the early period Hyakunin isshu "Hundred Poems by a Hundred Poets" anthology compiled by Teika, Kyo some time in the thirteenth century. The poems have to be matched to their composers. It is ritually-re-enacted in costume at a ceremony called karuta-hajime (first card-game) at the Yasaka (Gion) jinja in Kyoto on January 3rd |
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| Kasa |
The usual meaning is umbrella but in a Shinto festival it often means a giant umbrella-shaped decoration on a float, as for example in the kasa-hoko (umbrella floats) of the kawase ('rapids') at Chichibu jinja, Saitama on September 20th |
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| Kashiko-dokoro |
One of the three main shrines (the others are Korei-den and Shinden) in the grounds of the imperial palace, now in Tokyo. It contains the sacred mirror and replicas of the other imperial regalia (sanshu no shinki) as well as guardian kami of the palace including the five |
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| Kashima jingu |
A major shrine in Ibaraki prefecture, traditionally twinned with the jingu and one of the earliest It is dedicated to the warrior-kami Take-mika-zuchi who according to the toured Japan putting to flight evil kami and pacifying the country, thereby enabling the heavenly kami to take possession of the land. The shrine building was reconstructed (shikinen sengu) every 20 years until the fifteenth century. Behind the shrine building is the kaname-ishi stone which "seals down" the earthquake kami nai-no-kami |
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| Kashiwade |
To clap one's hands (before a kami) The common form of Shinto worship (hairei) involves bowing and hand-clapping. It often means two claps, but varies according to the custom of a shrine |
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| Kasuga |
The kami variously enshrined at Kasuga (in the city of Nara) constituted initially the of the pre-eminently powerful clan, many of whom became members of the imperial line. Kasuga eventually became the ujigami of the entire province of Kasuga was also the protector of the Hosso lineage of Buddhism. From about the eighth century until the forced dissociation of kami and Buddhas (shinbutsu bunri) in 1868, Kasuga was identified as a composite divinity, Kasuga Daimyojin, whose cult embraced both the Kasuga shrine and the neighbouring Kofukuji Buddhist temple in a single and indivisible shrine-temple complex overseen by the Kofukuji monks. In Kasuga daimyojin the kami were correlated with Buddhist divinities including Kannon, Yakushi and Jizo (see Gongen) The expansion of the many shrines and temples of this cultic centre gave rise to the city of Nara. From its beginnings as a private Fujiwara and then imperial cult, Kasuga became popular from the late period onwards through the construction in its grounds of the Wakamiya shrine and its annual festival which formed part of the Wakamiya Shinto-Buddhist cult and was open to outsiders. Many branch shrines of Kasuga were eventually established. The emblem of the shrine is the deer, herds of which are still kept in the grounds. In pictures Kasuga is represented riding a deer. The pine tree painted on the backdrop of every Noh stage is the pine tree at Kasuga in which the kami manifested in dance. In the takusen oracles Kasuga is associated with Amaterasu and Hachiman |
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| Kasuga taisai |
The annual spring festival of the taisha in Nara, celebrated since the eighth century and currently held on March 13. In early times the rite included the arrival of a "sacral woman' (saijo) from Kyoto, while the offerings were made on behalf of the priests by a young girl of 'abstention and purity" (mono-imi) Although these women no longer feature in the ritual it is otherwise performed in accordance with accounts dating from the 9th century. As part of the ritual, horses are led (hiki-uma) round the shrine and there is a performance of dance. The include beautiful arrangements of rice, sake, mochi, fish, chicken and fruit. The matsuri is entitled to receive a visit from an imperial messenger |
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| Kasuga taisha |
The grand shrine of in Nara. With the Buddhist temple Kofukuji the shrine formed part of the pre- Meiji Kasuga daimyojin temple-shrine complex. It was named Kasuga jinja in 1871, having been "purified" of Buddhist elements. The present name was adopted in 1946. The Kasuga shrine was ritually rebuilt (shikinen sengu) every twenty years until just before the Meiji restoration |
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| Kasuga-matsuri |
The annual spring festival of the taisha in Nara, celebrated since the eighth century and currently held on March 13. In early times the rite included the arrival of a "sacral woman' (saijo) from Kyoto, while the offerings were made on behalf of the priests by a young girl of 'abstention and purity" (mono-imi) Although these women no longer feature in the ritual it is otherwise performed in accordance with accounts dating from the 9th century. As part of the ritual, horses are led (hiki-uma) round the shrine and there is a performance of dance. The include beautiful arrangements of rice, sake, mochi, fish, chicken and fruit. The matsuri is entitled to receive a visit from an imperial messenger |
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