| "Water kami" |
Water is vital both spiritually and materially; it is a purifying agent used in shrine rites (see Misogi) and a reliable supply is essential for Japanese agriculture, especially for rice-cultivation which requires the fields to be kept flooded. Suijin is a general term for the kami of springs, wells and other important sources of irrigation. Despite the general name "suijin" the phenomenon of suijin is rather complex. Water-kami receive frequent worship under various names, particularly from women in agricultural communities and often at a small shrine set up near the water-source. The main water-kami found in large shrines and widely worshipped is Mizu-ha-no-me who was born from the urine of Shrines of suijin under this name are found at the Kumano, Atsuta, Dewasanzan, Sumiyoshi, and other shrines. Suijin like to receive as offerings kyuri (cucumbers) and other such products of the field and are often represented in the form of a snake, fish, eel or Rivers in Japan traditionally have a multitude of different names according to the different localities they pass through, so water-kami are attached to particular stretches, torrents, waterfalls (also worshipped as the Buddhist divinity Fudo-myo) etc. rather than to a river as a whole |
|
| -zukuri |
'...construction style'. In a Shinto context it usually refers to the architectural style of a Shinto shrine. There are more than a dozen distinctive types of shrine architecture. The branch shrines (bunsha) of a major shrine are often built in the same style as the main shrine, but each shrine has its own individual history and it is not uncommon to find a mixture of styles. Brief descriptions of the main types may be found under the following entries: Gongen-zukuri, Hachiman-zukuri, Nagare-zukuri, Kasuga-zukuri, Kibitsu-zukuri, Otori-zukuri, Sengen-zukuri, Shinmei-zukuri, Sumiyoshi-zukuri, Taisha-zukuri, Yatsu-mune-zukuri |
|
| Shinto taisei-kyo |
'Accomplishment of the Way of the Kami'. A religious group founded by Hirayama, Seisai or Shosai (1815—1890) a high-ranking member of the last Tokugawa government. He arrived in Edo at the age of twenty and studied Chinese and After the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 he turned to ascetic religious practices including standing under a cold waterfall. Shinto taisei-kyo advocated service to the nation and conduct pleasing to the kami, and was recognised as a Shinto sect in 1882. See Shinto |
|
| Taisei-kyo |
'Accomplishment of the Way of the Kami'. A religious group founded by Hirayama, Seisai or Shosai (1815—1890) a high-ranking member of the last Tokugawa government. He arrived in Edo at the age of twenty and studied Chinese and After the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 he turned to ascetic religious practices including standing under a cold waterfall. Shinto taisei-kyo advocated service to the nation and conduct pleasing to the kami, and was recognised as a Shinto sect in 1882. See Shinto |
|
| Jingi kanjo |
'Anointment by the kami (jingi) '. A initiation ceremony of Shinto |
|
| Zuijin |
'Attendant deities'. Warrior-type guardians, often carrying bows and arrows. As protector of shrine gates they are known as kado-mori-no-kami. They are also associated with protector of crossroads and other boundary areas |
|
| Mizugaki |
'Auspicious fence'. The inmost of four fences surrounding the shrine, e.g. at Jingu See |
|
| Shikinen sengu |
'Ceremonial-year shrine transfer'. Usually refers to the ceremonial transfer of the kami of Jingu to the adjacent shrine, rebuilt every twenty years. The latest (61 st) sengu ceremony at Ise took place in 1993, though the complex preparatory and concluding rites take several years on either side of the transfer date. Other major shrines are supposed to be rebuilt at intervals but the cost is prohibitively high. One theory is that the ritual derives from an original custom of rebuilding the shrine every year, with renewal rites on each occasion to re-empower the deity and that the rebuilding took place less often when more permanent shrine structures came into fashion. Another theory is that the rebuilding takes place each (human) generation. The rite of renewal probably owes its origin equally to Chinese (Taoist) sources |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| Oharae |
'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 |
|
| Saishu |
'Chief of the matsuri', also Itsuki-no-miya (princess dedicated to the kami) The highest priestly office now found only at the Jingu and since 1945 held by a female member of the imperial family in partial imitation of early practices recorded in the Engishiki where an unmarried princess (saigu) served as mitsue-shiro or medium (for the kami) Throughout most of Japanese history, from the to the periods the position at Ise was held by a male representative of the and from 1868-1945 by a male member of the imperial family |
|
| Kiku no sekku |
'Chrysanthemum day'. The last of the five days. The main activity is a party for chrysanthemum-viewing, sometimes in the grounds of a shrine. The growing of chrysanthemums of all shapes and sizes and modelling of shapes in chrysanthemums was a highly-developed art-form in Japan, from where it was introduced to Europe in the mid-nineteenth century, but the imperial symbolism associated with chrysanthemum culture apparently dates from the period. The sixteen-petalled chrysanthemum, a motif apparently deriving from an older imperial banner showing the sun with rays became the symbol of the emperor Meiji. The order of the chrysanthemum, the highest order of knighthood in a new European-style honours system was inaugurated in 1875 |
|
| Haibutsu kishaku |
'Destroy the Buddha, kill Shakyamuni'. A slogan for hooligans engaged in the anti-Buddhist movement of the early Meiji bunri movement |
|
| Fuku o yobu jisha jiten |
'Dictionary of shrines and temples that summon good fortune'. A publication by the Kodansha company, and representative of numerous contemporary book, newspaper and magazine guides to the specialities of religious institutions. The dictionary is divided into categories such as educational success (gokaku) road safety (kotsu anzen) health, business prospects, fertility and so forth, listing shrines and temples to visit by region. Reflecting the near-100% literacy rate in Japan and the need for shrines to bring their specialities to the attention of potential visitors, most larger shrines also offer printed guides for those wishing to know more about the history, mythology and special characteristics of the site, as well as advertising in magazines, railway timetables and other appropriate media |
|
| Kami-kaze |
'Divine wind'. Typhoons, which in the thirteenth century providentially foiled attempts by the Mongols under Khubilai Khan to invade Japan. The name was later applied to suicide pilots trained to dive with planes full of explosives into enemy ships late in the second world war |
|
| Kadomatsu |
'Door-pine'. Pine-branch and bamboo decorations are hung on the front of shops and houses at New Year, together with the February-flowering plum (ume) The evergreen pine represents continuity, the sharply cut bamboo straightness and sincerity, and the ume new life. The custom is now universal in Japan although those living near the Ikuta-jinja in Kobe reportedly do not decorate their homes in this way, ever since the kami of the shrine indicated his dislike for pine trees by sending a flood that washed away all those around his shrine—in the eighth century. See also |
|
| Ocho yoshiki |
'Dynasty style'. Costume, ritual etc. in the style of the Nara or court |
|
| Azuma-asobi |
'Eastern Entertainment'. Songs performed at the imperial court and at shrines such as the Oharano jinja, Kyoto (on April 8th) The style is derived from music offered to the Imperial court by inhabitants of the Eastern provinces, especially the Sagami and Suruga areas, as an expression of loyalty |
|
| Shingaku |
'Education of the Heart'. The name of a a movement founded by Ishida, Baigan (1685— 1746) which survives today. It is a pre-Meiji blend of Confucian ethics, Buddhist metaphysics and reverence for deities including kami such as Amaterasu omikami |
|