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Kagura

I recently read a book about kagura (神楽) by Kanzaki Noritakë (神崎宣武), a scholar of Japanese, and particularly Shinto, customs who has a regular column in Jinja Shinpō. This book was reviewed in the paper, which is how I came across it. The title is simply Kagura (and that is an affiliate link, although the book is in Japanese). The book is about what is called “Sato Kagura” (里神楽), which basically means “kagura performed everywhere except the Imperial court”. While “kagura” is normally translated as “sacred dance”, Kanzaki covers some… Read More »Kagura

Betsugū at Isë Jingū

Issue 109 of The Imperial Family (皇室) had an article about the Betsugū at Isë Jingū. The Betsugū are the most important jinja under the two main sanctuaries (the Inner and Outer), and there are fourteen of them: ten associated with the Inner Sanctuary, and four with the Outer. The article was mainly about the two that are furthest from the main sanctuaries, about 17 and 40 kilometres, but there was an interesting page about the origins of these jinja. The earliest surviving document from Jingū, from 804, lists five… Read More »Betsugū at Isë Jingū

Jinja in Fiction

Jinja Shinpō has an irregular short column on the front page (always the front page) written and signed pseudonymously by one of the reporters, giving their personal view of an issue related to Shinto. As they are written internally and not generally time critical, I suspect that the needs of layout are an important factor in whether they appear. There was one in the 25th May issue. This one was by “Shima” and they start by saying that whenever they see a jinja in a film, they look in the… Read More »Jinja in Fiction

Karimihishirogibassaishiki

The Karimihishirogibassaishiki (仮御樋代木伐採式) is another ceremony leading up to the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮), and was held on May 17th in the mountain forests in in Kiso, Nagano Prefecture that are supplying much of the timber for the rebuilding process. It was reported in the 25th May issue of Jinja Shinpō. In Japanese, parts of the name are self-explanatory. “Shiki” is “ceremony”, while “bassai” means “felling (a tree)”, and “gi” is “tree”. “Kari” means “temporary” or “substitute” or “provisional” — it is the character used in the… Read More »Karimihishirogibassaishiki

The Shikinen Sengū Interval

Issue 278 of Shintō Shūkyō included an interesting article speculating on the reasons why the Shikinen Sengū at Isë Jingū is held every twenty years: “The Foundations for Determining the Year for Transfer of a Deity (Sengūshiki): Sakutan usui and the Regulations for Official Storehouses”, by Ōno Yoshiyuki. The Shikinen Sengū is held every twenty years. Today, that means that the last one was in 2013, and the next will be in 2033. Originally, however, the year in which it was held was year one, and it was held again… Read More »The Shikinen Sengū Interval

Photography at Jinja

The new series of Komorebi has started, with a new set of authors. (The authors change every two years.) The May 18th issue of Jinja Shinpō included the first column from Ōmichi Haruka, an assistant professor at Kokugakuin University. She starts by saying that she always finds it difficult to take photographs at jinja and Buddhist temples. She feels that there is something disrespectful about photographing the sacred, whether kami or Buddha, and so she is always a bit reluctant, even though she has permission. She does not think she… Read More »Photography at Jinja