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David Chart

Heirs to the Jinja

The 1st December issue of Jinja Shinpō contained the new instalment of Revd Tagawa’s column, picking up the story after her marriage. She opens by saying that, ever since she became chief priest at the age of 24, she had worried about who would look after the jinja if she became pregnant and gave birth. And then, almost before she knew it, she was in her thirties, had been married for two years, and the ujiko had started asking whether there were going to be children soon. She was feeling… Read More »Heirs to the Jinja

Kumano Engi

Jinja Shinpō started a new article series in the 24th November issue, in which people will write about items relevant to the history of Shinto held by Kokugakuin and Kōgakkan Universities. This looks interesting, and I may well write about these articles quite frequently. (The plan is one every other week, so I guess one per university per month.) The first article was about an item owned by Kokugakuin University (國學院大學), called Kumano Engi (熊野縁起). This is a pair of picture scrolls, dating from the early Edo period, telling the… Read More »Kumano Engi

Matsuri, Ancient and Modern

The 24th November issue of Jinja Shinpō included two articles about “new” matsuri. One was based at Yoshida Jinja (吉田神社) in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture. The autumn reisai (例祭), Grand Matsuri, is already registered by Mito City as an Intangible Folk Cultural Property, and involves one mikoshi (神輿) and seven dashi (山車) floats processing around the city. However, a couple of centuries ago, back in the Edo period, it also involved taking the kami down the river to the sea. According to the article, this stopped because of an “argument” (quotation… Read More »Matsuri, Ancient and Modern

Imperial Offering

The main news on the front page of the November 17th issue of Jinja Shinpō was that the Tennō (天皇) and Empress have made a personal donation to the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢の神宮). Now, it is true that just about anything Shinto-related that the Tennō does makes the front page of Jinja Shinpō, but this also got an editorial, because it is extremely significant, and not just because it involves both the Tennō and the Shikinen Sengū. There are two aspects to Jingū, as seen by the… Read More »Imperial Offering

Dance for the Kami

The 10th November issue of Jinja Shinpō included two articles that talked about dance offered to the kami, as well as a couple more that mentioned it. Between them, they raise interesting questions of definition. The first was about a set of matsuri praying for recovery that were held in Toyama Prefecture. This area was badly affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake last year, because it is right next to the peninsula. During two of the matsuri, immediately after the norito, Hikari-no-Mai (光舞)  was offered by priests. At one of… Read More »Dance for the Kami

Cat Shrine

Nekogamisha (猫神社), “Cat Shrine” on the signs, is a jinja within the grounds of Sengan’en (仙巌園) in Kagoshima City. This site was the site of one of the residences of the Shimazu lords of this area, and this jinja is connected to one of those lords. According to the explanatory signs in the precincts, the seventeenth Shimazu lord, Shimazu Yoshihiro (1535–1619) took seven cats with him into battle, and distributed them among his troops. This was so that the officers could tell the time by looking at the way the… Read More »Cat Shrine