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David Chart

Yasukuni in Autumn

From October 17th to 19th, Yasukuni Jinja (靖國神社) held its Autumn Grand Festival (秋季例大祭 , Shūki Reitaisai). This festival is held every year, and is one of the three main events in the jinja’s ritual year, along with the Spring Grand Festival and the anniversary of the end of the War of Greater East Asia, August 15th. Jinja Shinpō always covers it, because the rituals at Yasukuni Jinja are very important to the Shinto establishment, and as this year is the 80th anniversary of the end of the war even… Read More »Yasukuni in Autumn

Dance Lessons

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the creation and introduction of two sacred dances, called “Saishimai (祭祀舞)”, for performance at jinja. These dances, Asahi-no-mai (朝日舞) and Toyosaka-no-mai (豊栄舞), were designed for priests rather than miko, and are designed to be performed by a single dancer, although Toyosaka-no-mai can also be performed in a pair or a group of four. Asahi-no-mai is known as “the chief priest’s dance” (Gūji-no-mai (宮司舞)), so I think that may be specifically designed for one person. The 13th October issue of Jinja Shinpō included an… Read More »Dance Lessons

Mifunashirosai

The September 29th issue of Jinja Shinpō had an article on the front page about the next major matsuri in the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮), the Mifunashirosai (御船代祭). This is another matsuri for which the Tennō (天皇) sets the date, and it was performed on September 17th at the Inner Sanctuary (Naikū, 内宮), and on the 19th at the Outer Sanctuary (Gekū, 外宮). The Mifunashiro is the box that contains the box that contains the object, the goshintai (御神体), housing the kami. I think the Minfunashiro is… Read More »Mifunashirosai

Building Ceremony in Thailand

The 15th September issue of Jinja Shinpō included an article about a ceremony to pray for safety during the construction of a hotel. Such ceremonies are common, but it is less common for there to be an article about them. This ceremony, however, took place in Thailand. This was connected to Sriracha Okuni Jinja, about which I have written before. I said then that I did not think it had a resident priest, and this article confirms this impression, because the matsuri was carried out by priests from Okuni Jinja… Read More »Building Ceremony in Thailand

Long-Distance Relationship

Revd Tagawa’s series of columns about her career as a priest continued in the 15th September issue of Jinja Shinpō. In her previous column, she talked about the success of a crowdfunding campaign, and as a result of that people had started to visit the jinja from outside Saga Prefecture. She had just started to work on expanding the range of omamori and such when the pandemic hit. The precincts were quickly empty again, and Revd Tagawa wondered whether the jinja would go back to the way it was. At… Read More »Long-Distance Relationship

Depopulation Survey

On August 8th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism published a survey on depopulation, and Jinja Shinpō published an article about it in the 1st September issue. (Yes, I have got a bit behind.) While this is not directly about Shinto, it is of great interest to many priests, as this is the most pressing threat to the survival of jinja across Japan. Put briefly, it is very hard for a jinja to survive if no-one lives nearby. The survey was about “shūraku” (集落), which is a term… Read More »Depopulation Survey