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David Chart

Shikariwakë Jinja

At the weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in a matsuri at Shikariwakë Jinja (website in Japanese only) in Shiwa, Iwatë Prefecture. The jinja is also known as Akaishi (“Red Rock”) Jinja, because it is red, and has a rock in it. This is the red rock. The information board behind it is, unfortunately, forty years old, and virtually illegible. After the mikoshi procession, I saw children throwing stones and trying to land them on top of the rock. This sort of thing is common, and the idea is… Read More »Shikariwakë Jinja

Purification and Wolves

Princess Akiko (彬子女王) has just published a new book, The Shape of Prayer (Inori no Katachi, イノリノカタチ). It is only available in Japanese, and the link is an affiliate link because it might as well be. This book is another collection of the essays that she has published in the magazine Waraku (和楽) which has a lot of interesting articles about traditional Japanese art and culture. I would read it if I had more free time. It is also the sort of publication that carries adverts for $50,000 watches, so… Read More »Purification and Wolves

Uses for Money

A week ago, I wrote about the budget for the Shikinen Sengū — ¥57.7 billion, or about $375 million. One of my readers asked if there weren’t better things to spend that much money on. The answer has three parts. First, as far as the Shinto community is concerned, the answer is “No”. The point of Shinto is to perform matsuri for the kami, and the Shikinen Sengū is one of the most important matsuri, the most important according to many. Thus, from the Shinto perspective, there is nothing better… Read More »Uses for Money

Summer Ebisu

The August 18th issue of Jinja Shinpō included an article about a summer matsuri at Nishinomiya (“Western Sanctuary”) Jinja (西宮神社) in Nishinomiya City, Hyōgo Prefecture. (The jinja is named after the city. “Nishinomiya” was originally applied to a group of jinja around Hirota Jinja (廣田神社), or to Hirota Jinja itself depending on the source you read, because they were (and are) to the west of Kyoto. It seems that the name was formally applied to the area in which this jinja is sited, and that it took its name from… Read More »Summer Ebisu

The Shikinen Sengū Budget

The August 11th issue of Jinja Shinpō (神社新報) had a front page article about the first meeting of the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) committee. This committee has 33 members, and exists to provide Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮) with advice on important questions concerning the Shikinen Sengū — the rebuilding of the sanctuaries, recreation of the sacred treasures, and transfer of the kami that has taken place every twenty years for the last 1300 (with occasional interruptions and delays due to war). One of the main concerns of this committee is fund raising,… Read More »The Shikinen Sengū Budget

The Miko Experience

The August 4th issue of Jinja Shinpō included an article about a one-day miko (巫女) experience event organised by Okayama Prefectural Jinjachō. The event took place at Funakawa Hachimangū (船川八幡宮) and was open to any woman, not just those already associated with a jinja or from the local area. The Jinjachō started organising these in 2018, but because the pandemic interrupted, this year’s was the fifth. The goal is to increase people’s familiarity with jinja, and it is held at a different jinja every time. The day started with a… Read More »The Miko Experience