Mimusubi

In the last couple of weeks it has been reported, both in Jinja Shinpō and in the general media, that a jinja in Kagawa Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, Kotohiragū, has started the process of leaving Jinja Honchō. This is a big story, so I will try to briefly explain its significance. First, Kotohiragū is an important jinja. It is the central jinja for the Konpira tradition, which has jinja across Japan, and is especially associated with travel. Originally, it was most closely associated with sea travel, as the… Read More »Jinja Leaving Honchō

I have just sent an essay about Meiji Jingū to all my patrons (from my Patreon). Meiji Jingū is the largest and (probably) richest jinja in Tokyo, but it is 100 years old this year, making it a very young jinja, as well. It is the most popular site for hatsumōdë, with around three million visitors in the first three days of the New Year, but most people could not tell you which kami is enshrined there. The essay covers both the history and the current situation of the jinja.… Read More »Meiji Jingū Essay

Today, June 30th, is the day of “Nagoshi no Ōharai”, a purification ceremony held all over Japan, with roots going back well over a thousand years. On Sunday, Shin’yūsha, an organisation run by Princess Akiko of Mikasa, ran an online seminar on the subject, which I attended, and that reminded me that I should probably blog about it. The origins of this ritual are not quite as clear as they might be. There were annual purifications held at the Imperial palace, to purify all the Tennō’s ministers and the population… Read More »Summer Purification

Unsurprisingly, the pandemic is still affecting the Shinto world, just like everywhere else, and several articles in Jinja Shinpō are still referring to it. For example, an important annual meeting (of the national association of sōdai) was carried out by sending documents to everyone and having them mail their votes back, and Jinja Honchō is in the process of setting up standards and practices for web meetings, so that they can be incorporated into the organisation’s rules. However, Japan has been moving towards lifting most of the restrictions. At the… Read More »Praying for the Economy

A few weeks ago, Jinja Honchō sent me an interesting leaflet. This leaflet is entitled “Omatsuri no Tebiki”, which means, roughly, “Instructions for Matsuri”. It is directed at sōdai. “Sōdai” means, literally, something like “general representatives”, and it refers to the people who support a jinja, in theory on behalf of all the ujiko, the people who live in the area around the jinja. They tend to be older, and that is how they are drawn in the leaflet. This particular leaflet is particularly for people who are sōdai at… Read More »Instructions for Matsuri

The entrance to nearly all jinja is marked by the traditional torii gate, with the distinctive double lintel. As I have mentioned before, there is no rule for what torii should be made of. Wood is the most traditional material; the most traditional of all is wood with the bark still on. However, stone is also common, as is bronze. Very large torii are often made of steel, and you can get plastic torii, which are very durable, and do not look very plastic. (You can also get plastic torii… Read More »Porcelain Torii