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A Calm Oversight Council

The main annual meeting of Jinja Honchō’s Oversight Council was held on May 21st and 22nd, and reported in the June 1st issue of Jinja Shinpō. As I have reported here, this has tended to be, shall we say, lively in recent years, but this year was, by all reports, very calm. Indeed, the most controversial topic this year was the plan to refurbish the Jinja Honchō headquarters, and that was only discussed in more detail because one of the councillors wanted a bit more clarity on which bits were… Read More »A Calm Oversight Council

The Origins of Shinto Weddings

Issue 279 of the Journal of Shintō Studies (神道宗教) reported on the annual meeting held in 2024. As always, there are a few longer articles based on presentations in the main symposium, and dozens of short pieces reporting on the research of different members of the scholarly association that hosts it, and publishes the journal. As normal, I would like to write about several of the articles, spread over a few posts. First, I want to pick up one talk from the symposium. The theme was “The Media and Religion”,… Read More »The Origins of Shinto Weddings

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