Skip to content

2033 Shikinen Sengū

Funding the Shikinen Sengū

As I have mentioned before, the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮) is funded entirely from private sources. The total budget this time is ¥57.7 billion, or in US terms about the price of a tank of gas $356 million at the moment. Jingū has about ¥38.7 billion on hand or expected over the next seven years, and so it needs to raise around ¥19 billion. To coordinate it, a non-profit organisation (NPO) has been set up, the Isë Jingū Shikinen Sengū Hōsankai. “Hōsankai” means, roughly, “Money-Offering Group”, so… Read More »Funding the Shikinen Sengū

Okihikigyōji — Experience

As I said in the last post, I participated in the Okihikigyōji (御木曳行事) as part of the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮) on June 13th. That post explains what that is, and this post is about my experience of it. There were about 30 of us in the group from Jinja Honchō, including the entire International Section and a reporter from Jinja Shinpō, so I expect there to be an article about the event, although I do not need to consult it this time. Most of us went… Read More »Okihikigyōji — Experience

Okihikigyōji — Background

On June 12th and 13th I had the opportunity to visit Jingū (神宮) in Isë and participate in the Okihikigyōji (御木曳行事). Translated literally, that is something like “Honourable Tree-Pulling Formal Event”, which is obviously a terrible translation. I have already written about the ceremony held to mark the start of these events, and the reason I said I would write about the events themselves later was that I knew I was going to be participating. In this post, I will write about the background to the tradition, and explain its… Read More »Okihikigyōji — Background

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

Kozukuri Hajimesai

The next of the important ceremonies in the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮) took place on April 21st, and was reported in the May 4th issue of Jinja Shinpō. This was the Kozukuri Hajimesai (木造始祭), or “matsuri for the beginning of making the wood”. This is one of the ceremonies for which the date and time are decided by the Tennō, meaning that it is one of the most central. (There are records from a couple of centuries ago of discussions back and forth over the best day… Read More »Kozukuri Hajimesai

Okihiki Zomëshiki

The 63rd Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮) continues, with another important event in mid April. This was reported on the front and back pages of the April 27th issue of Jinja Shinpō and addressed in the editorial. As you might guess from the title of this post, this event is called the “Okihiki Zomëshiki” (御木曳初式). Literally translated, this means something like “ceremony for the beginning of pulling the exalted trees”. You may remember that there have already been two ceremonies involving the pulling of trees, for the Mihishiro… Read More »Okihiki Zomëshiki