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2033 Shikinen Sengū

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

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

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

Silk for Sacred Treasures

In the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮), the rebuilding of the sanctuary buildings gets almost all of the attention. There are a couple of reasons for this, I think. One is that the sanctuary buildings are the only part that visitors can see — although even their visibility is limited. The other is that almost all of the traditional rituals that happen before the transfer itself are connected to rebuilding the sanctuaries, including the ones I have already described on this blog. This indicates that it was always… Read More »Silk for Sacred Treasures

More on Tree Transport

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the delivery of the sacred timber to Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮). However, the July 21st issue of Jinja Shinpō (神社新報) devoted its entire back page to more details of what happened along the way, so I am going to write about it again. There were a lot of matsuri involved. The earlier article covered what happened in Nagano, the starting point for one set of timber. That truck then made its way through Aichi Prefecture, where there were fourteen events and ceremonies along the… Read More »More on Tree Transport

Delivering the Sacred Trees

After the trees that will be used to make the Mihishiro (御樋代) have been felled, they need to be transported to Isë, a couple of hundred kilometres from both the forests where the trees are harvested. Historically, they were floated down the river, and then pulled on carts. These days, most of the journey is done by truck, but there are still a number of ceremonial and celebratory elements, which were reported in the June 23rd issue of Jinja Shinpō. The only departure ceremony described was for the trees felled… Read More »Delivering the Sacred Trees