Jingū

The main news on the front page of the November 17th issue of Jinja Shinpō was that the Tennō (天皇) and Empress have made a personal donation to the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢の神宮). Now, it is true that just about anything Shinto-related that the Tennō does makes the front page of Jinja Shinpō, but this also got an editorial, because it is extremely significant, and not just because it involves both the Tennō and the Shikinen Sengū. There are two aspects to Jingū, as seen by the… Read More »Imperial Offering

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

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 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

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