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Jingū

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

Misomayamahajimesai

The Misomahajimesai (御杣始祭), an early ceremony of the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) of Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮), was held on June 3rd, and reported in the 16th June issue of Jinja Shinpō (神社新報). This event marks the beginning of the process of harvesting timber for the Sengū, and took place in Kisodani National Forest (木曽谷国有林) in Nagano Prefecture. I wrote about these forests a few weeks ago. The matsuri was first held in its present form in 1902, in preparation for the 1909 Shikinen Sengū. (The 1953 Sengū was originally scheduled for… Read More »Misomayamahajimesai

Forests for Jingū

The Spring 2025 issue of The Imperial Family (皇室) had a substantial article on the forests from which the wood for the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮) will be harvested. There will be a lot of articles in this magazine on the process, and they come with colour photographs. (On the other hand, most of the magazine is about, well, the Imperial Family. But if you are in Japan and want to get a subscription, they will be delighted — Jinja Honchō (神社本庁) often talks about the need… Read More »Forests for Jingū

Yamaguchisai and Konomotosai

On May 2nd, the first two major matsuri of the 63rd Shikinen Sengū were held: the Yamaguchisai and the Konomotosai. Both of these matsuri are concerned with the timber that will be used in the rebuilding. Before the Yamaguchisai, at 8 am, everyone who would participate in the matsuri paid their respects at Kōtaijingū, the Inner Sanctuary enshrining Amaterasu Ōmikami, and then paid distant reverence to Aramatsuri-no-miya, the highest ranking associated sanctuary, which enshrines Amaterasu Ōmikami’s Aramitama. They then went to a building near the sanctuaries called the Gojōden, for… Read More »Yamaguchisai and Konomotosai

Opinions about Jingū

One of Jinja Honchō’s most consistent policies is the strong promotion of the distribution of Jingū Taima, and Jinja Shinpō’s survey about hatsumōdë specifically asked about it. It is, therefore, not surprising that quite a few priests gave their opinions on this subject in the free response section. If you are a priest at a jinja affiliated with Jinja Honchō, this is a topic that you simply cannot avoid thinking about. As noted at the end of my last post, there are some priests who think that Jinja Honchō should… Read More »Opinions about Jingū

Promoting Jingū

The hatsumōdë survey reported in the 3rd March issue of Jinja Shinpō included quite a few responses from jinja that were taking particular steps to encourage local people to receive Jingū Taima, the ofuda from Isë Jingū. (The previous post talks about the overall state of play there.) In this post, I want to look at some of the things that they are doing. The most common activity is to put up posters or nobori flags, or distribute literature. (Nobori flags are long but narrow flags, hung vertically so that… Read More »Promoting Jingū