Kashima Shrine

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kashima Shrine (Kashima jinguu)

***** Location: Ibaraki
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Observance

*****************************
Explanation

Kashima Shrine 鹿島神宮 Kashima Jingu

This shrine is dedicated to the deity

Tekemikazuchi standing on a catfish

Takemikazuchi no mikoto (武甕槌大神)
Kashima Daijin (鹿島大神) "Great God at Kashima".
a patron of the martial arts.

In the precincts ther is a famous training hall (doojoo) for martial arts, especially sword fighting (kendoo　剣道).

The "Great God of Kashima" rode on a white deer from Kashima all the way to the Kasuga shrine in Nara as a divine messenger, and the deer became the symbol of Nara.
The Kasuga Deer Mandala tells the story.


Kashima Deer, Photo from Rob Geraghty

Look at more
. . .Japan Photos from Rob Geraghty

Thank you, Rob, for sharing your photos!
Rob lived in Kashima for quite a while in 2002.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

kigo for the New Year




Kashima no kotobure 鹿島の事触 (かしまのことぶれ)
Kashima diviners, itinerant priests
..... kotobure 言触（ことぶれ）

36 people walk around the villages and shout the outcome of the divination at the shrine Kashima (鹿島神宮), which occured on January 4.
see below

.................................................................................





. . hakubasai, hakuba sai 白馬祭（はくばさい）
Festival of the White Horse 　

If you see a white horse during the New Year celebrations, you will live a long life and ward off evil for the coming year and stay healthy. Therefore shrines with a white horse make a parade for all to see the animal.
In Kashima, they parade seven white horses. If you pick up a small stone where the horses walked or have your hankerchief trodden on, this will bring your love to fulfillment.
On this day, white sweet ricewine (amazake) and porridge of seven herbs is also served.



Ema votive tablet from Katori shrine 香取神宮

. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

kigo for mid-spring



Kashima Saitoosai 鹿島祭頭祭 (かしまさいとうさい)
Kashima Saito-Sai Festival

March 9

The Saito Sai dates back more than 1200 years to the Nara Period (710 to 794). Soldiers called sakimori 防人 were sent off to do duty in far-away Kyushu. Before leaving, they gathered at Kashima Jingu to offer prayers for victory in battle and a safe journey. Many people paraded through the streets to see them off and wish them well. Lately this has become a wild parade through the city.

Now the festival is held to pray for a good harvest of the five crops, rice, wheat, beans, foxtail millet and egg millet. Officials in traditional garb with sashes to hold back the long sleeves in the five colors representing these crops parade through the street.

Others with long poles jump around a drummer, dance and sing the special festival song "Soranbushi ソーラン節". There are many wild groups of this kind, all in different colored robes.

. Reference


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

kigo for early autumn




Kashima matsuri 鹿島祭 (かしままつり)
Kashima Festival
Kashima goshinkoosai 鹿島御神幸祭（かしまごしんこうさい）


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

observance kigo for the New Year

Hitachi obi no shinji 常陸帯の神事 (ひたちおびのしんじ)
Hitachi Belt Ceremony
Hitachi obi no matsuri 常陸帯の祭（ひたちおびのまつり）
Hitachi obi 常陸帯（ひたちおび）"Belt from Hitachi"
Kashima no obi 鹿島の帯（かしまのおび）"Belt from Kashima"
enmusubi no shinji 縁結び神事（えんむすびしんじ）
ceremony for finding a partner

On the 10th day of the first lunar month.
It is customary for a young girl to present a girdle to the Gods of Kashima and wish for a good partner in life. They would write the name of their future husband on the belt and hope for the Deities to tie the knot for them.

This dates back to Emperess Jingu Kogo and her belt during pregnancy.

. Jingu Kogo 神功皇后 and Japanese Dolls .


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



quote
Kashima Shinko 鹿島信仰

It is possible to think of Kashima faith as the sect based at Kashima Jingū in Kashima-machi, Ibaraki Prefecture, but it can broadly be divided into beliefs related to water, "tutelary of roads" (sae no kami 障の神（さえのかみ）), and Kashima shrines. Many regions and shrines bear the name "Kashima," and since these are usually found in river, stream, lake, or swamp areas, we can assume that the origins of Kashima faith are profoundly connected with water.

Images of sae no kami are called Kashima dolls, straw dolls, Shōkisama, and dōsojin, among other names. Most of these images are very large, made of straw, and are characterized by their exposed sexual organs. They protected village borders from the invasion of "plague kami" (ekishin) and were prayed to in order to ensure safety or prosperity. In some regions, during the Kashima Festival dolls are placed in "Kashima boats" and sent out to sea in order to send ekishin away.

According to the Hitachi no kuni fudoki, the "enshrined kami" (saijin) at Kashima Jingū in Kashimamachi, Ibaraki Prefecture is "Kashimanoama no ōkami," but there are many documents, including the Kojiki, which record the saijin as Takemikadsuchi no kami. The latter is worshipped at the first shrine within Kasuga Taisha, and was exalted to a "kami of the nation" (kokkashin) when the imperial court expanded into the Tōgoku region.

In the Heian Period, the Jinmyōchō section of the Engishiki records that "spirit emanations" (bunrei) of the Kashima kami and "honorable child kami" (mikogami) were enshrined in Mutsu no kuni, indicating that the cult may have spread in connection with the government’s expansion into the Tōhoku area.

Even into the early modern period, the distribution of Kashima emblems (shinsatsu) by itinerant Kashima priests called kotobure was a means of spreading the Kashima cult among the common people. The popularity of the "three-shrine pilgrimage" that included Katori, Kashima and Ikisu was the result of the development of inland waterway transport on the Tonegawa and other rivers, and is also related to the growing economic status of the Edo populace.

The ritual of "hitachiobi 常陸帯 " on January 14 at Kashima Shrine became widely known, being mentioned in The Tale of Genji and in a yōkyoku (Noh script).

From the medieval period, the virtues of Kashima were "preached" (shōdō ) by traveling monks. This can be inferred by the inclusion of the chapters "Kashima Daimyōjin" and "Kasuga Daimyōjin no koto" in the Shintoshū. The Hachimangū dōkun (also read dōkin) and various Hachiman "origin legends" (engi) include a story where the Kashima kami is equated with Azumi no isora and a legend about Shioyaki Bunta. Shioyaki Bunta is also the protagonist of the otogi-zōshi tale "Bunshō sōshi," but the Hachiman legend comes from a separate tradition. These stories spread through the preaching of low-ranking religious leaders and Zenkōji hijiri.

The "Kashima odori" performed in the western area of Sagami Bay involved dancing while dressed up as Kashima no kotobure, who would travel around distributing takusen of good or bad fortune and amulets. The dance may have originated at Kashima Shrine. There is also a legend about a "keystone" (kaname ishi) within the shrine precincts that the kami of Kashima uses to restrain a tremendous fish under the earth, whose movement causes earthquakes.
Thus, Kashima is also famous for its cult of warding off earthquakes.
source : Nogami Takahiro / Kokugakuin University.


常陸国鹿島神社 Hitachi no Kuni, Kashima Jinja


*****************************
Worldwide use


*****************************
Things found on the way

米倉鹿嶋神社 献饌行事　Yonekura-kashima-jinja Kensen-gyouji　
The Kensen Ritual at Yonekura Kashima Shrine

The Kensen Ritual is performed on September 9 to 10 every year at Kashima Shrine in the Yonekura area in Osaki City, the rice producing center of Miyagi Prefecture, where famous rice brands such as Sasanishiki and Hitomebore were born.

Kensen is a Shinto ritual of offering food to the god.
It is performed before a shrine priest offers a prayer. As the oldest and most historic shrine in Osaki City, this ritual had been performed by the descendants of the vassals of the Osaki clan (a branch of the Ashikaga clan, who were descended from Seiwa Genji) until the end of World War II. Today it is performed by the hands of local people.

On the first day, the first rice ear of the season is offered to the god in appreciation for a rich harvest. Then, it is followed by other rites and ends with Naorai (banquet), in which holy sake wine and votive offerings are served to the participants. The finale of the festival is the parade of Mikoshi performed on the second day. This solemn ritual is prefecturally designated as an intangible folk cultural property (manners and customs).

Kashima Castle
was located in Shiroyama, Kashima City, Ibaraki Pref. It was built by Kashima Masamiki in the Kamakura period (1192-1333). The Kashima clan was appointed as Sodaigyoji-shoku (general director of rituals) in 1368. Since then the family was called by this title and gained prosperity.

Kashima Shrine Festivals and Kagura Dance
source : nipponkichi.jp


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




Kashima Torii 鹿島鳥居 Kashima Shrine Gate
a type of 神明鳥居 Shinmei torii, a rather simple form without an incline or secondary lintel. The topmost lintel is round and longer than the two pillars.
Another sample is at Katori Jinguu 香取神宮.

. Torii 鳥居
The Gate of a Shinto Shrine 　

Katori Shrine sells this :
. amulet against sainan 災難除守 misfortune and disaster .

.................................................................................


. Anzan, Talismans for easy delivery
One very famous historical Anzan Talisman in the shape of a crystal pearl was used by Fujiwara no Ishii 藤原威子 and then donated in 1034 to Kashima Shrine, later it was also used by Emperess Jingu Kogo 神功皇后 Jinguu Koogoo.
　
　
.................................................................................



source : 20century.blog2 地震錦絵


. Earthquake myths about Kashima 　

A giant catfish (namazu) lived in mud beneath the earth. The catfish liked to play pranks and could only be restrained by Kashima, a deity who protected the Japanese people from earthquakes. So long as Kashima kept a mighty rock with magical powers over the catfish, the earth was still. But when he relaxed his guard, the catfish thrashed about, causing earthquakes.


.................................................................................


. Yamaoka Tesshu 山岡鉄舟
His father was a retainer of the Tokugawa Government and his mother was the daughter of a Shinto priest from Kashima Shrine.




Tsukahara Bokuden 塚原卜伝
1489 - March 6, 1571
a famous swordsman of the early Sengoku period. He was widely regarded as a kensei (sword saint). He was the founder of a new Kashima style of fencing, and served as an instructor of Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Ise provincial governor Tomonori Kitabatake.
... He later systematized the teaching of the Kashima area's local martial arts, including such approaches to combat as Kashima no tachi and Ichi no tachi. After allegedly receiving a divine inspiration from Takemikazuchi no kami, the deity of Kashima Shrine, he named his martial system as Kashima Shintō-ryū. He also, for a brief period, called his system Mutekatsu-ryū ("winning without hands").
He died of natural causes in 1571. His grave, in Suka, Japan where Baikouji once stood, is a kind of pilgrimage site for those devoted to Japanese sword-fighting arts (kenjutsu).
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


*****************************
HAIKU


Matsuo Basho, 1687

此松の実生せし代や神の秋
kono matsu no mibae seshi yo ya kami no aki

this old pine
sprouted in the age of gods -
autumn of the Gods


. A Visit to the Kashima Shrine
(Kashima Kiko 鹿島紀行) .


Even a sake ricewine is named after Basho ! Cheers !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


白梅や香取鹿島を一日に
hakubai ya Natori Kashima o ichinichi ni

these white plum blossoms -
Natori, Kashima
visited in one day

Nomura Kishuu 野村喜舟 (1886 - 1983)


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


晩稲よき鹿島のふれも噂かな
oshine yoki Kashima no fure mo uwasa kana

late rice plants -
the predictions from Kashima
are just some gossip

Takada Chooi 高田蝶衣 (1886. 1.30 - 1930. 9.23)


*****************************
Related words

***** . Nai no kami 地震神 God of Earthquakes 　


BACK : Top of this Saijiki

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::