Showing posts with label Tokyo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tokyo. Show all posts

1/04/2012

Handa Inari Festivals Gannin

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Handa Inari Shrine Festivals
半田稲荷神社 



東京都葛飾区東金町4-28-22 Tokyo, Katsushika

Many people come here to pray for an easy delivery (anzan 安産).


The main festival is on the first Sunday in April.

The main attractins are a parade of fox masks and of
gannin boozu mendikant street performers.

They wear red robes and a read headgear and carry a red flag with the name of Handa The Fox Deity 半田の稲荷大明神. In the other hand they have a bell to ring constantly.
Thus they ward off the evil influence of the gods of illness, especially smallpox in the Edo period.
Parentw with little children give them some money and they will perform prayers for protection.
On auspicious situations they performed dances, even comic kyogen performances.




Look at many photos here
source : rekishi-roman.jp


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source : tetsuyosie




君に代わってお参り引き受けちゃうよー

という商売の願人坊主。

On behalf of someone who can not do it himself
they perform ritual dances or visit a shrine or
recite prayers to take on the illness of a person.


source : piasi69


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gannin, ganjin 願人 street performers
..... ganninboo 願人坊
..... gannin boozu 願人坊主 mendicant monks
petitioned monks, itinerant monks,
fund- raising priests during the Tokugawa period,
even earlier in the Azuchi-Momoyama period

They started from Mount Kurama in Kyoto and from this shrine in Edo and soon were popular all over Japan, taking on illness from the people.


There is also a Kabuki play where
Bando Mitsugoro 坂東三津五郎 appears as a Gannin Bozu.


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The Actor Onoe Matsusuke I
as a Mendicant Monk (Gannin Bozu)
in the Play Keisei Ide no Yamabuki,
Performed at the Nakamura Theater in the Fifth Month, 1787, c. 1787

by Katsukawa Shunko (1743-1812)
source : Art Institute Chikago


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A catfish posing for Gannin Bozu

鯰;ナマズ,願人坊主;ガンニンボウズ,
閻魔の子;エンマノコ,地蔵の子;ジゾウノコ



願人坊主の扮装をして、右手に銭錫杖、左手に扇子を持った鯰がちょぼくれ節をうたっている。鯰の体は人間のもので、腕には刺青がある。
その右側に肌が赤く、閻魔の扮装をした子供が歩いている。着物の柄は蓮の葉。左側に肌が墨色で額に白毫のある地蔵のような子供が竹馬に乗っている。竹馬の一方は、先に錫杖がついている。着物の柄は蓮の花びら。

国際日本文化研究センター
source : www.nichibun.ac.jp

The catfish has the body of a human, with a tatoo on the arm.
He holds a special stick in one hand and a red folding fan in the other.


zeni shakujoo 銭錫杖 "money stick"



A small "hand stick" 手錫杖 made from bamboo, with a split side.
Some coins with a hole are hung on a thin string. If the stick is shaken, it makes a sound like chari-chari チャリチャリ.

This stick is used when dancing to make an accompaning sound, for example the chobokure dance チョボクレ.
source : kabuki - mitsugoro


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Ehon Hayabiki - Illustrations from Edo
画本(えほん) 早引(はやびき) - 画本早引
葛飾北斎 Katsushika Hokusai







8 半田稲荷 Handa Inari
東京都葛飾区にある。創建は和銅とも永久年間とも。子供の疱瘡、麻疹、安産祈願の参詣が多く、江戸中期 願人坊主 という者「葛西金町半田の稲荷、疱瘡もかるい、麻疹もかるい、運授・安産御守護の神よ」と節面白く謡江戸市中から全国を謡い踊り歩いたと伝えられる。
source : ehonhayabikiue



. Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) 葛飾北斎 .


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The Arts of the Gannin

Abstract
Popular religion in Tokugawa Japan (1603- 1868) was supported by the efforts of many mendicant monk-like figures who provided the populace with prayers, invocations, and talismans, as well as with dancing, music and recitations.
One of the best known types of such monk-performers was the gannin bozu, who was affiliated, at least nominally, with the Kurama temple near Kyoto.
Gannin art, remnants of which can still be found throught Japan, were highly heterogenous, some were associated with Buddhism, others with Shinto, yet others were entirely secular in nature.

Read the full text here (PDF):
source : Gerald Groemer, Yamanashi
Asian Folklore Studies, Volume 58,1999: 275-320

some vocabulary

chobokure ちょぼくれ Chobokure music
chongare ちょんがれ Chongare music

dai gori 代垢離 proxy water ablutions
dai mairi 代参り proxy pilgrimage

hifu 秘符 secret charms and amulets

Kurama gannin 鞍馬願人 Gannin from Kurama mountain

shokyoo koodan 緒経口談 explaining sutras

Sumiyoshi odori 住吉踊り Sumiyoshi dance, Osaka
... kojiki hooshi 乞食法師 beggar monks from Sumiyoshi
. WKD - Sumiyoshi dance and rice planting ritual .



sutasutaboozu, sutasuta boozu すたすた坊主 monks wearing only a string loincloth in the cold, ascets of the Edo period


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. Kurama in Kyoto 鞍馬山 .


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Things found on the way



. Inari Shrines and Amulets .


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HAIKU




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Related words

. Fox Shrine Festival (Inari Matsuri) .


Street performances 大道芸人  daidoo geinin
. Dengaku mai 田楽舞 Dengaku dance .


. Chindonya ちんどん屋 street musician .
commercial street band


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan . 

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12/20/2011

Tokyo metropolis

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. Regional Festivals - From Hokkaido to Okinawa .

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Tokyo Metropolis - 東京都

one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan.

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


. Tokyo - Entries of this BLOG .

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. Gojoo tenjin mairi 五条天神参 (ごじょうてんじんまいり)
visiting Gojo-Tenjin, Ueno .



. Meguro Sanma Matsuri 目黒さんま祭り Sanma (saury fish) festival in Meguro .


. sumomo matsuri すもも祭 (すももまつり)
Sumomo plum festival .

Fuchu, 大国魂神社 Okunitama Jinja



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. Tokyo literary festival .
Spring 2013
- and "Read Japan"
David Karashima


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External LINKS :

Go Tokyo 2013

January
The New Year's Fire Review(Dezome-shiki) (1.6)
Tondo-yaki (1.8)
Manaita Biraki (First Cutting Board Ceremony) (1.12)
Daikoku Matsuri (1.14 - 1.15)
Usokae Shinji (Bullfinch exchange) Ritual (1.24 - 1.25)
Izu Oshima Tsubaki Matsuri (Camellia) Festival (1.27 - 3.24)
Hatsu Fudo (Daruma Doll Fair) (1.28)
Hatsumode (2013.1.1)

Feburary
Ukera Shinto Ritual (2.3)
Bunkyo Ume Matsuri (Plum Festival) (Early-2 - Early-3)
Kite Market (Early-2 - Mid-2)
Yoshino Baigo Plum Festival (Late-2 - Late-3)
Setagaya Ume Matsuri (Plum Festival) (2013.2.9 - 2013.3.3)
Tokyo Marathon 2013 (2013.2.24)

source : www.gotokyo.org


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Japanese festivals and fairs in and around Tokyo

The Japanese festival information was compiled in cooperation with the Tourist Information Center of the Japan National Tourist Organization.
source : www.japantimes.co.jp


Asakusa Event Calender

source : www.asakusa-umai.ne.jp


- Reference -

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Related words





. - - - Welcome to Edo 江戸 ! .


. Regional Folk Toys from Japan - GANGU . 

. Regional Dishes from Japan - WASHOKU .


. - - - Welcome to Edo 江戸 !- - - .

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7/16/2011

Hie Shrine Festival Sanno

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. Hie Jinja 日枝神社 Legends .
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Hie Shrine Festival (Hie Jinja Sairei)

***** Location: Tokyo
***** Season: Mid-Summer
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

Hie Jinja sairei 日枝神社祭礼 (ひえじんじゃさいれい)
main festival at Hie shrine

Sannoo matsuri 山王祭(さんのうまつり)Sanno festival
tenka matsuri 天下祭(てんかまつり)"greatest festival under the sky"
(Festival where even the Shogun (Tenka) comes to visit)

June 14 to June 16
June 16 is the main festival day.

CLICK For more photos

The parade of this festival was so well loved in Edo that even the Shogun came to visit.
Even today, more than 5000 people with floats and portable mikoshi take place.
On the high floats all kinds of historical persons are seated in spectacular robes.
In 1889, the parade included 100 huge floats.

The parade walks from Hibiya park toward the Imperial Palace (the former seat of the Shogun).




Hie Shrine, also called Hiyoshi Shrine.

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quote
The Hie Jinja Shrine (Tokyo) is dedicated to Sanno Gongen (山王権現), which translates literally as "Mountain King Avatar" of Sannoo, the deity who dwells on Mt. Hiei between Kyoto and Lake Biwa.
This is also the home mountain of the Japanese Tendai Sect. Many of Japan's 3,800 Hie Jinja shrines are built in proximity to Tendai temples, and serve to protect these temples. The monkeys -- especially the female -- are considered the patrons of harmonious marriage and safe childbirth.

SANNO GONGEN 山王権現
SARUGAMI 猿神

Monkeys are patrons of harmonious marriage and safe childbirth at some of the 3,800 Hie Jinja shrines in Japan. ... The monkey is Sannou's Shinto messenger (tsukai 使い) and Buddhist avatar (gongen 権現).
Sarugami is the Shinto deity to whom the three monkeys (hear, speak, see no evil) are reportedly faithful.
source : Mark Schumacher

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. Kawase Hasui 川瀬巴水 (1883 - 1957) .
woodblock print maker


After Rain at Sanno Shrine


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Look at some splendid photos !
source : wadaphoto.jp



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HAIKU


我らまで天下祭や山車ぐるま  
warera made tenkasai ya dashiguruma

we are all part
of this
tenka festival -
these huge floats


. Enomoto Kikaku 榎本其角
Takarai Kikaku 宝井其角 . (1661-1707)




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Related words

***** . Sannoo matsuri 山王祭 (さんのうまつり) Sanno Festival
Hiyoshi matsuri 日吉祭(ひよしまつり) Hiyoshi festival
at Hiyoshi Taisha in Otsu, Shiga.
and
Numazu Hie-jinja 沼津 日枝神社 Hie Shrine in Numazu


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7/07/2011

Shinagawa Festival

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. Places and powerspots of Edo .
. Shinagawa ku 品川区 "goods river" .
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Shinagawa festival (Shinagawa matsuri)

***** Location: Shinagawa, Tokyo
***** Season: Mid-Summer
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation



Shinagawa matsuri 品川祭 (しながわまつり)
Shinagawa festival

Shinagawa Ten-Oo matsuri
品川天王祭(しながわてんのうまつり)
Shinagawa Ten-O festival

Shinagawa kappa matsuri
品川河童祭(しながわかっぱまつり)
Shinagawa kappa festival

Weekend close to June 7
for three days

. Kappa, the Water Goblin .

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This is the main festival at the
shrine Shinagawa jinja 品川神社 and the
shrine Ebara jinja 荏原神社


They are both dedicated to the "Deity of the Sky", Ten-o 天王.
Shinagawa Jinja is also called the shrine of the Ten-o of the North 北の天王,
while Ebara Jinja is the one of the South 南の天王.





At this festival, the most spectacular event is mikoshi palanquins of the gods being carried around. It is carried down the very steep stairs and then back up in the evening after making its way through the town.


This parade is accompanied by the beat of the Shinagawa byoshi 品川拍子 rhythm.
Rhythmic music is played during the parade from Shinagawa shrine and Ebara jinja.
The instruments of this group include the snare drum (shime daiko 締太鼓), beaten with bamboo sticks, and the bamboo flute (shinobue 篠笛).

The festival at the shrine Ebara Jinja is often held before, on the last weekend in May. At the end, after a parade from the Susaki bridge to Odaiba, the large mikoshi is carried into the sea as an offering to the God of Water. This part is the "Kappa Matsuri", Festival of the Water Goblin.

CLICK for more photos
Kappa Festival


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


. Shinagawa ward 品川区 "goods river" district .


CLICK for more photos

. The 53 stations of the Tokaido .
東海道五十三次
1. Shinagawa-juku 品川宿 (Shinagawa)


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HAIKU


海暮れて品川祭人出急
umi kurete Shinagawa matsuri hitode iso

getting darker at the sea -
more and more people hurry along
to the Shinagawa festival


Izawa Masae 井沢正江


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Related words

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- #shinagawa -
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5/05/2011

Fuchu Festival

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Fuchu Festival (Fuchuu matsuri)

***** Location: Tokyo
***** Season: Early Summer
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

Fuchuu matsuri 府中祭 (ふちゅうまつり)
Fuchu Festival


May 5 at the shrine Ookunitama 大国魂神社 Okunitama Jinja
3-1,Miya-Machi,Fuchu-Shi,Tokyo



. . . CLICK here for Photos of the Shrine!

rokusho matsuri 六所祭(ろくしょまつり)
"festival at six places"
Fuchuu yami matsuri 府中闇祭(ふちゅうやみまつり)
Fuchu festival in the dark, Fuchu Kurayami Festival
..... Fuchuu kurayami matsuri 府中暗闇祭(ふちゅうくらやみまつり)
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Fuchuu kenka matsuri 府中喧嘩祭(ふちゅうけんかまつり)
Fuchu fighting festival

This used to be the main shrine of the Musashino plain and six regional shrines have their representative shrine halls there too. This was called

rokusho myoojin 六所明神 Deities from six places

During the festival, these six deities are placed on a mikoshi sacred palanquin each. They are paraded around from midnight on in the pitchdark, since all the homes on the roadside have to turn off their lights. On the way back to the shrine from the "tabisho" station, the mikoshi carriers sway back and forth and rub each other in a virtual "fight".


This shrine was established more than 1900 years ago. It is well known to host the gods for good fortune and marriage ties. From the city of Fuchu an avenue of zelkova trees of about 700 meters leads to the shrine.




ema votive tablet from the shrine, depicting the procession of the
yamiyo matsuri 闇夜祭り night festival.

. Amulets and Talismans from Japan . 


. Atariya 当たり矢 amulet arrow to hit good luck .

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quote
Fuchū (府中市, Fuchū-shi) is a city located in western Tokyo Metropolis, Japan.
The city is located 20 km west of central Tokyo.
The government of ancient Musashi Province was established in Fuchū by the Taika Reform, and the city prospered as the local center of politics, economy, and culture. It prospered as a post town on the Kōshū Highway in the Edo period, and the Kita Tama District public office was placed here after the start of the Meiji era.
1602: The Fuchū post-town was established with the upgrading of the Kōshū-dochu road (Kōshū Highway).
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Okuninushi no ema 大国主命の絵馬 votive tablet


Okuninushi, Daikoku and the White Rabbit of Inaba
. Amulets and Talismans from Japan . 


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


At the shrine Iwaki Okunitama Jinja  いわき大国魂神社



Gomottomo sama 御神体「ごもっともさま」
福島県いわき市平菅波字宮前54
source : www.kuniomi.gr.jp


go-mottomo 御尤 is a normal expression in daily conversation, it simply means "you are absolutely right".


Go-Mottomo Sama is celebrated in many shrines throughout Japan as a symbol of male fertility.

The female symbol of Go-Mottomo Sama is a square wooden box (masu) filled with beans.

quote
Gomottomosama is the vernacular name for the February setsubun festival that is held at Mitsumine Jinja in Ōtaki Village, Chichibu County, Saitama Prefecture.
A ritual bean scattering takes place in the haiden on the day before the calendrical beginning of spring (setsubun no hi).
Toshiotoko (men born under the same sign of the Chinese zodiac as the current year, or men who are in their yakudoshi, or unlucky year), carry a measuring cup (masu) filled with lucky beans in one hand and a wooden pole or pestle eighty centimeters in length in the other.
When they appear, the waiting people shout,
"Akuma taisan, banpuku shōrai
(Evil spirits begone! Great fortune begin!),"

at which point the men respond with a chorus of "Gomottomosama," and scatter the beans with their pestles.
Also, there is a setsubun purification ceremony (tsuinashiki) and a performance of the mikomai and yamatomai dances.
source : Mogi Sakae



. . . CLICK here for Photos !


This shrine also houses the "six places" rokushoguu 六所宮 (rokusho no miya) for the old province of Mutsu.


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Yaegaki Shrine (八重垣神社, Yaegaki Jinja)
. Yaegaki, Susanoo and Fertility .



. Ooyamato Jinja 大和神社 Oyamato Jinja .
Nara
Yamato no Ookuni Tama no Kami 倭大国魂神
Okunitama no Kami


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HAIKU


府中祭頬紅淡く掃いてきぬ
Fuchuusai hoobeni atsuku haite kinu

Fuchu Festival -
thick rouge brushed
on her cheeks


Nakamura Ami 中村阿弥
source : tsuru/kukai

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Related words

***** .Honen Matsuri (Hoonen Matsuri 豊年祭)  
The Penis Festival at shrine Tagata Jinja 田県神社


***** . Nada Fighting Festival (Nada no Kenka Matsuri)   



***** . sumomo matsuri すもも祭 (すももまつり)
Sumomo plum festival
 
karasu uchiwa 烏団扇(からすうちわ)"craw fan"
July 20 at the shrine Ookunitama 大国魂神社 Okunitama Jinja


***** . WKD : Musashino Plain 武蔵野 .


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4/22/2011

Yasukuni Shrine

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Yasukuni Shrine Festival

***** Location: Tokyo, Japan
***** Season: Late Spring
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

Yasukuni matsuri 靖国祭 (やすくにまつり)
Yasukuni shrine festival

Shookonsai 招魂祭(しょうこんさい)
Shokonsai, "soul summoning rite", "spirit inviting rite"

April 21 till 23
Shunki Reitaisai (Annual Spring Festival)

Purification ritual in the afternoon of 21.
Official prayers for the Dead on 22.


Yasukuni Shrine 靖国神社 Yasukuni Jinja
is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan.
Currently, its Symbolic Registry of Divinities lists the names of over 2,466,000 enshrined men and women whose lives were dedicated to the service of Imperial Japan, particularly to those killed in wartime. It also houses one of the few Japanese war museums dedicated to World War II. There are also commemorative statues to mothers and animals who sacrificed in the war.
The shrine has attracted controversy for enshrining a number of war criminals from the Second World War.


Yasukuni is a shrine to house the actual souls of the dead as kami, or "spirits/souls" as loosely defined in English. It is believed that all negative or evil acts committed are absolved when enshrinement occurs. This activity is strictly a religious matter since the separation of State Shinto and the Japanese government in 1945.

The priesthood at the shrine has complete religious autonomy to decide to whom and how enshrinement may occur. They believe that enshrinement is permanent and irreversible. According to Shinto beliefs, by enshrining kami, Yasukuni Shrine provides a permanent residence for the spirits of those who have fought on behalf of the Emperor.
Yasukuni has all enshrined kami occupying the same single seat. The shrine is dedicated to give peace and rest to all those enshrined there.
It was the only place to which the Emperor of Japan bowed.

Enshrinement of war criminals
One of the controversies arises out of the enshrinement of World War II war criminals. In 1959, the kami of 1,068 Class-B and -C war criminals who had been executed after being sentenced to death by the military tribunals of the Allied Forces were enshrined at Yasukuni.


Annual celebrations
January 1: Shinnensai (New Year's Festival)

February 11: Kenkoku Kinensai (National Foundation Day)
Anniversary of the day on which Japan's first Emperor, Emperor Jimmu, is said to have founded the Japanese nation.

February 17: Kinensai (Spring Festival for Harvest)

April 21–23: Shunki Reitaisai 春季例大祭
(Annual Spring Festival)


April 29: Showasai (Showa Festival)—Emperor Showa's birthday

June 29: Gosoritsu Kinenbisai (Founding Day)
Commemoration of the founding of Yasukuni Jinja

July 13–16: Mitama Matsuri—
A mid-summer celebration of the spirits of the ancestors. The entry walk is decorated with 40 foot high walls of 29000 or more lanterns, and thousands of visitors come to pay respects to their lost relatives and friends.

October 17–20: Shuki Reitaisai (Annual Autumn Festival)

November 3: Meijisai (Emperor Meiji's Birthday)

November 23: Niinamesai (Festival of First Fruits)

December 23: Tenno gotanshin Hoshukusai
(Birthday of the Current Emperor)

The first, 11th and 21st day of each month: Tukinamisai

Every day:
Asa Mikesai, Yu Mikesai, Eitai Kagurasai (perpetual Kagura festivals)

© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Amulet from Yasukuni Shrine

. . . CLICK here for more Amulets !


Homepage of Yasukuni Shrine

source : www.yasukuni.or.jp



Oonusa 大麻 (おおぬさ) Onusa Amulet


source : Yasukuni Amulets


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


a car named : Daruma Serika ダルマ・セリカ



A car race starting from Yasukuni shrine
靖国神社をスタート
finish at Kamigamo Shrine, Kyoto
京都は上賀茂神社

source : minkara.carview.co.jp


. . . CLICK here for "Daruma Serika" Photos !


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HAIKU


靖国祭喜寿の報告父にせり
Yasukuni sai kiju no hookoku chichi ni seri

Yasukuni shrine festival -
I report to my father
I am now seventy-seven


Saito Mamoru 佐藤守



kiju 喜寿 is a special birthday in Japan.
Special Birthdays in Japan


kanreki 還暦 60th birthday
. The Circle of 60 Years .


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Related words

***** . Kenkoku kinenbi 建国記念日 (けんこくきねんび)
National Foundation Day of Japan .



***** . OBSERVANCES – SPRING SAIJIKI .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan . 

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2/08/2011

Court ceremonies SPRING

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Court Ceremonies in Spring

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Spring
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

The court ceremonies date back to the Heian period.

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Kinensai 祈念祭 (きねんさい) Kinensai ritual
Ritual at the beginning of the year

toshigoi no matsuri 年祈いの祭(としごいのまつり)
observance kigo for early spring

February 4
Performed by the imperial officials (jingikan, kamizukasa 神祇官 )
Prayers for a good harvest and peace of the country are offered to the deities.

This ritual has been revived after the Meiji restauration.


. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Reken, rekken 列見 (れけん) Reken ritual
observance kigo for mid-spring

On the 11th day of the second lunar month.
Now February 11.

Audience of high officials with the Emperor, since the Heian period.
The audience is held in the park. According to the behaviour of the officials their rank was confirmed.
The officials wore flowers in their headgear.


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Shunki kooreisai 春季皇霊祭 (しゅんきこうれいさい)
spring commemoration for the Imperial Spirits)

..... kooreisai 皇霊祭(こうれいさい)Koreisai ritual
observance kigo for mid-spring

21st day of the third lunar month

The present emperor performs rituals for all the other emperors before him.
It used to be a public holiday until WW II.
Now it is celebrates on the day of the spring equinox.




There is another Koreisai ritual in autumn 秋季皇霊祭.
(23 of September)


. Spring Equinox, haru higan, 春彼岸 .


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HAIKU


列見や菊石引伸す烏帽子の緒

Kikaku 其角 


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***** . NEW YEAR - the complete SAIJIKI


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2/04/2011

Sunafumi sacred sand

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Stepping on sacred sand (sunafumi)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: May and October
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

o-sunafumi, osunafumi お砂踏み
stepping on sacred sand



CLICK for more photos


At the temple Tamagawa Daishi in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo there is a special ceremony twice a year,
in May and October from the 21st to the 23nd,
where people pray in front of hanging scrolls of the 88 Temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage and the 33 Temples of the pilgrimage in honour of Kannon Bosatsu.


Pilgrimage(henro, junrei)
Pilgrims. Japan and worldwide



玉川大師 お砂踏み 大祭
Tamagawa Daishi Temple and the Big Ceremony in May and October

In the temple grounds there are over 300 stone statues of Buddhas while you walk along replikas of the Shikoku and the Kannon Pilgrimage. The last statue on the pilgrimage is one of Kobo Daishi himself.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




川崎大師 お砂踏み 遍路道
Kawasaki Daishi Temple in Kawasaki City and the Sacred Sand Walking The Sacred Sand Walking was taken up as a means to improve the health and legs of the visitors. Under each stone memorial of one of the 88 temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage there is a bit of Sacred Sand in the ground, so you can actually “Walk in Shikoku”.
At Kawasaki Daishi there is a big Daruma Market during the first Days of the New Year, where our Daruma is sold in the thousands.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




Temple Shootoku-ji 聖徳寺
Tsuyama Town, Okayama prefecture
In Honour of the 88 temples of the Shikoku Pilgirmage and the 33 Temples dedicated to Kannon (Avalokiteshvara) in the Saikoku area of Western Japan.
http://www.tvt.ne.jp/~syoutoku/osunafumi.htm
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




Temple Iza-Ji 医座寺
The main object of veneration is Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Healing.
His statue is carved in stone, the letters are said to be the handwriting of Dengyoo Daishi, the great Buddhist teacher and founder of the Tendai Sect.

While you stand in front of the stone saying your prayers, you tread on sand from Shikoku, doing the SUNAFUMI of the temples with Yakushi Nyorai. The stone where you stay has the form of Buddha’s footprints.
Stay there firmly and pray for your future career and it might be granted. Shusse Yakushi, the Yakushi Buddha for your Career, might take care of things.
Say the mantra of Yakushi three times, stepping on the stone firmly.

On korokoro sendari madowagi sowaka.

. . . CLICK here for Photos !



. Fukusenji 福泉寺 Fukusen-Ji - Yokohama .


Yakushi Nyorai 薬師如来、
Buddha of Medicine and Healing


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O-Sunafumi in Hawaii
Local residents may re-create a famous pilgrimage for healing through the Osunafumi 88 Temples exhibit in the Pikake room. Soil was brought from each of the Shikoku island temples to allow participants to make the mini-pilgrimage.
http://starbulletin.com/2002/08/24/features/story2.html


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四国霊場お砂撫で o-suna nade
stroking the sacred sand


a ceremony held in various places, with bags of sand from Shikoku





あたたかく四国霊場お砂撫づ  
atatakaku Shikoku reijoo o-suna nade

on a warm day
we stoke the sacred sand -
Shikoku pilgrimage

Shooji 湘次
http://shashin-haiku.jp/allblogs-1580


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The Pilgrimage to 33 Kannon Temples
To learn about Kannon Bosatsu.


In his/her honour there are many pilgrimages all over Japan to 33 temples in the localities. Mark Schumacher has a good page about this.
... Kannon Bosatsu


. JAPANESE PILGRIMS and PILGRIMAGES



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HAIKU




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..... BACKUP Sunafumi


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1/03/2011

Futomani divination

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Futomani festival (futomani matsuri)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: New Year
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

Futomani matsuri 太占祭 Futomani festival
Futomani sai 太占祭

Third day of the first lunar month.
At shrine Musashi Mitake jinja 武蔵御嶽神社

The shoulderblade of a deer is touched with red-hot iron and the cracks used to read the fortune of the coming year.
This is a secret ritual and not open to the public.


source : blog.hoshinokobeya.com
Only the result of the oracle is given to the people.


This kind of divination with oracle bones comes from China.

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quote
The Hotsuma Futomani Divination Chart



Toyoke, lord of the northern provinces (celebrated today as the tutelary deity of the Ise Outer Shrine), drew up a chart using 51 phonetic symbols to represent the 49 deities residing in the heavens. This he presented to his daughter Isanami and her spouse Isanagi, 8th in the line of divine rulers of Japan.

Amateru, son of Isanagi and Isanami, had his nobles compose poems based on Toyoke's chart. From these, he selected 128, which were then set down as the Futomani Book of Divination (the origin of Shinto divination rituals).

The symbols A-U-WA in the inner circle represent Amemiwoya, the creator of heaven and earth.
The Amemiwoya (August Heavenly Ancestor) deity.

MORE
source : www.hotsuma.gr.jp



The Hotsuma Tsutae (also Hotuma Tsutaye, 秀真伝)
is an elaborate epic poem of Japanese legendary history which differs substantially from the mainstream version as recorded in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. Its antiquity is undetermined.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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quote
Bokusen  卜占 Divination
A method of divination for determining the divine will or foretelling the outcome of an event.
Today, bokusen most often signifies divination in general which comprises an extremely complex variety of methods. In the original sense of bokusen, however, 卜 depicted the shape of cracking that appears when the bone of an animal or a tortoise shell is heated, whereas 占 meant to report what was interpreted by reading the pattern of that cracking.

Archeological records indicate that, from the end of the Jōmon period or the early Yayoi period, deer-scapula divination (rokuboku 鹿卜) was also conducted in Japan. In this practice, hollows were carved in the underside of the bone of a deer or other large ruminants , the hollows were heated to produce cracking on the bone's other surface, and divination was based on the resulting pattern of the cracks (bokuchō).

The Kiki (both the Kojiki and Nihon shoki) and other sources also refer to this method of divination as futomani. Alongside the archaic divination ritual of kukatachi, futomani was one of two methods of determining the divine will.

Thereafter, "tortoise-shell divination" (kiboku 亀卜), which substituted a tortoise shell for the scapula of a ruminant , became increasingly popular. Both rokuboku and kiboku are thought to have originated in China; similar to China, moreover, kiboku eventually replaced futomani in Japan as well.

Under the ritsuryō system of codified laws, diviners (urabe) were employed by the Jingikan (see Ritsuryō Jingikan) and, whenever a major decision needed to be made at the imperial court and on other occasions, a diviner who had undergone purification would pray to the "deities of the divination courtyard" (uraniwa no kami) and perform kiboku.
From the Kamakura period, however, the practice of this divination method declined greatly. In addition to futomani and kiboku, the Kiki, Man'yōshū, and other texts record various other methods of bokusen.

For example,
"footstep divination" (aura) counts the number of steps walked;
"bird divination" (toriura) interprets the cries of a bird or the direction it flies; and
"evening divination" (yūke),
"bridge divination" (hashiura), and
"roadside divination" (tsujiura) interpret the words of a passerby.

In Study of Correct Divination (Seibokukō), Ban Nobutomo refers to such bokusen methods as "miscellaneous divination" (zassen) and groups them in the same category as divination methods that have the character of a "divine message communicated through a possessed person" (takusen), such as
"koto divination" (kotoura),
"dream divination" (yumeura), and
"song divination" (utaura).

Furthermore, Ban Nobutomo considers orthodox bokusen to consist exclusively of zassen, futomani, and kiboku methods that are mentioned in classical texts and he rejects other methods as lacking legitimacy. In contrast with his assertions that reflect his affiliation with the National Learning (kokugaku) movement, however, "fortune-telling" (ekisen 易占) related to Yin-Yang thought (Onmyōdō 陰陽道) and based on the sexagenary cycle of the Chinese lunar calendar (eto) and The Book of Changes (Zhou yi) had grown increasingly popular since the medieval period. From the early modern period, a divination method called bokuzei 卜筮 became widespread which used a large number of slim bamboo sticks called zeichiku  筮竹 or six four-sided stocks called sangi 算木.
source : Suzuki Kentaro, Kokugakuin 2006

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Musashi Mitake jinja 武蔵御嶽神社
176 Mitakesan, Ome, Tokyo - Musashimitake Shrine

. Oome, Ōme 青梅 / おうめ Ome town .


Another festival in Januray at this shrine is the
Ooguchi magami matsuri 大口真神祭り
Wolf Deity Festival




Magami or Oguchi Magami (deity with a great mouth) is the wolf deity.

Once upon a time in the Nara region there was a great old wolf, who had killed and eaten many humans. To appease him he was deified and given deer and wild boars as offerings.
So he learned to tell the difference between human beings, who fed him, and wild animals he could eat. He soon became a protector deity for good people, punishing the bad ones.
He also prevented fire and robbery and was often depicted in ema votive tablets.
With the passing of time, forests became mores sparce and wolves a rarity in our times.



The stone wolf of Mitsumine Shrine, Chichibu


. Kaneko Tohta - Chichibu Wolf Haiku .





ema with wolf and Yamato Takeru
from Hodosan Jinja 宝登山神社

More photos
source : kemono/wolf-shrine




Wolf Deity Amulet

. Amulets and Talismans from Japan . 


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Chinese oracle bones



Oracle bones (kookotsu 甲骨)
are pieces of bone normally from ox scapula or turtle plastron (underside) which were used for divination chiefly during the late Shang Dynasty. The bones were first inscribed with divination in oracle bone script (Chinese: 甲骨文; pinyin: jiǎgǔwén) by using a bronze pin, and then heated until crack lines appeared in which the divinations were read.

However in later Zhou Dynasty, cinnabar/ink and brush became the preferred writing method, resulting in fewer carved inscriptions and often blank oracle bones being unearthed. The oracle bones bear the earliest known significant corpus of ancient Chinese writing, and contain important historical information such as the complete royal genealogy of the Shang dynasty.

When they were discovered and deciphered in the early twentieth century, these records confirmed the existence of the Shang, which some scholars had until then doubted.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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HAIKU



吉兆の雨の太占祭り見に
kitchoo no ame no futomani masturi mi ni

auspicious rain
is falling at the Futomani festival
when I go there


Miki Seiun 三枝青雲
source : kamomeza


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***** . NEW YEAR - the complete SAIJIKI


***** . Omikuji みくじ 御籤 sacred lots .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan . 

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