Naoi Matsuri Aichi

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Driving away evil (Naoe matsuri)

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

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Explanation

Naoi no shinji 儺追の神事 (なおいのしんじ)
Naoi ritual for driving away evil
..... naoe matsuri 直会祭（なおえまつり） Naoe festival
..... naoi matsuri 儺追祭（なおいまつり） Naoi Festival

On the 13th of the first lunar month.
At the shrine Konomiya 国府宮神社 (Koo no Miya Jinja)
in Inazawa town, Aichi.
愛知県稲沢市. Aichi, former Owari province.

This is also known as the "Naked Festival" of Shrine Owari Ookuni tama Jinja
尾張大国霊神社（おわりおおくにたまじんじゃ）.
Konomiya Hadaka Matsuri



Photos by Philbert Ono, 2007 :
source photoguide.jp : MORE PHOTOS !


On the day before the festival 50 bags of kagami-mochi ritual rice cakes are offered to the deity.
On the festival day
Many thousand naked men, only clad in a white loincloth and white tabi socks, fight around the "man of god" 神男 . They try to "drop off" the impurities of last year and cleanse themselves for the coming year.

Afterwards, the mochi are cut and eaten by all to participate of the good luck for the coming year.

This festival in this form dates back to end of the Edo period.

It started in 787, when Emperor Shotoku Tenno 称徳天皇 (Shootoku Tennoo) ordered all the Kokubun-Ji government temples to hold rituals to ward off evil and the regent of Owari (Owari kokushi 尾張国司) started this ceremony.
A man passing the shrine would be taken captive and all the impurities were laid on him. He was then offered to the deities for purification and after that, he could continue his travels.
Human sacrifices were never made in this case, only ritual ones.






Homepage of the shrine, with photos:
source : www.konomiya.or.jp
尾張大國霊神社（国府宮）　


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tsuina 追儺（ついな）rituals for driving away evil

. Tsuina - Driving away evil spirits .

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直会 (なおらい）- naorai

quote
Naorai
A banquet that accompanies a matsuri.
Usually understood as a meal consisting of the offerings made at the festival after its conclusion, the naorai is actually one of the constituent elements of matsuri.

According to the Association of Shinto Shrines' Jinja saishiki, a naorai is included in major rites (taisaishiki), middle rites (chūsaishiki) and minor rites (shōsaishiki).

As for the actual performance of naorai,
"First, The person in charge sets out the food and drink.
Next, they pour the sacred drink, and all assembled drink.
Next, the naorai music is performed.
Next, the person in charge removes the dishes."

Also, where individual shrines have a specific practice that derives from a tradition, the naorai is performed. As we can see from this provision, there are many shrines preserving ancient practices in naorai.

Naorai are performed at the end of daijōsai and niinamesai, and these are called the toyonoakari no setchi-e, where white and black sake: (shiroki and kuroki) was presented to the assembled retainers. In an Imperial Proclamation of the Emperor Shōtoku we can see the expressions "Today is the day of the toyonoakari-kiko (ceremonial dinner) of the naorai of the Ōnie" and "Today is the day of the toyonoakari-kiko of the naorai of the niinae."

In the Engishiki it is mentioned that there was a naorai-den at Kasuga Shrine (now Kasuga Taisha) and also there was a building called the naorai-in at the Grand Shrines of Ise.

In any case it is said that the naorai has been conducted as a very important part of ceremonies and rites since ancient times. The word naorai is usually thought to derive from nahoriahi. The first character of the word connotes the end of a period of purifying body and mind for ritual (saikai), of returning to everyday life.

In contrast, another theory by Orikuchi Shinobu posits a connection to the naobi no kami. Accordingly the meaning of naorai would be worship of these gods of purification at the conclusion of a ceremony, having moved to a different place, as an apology for any offences committed during the ceremony.

Another interpretation identifies the first character with the idea of sitting down before a table set for a meal, and the second character with the idea of 'all meeting together.' Needless to say, this is a religious event but if it means "after the conclusion of the ceremonies, the sake (miki) and food offerings (shinsen) presented to the kami are taken down and people partake of them" then it does not have any element or meaning of ending purification.
source : Mogi Sadasumi, Kokugakuin, 2006



. Sake 酒 rice wine for rituals and festivals .

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a sweet potato shochu 芋焼酎 shnaps called Naorai.


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


- WASHOKU - Japanese Food Culture -
. Food and Rituals .


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After a purification ritual, people buy a set of talismans for the new year.
It inlcudes some sweets too.




. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　


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There are other shrines called "Okuni Shrine" in Japan.

quote
Okuni jinja　小國神社 Okuni Shrine
Okuni Shrine located in Mori-machi, Shuchi-gun, Shizuoka Pref. is a shrine with plentiful mythology and natural beauty.
The enshrined deity is Omunachi (Okuninushi) no Mikoto. The original shrine was located in Mt. Motomiya, but it was transferred to the present place in 555, when a holy spirit appeared in the mountain. Honden (the main hall) and Haiden (oratory) are of Taisha-zukuri style. The grove of trees in the precinct is called “the Ancient Forest,” where old cedar trees of several hundred years old create superb atmosphere.

The shrine is worshipped by the people all over ex-Enshu province (present-day western part of Shizuoka Pref.) and as many as 300,000 people come to offer prayers on the New Year’s Day. Visitors can enjoy natural beauty from season to season such as cherry blossoms, iris in the iris garden beside the entrance of the shrine, and autumn foliage.

Junidan Bugaku (twelve dances), which is dedicated in the annual festival in April, and the dance in Taasobi Matsuri (festival for good harvest) in January are designated as the prefectural Important Intangible Cultural Properties.
source : nippon-kichi.jp


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HAIKU



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Related words

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

. Naked Festivals (hadaka matsuri　裸祭り) .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Needle ceremonies (hari kuyo)

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Needle services (hari kuyoo)

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

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Explanation

kigo for mid-winter in Kansai

hari osame 針納（はりおさめ） "end of the needlework"
hari yasumi 針休み（はりやすみ） "resting the needles"
hari osame 針納（はりおさめ） putting away the needles
hari matsuri 針祭（はりまつり）needle festival

haki kuyoo 針供養 (はりくよう) Hari Kuyo
(this word is also used for the spring ceremony)

Memorial service for used needles and pins





In the Kanto region, it is practised on February 8,
in Kyoto and Kansai on December 8.


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kigo for early spring in Kanto

Needle Memorial Service (hari kuyoo 針供養)
February 8

This is the day when Buddhist masses are sung for needles broken during the past year since it is thought that the needles' lives were sacrificed in service.

A small three-step altar is set up and hung with a sacred rope and strips of cut white paper which indicate a sanctified area. On the top step are offerings of fruit and sweet cakes. On the middle step is a cake of tofu and on the bottom step are various sewing accessories.

On this day, the seamstresses take a holiday and bring their old needles to the temple to stick them in a piece of tofu or konnyaku. Threads of the five Buddhist colors were used with the needles.



www.joy.ne.jp/kyoto/doc/saijiki/9912.htm



quote
Well, the priest is incanting a sutra which reflects the passage of the needles from usage and invoking some kind of Buddhist blessing which would then be passed on to the ladies themselves. Because as they show respect to the needles of last year, they're really saying to them, you know, 'Thank you very much for what you've done, and please give us your power and your energy for the coming year so that our sewing skills can become improved.'
(c) 2002 Jim Metzner Productions


. shitateya 仕立屋　/ 仕立て屋 tailor, seamstress in Edo .

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In times of old, fishermen used this day to appease the Sea Gods by sinking broken fishhooks onto the ocean bed. The tradition is now a refined ceremony practiced by housewives, clothmakers and even fashion students, who take a day off work to show their gratitude. They do this by placing their old needles and pins into a Japanese sambo navel orange, while their broken counterparts are stuck into some tofu or konnyaku jelly - a somewhat bizarre, though well-respected, memorial service for little bits of metal.
source : 　guides.hotelbook.com


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kigo for the New Year

nuizome 縫初 (ぬいぞめ) first sewing
..... nuihajime 縫始（ぬいはじめ）
hatsuhari, hatsu hari 初針（はつはり）"first needle"
.... hari okoshi 針起し（はりおこし）
tachizome 裁初（たちぞめ）
This was done on the second of January. Usually a small bag was sewed.


. First Work - New Year Kigo .


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Things found on the way

nuibarishi, nuibari shi 縫針師 needleworker
People who did needlework were called
saihooshi 裁縫師 saiho-shi
Those who worked for the Samurai were called
nuibarishi 縫針師　or omonoshi　御物師 .
According to the garment they made the price for their work varied.



Since the Nara period, needles were made from iron, silver or copper. There are five needles in the 正倉院　Treasure House of the Shoso-In in Nara.

Many low-ranking Samurai made sewing needles as a side job. Thin pieces of metal were cut in the appropriate length and then filed to the best sharpness.


To make the hole in the needle (called the mimi　耳 "ear"), a special tool was used
maigiri 舞錐 "dancing drill" (mawashigiri 回し錐).

The hole was then smoothed with a very small and fine file.
After the needle was finished like this, it was once more heated in fire and then cooled quickly to make it strong.
The final check included to see it the needle was really straight, otherwise it was hit with a hammer to ajust the shape and then a final polish was applied.
Despite all this detailed work needles were rather cheap on the market, for about 50 Yen in our modern currency.
There were special vendors of sewing needles
nuibashi uri 縫針売.

Needles were also used to prick a finger and write a love-letter in blood, as told by Ihara Saikaku, Ibara Saikaku 井原西鶴.

. Edo shokunin 江戸の職人 Edo craftsmen .


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HAIKU

- - - - - MATSUO BASHO - - - - -

針立や肩に槌打つから衣　
haritate ya kata ni tsuchi utsu karakoromo

an acupuncurist
pounding into my shoulder;
the cast off robe
Tr. Barnhill

Written in 延宝3年 , Basho age 32.
The word haritate here refers to the tools of an acupuncturist.
karakoromo is a pun with a "Chinese robe"唐衣 or a cast-off robe 空衣, meaning a naked body.
The accupuncturist uses a small hammer to drive the needle into the skin. So Basho has his shoulder exposed to the doctor.


- This one about a needle is also about acupuncture:

月花の愚に針立てん寒の入り　
. tsuki hana no gu ni hari taten kan no iri .


. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .

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秋の夜や旅の男の針仕事
aki no yo ya tabi no otoko no harishigoto

autumn evening--
a traveling man busy
stitching
Tr. Lanoue


. Kobayashi Issa 小林一茶 in Edo .



- haiga by Nakamura Sakuo -


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enshrined broken needles
my grandmother and me
a memory of my mind

Etsuko Yanagibori

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針納めちらつく雪に詣でけり
hari osame chiratsuku yuki ni moodekeri

putting away the needles -
I walk to the temple
in lightly falling snow

Takahashi Awajijo 高橋淡路女
(1890 - 1955)
her teacher was Iida Dakotsu. She belonged to the 雲母 Unmo group.


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haribako 針箱 sewing box "box for needles"


source : upp.so-net.ne.jp/kyoudoningyou/sagara...

In the tradition of 堤人形 Tsutsumi Ningyo, the eyes are almost triangular.

. Sagara tsuchi ningyoo 相良土人形 clay dolls from Sagara .
Yamagata


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. Legends and Tales from Japan　伝説 - Introduction .

In 神奈川県 Kanagawa 横浜市 Yokohama
Once upon a time in a village there lived a beautiful young girl and every night, a handsome young man with carefully combed hair passed in front of her home. And as things go, one day the young girl was pregnant! The young man still did not say who he was and where his family lived.
So one night she stuck a sewing needle into his hair and from that day on, he never came back.
The people around her begun searching in the neighborhood and found a hole with a snake and a needle stuck in its head. For snakes the iron of a sewing needle is poison and the snake was already very weak. It just managed to tell them to prepare a bath with iris for his pregnant lover, so she would loose the baby of the huge serpent.


In 滋賀県 Shiga, 西浅井町 Nishiazai
there is the custom that a pregnant woman should not take part in a funeral. If for some reason she has to participate, she should carry a mirror and place a sewing needle in the hem of her robe, with the tip showing to the earth.

- reference : nichibun yokai database 妖怪データベース -


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***** . WKD : KIGO CALENDAR .


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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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Worldwide use

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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Things found on the way


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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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Related words

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


***** . Omikuji みくじ　御籤 sacred lots .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Hakone Ekiden Race

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Hakone Ekiden Relay Marathon (Hakone ekiden)

***** Location: Hakone, Kanagawa
***** Season: New Year
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Hakone ekiden 箱根駅伝 Hakone Ekiden Race




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quote
Hakone Ekiden (箱根駅伝), which is officially called
Tokyo-Hakone Round-Trip College Ekiden Race
(東京箱根間往復大学駅伝競走,
Tōkyō Hakone kan Ōfuku Daigaku Ekiden Kyōsō), is one of the prominent university ekiden (relay marathon) races of the year held between Tokyo and Hakone in Japan on 2 and 3 January.

This two-day race from Ōtemachi to Hakone and back is separated into five sections on each day. Due to slight variations in the courses, the first day distance is 108.0km while the distance on the second day is 109.9km.
Only male runners are allowed to run.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



Photo source: gojapan.about.com


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Daruma of the winning Ekiden Team

第８６回　箱根駅伝. Ｈ２２年２月２０日
source : hideaki


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HAIKU



女坂箱根駅伝男坂
onnazaka Hakone ekiden otokozaka

women's slope
Hakone relay marathon
men's slope

Kuon Jun 久遠順

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箱根駅伝初東風のなかタスキ継ぎ
Hakone ekiden hatsugochi no naka tasuki tsugi

Hakone ekiden race -
in the first east wind of the year
they exchange sashes

source : umauo

The tasuki たすき, colorful cloth sashes, are a proud part of each team. They are handed from one to the next runner, who hangs it around his shoulder whilst running. They practise handing over the tasuki in order not to loose any time in the marathon.


hatsugochi, the first calm of the year, is also a kigo for the New Year.



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Hakone is located in the mountainous far west of the prefecture, on the eastern side of Hakone Pass. Most of the town is within the borders of the volcanically active Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, centered around Lake Ashi.
Hakone is the location of a noted Shinto shrine, the Hakone Gongen, which is mentioned in Heian period literature.
Hakone is noted for its onsen hot spring resorts.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !




Hiroshige, Crossing Hakone 広重箱根図



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箱根越す人もあるらし今朝の雪　　
箱根こす人も有らし今朝の雪
Hakone kosu hito mo aru rashi kesa no yuki

to think there are people
who are crossing Hakone pass -
snow in the morning 　
Tr. Gabi Greve


Hakone pass:
someone seems to be crossing it
this morning of snow 　
Tr. Barnhill


Oi no Kobumi
4th day of the 12th lunar month
Basho stayed with his friend 聴雪 as Hoosa 蓬左 near the Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya.
Even where he was, in Nagoya, it was bitter cold and snowing.
So he thought he was quite lucky to be here in the warmth at a home with friends.

Basho was on a trip before reaching Hosa, to visit a place in memory of priest Saigyo Hoshi 西行法師, the hermitage Shigitatsu An 鴫立庵 in Oiso　大磯 at the other side of Hakone pass.

. WKD - Matsuo Basho Archives 松尾芭蕉！ . 　　



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Hakone in Haiku by Issa
Tr. David Lanoue


秋日和負ふて越るや箱根山
akibiyori oute koeru ya hakone yama

clear fall weather--
with burdens they cross
Mount Hakone



木がらしやかます着て行く箱根山
kogarashi ya kamasu kite yuku hakone yama

winter wind--
wearing a straw bag
on Mount Hakone



MORE - Hakone Haiku by Issa


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関所より吹戻さるる寒さ哉
sekisho yori fukimodosaruru samusa kana

from the checkpoint
it is blown back -
this cold


春風や女も越える箱根山
haru kaze ya onna mo koeru hakone yama

spring breeze--
a woman also crosses
Mount Hakone

. Hakone Sekisho 箱根関所 Hakone Checkpoint .

It was dangerous for women from Edo to go past this Checkpoint.
A woman alone was suspicious of being a prostitute on the run, so they usually did not travel alone.


One of the main roles of sekisho was to control 'incoming guns and outgoing women', which means to prevent weapons from being
brought into Edo and wives and children of feudal lords from fleeing from Edo.

source : www.hakonesekisyo.jp

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傘さして箱根越すなり春の雨
kasa sashite Hakone kosu nari haru no ame

Umbrellas at the ready,
We crossed the Hakone passes
In the spring rain.
Tr. Mackenzie



under their parasols
crossing Mount Hakone...
spring rain
Tr. Lanoue



putting up my umbrella
I crossed the Hakone pass -
spring rain
Tr. Gabi Greve



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. Palanquins at the Hakone pass .

. White Horse of Hakone Shrine 箱根神社.


. Japanese Puzzle Boxes .

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Related words

***** Women's slope (onna-zaka)

***** . Place Names in Haiku .


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Toshibi Okinawa

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Birthday celebrations (toshibi iwai)

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

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Explanation

toshibi iwai 年日祝 (としびいわい)
birthday celebration at the New Year
..... shoonen iwai 生年祝 celebrating the birthday



From the second to the 13th (or 16th) of the first lunar month, families come together on the day of the corresponding zodiac animal to celebrate the birthday of
people of the age of 13, 25, 49, 61, 73, 85 and 97.
(13 is the next year after a full circle of 12 zodiac years.)

People make offerings to the deities and pray for a happy and healthy life.
After that, the whole family partakes in a feast.

For a daughter getting 13 and the elderly getting 61 there are even more special celebrations.




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Annual Temple Visit for Children until they are 13:

. juusanmairi 十三参り .


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


Okinawa Ryori (Okinawa Ryoori) 沖縄料理

. Okinawa Food .


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HAIKU



most colorful robes
for a most special day -
toshibi iwai

Gabi Greve

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Related words

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


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Butsumyo-E ceremony

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Buddha's Name Ceremony (butsumyoo-e)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Winter
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

butsumyooe 仏名会 (ぶつみょうえ)
Ceremony of chanting of the Buddhas' Names
"depictions of the Buddhas", Butsumyo-E, Butsumyo Ceremony
..... o butsumyoo 御仏名（おぶつみょう）

kazukewata, kazuke wata 被綿（かずけわた）"covering cotton"
Kaenashi no kenpai 栢梨の献盃（かえなしのけんぱい）
a ritual drink of sake brewed with the juice of Japanese pears (nashi) from the village of Kaenashi in Settsu province 摂津国栢梨.
Used for a toast to the New Year.

A special ceremony held at many Buddhist temples throughout Japan.

For three days from the 19th of the 12th lunar month a memorial service is held.
The 11.093 names of the Buddhas of past, present and future (butsumyoo) are read out.
While the priests read out the names, the visitors may sit in another room and drink riutal sake.

People pray for forgiveness of the sins of the passing year and hope to purify the heart for the coming year.

At the imperial court, this ceremony has been held since the year
775, Hooki 5 宝亀五年.


The priests clad themselves in white cotton robes to express a pure heart.

As with many ceremonies, the placing of the season is problematic.
This is a ceremony for the New Year, on the last lunar month of the year. But now it falls in January.
Some saijiki place it in "early spring".


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chanting the names of Buddha



names of the Buddha


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

板敷に光るつぶりや仏名会
itajiki ni hikaru tsuburi ya Butsumyoo e

all these shaven heads
shining on the floor panels -
Butsumyo Ceremony

. Miyake Shoozan 三宅嘯山 Shozan (1718 - 1801) .

(Priests with their shaven heads lean over to read the names from their scrolls. Their reflection can be seen in the polished panels.
Nowadays they sit on tatami mats and we can not see this any more.)


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仏名会腰のぬけたるおはしけり　
Butsumyooe koshi o nuketaru ohashikeri

Butsumyo Ceremony -
some honorable priests
unable to stand up　

Yukifusa 之房

(Maybe some of the participants had a bit too much
of the good ritual ricewine . . . )

ohashi keri, owashi keri . owasu 御座す . polite language
御座けり


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Related words

***** . Namu Amida Butsu　
南無阿弥陀仏 the Amida Prayer 　

***** . kiku no kisewata 菊の着綿 Chrysanthemum covers .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Chishaku-In Kyoto

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Temple Chishaku-In 智積院

***** Location: Kyoto
***** Season: See below
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Chishakuin rongi 智積院論義 (ちしゃくいんろんぎ)
public ceremonial debate at temple Chishaku-In
kigo for early winter

from December 10 to 13, sometimes only for 2 days

rongi is difficult to translate into English. They were ritual formal ceremonial Buddhist public debates (disputes, disputations, discussions), where the monks had to show their understanding of the Buddhist sutra scriptures.
Now also called
fuyu hoo-on koo 冬報恩講 debates in winter
"honorable preaching ceremony" in winter

During the two or three days, torches are put up from the entrance to the main hall. Many priests come from all the affiliated temples in Japan to take part in the rituals.



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quote
Chishaku-in is the head temple of Shingon Buddhism Chizan Sect.
It is the first temple on the Kyoto Jusan Butsu pilgrimage.


painted by Hasegawa Kyuzo

This temple is less popular among tourists but it has excellent Shoheki-ga (fusuma-e) paintings on the sliding paper doors that are National Treasures, as well as a very good garden.



Chishaku-in was founded in the 14th century as a sub-temple of Daidenpo-in that was established in Koyasan, Wakayama Prefecture by Priest Kakuban (1095-1144), in the year 1130. The mother temple then moved to Negorosan in Wakayama prefecture ten years later.

In the year 1585, Daidenpo-in, including its sub-temples, was totally destroyed by the actual ruler of the country, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598). Chief Priest of Chishaku-in, Genyu (Gen'yu, 1529-1605), who fled from the assault, had to wait until the Toyotomi family was destroyed and the Tokugawa family came to power. In the year 1601, the first Tokugawa Shogun, Ieyasu (1543-1616) gave a place to Genyu to revive Chishaku-in. Then, in the year 1615, Ieyasu gave them neighboring Shounzen-ji temple that had been founded by Hideyoshi in memory of his son Sutemaru who died in 1591 at the age of three.

The extant Shoheki-ga (or Fusuma-e) paintings (national treasures) were those displayed in Kyakuden building of Shounzen-ji. Chishaku-in suffered from several fires during its history and about half of the paintings were lost.
source : kyoto.asanoxn.com


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Vegetarian meal served at the temple lodgings.


. Vegetarian Temple Food
(shoojin ryoori 精進料理) .

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Yearly festivals and ceremonies

Every month on the 21 is a meeting to copy the sutras
shakyoo no tsudoi 写経のつどい



１月 - January
1日 修正会
15日 新年祝祷会・お昆布式
21日 写経のつどい

２月 - February
3日 節分会 Setsubun
15日 常楽会
21日 写経のつどい

３月 - March
6日～12日 伝法大会／伝法灌頂（非公開）
春分の日 春季彼岸会法要
21日 正御影供
21日 写経奉納法要・写経のつどい
30日 得度式（非公開）

４月 - April
8日 仏生会（はなまつり）
21日 写経のつどい

５月 - May
21日 写経のつどい

６月 - June
15日 青葉まつり
21日 写経のつどい

７月 - July
21日 写経のつどい
31日 得度式（非公開）

８月 - August
12日 総本山施餓鬼会
21日 写経のつどい
24日 地蔵盆会 Jizo Bon
30日 永代・納骨・日月牌総供養法要

９月 - September
10日 運敞僧正忌
21日 写経のつどい
秋分の日 秋季彼岸会法要

１０月 - October
3日 戦没者慰霊法要
4日 玄宥僧正忌
21日 写経のつどい

１１月 - November
21日 写経のつどい

１２月 - December
8日 成道会
11日・12日 冬報恩講
21日 写経のつどい
31日 除夜の鐘




Homepage of the temple
source : www.chisan.or.jp


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HAIKU

智積院論義すみたる掛うどん
Chishaku-in rongi sumitaru kake-udon

after the debate
at Chishaku-in
a bowl of udon noodles

Kawasumi Sugekatsu 川澄祐勝, priest of the Shingon sect
智山派別格本山高幡不動尊金剛寺




We can imagine the monks after the debate, sitting around the long tables and slurping their hot soup in silence.
Slurping noodle soup is customary in Japan, and considered good manners.

. Kake udon noodle soup .


quote
... the public rongi custom arose during the medieval period, when there were a lot of sects and doctrinal disputes arising within Shingon Buddhism and that the debates were aimed at overcoming misunderstandings of the "true" Shingon Buddhism of the founder, Kukai.
... in the medieval period a number of unorthodox monks were expelled from Mt. Koya, the Shingon headquarters, for doctrinal reasons. Probably there were all sorts of disputes, including material ones as well! I believe several monks were declared heretics, and one whole new sect of Shingon, the so-called Tachikawa Sect of left-handed Tantric Buddhists, was vigorously disputed and opposed, and its texts and mandalas were destroyed.

The secular warrior authorities also actively suppressed the "heretical" Tachikawa Sect. Like Tendai, Shingon is an older sect in Japan, so for a while it was a crucible of dissent and dissenting sects, so the 'rongi' at Chishakuin may reflect some of this very vigorous verbal disputation during the period when new sects were challenging orthodoxy and branching off.

'Rongi' also includes debates/doctrinal disputes between sects outside Shingon. The Lotus (Nichiren) sect and the Pure Land sect were noted for their strenuous debates and verbal disputes, which sometimes turned into fights. You can see a pale reflection of how vigorous 'rongi' were in the medieval period if you read the No play 'Sotoba Komachi' ('Komachi on the Stupa'), in which Komachi verbally defeats her Shingon monk challengers.

During the Edo period fighting (with either weapons or fists) between sects was no longer acceptable, so 'rongi' must have become more subdued, but it would be interesting to know just how disputational the present-day debates at Chishakuin are.
source : Chris Drake

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Related words

***** . hooonkoo, hoo-on koo 報恩講
Ho-onko, service for Shinran .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Shimada Candy Festival

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Shimada Candy Festival (Shimada ame matsuri)

***** Location: Taiwa, Miyagi
***** Season: Mid-winter
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

quote
Shimada ame matsuri 島田飴まつり　
Shimada Candy Festival takes place every December 14th at Yoshioka-Hachiman Shrine in Taiwa-cho, Kurokawa-gun, Miyagi Prefecture.

Yoshioka-Hachiman Shrine is said to date back to 1618 when Date Munekiyo, the third son of Date Masamune, and founder of Sendai Clan, moved from Shimokusa to Yoshioka and the shrine was transferred as well and re-built in the current location.

The festival is said to have begun on December 14th sometime between 1615 and 1623 when the priest of the shrine fell in love with a bride with a Shimada wedding hairstyle and he became ill. Villagers, worried about the priest, donated candies in the shape of the Shimada hairstyle to the shrine, and that led to the priest recovering from his illness.


It is believed that the shrine makes love come true and many people, wishing for luck with love, visit the shrine to seek candies.
They sell 1000 pieces of this candy.

Shimada Candy Festival is a lively festival crowded with stores selling Shimada hairstyle candies and with many young people wishing for good matchmaking.
source : nippon-kichi.jp




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Yoshioka Hachiman Jinja 吉岡八幡神社



宮城県黒川郡大和町吉岡字町裏39

dondo matsuri どんと祭 Dondo festifal, January 14

wakuguri matsuri 輪くぐり祭り summer purification, July 31

Yabusame 流鏑馬（やぶさめ） archery on horseback, mid-September


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bunkin shimada 文金島田 bridal hair decoration


. Hanayome ningyoo　花嫁人形　 bride dolls .


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Things found on the way


. WKD : Hachiman Shrines and their festivals .


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HAIKU


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Related words

***** . hatsu shimada 初島田（はつしまだ）
first Shimada hairstyle.


***** . OBSERVANCES – WINTER SAIJIKI .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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