2/03/2011

Yoshida Shrine Kyoto

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Yoshida Shrine (Yoshida Jinja)

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


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Explanation

Yoshida Shrine (吉田神社, Yoshida jinja)
Yoshida Daigen Guu, Yoshida Daigengū  吉田大元宮 Yoshida Daigen Gu
is a Shinto shrine located in Sakyō-ku in Kyoto, Japan.
It was founded in 859 by the Fujiwara clan.

The shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered that Imperial messengers were sent to report important events to the guardian kami of Japan. These heihaku were initially presented to 16 shrines; and in 991, Emperor Ichijō added three more shrines to Murakami's list — including Yoshida.

From 1871 through 1946, the Yoshida Shrine was officially designated one of the Kanpei-chūsha (官幣中社), meaning that it stood in the second rank of government supported shrines. Yoshida Kanetomo, founder of Yoshida Shinto, is buried here.

At this Yoshida shrine, people can worship all the Kami of Japan (yaoyorozu no kami 八百万の神)in one visit.
© More in the WIKIPEDIA !



More photos:
source : kannnon.blog

The deity in residence is

Takemikatsuchi no mikado 健御賀豆知命

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observance kigo for the New Year

Yoshida kiyo harae 吉田清祓 (よしだきよはらえ)
purification ritual at Yoshida

Yoshida ooharai 吉田大祓(よしだおおはらい)
great purification ritual at Yoshida


onna setsubun 女節分(おんなせつぶん)
setsubun for women


From Fenbruary 2 to 4.On the 19th day of the first lunar month, the women got time to go for a special purification ritual.

京都市左京区吉田神社
"Yoshida san" 吉田さん is a friendly naming of the Kyoto people.

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. Setsubun Festival 節分 (February 3) .


The last day of the year (December 31, oomisoka) and the last day of the first half of the year (June 30, misoka) are specially celebrated with rituals of purification in the Shrines and Temples of Japan. The rituals of these two days are also called "Great Purification" ooharae 大祓.


追儺厄除け面 mask to ward off evil

. Summer Purification Rituals .


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. Fortune-telling Daruma だるまみくじ 達磨御籤 .
from Yoshida Shrine - in a set for setsubun.

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Yearly Festivals List
source : yosida/nenkangyouji.htm



Amulet for trafic safety and a safe family.



Amulet for Setsubun


Homepage of the shrine:
京都市左京区吉田神楽岡町30番地
source : yosida



. Amulets and Talismans from Japan . 


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quote
Yoshida Shintō 吉田神道.
Academic school of Shintō widely propogated from the late 16th century to the beginning of the Meiji Restoration (1868). Also known as
Gempon Sōgen Shintō
元本宗源神道 (Fundamental, Elemental Shintō),
Yuiitsu Shintō
唯一神道 (One-and-Only Shintō), and
Urabe Shintō
卜部神道.
source : - Mark Schumacher -


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quote
Yoshida Shintō (Yoshida Shinto)

A body of Shinto theory and a tradition that played a central role in kami matters from the late Muromachi through the early-modern periods.
The school was founded by Yoshida Kanetomo 吉田兼倶(1435-1511), who called his tradition yuiitsu shintō ("only-one Shintō"), sōgen shintō ("original Shintō"), and genpon sōgen shintō ("fundamental and original Shintō"), but today it is commonly referred to as Yoshida Shintō or Urabe Shintō.

The Yoshida house was a branch of the Urabe clan, court specialists in tortoiseshell divination, which originated with Urabe Hiramaro (807-881) from Izu Province. His great-grandson Kanenobu was appointed vice-intendent (jingi daisuke) of the Department of Divinities (Jingikan), and afterwards the Urabe began to occupy this position on a hereditary basis. Subsequently, the Urabe clan split into the Yoshida and the Hirano branches; both specialized, in addition to traditional tortoiseshell divination, in the exposition of classics such as the Nihon shoki (Nihongi) and ancient ritual practices.

The Hirano house became particularly active during the Kamakura period with Kanebumi and Kanekata, and came to be called "the Nihongi house" (Taiheiki, fasc. 25). However, the Hirano began to decline in the period of North-South courts (ca. 1336-1392), and in its stead the Yoshida house came to the fore.

In the mid-Muromachi period, Kanehiro (1348-1402) was referred to with the honorary title of "elder of kami matters" (jindō no genrō ) (according to Yoshida-ke nichiji-ki); he received the support of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and was appointed to one of the highest court ranks. Kanetomo, four generations after Kanehiro, developed his own original Shintō doctrine based on the traditional teachings transmitted by his family over the centuries.

Yoshida Kanetomo was born in 1435 as the son of Kanena. In 1467 he was granted access to the imperial palace and was appointed assistant vice-intendent of the Jingikan (jingi gon-daisuke). That year, the Ōnin Disturbance began: the residence of the Yoshida family in the capital was destroyed by fire, and the following year the Yoshida Shrine (present-day Yoshida Jinja) was also burned down during a military operation. But it is likely that Kanetomo began to formulate his Shinto doctrines from around this time; they were first organized in his Sōgen Shintō seishi of 1470, and from the following year he began to perform a Shintō initiation ritual (shintō denju) for several aristocrats.

During this time, he built the Saijōsho 斎場所, a ceremonial hall at his residence and transmitted to the imperial court a petition from the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa. In 1473 he received authorization to collect a transit tax (called Banzatsu ichigei ichiyaku) to finance the Saijōsho; in the meantime, Kanetomo claimed that the hall would be in charge of the ritual celebrating Emperor Jinmu's establishment of Japan, and was thus the origin of all shrines in the realm. In 1473, Kanetomo likewise chanted a sacred scripture entitled Shinmei sangen godaiden jinmyōkyō, which is now believed to have been authored by him. At this point, his doctrinal system had already taken on a considerable degree of organization.

Moreover, beginning from about this time, Kanetomo became very active lecturing on Nakatomi no harae and Nihon shoki, and performing related initiation rituals; in this way, he gained a wide following among the aristocracy, the military, and the Buddhist clergy. In 1476 he even began referring to himself as "the head of Shintō" (Shintō chōjō). Thanks to the support of his followers, he was able to build the Daigengū ceremonial hall on the top of Mount Yoshida in 1484.



斎場所大元宮

Around this octagonal edifice he placed replicas of the two Grand Shrines of Ise, the Hall of the Eight Kami (Hasshinden), and other structures containing the more than one-thousand shrines listed in the Engishiki. This marked the completion of Yoshida's doctrinal and ritual Shinto system.

An outline of Kanetomo's doctrines can be found in his main work, the Yuiitsu shintō myōbō yōshū, which was probably written around this time. According to this text, the form of Shintō prevalent at the time was characterized by theories of an interrelationship between the "original essences" of sacred entities and their "manifest traces" as kami, (honjaku engi), and by combinatory practices based on the two fundamental mandalas of Shingon esoteric Buddhism (Ryōbu shūgō Shintō; see Ryōbu Shintō); in contrast, Yoshida Shintō claimed to be the original and fundamental form of Shinto (genpon sōgen Shintō), taking for its main deity Kunitokotachi no mikoto, the original and primordial kami (daigen sonshin).

The teachings of Kunitokotachi, transmitted exclusively to Tenshō Daijin and Ame no koyane, refer to the primordial condition of the cosmos before the distinction of yin and yang (onmyō fusoku no gengen) and before the generation of the first thought (ichinen mishō no honpon). These doctrines explain the original deity before the separation of the single universal material force (ikki mibun no genshin) and the subsequent process of manifestation of the sacred in this world (wakō dōjin no shinka). The Yoshida Shintō teachings are divided into exoteric and esoteric. The exoteric teachings (kenrokyō) are based on texts such as the Sendai kuji hongi, the Kojiki and the Nihon shoki; they discuss the separation of heaven and earth, the Divine Age, and the genealogies of sovereigns and subjects.

These teachings also include the worship of the deities of heaven and earth (tenjin chigi) and human spirits (jinki), as well as rituals of external purification. In contrast, the esoteric teachings (in'yūkyō, or on'yūkyō) are based on three scriptures, the Tengen jinpen jinmyōkyō, the Chigen jinzū jinmyōkyō, and the Jingen jinriki jinmyōkyō; these explain the spiritual force of the three entities (sansai no reiō), the three wondrous empowerments (sanmyō no kaji), and the three kinds of sacred treasures (sanshu no reihō); the practices they presuppose aim at internal purification. Furthermore, Shinto is divided into substance (tai), function (yū), and appearance (sō); from these, the following series of classifications arises: three principles (sangen, i.e., the previous three items), nine wondrous altars (kubu myōdan, i.e., the combination of the above three with the three elements heaven, man, and earth), and eighteen kinds of Shinto (jūhachi Shintō, i.e., a further, more detailed articulation of the previous nine meant to encompass all existing phenomena). These doctrines are all used to explicate Yoshida Shintō's fundamental principle that Shinto permeates the three entities (heaven, earth, and humans).

Kanetomo stressed the originality of the Shinto teachings of his house, and boasted that he "did not drink even one single drop of the three teachings" (namely, Buddhism, Confucianism, and conventional Shinto).

In reality, his doctrines included a combination of elements taken from esoteric Buddhism, Onmyōdō, and Taoist thought and religion. Kanetomo continued a tendency already present in Ise Shintō and Ryōbu Shintō, but he carried it out on a much larger scale than his predecessors, to the point of creating a comprehensive compilation of medieval Shintō doctrines through a combination of numerous religious and philosophical positions. This is also true of Yoshida rituals, such as Shintō goma, sōgen gyōji, jūhachi shintō gyōji (collectively known as sandan gyōji), and Hokuto-sai, Anchin-sai, and Tenku-sai, all of which are characterized by numerous elements taken from esoteric Buddhism and Onmyōdō. Finally, Kanetomo had the exclusive authority to confer to the title of kami on humans, and to establish rankings for kami, and also to appoint Shintō priests—authority he exercised by issuing special authorization certificates (Sōgen senshi, Shintōsai kyojō).
This authority facilitated the diffusion of Yoshida Shintō throughout Japan.



Yoshida Kanemigi  吉田兼右 (1516-1573), who became head of the Yoshida house one generation after Kanetomo's death, began to spread Yoshida Shintō among minor shrine priests in the provinces by issuing many more authorization certificates than his predecessors, and by visiting regional shrines himself. His sons Yoshida Kanemi (1535-1610) and Bonshun (1553-1632) joined the entourages of Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Yokugawa Ieyasu, and tried to strengthen the position of their lineage.

Their efforts were rewarded later in the Edo period, when the Shosha negi kannushi hatto [Ordinances for shrine priests], issued in 1665, placed all shrines under the control of the Yoshida. However, the Edo period also saw the revival of Ise Shintō and the formation of Yoshikawa Shintō and Suika Shintō, and Hayashi Razan, Deguchi Nobuyoshi, Amano Sadakake, Usui Masatane and others began to criticize the Yoshida version of Shinto. In response to these developments and criticisms, the Yoshida house appointed the Suika scholar Matsuoka Yūen (1701-1783) as head of its academy in an effort to incorporate elements of Suika Shintō; apologetic texts such as the Nihon jingi seitōki and the Shingyō ruiyō were also published to rebut criticism.

Yoshida Shintō could not, however, avoid being excluded from the newly arising Shintō trends central to the period; in addition, from the mid-Edo period onwards frequent disputes were encountered with the Shirakawa Jingi Hakke house concerning the control over Shinto shrines. The Yoshida nonetheless preserved their authority throughout the early-modern period until the traditional system of shrine supervision was abolished by the Meiji government in 1868.
source : Ito Satoshi, Kokugakuin, 2006


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1/28/2011

Daisen Akita Festivals

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Daisen town in Akita

秋田県大仙市




quote
Daisen is a sprawling city in the south of Akita, famous for its fireworks, rice wine, baseball obsession, winter festivals and many other unique attractions.

List of Yearly Events

January
Early Jan: Omagari New Talent Music Festival
Mid-month: Yatsuzaka “Bonden” Festival (Nakasen)
八坂神社梵天まつり

February
Early Feb: Hotta Saku Winter Festival (Senboku)
11th: Kariwano Giant Tug of War 刈和野の大綱引き
10th: River Crossing “Bonden” Festival (Hanadate) 川を渡るぼんでん
15th: Bird Child Dance and Tug of War (Omagari)
4th Sundary: Ota Fire Festival 太田の火まつり

March


Sake Summit in Nangai 酒遊サミットin なんがい
- source : shoko.skr-akita.or.jp

3rd Sunday: Dakerokusho Shrine “Bonden” float festival (Jinguji)
嶽六所神社奉納梵天
Late March: New Fireworks Collection (Omagari)
Late March-Early April: Yaotome Cherry Blossom Festival (Nakasen)
March 31 長野神社 梵天まつり

April
saotome sakura matsuri 八乙女さくらまつり

May
大曲子どもつり大会
花火鑑賞士のつどい

June
Kawaguchi Canyon Ground Golf Tournament (Ota)
A Sunday in June: National “Obako” Folk Song Competition (Omagari)
秋田おばこ節全国大会
Late June: Kashima Float Festival (Omagari)鹿島流し

July
1st Sunday: Midai festival and Junior Sumo Competition (Engyouji)

August
Early August: 550 Year Old Baseball Team Tournament (Nangai)
Omagari Summer Festival 夏まつり大曲
15th: Aya Summer Festival (Senboku) まつり彩夏せんぼく
16th: Donpan Festival (Nakasen) ドンパンまつり
17th: National Treasure on display at Sui Shrine (Nakasen)
4th Saturday: Omagari Fireworks
まほろば唐松定期能公演

September
National “Ohara” Folk Song Competition (Omagari)
「秋田おはら節」全国大会
Nanbu Chuhei Cup Ground Golf Tournament (Ota)
10th & 11th: Nagano Shrine Festival 長野神社祭典
14th: Hachiman Shrine Festival (Jinguji) 八幡神社祭典
Late Sep: 500 Year Old Baseball Competition (Kamioka)
神岡南外花火大会

October
Ou Ota Road Race
2nd Monday: Osazawa Park Festival (Kariwano)
Kuromoriyama Fitness Marathon (Kariwano)
Mid-month: Lake Biyama Autumn Festival (Kyowa)
協和ダム美山湖紅葉フェスティバル
3rd Saturday: National Jumbo Rabbit Festival (Ota)
全国ジャンボうさぎフェスティバル
Late Oct: Autumn Bounty Fair (Omagari)
大仙市秋の稔りフェア

November
2nd Sunday: Tohoku Shogi Tournament (Nishi-senboku)
東北学生将棋大会
国指定名勝「池田氏庭園」特別公開

December
Other Noh Theatre by Bonfire (Kyowa)
source : www.city.daisen.akita.jp

大仙市 
〒014-8601 秋田県大仙市大曲花園町


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Ota Fire Festival 太田の火まつり

Up until around 30 years ago, each village would hold their own small separate celebration of the 14-16th days of the lunar New Year. The Ota Fire Festival has brought all of those together into one joint event, and is held on the fourth saturday of February every year.

There are many things to see, including a taiko drum performance, the
"Paper hot-air balloons" which dance magically in the icy night sky, and
"Rice planting in the snow" to pray for a bountiful harvest.


CLICK for more photos

There is also "Tenpitsu yaki 天筆焼き", a ceremony where people write their wishes and desires onto brightly coloured pennants and then fling them into a fire. If the ash floats up from the fire and drifts a long way away then it means their wish has a good chance of coming true.


CLICK for more photos

Another performance is the
"hitting with bamboo poles", take uchi 竹打ち
takeuchi matsuri 竹打ち祭り
Two groups of fearless men, from the North and the South, dress in protective gear and grab long bamboo poles. They line up in two lines, separated by the lenght of the bamboo poles.
They now start hitting the ground and each other, until most of the bamoboo is broken.
The match is held in the evening, with huge bonfires for light.
The winning team is the answer to the prediction of a good harvest in the coming year.

秋田の奇祭"六郷の竹打ち"
Special Festival, Kisai


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the reporter
gets a good whack -
take-uchi festival


Gabi Greve
watching the preparations for this festival on TV


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***** . Fire Festivals (hi matsuri)  

***** . Kisai 奇祭 special festivals  


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1/21/2011

Yamagata Festivals INFO

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. Regional Festivals - From Hokkaido to Okinawa .

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Yamagata Festivals

***** Location: Yamagata
***** Season: Each month
***** Category: Observance


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Explanation

source : www.yamagatakanko.com

January
Heisei Nabe Gassen Cook Off (Tendo City)
Mid-January
At this event devoted to the Japanese style of hot pot cooking called nabe, you can taste a wide range of nabe from not only within Yamagata but also from the entire Northeastern Tohoku region of Japan. There are even some overseas varieties of this originally Japanese dish.

Sasano Kannon Hatsu Ju-shichi-do Matsuri
(Yonezawa City)
January 17th
There are booths selling traditional arts and crafts including Sasano Ittobori wood carvings at this annual festival of the Sasano Kannon Temple.

Sakata Nihonkai Kandara Matsuri (Sakata City)
The 4th Saturday and Sunday in January
Experience the taste of Shonai at this festival by eating dongara jiru, a local cod stew dish found only in this region. During this festival, the streets of Sakata are lined with booths and venders with generation after generation of history serving their own unique specialty foods

Nihonkai Kandara Matsuri (Tsuruoka City)
The 3rd Sunday in January
During this festival, you can enjoy the taste of dongara jiru, a local cod stew dish often eaten during the winter in the Shonai region.

Yaya Matsuri (Shonai Town)
A Sunday in Mid-January
Boys between the ages of 5 and 14 are showered with cold water during this unique festival that takes places during the dead of winter at the Chigawara Hachiman Shrine.

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February

Zao Juhyo Matsuri (Yamagata City)
Late-January to Early-February
This festival of fire and ice takes place during the best time of the year to view the juhyo, trees so covered in snow and ice that they are called the ice monsters of Mt. Zao.

Kurokawa Noh Ogisai
. Ōgisai 王祗祭(おうぎさい) OgiSai Festival .
(Tsuruoka City, Kushibiki District)
February 1st and 2nd
Pray for a bountiful new year while watching this Noh performance at the Kasuga Shrine.

Shinjo Yuki Matsuri (Shinjo City)
Early-February
This snow festival held in the Mogami Park area is one of the biggest winter events of the Shinjo area.

Uesugi Yuki Toro Matsuri (Yonezawa City)
The 2nd Saturday and Sunday in February
Over 3,300 candle-lit snow lanterns decorate the area around Uesugi Temple and Matsugasaki Park during this festival.

Kasedori (Kaminoyama City)
February 11th
This unique festival, believed to prevent fires, is a folk tradition passed down in Kaminoyama. They welcome new participants!

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March

Yamadera Basho Memorial Hall Special Exhibition: The Beauty of Hina Dolls (Yamagata City)
Late-February to Early-April
This is a special exhibition of Hina Dolls, which were introduced to Yamagata by safflower traders during the Edo period (1603-1868).

Tsuruoka Hina Monogatari (Tsuruoka City)
Early-March to Early-April
For one month in the spring, Hina dolls and other Hina crafts that were once owned by the Sakai clan are put on display throughout the city.

Sakata Hina Exhibition (Sakata City)
Late-February to Early-March
This is an exhibition of Hina dolls and adorable Udogawara clay dolls that were owned by various aristocratic families, including the Homma family, once the biggest landowner in Japan.

Kasuga Shrine Kinensai
Kurokawa Noh Performance
(Tsuruoka City, Kushibiki District)
March 23rd
This is a performance by the Kurokawa Noh group, which has been designated as a National Intangible Cultural Asset.

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April

Yachi Hina Matsuri (Kahoku Town)
April 2nd and 3rd
This is an opportunity to see the Hina dolls once owned by wealthy merchant families in the Yachi area during the flourishing safflower trade of the Edo period (1603-1868).

Kajo Kanokai Cherry Blossom Viewing
(Yamagata City)
Cherry Blossom Season
The approximately 1,500 sakura trees in Kajo Park, located in the remains of Yamagata Castle, make this the best place to view the cherry blossoms in Yamagata City.

Tsuruoka Sakura Matsuri (Tsuruoka City)
Mid-April
Not only is Tsuruoka Park the best place to view cherry blossoms in Yamagata prefecture, it was selected as one of the top 100 cherry blossom viewing sites in all of Japan. It contains over 800 sakura trees that bloom beautifully in spring, including the popular Somei Yoshino variety.

Sakata Hiyoriyama Matsuri:
Flower Viewing and Tea Party (Sakata City)
Mid- to Late-April
Sakata City’s Hiyoriyama Park was selected as one of the top 100 city parks in Japan, and it boasts over 500 sakura trees, including the popular Somei Yoshino variety.

Human Shogi (Japanese Chess) (Tendo City)
A Saturday and Sunday in April
A human shogi match is held as part of the cherry blossom viewing festivities in Tendo City. People dressed as life sized shogi pieces on an enormous board become warriors who move according to the commands of professional Shogi players in this traditional festival.

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May

Spring Broiled Herring Matsuri (Shinjo City)
April 28th to May 5th
As the snow melts and flowers bloom, the people of Shinjo City celebrate the end of the long winter in this festival, where they eat broiled herring and drink together in the pleasant spring weather.

Yonezawa Uesugi Matsuri (Yonezawa City)
April 29th to May 3rd
At this festival you can join an enormous crowd of excited and cheering spectators to witness a recreation, complete with antique flintlock guns, of the epic battle between 700 members of Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen’s armies that occurred during the Warring States period (1493-1573).

Yakushi Matsuri Gardeners’ Market (Yamagata City)
May 8th to May 10th
Vendors come from all over Japan to sell a wide variety of plants at the famous Gardeners’ Market of the Kokubunji Yakushi Temple Festival.

Sakata Matsuri (Sanno Matsuri) (Sakata City)
May 19th to May 21st
There is a parade of portable shrines and floats on a variety of themes, including the Great Lion that symbolizes Sakata, at this festival.

Tenjin Matsuri (Monster Festival) (Tsuruoka City)
May 25th
This festival of the Tenmangu Shrine is dedicated to Michizane Sugawara, a scholar and politician who lived from 845 to 903. People dress up like monsters and go on parade at this unique festival, which is one of the Three Great Festivals of Shonai.

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June

Sakuranbo Matsuri (Sagae City)
Early-June to Early-July
Sagae City is a major producer of cherries, and the whole town becomes cherry themed during this festival with a wide variety of cherry related events.

Cherry Pit Spitting Grand Prix (Higashine City)
Mid-June
A cherry spitting competition is the main attraction at this event, which also features dance performances and sales of cherries and other local Higashine City produce.

Higashizawa Park Rose Matsuri (Murayama City)
Early-June to Early-July
Over 20,000 roses in over 750 varieties bloom at Higashizawa Park.

Ayame Matsuri (Nagai City)
June 10th to July 10th
There are over a million irises of 500 different varieties in the 3.3 hectacre Ayame Park.

Sakata Ajisai (Sakata City)
Late-June to Early-July
The Iimoriyama Park of the Ken Domon Museum of Photography is famous for its wide variety of hydrangea flowers.


. Domon Ken 土門拳 and temple Muro-Ji 室生寺 .

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July

Mt. Gassan Opens (Nishikawa Town)
July 1st
Mt. Gassan, which has the highest peak of the three sacred mountains of Dewa Sanzan, is open to the public starting on this day. The new mountain greenery reflected in snow left over from the winter is beautiful.

Mt. Chokai Opens (Yuza Town)
July 1st
On this day, Mt. Chokai is opened to the public, and there is a prayer ceremony to wish for the safety of mountaineers. The view of the ocean from Mt. Chokai on a clear day is unforgettable.

Kurokawa Noh Outdoor Performance:
Suien no Noh (Tsuruoka City, Kushibiki District)
July 29th
The tradition of Kurokawa Noh theatre has been passed down for over 500 years by Yamagata farmers and is designated as a National Intangible Cultural Asset. Don’t miss this chance to see an outdoor performance of this traditional theatre group.

Sakekawa Kabuki Performance (Sakekawa Village)
July 2nd
This is a performance by the Sakekawa Kabuki theater group. Although its origins are in the Kabuki theatre of the Edo period (1603-1868), Sakekawa Kabuki has since evolved to become its own unique style of traditional Kabuki theatre.

Hijiori Hot Springs Opening Ceremony
(Okura Village)
July 14th
This is the opening ceremony for the Hijori Hot Springs, which were discovered in the year 807 AD.

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August

Sakata Fireworks Show (Sakata City)
The 1st Saturday in August
This is an invigorating fireworks show that combines music and some of the biggest fireworks in Eastern Japan, including the Giant Star Mine.

Yamagata Hanagasa Matsuri (Yamagata City)
August 5th to August 7th
This gorgeous festival brightens up three midsummer nights in Yamagata City, and it has become known as one of the four great festivals of the Japan’s Northeastern Tohoku region.

Akagawa Fireworks Exhibition (Tsuruoka City)
August 10th
Over 12,000 fireworks light up the night sky at this enormous fireworks exhibition.

Murayama Tokunai Matsuri (Murayama City)
Mid-August to Late-August
Children and adults alike create a variety of floats and dance wearing traditional costumes in this festival.


Shinjo Matsuri (Shinjo City)
August 24th to 26th
You can see portable shrines with a rich historical tradition at this festival, which is known for its gorgeous floats.

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September

The Biggest Imoni Festival
In Japan
(Yamagata City)
The 1st Sunday of September
It takes an enormous six-foot tall pot to cook enough imoni (beef and taro potato stew) to feed everyone at this event, which symbolizes the coming of fall to the citizens of Yamagata. It truly is The Biggset Imoni Festival in Japan.
boiling sweet potatoes

Sagae Matsuri (Sagae City)
September 9th to 16th
A traditional form of horseback archery from the Kamakura Era (1185-1333) called yabusame takes central stage at this festival of Sakae City’s Hachimangu shrine. In addition to archers in traditional dress, there is even a yabusame archery event that is said to predict the outcome of the coming harvest.

Yachi Donga Matsuri (Kahoku Town)
Mid-September
The procession of a portable shrine and a performance by the Hayashi Buraku traditional dance group, which has been designated a National Intangible Cultural Asset, are among the many events at this festival revolving around Yachi’s Hachimangu Shinto Shrine.

Kaminoyama Onsen All Japan Scarecrow Festival
(Kaminoyama City)
Mid-September
Hundreds of scarecrows in all sorts of shapes and sizes are on display at this exhibition, from traditional scarecrows to imaginative modern designs.

Shirataka Ayu Matsuri (Shirataka Town)
Mid-September to Late-September
Catch young sweetfish from the Mogami River and fry them with salt or skewer them with miso sauce. Sharing a drink with a friend along the Mogami Riverside is unforgettable.

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October

Chokaisan Jinroku Tsunokirisai (Yuza Town)
Early-October
There is a traditional cutting of the deer antlers at this sacred event, which also serves as a prayer ceremony for traffic safety on the Chokai Blue Line Highway.

Nan’yo Chrysanthemum Matsuri (Nan’yo City)
Mid-October to Mid-November
The Nanyo Chrystanthemum Festival boasts the deepest historical, cultural, and artistic tradition of all the chrystanthemum festivals in Japan.

Takahata Winery: Fall Harvest Festival
(Takahata Town)
Early-October to Late-October
Celebrate the fall harvest at the Takahata Winery, where a variety of concerts and other events are held. Don’t forget to try some wine and nabe hot pot cooking.

Mogami Daisangyo Matsuri Produce Festival
(Shinjo City)
2nd Saturday and Sunday in October
Local agriculture and produce from all over the Mogami region is available in one place at this event. Come and experience the taste of autumn.

Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
(Yamagata City)
A Week in Early October in Odd Years –
Next Festival in 2009
See the top documentary films and meet the top documentary filmmakers from around the world at this exciting international film event.

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November

Kaminoyama Chrysanthemum Festival (Kaminoyama City)
October 17th to November 5th
Over 800 chrysanthemums decorate Kaminoyama City’s old castle district during this event.

Bukkoji Choyaku Nenbutsu (Tendo City)
November 17th
Bhuddist priests chant, ring bells, and perform a dance with an over 700 year history at this religious ceremony.

Kurokawa Noh Performance at the Kasuga Shrine Niinamesai (Tsuruoka City, Kushibiki District)
November 23rd
This harvest festival features a performance by the Kurokawa Noh, a traditional theatre group that has been designated a National Intangible Cultural Asset.

Start of the Season at the Tengendai Kogen Ski Area (Yonezawa City)
Late-November
The Tengendai Kogen Ski Area is the first to open in Yamagata Prefecture every year. You can go skiing here starting around late November to get a head start on enjoying the newly fallen powder snow.

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December

Horohado Year End Festival (Yonezawa City)
December 4th
Scantily clad men wake up early to pound rice to make mochi rice cakes at the Sengen Temple.

Takamatsu Kannon Hadaka Mochi Making-(Kaminoyama City)
Mid-December
Scantily clad men make mochi rice cakes at this year-end event that gives thanks for a bountiful harvest and prays for health and safety in the new year.
. Takamatsu Kannon Hadaka Mochitsuki 高松観音裸もちつき .

Dharma Doll Market: Kannon-sama no Otoshiya - Daruma Market
(Tsuruoka City)
December 17th
Shops selling auspicious objects associated with the New Year like Dharma dolls, decorated rakes, and battledore line the Nanoka-machi Kannon-do at this event, which is packed with the hustle and bustle of excited worshippers.

Shoreisai (Tsuruoka City, Haguro District)
December 31st to January 1st
This solemn religious ceremony, also called the New Year’s Eve Festival, is the most important of all the sacred rituals surrounding Mt. Haguro, the spiritual center of the three sacred mountains of the Dewa Sanzan.

Mt. Zao Ice Monster Light Up
(Yamagata City)
Late-December to Early-March
The ice monsters of Mt. Zao, trees so covered in snow and ice that that take on bizarre and monstrous shapes, are lit up beautifully during this event. The view from the ropeway at night is surreal.


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HAIKU




Kurokawa Noo 黒川能 (くろかわのう) Kurokawa Noh
. Ōgisai 王祗祭(おうぎさい) Ogi Sai Festival .

黒川能 水焔(すいえん)の能

. Kurokawa Noh and related kigo .


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Related words

***** . WKD : Main Index  


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1/13/2011

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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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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Related words

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

. Naked Festivals (hadaka matsuri 裸祭り) .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan . 

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1/08/2011

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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- - - - - 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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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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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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