Oyamato Shrine Festivals

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for koma inu　狛犬 guardian dogs see below


Ooyamato Shrine Festivals

***** Location: Nara, Tenri Village
***** Season: See below
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Ooyamato shinkoosai 大和神幸祭 (おおやまとしんこうさい)
Festival at shrine Oyamato Jinja
chanchan matsuri ちゃんちゃん祭 Chanchan festival

observance kigo for late spring



source :　iron.cocolog-nifty.com/matsuri
大和神社ちゃんちゃん祭り


April 1
at the shrine Ooyamato Jinja 大和神社 Oyamato Jinja
奈良県天理市新泉

The mikoshi is carried to the large stone otabisho 御旅所 resting place.

source and more photos :　tyantyan/index.html
中山町での「お旅所祭」
The tabisho is also called 岸田の市場.


Many prayer gongs (shooko) 鉦鼓　are rung when the mikoshi arrives, therefore the festival is also called "chanchan", like the sound of the gongs.


Chimaki mochi 粽餅 steamed rice dumplings are offered to the deities.

Various dances are performed.
ryuu no mai 龍の舞 "dragon dance"
.....「竜の口」舞い

ta no mi no mai 田の実の舞 "field fruit dance"
ogina mai 翁舞 a kind of sarugaku dance

Showing the sacred horse 神馬曳き and other rituals.



MORE
photos from this festival :
source : 09-6tyantyan



quote
Held on April 1, this is the annual high festival (reitaisai) of Ōyamato Jinja in Tenri City, Nara Prefecture.
On the day before the festival, those people who are to participate in the togyo (sacred procession) present offerings of taihei (large nusa, ritual purification wands) at the shrine. In an event called the yoimiya watashi, the shinshoku (priest) receives the taihei and makes a ceremonial offering (hōbei) with the performance of a norito.

The Chan-chan matsuri begins at ten o'clock the next morning, and with the transfer of the god (mitama utsushi) to the shin'yo (sacred palanquin) at approximately two o'clock, the procession sets forth. The syllables "chan-chan," representing the sound of the bells that accompany the procession to the otabisho (temporary destination or resting point), became the common name of the festival.

This is also the largest shinkō procession among festivals in the Yamato region. During the otabisho rites, there are offerings (kensen) of steamed rice cakes (chimaki mochi) and dedications (hōnō) of artistic performances.
source : Mori Sakae, Kokugakuin 2007


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Deities in residence are

Yamato no Ookuni Tama no Kami 倭大国魂神
（やまとのおおくにたまのかみ）
Okunitama no Kami
日本大国魂大神 in the central hall 中殿

Yachihoko no Kami 八千矛神（やちほこのかみ）to the left

Mi-Toshi no Kami 御年神（みとしのかみ） / 御年大神 to the right

. Toshigami 年神 God of the Year .
, Toshidon and other names


quote
Yamatonoōkunitama
[Yamato no ōkunitama] (Nihongi)
Other names: Yamato no ōkunitama no kami
The central deity (saijin) of the Ōyamato Shrine, but possessing ambiguous attributes. According to Nihongi's record of the sixth year of Emperor Sujin's reign, Yamato no Ōkunitama was originally enshrined together with Amaterasu ōmikami inside the palace, but the emperor feared the power of the two kami, and decided to no longer dwell under the same roof with them. Amaterasu possessed the maiden Toyosukiirihime no mikoto and led her to a new place of enshrinement at Kasanui no mura in Yamato, while
Yamato no Ōkunitama possessed Nunakiirihime no mikoto and was enshrined at the Ōyamato Shrine.

In his Kojikiden, Motoori Norinaga denied the theory that Yamato no Ōkunitama was the same as Ōkuninushi no kami, but the Ōyamato Jinja chūshinjō (1167) claims that Ōkunitama is the "rough spirit" (aramitama) of Ōnamuchi (another name for Ōkuninushi).
source : Matsunaga Naomichi, Kokugakuin 2005


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Other festivals


1月4日 -- January 4
O-yumi hajime 御弓始式 First Archery Offering
from the Ogasawara line of archery 小笠原流弓術

Sansan kudebasami shiki 三々九手挟式 shooting ritual

The arrows for this ritual are called
jintooya 神頭矢 and made from white shirano bamboo 白箆.
Feathers from an eagle or hawk.
source :　ogasawararyu kamakura


. WKD : Horses and Yabusame .

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6月30日 -- June 30
chinowa kuguri 茅の輪くぐり Summer purification

. Summer Purification Ceremony (nagoshi) .
chinowa 茅の輪 sacred ring
passing through the sacred ring, wagoshi matsuri　輪越祭


More festivals at the shrine:
source : ooyamato

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quote
Oyamato Shrine
is located in Tenri City, Nara Pref. It was called “Yamato no Miya” in ancient times. It is said that Emperor Sujin (B.C. 97-30), who was afraid of the sacred power of Okunitama no Okami, which was enshrined at the Imperial Place with Amaterasu Okami, ordered his daughter, Nunaki Iri Hime, to relocate it to this place. Later the emperor built the shrine here, assigning Ichishi no Nagaoichi as the head priest.


In the early Heian period, the shrine flourished and possessed the second largest shrine territory next to Ise shrine.
However with the capital relocation to Kyoto, the shrine fell into decline. From the nominal link, the deity of this shrine was imparted to Battle Ship Yamato, and the war memorial stone for the crew on Yamato is placed in the precinct.
Annual festival of “Chan Chan Festival,” in which a parade of people in ancient costumes walk through the town, carrying mikoshi and beating shoko (bronze gongs), is enjoyed by people as the charming sight of the spring.
source : nippon-kichi.jp




Homepage of the shrine: OOYAMATO SHIRINE 大和神社
source : ooyamato


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狛犬大神 Komainu Daijin
八幡大神 Hachiman Daijin
道祖大神 Dooso Daijin
The amulets come in a beautiful wooden box.


a shrine with the same kanji, but different reading

小諸市の大和神社（やまとじんじゃ)
Shrine Yamato Jinja, Komoro Town, Nagano
from 宗教法人「紀元会」Kigen Kai
source : cult.s295


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. Ookunitama 大国魂神社 Okunitama Jinja .
Miya-Machi,Fuchu-Shi,Tokyo


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quote
komainu, koma inu　狛犬
Lit. 'Korean dog'.
A pair of lion-like guardian figures placed at each side of a shrine or temple entrance; believed to ward off evil spirits. Thought to have been brought to Japan from China via Korea, their name is derived from Koma 高麗, the Japanese term for the Korean kingdom of Koguryo 高句麗.

In the early Heian period (9c) the two statues were clearly distinguished: the figure on the left, called shishi 獅子 (lion), resembled a lion with its mouth open agyou 阿形;
the figure on the right, called komainu 狛犬 (Korean dog), resembled a dog with its mouth closed ungyou 吽形, and sometimes had a horn on its head.
Gradually the term komainu came to be used for both statues, and their shapes became indistinguishable except for the open and closed mouths a-un 阿吽. In the Heian period (9-12c) komainu were used as weights or door-stops for curtains and screens in the Seiryouden 清涼殿, Kyoto Gosho 京都御所.

Other famous examples include a pair of painted wooden komainu (10-11c) at Yakushiji 薬師寺, Nara; 14 painted and lacquered wooden figures at Itsukushima Jinja 厳島神社,(12-14c) Hiroshima prefecture, and the stone figures inside the south gate of Toudaiji 東大寺, Nara, made by the 12c Chinese sculptor Chinnakei 陳和卿.
source : www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus






. Shiisa シーサー Lion Dogs from Okinawa.



- quote -
The term A-un (阿吽) is the transliteration in Japanese of the two syllables "a" and "hūṃ". Written in Devanagari as अहूँ.
The original Sanskrit term
is composed of two letters, the first and the last of the Sanskrit alphabet. Together, they symbolically represent the beginning and the end of all things. In Japanese Mikkyō Buddhism, the letters represent the beginning and the end of the universe.
The term is also used
in Shinto and Buddhist architecture to describe the paired statues common in Japanese religious settings, most notably the Niō and the komainu. In most cases one of the two, the right one, has its mouth open to pronounce the sound "a", while the other has it closed to utter the sound "um". The symbolism is the same already seen. The generic name for statues with an open mouth is agyō (阿形 lit. "a" shape), that for those with a closed mouth ungyō (吽形 lit. "un" shape").
The term a-un
is used figuratively in some Japanese expressions as "a-un breathing" (阿吽の呼吸 a-un no kokyū) or "a-un relationship" (阿吽の仲 a-un no naka), indicating an inherently harmonious relationship or non-verbal communication.
- - - More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Komainu Daruma　だるま狛犬


source : facebook

市ヶ谷亀岡八幡宮 Kameoka Hachimangu

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. shishigashira 獅子頭 lion head mask .


. koma usagi 狛兎 rabbit statues as guardians at the gate .
Tsuki Jinja 調神社 , Saitama


. koma ...　 狛　 shrine guardian animals .

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in the limelight
for two seconds -
photographer's luck!


. Shrine Ichi no Miya, Wadakita, Ohaga .
和田北 一宮神社, my local shrine


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HAIKU



郷中の旗押し立てて春祭　　
gojuu no hata oshi-tatete haru matsuri

all over my home village
the flags are jostling -
spring festival

丘ひとつすっぽり包む桃の花

常朝
With more photos
source : teisyo.blogspot.com



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Related words

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

***** . Drums and Gongs .



source :　facebook
Tokyo Asakusa Sanja Jinja 浅草『三社神社』　
. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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. Join the Komainu Gallery on facebook .
The latest updates are here !

. koma-inu 狛犬 / 高麗犬 / 胡麻犬 "Korean Dog" .
- Introduction -

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Toowan kuyo for bowls

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Ritual for Chinese bowls (toowan kuyoo )

***** Location: Chiba, Japan
***** Season: Early Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Toowan Kuyoo 唐椀供養 (とうわんくよう)
memorial service for Chinese bowls

Last Sunday in March

at the temple Manmanji 万満寺, Matsudo town, Chiba
千葉県松戸市馬橋


source :　karawan.htm



This is a ritual to ward off paralysis from bleeding in the brain and other effects of bad health (chuuki 中気除け) and after a purifying fire ritual of chopsticks and Chinese bowls, food is served in these bowls.
This ritual dates back to 1591, when Tokugawa Ieyasu passed here and was the first to eat from a purified rice bowl.

After the food is eaten, pilgrims crawl under the legs of the large Nio-Statue to ward off evil for the next year.


source :　www.matsudo-kankou.jp


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quote
Manman-ji (万満寺 - 萬満寺)
is a Buddhist temple located in the city of Matsudo in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The temple was built by Chiba Yoritane in 1256, originally as a Shingon Buddhist temple named Dainichi-ji, but was renamed Manman-ji in 1312.

Between 1532 and 1555 Takagi Tanetatsu, a regional leader, invited the Rinzai Zen priest Kinho from Daitoku-ji in Kyoto to the region. Over the next several years the area gained many adherents to Rinzai Zen, and Manman-ji became an important place of worship.



Manman-ji owns numerous examples of Buddhist statues of the Muromachi period.

The temple is located along the old road from Edo to Mito (Mito Kaido 水戸街道).
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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The only Temple of Fudo Myo-O that offers a ritual

to ward off paralysis 中気除け chuuki yoke
chuuki 中気 paralysis (from bleeding in the brain)



Nioo mata kuguri 仁王尊股くぐり
During the three days of the New Year celebrations and at the big temple festivals in Spring and Autumn it is possible to crawl under the legs of the Nio statues, which is another special ritual not seen in Japan. It will ward off evil influence and keep you healthy, especially in times of smallpox in the Edo period.
It used to be a custom of local people, mostly bringing their sick children.
But later it spread and even Daimyo lords came to perform this ritual.

. . . . .



Mizukake Fudo 水掛不動 Fudo to pour water over


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




Other festivals of this temple

１月 - 新年厄除け祈祷(三が日間)
３月 - 不動尊春季大祭(27日～29日)
５月 - 水子、早世者合同供養（母の日）
８月 - Daisegaki e 大施餓鬼会(16日)
11月 - こども厄除祈祷(15日前後の日曜日)
12月 - Shimai Fudoo 終不動(28日) Last Fudo ritual of the year


source : www.manmanji.or.jp/gyouji.htm

. . . . .

. Fudo Myo-O 不動明王 Acala Vidyârâja .


. Mizukake Fudo 水掛不動明王 .


. Nio, Deva Kings 仁王 (Nioo, Niou) .


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***** . Chawan ご飯茶碗 rice bowl .


***** . OBSERVANCES – SPRING SAIJIKI .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Keta Shrine Kunimuke Festival

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Kunimuke festival (oide matsuri)
Shrine Keta Taisha in Ishikawa

***** Location: Ishikawa, Japan
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Oide matsuri 御出祭 (おいでまつり) "Departure Festival"
(Ode matsuri おでまつり【御出祭】) . 平国（おいで）祭
..... Kunimuke matsuri 平国祭（くにむけまつり）Kunimuke Festival
(Keat Heikunisai 気多平国祭（けたへいこくさい）)

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Shrine Keta Jinja 気多神社



Keta taisha(気多大社 - Keta Big shrine) is the head shrine of Noto district, in Hakui Town, Ishikawa prefecture.
The deity of this shrine is known as the god of love, and many young women come to wish for good love and marriage.

Dedicated to Oanamuji no mikoto (大己貴命).

Festivals of the shrine: U-matsuri, Hirakuni-matsuri.

Many people have seen UFO flying from the back mountain of this shrine.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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quote
Mogi Sakae wrote:

A shinkōsai 神幸祭 (processional festival) held from March 18 to 23 at Keta Jinja 気多神社, Hakui City 石川県羽咋市 , Ishikawa Prefecture.


能登生國魂神社(氣多本宮) Keta Hongu


The festival name is also read heikokusai 平国祭. It is a rite that recollects the territorial pacification exploits of the saijin (main enshrined kami) Ōnamuchi no mikoto.




A grand procession with a shinme (a horse upon which the kami rides 神馬) at the head makes a round trip from Keta Shrine to Ikukuni tamahiko Shrine 生国魂神社 in Nanao City, a trip of a hundred and several tens of kilometers lasting five nights and six days.

It is said that spring comes to the Noto region with this festival. Although in former times this used to be a rite in which a shin'yo (sacred palanquin) processed around the entire province, it is now limited to the counties of Hakui and Kajima.

In the procession the shinme is in the lead, with long-handled scythes, shrine name flags, rice chests, standards, shishinboko (four-kami pikes, shishin no hoko シジンノホコ 四神矛), bows and arrows, kunimuke hiroboko (wide-bladed kunimuke halberds 広矛（ひろほこ）, and mounted priests in front and behind, protecting the shin'yo.

On the first day it travels around the northern area of Hakui County, stopping at Takiya Shrine in Hakui Town.
On the second day, the procession moves around the southern area and stops over night at the Inoyama Shrine in Inoyama Town.
On the third day it enters Kajima District and proceeds to the Noto Ikukunitamahiko Shrine. This is another name for Keta Jingū and is regarded as its original shrine.

When the shin'yo enters the shrine the people who have been accompanying it raise a shout and pour into the shrine precincts (keidai). The mounted priests proceed into the grounds as well.
However, in recent years, it is said that if they fall off their horses there will be an abundant harvest, so it has become quite wild.

On the fourth day they begin their return journey from Nanao to Kajima County, stopping at Shirahiko Shrine in Toriya Town.

On the fifth day they pass through the towns in the Noto area on their return to the main shrine (honsha). This is also called the oide matsuri (Departure Festival). The shin'yo is enshrined in the haiden (worship hall) until the Oisumi reisai (annual festival) on April 3.
Another name for this (latter) festival is the Eye of the Snake Rite (Ja no me shinji) in which a snake eye target representing the great serpent that Ōnamuchi no mikoto vanquished is destroyed with long swords, halberds and bows and arrows.



There is a kunimuke festival on May 21
at Hiraoka Jinja in Higashi Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture
河内枚岡神社.



In addition to the main ritual observance, at present the priests merely wave and offer halberds to the kami. The rite is said to originate in the myth relating the occasion of Nagasunehiko's prevention of Emperor Jinmu's eastern movement over Ikoma Mountain during the latter's pacification campaign of the Yamato region.

Formerly there was a ceremonial event in which participants went into the mountains in the evening to collect wood. Then they ran around striking the shrine buildings and the worship hall with the collected wood before returning home. In pre-modern times this occurred on February 1, but was abolished with the Meiji Resoration.
It was revived in the seventh year of the Taishō era (1918), and since then has been observed on the present festival day.

source : Kokugakuin University. 2006


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Keta Taisha U Matsuri 気多大社鵜祭
Cormorant festival at Shrine Keta Taisha
December 16



Cormorants are set free before the festival and if they came back to the shrine ground, they were captured and set free at the nearby beach again.



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Shrine Sukunahiko no kami kataishi jinja
宿那彦神像石神社（すくなひこのかみかたいし）




Takeminakata no kami 建御名方神（たけみなかたのかみ）
son of Oanamuji no mikoto

. Sukunahikona no mikoto 少彦名命 Sukuna Hikona, Sukuna-Hikona .

These two deities held a comparison of their powers by trying to destroy a poisonous snake from the region.




They used special weapons like sickles, which are in a tree trunk to our day.
鎌の宮神木 kama no miya shingi


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. yakuyoke　厄除け amulet against evil .


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. jinme, shinba, shinme 神馬 sacred horses in Japan 　　


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***** ukai 鵜飼 (うかい) cormorant fishing


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Tsunemochi Festival

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Tsunemochi Festival (Tsunemochi matsuri)

***** Location: Chichibu, Japan
***** Season: Mid-Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Tsunemochi matsuri 恒持祭 (つねもちまつり)
Tsunemochi festival

Yamada no haru matsuri 山田の春祭り
Spring festival of Yamada

Second Sunday in March
(It used to be the 15th day of the third lunar month.)

At shrine Tsunemochi Jinja 恒持神社 in Chichibu, Saitama.


source and more photos :　kanto/yamada

One "flower float (kasaboko 笠鉾) is pulled around the town. It is decorated with paper flowers. Three other festival floats (yatai 屋台) are also in the parade.
When they reach the shrine, there are dance performances.
The wheels of the floats are lubricated with green onion leaves, to remind people of the hard times when oil was not available.

With a performance of Tsunemochi Shrine Kagura dance 恒持神社神楽.
Children in colorful robes also perform traditional dances on the floats.

At night, they are illuminated and fireworks held in the shrine compound.

This festival is to ward off evil and prevent insects from harming the harvest for the coming year.

The mountainous Chichibu region is famous for its many festivals. This is one of the larger ones and brings spring to the region.

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source :　matsuri/cat

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Tsunemochi Jinja 恒持神社 in Chichibu, Saitama.
秩父市山田1606

This present shrine was erected in 1908, when three local shrines were grouped together.

It is also said to be in honor of prince Tsunemochi Oo 恒望王, brother of the famous Heike leader Takamochi Oo 高望王 (Taira no Takamochi 平高望) around 889.
His office was at Araki 新木, now the shrine is located here.

The deity in residence is a god of water 水の神, who provides water from the top of Mount Takashinoyama 高篠山. At the spring near the top of the mountain is the Dragon Shrine 竜神社 Ryuu jinja.


quote
The Taira (Heishi 平氏) were one of the four important clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period (794-1185) -
the others were the Fujiwara, the Tachibana and the Minamoto.
The Kammu Heishi line, founded in 889 by Taira no Takamochi (a great-grandson of the 50th Kammu tenno, reigned 781-806), proved to be the most strong and dominant line during the late Heian period with Taira no Kiyomori eventually forming the first samurai dominated government in the history of Japan.
A great-grandson of Heishi Takamochi, Taira no Korihira, moved to Ise Province (now part of Mie Prefecture) and established a major daimyo dynasty.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



. WKD : Taira no Kiyomori 平 清盛 .


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***** . OBSERVANCES – SPRING SAIJIKI .


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Zama Ikasuri Shrine Festival

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Zama festival (Zama matsuri )

***** Location: Osaka, Japan
***** Season: Late summer
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Zama matsuri 座摩祭 (ざままつり) Zama festival
Zama no misogi 座摩の御祓（ざまのみそぎ） Zama purification

Zama jinja 座摩神社 shrine Zama jinja, 坐摩神社 Ikasuri Jinja
July 21 until 23
3 Watanabe, 4-chome, Kyutaro-machi, Chuo-ku, Osaka City


quote
Ikasuri Shrine
beloved by the public under the nickname Zama-san, and worshipped as an ancient deity of residence protection, travel safety, and safe delivery.
It is said that the shrine was established when Empress Jingu enshrined Ikasuri-no-kami 座摩の神 at the mouth of the Yodo River when she returned from overseas.



On the other hand, according to the Engishiki (the classical compendium of rules), Hideyoshi Toyotomi moved the shrine of the guardian god of Settsu Nishinari-gun, formerly located on the south end of the Watanabe Bridge around Temmabashi, to this new location along with its name in the 11th year of the Tensho Period (1583), in order to build Osaka Castle.

From then on, merchants and entertainers gathered and the region thrived, and this resulted in second-hand shops and ceramic wholesale shops gathering around the area. Within the premises is the Toki (ceramics) Shrine, and the Toki Ceramics Festival (tooki matsuri 陶器祭り） is held on July 23 of every year.
source : www.osaka-info.jp/en


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amulet for the winter purification
人形と蘇民将来子孫門の御札
paper dolls hitogata and Somin Shorai

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Amulets from 陶器神社 Toki Jinja:

For the Jizoo-E 地蔵会 Jizo Festival on July 21 - 23.
A gourd to prevent fire is hung from a Sasa reed branch.
kaboo no hyootan mamori 火防の瓢箪守 gourd amulet to prevent fire

This Jizo is a Shogun Jizo from Atago 愛宕山将軍地蔵, who comes to extinguish fires with the water from his gourd.
A small clay bell is also hung from the twig.

another amulet for the festival is a clay figure of
sekku kazari no tora 節供飾りの虎 Tiger decoration for the Seasonal Change


. Atago Jinja 愛宕神社　 Atago shrines .

. Amulets and Folk Art from Osaka .

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Ceramic Shrine 陶器神社せともの祭 and Ceramic Festival


５柱を総称して坐摩大神（いかすりのおおかみ）
Ikasuri no Ookami
The five deities protect the home,
and are helpful for a safe travel and easy childbirth.




The crest of the shrine is a heron
sagimaru, sagi maru 鷺丸(さぎまる)

When Emperess Jingu looked for a place for this shrine, a group of white herons from Tamino no shima 田蓑島 (now near Tenmanbashi bridge 天満橋) came with pine twigs in their beaks to show her the place.


懸鳥祭　　Festival on December 2　
offerings of animals, fish and birds, are made


Homepage of the Shrine 坐摩神社
source : www.ikasuri.or.jp
大阪市中央区久太郎町４丁目渡辺３号


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. Somin Shorai 蘇民将来　 .


People prepare paper dolls (hitogata 人形, katashiro 形代 ) and float them on small paper ships to take away bad fortune.

. Summer Purification .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　


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Ceramic Lantern at Ceramic　Shrine 　陶器神社





Osaka Setomono Matsuri　大阪せともの祭り
Setomono Festival



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Things found on the way


quote
Jichinsai　地鎮祭
"Ground-purification rites."
Also read "tokoshizume no matsuri."
At the commencement of civil engineering or architectural projects, this ritual is performed to pray that the project proceeds safely and smoothly, and to pray that no structural problems arise after its completion.
Other names for this ritual include jikanjō, shizume, jibiki, jimatsuri, chinsai, and chinsha.

This ritual is performed before the preliminary foundation-laying stage of a given project. At the Grand Shrines of Ise, the pre-construction jichinsai rite is called chinchisai and is also repeated after a project is finished, a rite referred to as kō-chinchisai ("post-completion chinchisai").

The saijin, or kami being petitioned in the rite, were once
the five ikasuri-no-kami (protectors of court lands):

生井神　Ikui no kami, Protector of life
福井神　Sakui no kami, Bringer of good luck
綱長井神　Tsunagai no kami, Luck for fishing
波比岐神　Hahiki no kami, Protector of home and garden
阿須波神　Asuwa no kami, Protector of legs and travelling

In most cases today, however, the rite refers obliquely to "the kami who controls this land," thereby directing the prayer to the specific kami of a given land without specifying the kami's name.

There are also several cases in which the saijin is
Ubusunakami ("Protector kami of the life-giving land") or
Ōjinushigami ("Great protector kami of the land").

Generally, a hand washing ritual precedes the ceremony. The ceremony itself begins with a purification rite and a rite beseeching the kami to descend. After that, the shinsen, or offering of food and drink, is made to the kami and the ritualist(s) recites a norito liturgy. Then they purify the site and scatter more offerings. Thereafter, the following three rituals performed in succession, the hallmark of the jichinsai ritual.

First, a young girl performs the kusakarihajime (first ground-clearing) using a ritually pure sickle to start cutting the grass.
Next, the girl performs the rite of ugachizome (first ground-breaking) using a ritually pure hoe to dig a hole.
Third, the assistant ritualist performs the ritual burial of the izumemono (article of enshrinement) in the hole, but in fact the actual izumemono is buried after the ritual is over.

These days, the article buried is usually an iron human figurine, an iron mirror, or a small iron dagger, but on occasion an iron spear, iron shield, or jewel may also be used. The ceremony concludes with a bow of thanksgiving, the scattering of more sacred food and drink offerings, and the performance of the rite for the kami's ascent.
source : Endo Jun, Kokugakuin, 2007


jubatsu 修祓（しゅばつ）
kooshin 降神（こうしん）
kensen 献饌（けんせん）
norito soojoo 祝詞奏上（のりとそうじょう）
shihoo harai 四方祓（しほうはらい）
jichin 地鎮（じちん）
tamagushi hooten 玉串奉奠（たまぐしほうてん）
tessen 撤饌（てっせん）
shuushin 昇神（しょうしん）
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Asuwa Jinja 足羽神社
is the other shrine enshrining Ikasuri-no-kami.
When Emperor Keitai (継体天皇) left Fukui to be the Emperor, he established the shrine and enshrined Ikasuri-no-kami and himself.

photo and text from
source : Taisaku Nogi - facebook


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HAIKU


座摩祭古き船場を思ふなり
Zama matsuri furuki Senba o omou nari

Zama festival -
I am reminded
of the old Senba

anonymous
source :　www.jlogos.com


Senba, Semba

quote
Semba is a town of commerce and money surrounded by rivers on its three sides. The name Semba (ship's place) stems from the presence of a wharf there when canals were excavated and merchants were gathered to run Osaka, the then capital of a feudal lord's fief, in the 16th century.
The area has a grid of "Toori" (streets　通り) from east to west and "Suji" (avenues　筋) from south to north. The streets ("Tori") are lined with textile, sundry goods, cosmetic and other wholesalers, where the avenues ("Suji") form a business center clustered with banks, stockbrokers' offices and other business firms.

At Minami Semba on the north side of the subway station Shinsaibashi are many recently opened retail shops selling clothes, bags, stationery, tableware, sundry goods and other items. Not a few carries goods distinguished from what you find at department stores, attracting trend-conscious people.

Semba also has unique restaurants, coffee shops and bars around, with ethnic restaurants newly opened one after another where you can enjoy Thai, Vietnam, Indonesian and other Asian cuisines. The interiors of many restaurants are decorated in fancy design, and they serve foods of different countries so that they draw many, mostly young, people.
source : www.jnto.go.jp/eng


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Related words

***** . OBSERVANCES – SUMMER SAIJIKI .

***** . WKD : Ground-breaking ceremony (jichinsai ) .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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Maya Temple Visit

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Maya Temple Visit (Maya moode)

***** Location: Kobe, Japan
***** Season: Early Spring
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Maya moode 摩耶詣 (まやもうで)
visiting the Maya temple
..... Maya mairi 摩耶参（まやまいり）
Maya konbu 摩耶昆布（まやこんぶ）Maya kelp

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butsumo-e 仏母会 Ceremony for Buddha's Mother
observance kigo for early summer
May 8


Near the top of Mount Rokko in Ashiya, Kobe, on Mount Maya, there is a small temple dedicated to Maya, Mother of Shakyamuni Buddha.



Temple Butsumo Maya San Tooriten Jooji
仏母麻耶山忉利天上寺
Maya san Tenjooji 摩耶山天上寺 Tenjo-Ji

Tooriten is the name of a Buddhist paradise, where the deity Taishaku-Ten is in residence.

There are two famous statues, one of a Kannon with eleven heads and
one of the Mother of Shakyamuni Buddha 仏母摩耶夫人 (in the middle, below).


source PHOTO :　ruri no hoshi


At the time of Tenmu Tenno the priest Hodo Sennin 法道仙人 (hoodoo sennin) founded this temple
. . . CLICK here for Photos of Hodo Sennin !
空鉢（くはつ ） Kuhatsu
Karahachi Sennin 空鉢仙人（からはちせんにん）
"Mountain ascet with the emply begging bowl"
He came all the way from India, via Korea.
Together with him came the deity Gozu Ten-o 牛頭天王 (Ox-head Deity), who is celebrated at Shrine Hiromine Jinja 広峰神社 in Hiroshima and during the Gion Festival in Kyoto.


In former times, the local farmers around Mount Rokko 六甲山 came up here to the Maya temple ith their horses on the first day of the horse in the second lunar month and celebrated.
Nowadays it is celebrated on the spring equinox day in March.


People also came to pray for easy childbirth and health for the children and themselves. Maya is a guardian deity of women.



Maya konbu 摩耶昆布

As a speciality of this festival, konbu kelp on a string was sold. In former times it was transported on horseback.

The sound of Maya is said to remind the people of the sound of uma (horse), hence the strong relationship.



quote
Maya-san is one of the highest peaks around Kobe (2,446ft), commanding superb views across Osaka Bay. The mountain is a sacred site for Japanese Buddhism, and is associated with Maya Bunin, Mother of The Buddha. During the Meiji Period, the temple here, also known as 'Moon Temple', housed a small figure of Maya Bunin said to have been made by Order of Wu Ti during the Liang Dynasty era of the 6th century.
The sculpture was brought from China by Kobo Daishi. The annual festival of the Moon Temple took place during the 7th Day of the 7th Moon, an occasion during which the pilgrims ascended the mountain by night. Those taking part achieved the same merit as if they had made the ascent 48,000 times.
source : www.bonhams.com


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Festivals to honor the Mother of Budda

３月　春分の日 　摩耶詣 Maya Mairi

５月８日 　仏母会 Ritual for the Mother of Buddha
５月１５日 　仏母忌 Memorial Day for the Mother of Buddha

７月　初旬 　沙羅祭り Shara matsuri Sara Tree Festival 羅双樹

Festivals to honor Kobo Daishi

３月２１日 　正御影供
６月１５日 　青葉祭り his birthday
８月２１日 　夏弘法

More festivals
source : www.mayasan-tenjoji.jp


Homepage of this temple
http://www.mayasan-tenjoji.jp/


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mist over the gate
no one seen around,
a temple on the hillside

Hideo Suzuki



temple visits ...
familiar to my feet
in a dream

Dennis Chibi Holmes


clearing mist -
hillside temple's gate
wide open

Rosie Mann


- Shared by Hideo Suzuki -
Joys of Japan, July 2012






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A haiku by Yosa Buson, written at this temple:

菜の花や摩耶を下れば日の暮るる
na no hana ya maya o kudareba hi no kururu

rapeseed flowers -
walking down from Maya temple
it is getting dark


- - - - - Better known is this haiku by Buson,
also written at this temple


菜の花や月は東に日は西に
na no hana ya tsuki wa higashi ni hi wa nishini

rapeseed flowers -
the moon is in the east,
the sun in the west

. Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 in Edo .


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Maya on a Japanese stamp
The statue is at the temple Horyu-Ji


Maya Fujin, Maya Bunin 摩耶夫人
Queen Maya, Lady Maya
The mother of Shakyamuni Buddha
ブッダ（釈迦（しゃか））の生母


Queen Māyā of Sakya (Māyādevī) was the birth mother of the historical Gautama Buddha, Siddhārtha of the Gautama gotra, and sister of Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī the first Buddhist nun ordained by the Buddha. "Māyā" means "illusion" or "enchantment" in Sanskrit and Pāli. Māyā is also called Mahāmāyā ("Great Māyā") and Māyādevī ("Queen, literally a female-deva, 'goddess,' Māyā").
In Tibetan she is called Gyutrulma. Queen Mayadevi was born in Devadaha kingdom of Nepal.

Queen Māyā and King Suddhodhana did not have children for twenty years into their marriage. One day however, according to legend, Queen Māyā dreamt of a divine Bodhisattva on white elephant touching her side, and became pregnant.



Māyā gave birth to Siddharta c. 563 BCE. The pregnancy lasted ten lunar months.
Maya Devi was delighted by the park and gave birth standing while holding on to the branch of a sal branc. Legend has it that Prince Siddhārtha may have emerged from her right side. It was the eighth day of April.

Some interpretations of the life story of the Buddha attribute his birth to a virgin birth.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



Mother Maya and Child, India




摩耶夫人像（まやぶにんぞう）Maya bunin
. . . CLICK here for Photos of Japanese Maya Statues !


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Things found on the way


. Gozu Ten-o (牛頭天王) and the Gion Festival 　
Kyoto　


. Taishakuten, Taishaku-Ten 帝釈天 　
Indra, Sakra Deva　


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HAIKU


摩耶詣で筒の賽米鳴らしけり
Maya moode tsutsu ni saimai narashi keri

Maya temple visit -
rice offerings rustle
in the bamboo tubes

Yoshida Toyo (Tooyoo) 吉田冬葉 (1892 - 1956)


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摩耶像の慈愛のまなこ菊日和
Mayazoo no jiai no manako kiku biyori

this affectionate expression
of the Maya statue -
bright day for chrysanthemus

Tamura Aiko 田村愛子


. . . . .


秋涼や摩耶像の袖しかと見し
shuuryoo ya Mayazoo no sode shikato mishi

coolness in autumn -
I look carefully at the sleeve
of Maya's statue

Miyagishi Mie 宮岸美


source : haikukan.city


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Related words

***** . Rape blossoms (na no hana 菜の花) 　　


***** . konbu 昆布 (こんぶ) kombu kelp 　　



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Yahiko Niigata

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Four Seasons in Yahiko


Cherry blossoms
Peak: Early April to early May of every year
Place: Yahiko Shrine Sakura-en, Yahiko Park, Yahiko summit, Yahiko Station area, Gaienzaka-dori Street, etc

National High School Invitational Ekiden Relay Race in Yahiko　
Date: Last Saturday of every March


Yukake (Hot Water Splashing) Festival
Date: Mid-April of every year
Place: Yahiko Station - Yahiko Hot-Spring Resort - Yahiko Shrine.
The "Yukake" Festival begins by receiving hot-spring water from Yu Shrine where a sacred spring has been running for thousands of years.
A praying ritual is performed with a tub containing the water borne on the shoulders of the participants. Once the ritual is over, the tub containing the sacred hot water is mounted on a Yubiki-guruma cart, which is then wheeled through the hot-spring resort area as Kiyari chants are performed. As the sacred hot water is splashed over the spectators using bamboo branches with green leaves, those spectators pray for sound health, good luck, business success, and success in their exams.
Everyone is welcome to participate.


Daidai Kagura (National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property)
Date: April 18 of every year


Opening of Mt. Yahiko　　
Date: Mid-April of every year
This mountain opening event marks the start of the Mt. Yahiko sightseeing season in the lively spring atmosphere.

Yahagi Hono Sato-kaguramai Dance
(Village-Designated Cultural Property)
Date: April 24 of every year

Bonsai Exhibition Dedicated to Yahiko Shrine
Date: April 29 - May 5 of every year


Yahiko Firefly Festival
Date: Mid-June of every year

Yahiko Lantern Festival
Date: July 24 - 26 of every year
The Yahiko Lantern Festival, the village's traditional summer festival, is a three-day event where the local people enthusiastically get together. While the festival was traditionally held around June 14 by the lunar calendar, this was changed in 1961 to keep up with the times.
The festival is now held around June 25. On the night of July 25, a mystical parade featuring large lanterns dedicated by Dai-touro Kochu groups from around the prefecture, and numerous small Sho-dengaku lanterns offered by local parishioner groups, are carried through the streets, with two Mikagura floats at the center of the parade and attended by two dancing children - Kagaraku and Amainumai - along with the chief priest, other priests and shrine officials. Accompanied by cheerful Doraku music that is played by court musicians, the parade of lanterns – that is more than one kilometer long – departs from the shrine and then circuits the town for about two hours before returning to the front of the worship hall.
Then, the large lanterns are hung around a dancing stage set up in front of the worship hall, where the centuries-old Kagaraku and Amainumai dances are performed. The dancing ends at midnight. On the following day – the 26th – the Kangyosai festival is held, which completes the series of Shinto rituals.


Chrysanthemum Festival
Date: November 1 - 24 of every year


Ninen-mode and Hatsu-mode
(First Shrine Visit of the Year)
Date: December 31 - Mid-January of every year


Yumi Hajime Shinto Ritual
Date: January 7 of every year
On January 7, the Yumi Hajime Shinto ritual, an annual New Year event, is performed at Yahiko Shrine. This is an ancient Shinto ritual for expelling evil and praying for good luck and bumper crops in the coming year.


Kayuura Sumioki Shinto Ritual
Date: January 15 and 16 of every
Kayu Uranai
This is a mysterious Shinto ritual that is nowadays held only by this shrine. It is conducted at the beginning of the year in the hope of finding an oracle, praying for bumper crops and forecasting the weather conditions for the year. First, the "XX-sai" ceremony is held in the evening of January 15. On the following day – the 16th – the "Shinsen no Gi" ceremony is performed before dawn in a special building called the "Meshi-dono".
While the ritual is not open to the public, farmers have profound faith in the results of the fortune telling, which are not only posted in the shrine precincts but also printed and then distributed to 20,000 Hatsuho-ko group members around the prefecture.


source : www.vill.yahiko.niigata.jp

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. WKD : Festivals in Niigata .


. Shrine Echigo Ichi no Miya 越後一の宮 .


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Related words

***** . OBSERVANCES – SUMMER SAIJIKI .


. Amulets and Talismans from Japan .　

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