Shinto: The Way of the GodsShintoScholarly ReconstructionEnglish study drawing on Japanese sourcesShareShinto: The Way of the Gods 27Aston - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableAstonLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Shinto: The Way of the Gods 1Shinto: The Way of the Gods 2Shinto: The Way of the Gods 3Shinto: The Way of the Gods 4Shinto: The Way of the Gods 5Shinto: The Way of the Gods 6Shinto: The Way of the Gods 7Shinto: The Way of the Gods 8Shinto: The Way of the Gods 9Shinto: The Way of the Gods 10Shinto: The Way of the Gods 11Shinto: The Way of the Gods 12Shinto: The Way of the Gods 13Shinto: The Way of the Gods 14Shinto: The Way of the Gods 15Shinto: The Way of the Gods 16Shinto: The Way of the Gods 17Shinto: The Way of the Gods 18Shinto: The Way of the Gods 19Shinto: The Way of the Gods 20Shinto: The Way of the Gods 21Shinto: The Way of the Gods 22Shinto: The Way of the Gods 23Shinto: The Way of the Gods 24Shinto: The Way of the Gods 25Shinto: The Way of the Gods 26Shinto: The Way of the Gods 27Shinto: The Way of the Gods 28Shinto: The Way of the Gods 29Shinto: The Way of the Gods 30Shinto: The Way of the Gods 31›'Ô.')"Shinto: The Way of the Gods 27ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1=Ki-u no Matsuri= (praying for rain). No norito of this ceremony is given in the Yengishiki. It was performed in honour of the Gods of eighty-five shrines, and was accompanied by the usual offerings of cloth-stuffs. To a few out of the number a black horse was offered in addition. The choice of a black animal for this purpose belongs to the magical pre-religious stage of thought. Black is the colour of the rain-clouds, and therefore, on the principle that what suggests a thing will actually produce it, the exhibition of a black horse is thought likely to make the clouds collect and rain to fall. A white horse was offered when fine weather was desired. 2Mr. Weston, in his 'Mountaineering in the Japanese Alps,' describes the sacrifice of a black dog "symbolical of the wished-for storm-clouds" in order to cause rain. 3=Kama miso no matsuri= (divine-clothing-service).--This ceremony consisted in presenting offerings of clothing to the Sun-Goddess at Ise. It was celebrated twice a year, in the fourth and ninth months. The norito (No. 18) is very short and uninteresting. 4=Service for the Removal of the Ise Shrine=.--The norito (No. 24) is a very short formula. It announces to the Sun-Goddess the rebuilding of her shrine, which took place every twentieth year. A similar form was used in the case of the Food-Goddess. 5=Oho-tono hogahi= (luck-wishing or blessing of the Great Palace).--This ceremony was performed on the morning after the Kamu image and the Nihi-name. It was in honour of three deities, namely, the two Yabune no Kami, or House deities, and Oho-miya no me, a personified Lady Chamberlain. 6I quote from Sir Ernest Satow's 'Ancient Japanese Rituals' in the T. A. S. J., vol. ix. pt. ii., a ninth-century description of this ceremony:-- 7"The Jingikwan took four boxes containing precious stones, cut paper-mulberry bark, rice and sake in bottles, and placed them on two eight-legged tables, which were then borne by four attendants, preceded by Nakatomi and Imbe functionaries, all wearing wreaths and scarfs of paper-mulberry bark, walking in double line, the rear being brought up by virgin priestesses. On the procession arriving in front of the Palace gate, the tables were deposited under the arcade which ran along the outside of the wall. A servant called out for admittance, and the porter having announced the procession by saying that an officer of the Imperial Household had asked for admission in order to pronounce the Luck-wishing of the Great Palace, the order, 'Let him pronounce it,' was transmitted back from the Mikado. The porter thereupon called out 'Let him declare his name and surname,' in reply to which the officer advanced to a spot previously marked out by a wooden ticket with his name on it, and said: 8'It is so and so, of the Jingikwan, who wish to perform the Luck-wishing of the Great Palace.' To this the Mikado's answer was 'Call them.' The officer of the household replied 'Ô,' and retiring called the functionaries of the Jingikwan, who in their turn replied 'Ô.' The Nakatomi and Imbe then put on their wreaths of paper-mulberry, to which the latter added straps of the same material, and advanced ahead of the tables up to the 'Hall of Benevolence and Long Life.' The virgin priestesses had meanwhile entered by another gate, and were waiting in the Palace enclosure. They now followed the tables, and came up to the verandah on the east side of the building, where they took charge of the boxes of offerings. The procession then entered the building. One virgin priestess went to the Hall of Audience and scattered rice about it, while another proceeded to the gate on its south side and performed the same ceremony there. The Imbe took out the precious stones and hung them at the four corners of the Hall, and the priestesses withdrew, after sprinkling sake and scattering rice and cut paper-mulberry fibre at the four corners of the interior. The Nakatomi stood on the south side of the building while the Imbe turned to the south-east, and in a low voice read the ritual. The whole company next went to the Mikado's bath-room, and hung precious stones at its four angles, and the same at his privy, while the priestesses scattered rice and sprinkled sake as before." 9The norito (No. 8) of this ceremony, as appears from the archaic forms of language which it contains, is probably very ancient. It is quoted in the Kogojiui; and the Nihongi describes as "an ancient saying" a sentence which forms part of it. 10The reader will note the confusion--of a kind inherent in all mythologies--between the house considered as a deity and the protecting deity of the house. 11"When by command of the dear, divine ancestor and ancestress who divinely dwell in the Plain of High Heaven, the Sovran Grandchild[241] was made to take his seat on the high august throne of Heaven, and the Heavenly Emblems, namely, the mirror and the sword, were delivered to him, these words of blessing were pronounced: 'Let our sovran great offspring, the Sovran Grandchild, receiving over the celestial Sun-succession on this high throne of Heaven, rule tranquilly for myriads of thousands of autumns, for long autumns, over the Great-Eight-islands, the Rich Reed-plain, Land of fair rice-ears, as a peaceful country.' With these words they delivered it unto him. Then, celestial counsel having been held, they put to silence the rock-roots and tree-roots, even to the smallest blades of grass, that previously had power of speech. 12"And for the Sovran Grandchild who in Heavenly Sun-succession rules the Under-Heaven, to which he had descended, trees are now cut down with the sacred axes of the Imbe in the great valleys and the small valleys of the secluded mountains, and sacrifice having been made of their tops and bottoms to the God of the mountains, the middle parts are brought forth and set up as sacred pillars with sacred mattocks to form a fair Palace wherein the Sovran Grandchild finds shelter from the sky and shelter from the sun. To thee, therefore, Ya-bune no Mikoto [the Palace treated as a God] I address these heavenly, wondrous, auspicious words of calm and blessing. 13"He says: 'I humbly declare the names of the Gods who calmly and peacefully watch so that this Great Palace where he holds rule, as far downwards as the lowermost rock-roots, suffer no harm from reptiles among its bottom-ropes,[242] as far upwards as the blue clouds are diffused in the Plain of High Heaven, may suffer no harm from flying birds in the celestial smoke-hole,[243] that the joinings of the firmly planted pillars, and of the crossbeams, rafters, doors, and windows may not move or make a noise, that there may be no slackening of the tied rope-knots and no dishevelment of the roof-thatch, no creaking of the floor-joints or alarms by night. I humbly praise your honoured names, to wit, Yabune Kukunochi no Mikoto and Yabune Toyo-uke hime no Mikoto [House-tree God and House-food Goddess].[244] And inasmuch as you humbly preserve the Sovran Grandchild's reign to be firm and enduring, and humbly bless it as a lasting, prosperous, and perfect reign, the Imbe no Sukune [name], adding shining cloth and lustrous fine cloth to the countless strings of fair jewels prepared by the sacred jewel-makers with observance of purity and avoidance of pollution, and hanging stout straps on weak shoulders [will offer them to you], with words of blessing and calm. And let the Gods Kamu-nahobi and Oho-nahobi peacefully and tranquilly exercise their office, correcting, whether in things heard or in things seen, any omission which he may make in so doing.' 14"More especially does he humbly declare: 'Naming her as Oho-miya-no-me I humbly fulfil her praises because, within the same Palace as the Sovran Grandchild, she blocks the way and takes cognizance and makes choice of the persons who go in and out, with words amends and mollifies the hurry and roughness of the Gods, keeps from error the hands and feet of the scarf-wearing attendants and the strap-wearing attendants[245] who serve the morning meal and the evening meal of the Sovran Grandchild, preventing the Imperial Princes, Princes, Ministers of State, and all the functionaries from indulging their several inclinations and causing them, pure of evil intents and base hearts, to attend in the Palace with a Palace-attendance, and to serve in the Palace with a Palace-service, and amending to eye and ear all faults and errors, so that their duties may be performed peacefully and tranquilly.'" 15=Naishi-dokoro or Kashiko-dokoro=.--Every new moon offerings were presented in the naishi-dokoro (naishi-place) or kashiko-dokoro (place of reverence[246]) by the naishi or female attendants of the Palace to the sacred mirror which represented the Sun-Goddess. They consisted of rice, cakes, paper, cloth, egg-plant, fish, shellfish, &c. Twice a year Kagura was performed. The ceremonies used on these occasions were regulated in Uda's reign (889-898) and closely resembled those of the Great Shrine of Ise. The Yengishiki has not preserved the norito belonging to it. 16A Japanese writer thus describes the modern form of this ceremony:-- 17"Within the palace there is a large hall, the kashiko-dokoro, or place of reverence, constructed of milk-white, knotless timbers, exquisitely joined and smooth as mirrors, but absolutely devoid of decoration. At one end stands a large shrine, also of snow-pure wood, with delicately chased mountings of silver gilt. It encloses models of the divine insignia, and a number of long, narrow tablets of pine, on which are inscribed the posthumous titles of all the Emperors since the days of Jimmu. Within the folding doors of the shrine hangs a curtain woven of bamboo threads. At the appointed hour, generally the grey of morning, sakaki boughs are laid beside the shrine and provision of incense is made; after which the officials of the Bureau of Rites and those of the Imperial Household file in and seat themselves on either side of the hall. The doors of the shrine are then opened and offerings of various kinds--vegetables, fish, cloth, and so forth--are carried in and ranged before it, solemn music in Japanese style being performed the while. 18Thereafter the princes of the blood and all officials of the two highest ranks as well as the peers of the 'musk-chamber' and the 'golden-pheasant chamber' enter, and when they are seated the Emperor himself appears and, proceeding slowly to the shrine, bows his head, takes a branch of sakaki with pendant gohei, and having waved it in token of the purification of sins, ignites a stick of incense[247] and places it upright in the censer, thereafter repeating a ritual (norito). So long as his Majesty is present in the hall, all the officials remain standing. His Majesty then retires, and, on his departure, worship of the same kind, but without any prayer, is performed by a representative of the Prince Imperial," and subsequently by the other members of the Court. 19=Mitama Shidzumuru no matsuri= (ceremony for settling or calming the august spirit). 20There was an ancient ceremony called mitama furishiki that is, shaking the august jewels, which is referred to in the Kiujiki. We are there told that when the Sun-Goddess sent down Ninigi to rule the world, she gave him "ten auspicious treasures, namely, one mirror of the offing, one mirror of the shore, one eight-hands-breadth sword, one jewel (tama) of birth, one jewel of return from death, one perfect jewel, one road-returning jewel (that is, a jewel which has the property of making evil things return by the road they came), one serpent-scarf (a scarf which has power when waved to keep away serpents), one bee-scarf, and one scarf of various things," saying: "In case of illness shake these treasures and repeat to them the words, 'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.' If thou doest so the dead will certainly return to life." 21The Nihongi states that in A.D. 685 the ceremony of calling on the spirit (mitama) was performed for the Mikado's sake. An ancient gloss identifies this ceremony with that of the mitama furishiki just described. The object of the two ceremonies was, no doubt, the same, but it is to be noted that mitama, which in the one case means jewel or talisman, in the other means spirit--a rare case in the older Shinto records of this word being applied to the human soul. The phrases "calling on the spirit" and "settling the spirit" are of Chinese origin, mitama being in this connexion simply a translation of the Chinese hun (pronounced kon in Japanese). The same ceremony is known in China, and some features of its Japanese form were probably borrowed from that country. Its object, according to a modern writer, was to summon back to and settle in the body the volatile kon. It was performed every year in the eleventh month in the Chapel of the Jingikwan, and also at one time in connexion with the coronation ceremony. 22The norito (No. 15 of the Yengishiki) begins with a recital of the Mikado's divine claims to sovereignty. Then the offerings are enumerated. It concludes with a prayer to the eight Gods of the Jingikwan to grant the Mikado a long and prosperous reign, and that he may dwell peacefully in his Palace during the ensuing year. It says nothing of the Mikado's spirit, an expression found only in the heading, which may be supposed to be a later addition. 23A performance by the Miko resembling that of Uzume before the Rock-cave of Heaven, and comprising the repetition of the magic words one, two, three, &c., formed part, no doubt the oldest part, of the ceremony. It is now usually called by the Chinese name Chinkonsai. 24There is a story of a thief having stolen the clothing presented on this occasion, and also the string which tied the Mikado's mitama, whatever that may mean. 25=Oho-harahi= (Great Purification).[248]--This ceremony includes a preliminary lustration, expiatory offerings, and the recital of a norito or formula--not a prayer, as it is sometimes called--in which the Mikado, by virtue of the authority transmitted to him from the Sun-Goddess, declares to his ministers and people the absolution of their sins and impurities. This formula is often referred to as if it constituted the whole ceremony. It is known as the Nakatomi no Oho-harahi, because in ancient times it was usually read by the Nakatomi as representatives of the Mikado. 26The myths which represent Izanagi as flinging down his garments during his flight from Yomi, and washing away in the sea the pollution contracted by his visit there, and describe the expiatory offerings exacted from Susa no wo, presume an acquaintance with the ceremony of which the Oho-harahi norito forms a chief part. The Nihongi informs us, under the legendary date A.D. 200, that after the sudden death of the Mikado Chiuai, his widow and successor Jingō commanded her ministers "to purge offences and to rectify transgressions," while in the parallel passage of the Kojiki[249] details are given of these offences, which, as far as they go, are identical with those enumerated in the Oho-harahi itself. Great Purifications are mentioned as having been performed in 676, 678, and 686. The Japanese scholar Mabuchi ascribes the present Oho-harahi norito to this last-named period. In substance it must be very much older. 27The chief ceremony was performed in the capital twice yearly, on the last days of the sixth and twelfth months. These dates are not chosen arbitrarily. There is a natural impulse at the close of the year to wipe out old scores and to make a fresh start with good resolutions. The tsuina,[250] or demon-expelling ceremonies, of the last day of the year, described below, are prompted by a similar motive. Tennyson gives expression to this feeling in his 'In Memoriam':-- 28"The year is dying in the night, Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. 29Ring out the false, ring in the true, 30Ring out the want, the care, the sin, 31Ring out old shapes of foul disease." 32The summer celebration of the Oho-harahi is analogous to the custom of lustration, or bathing on St. John's Eve, formerly practised in Germany, Italy, and other countries. 33The Chinese had an Oho-harahi, defined by Mr. Giles in his 'Chinese Dictionary' as "a religious ceremony of purification performed in spring and autumn, with a view to secure divine protection for agricultural interests." The Ainus of Yezo have a similar ceremony.[251] 34The Oho-harahi was not confined to the last days of the sixth and twelfth months. It was performed as a preliminary to several of the great Shinto ceremonies, notably the Ohonihe, and on other emergencies, such as an outbreak of pestilence,[252] the finding of a dead body in the Palace (865), the officiating of a Nakatomi who had performed Buddhist rites (816), &c. 35We learn from the regulations of the period Jōgwan (859-876) that at that time the ceremony was performed at the southern gate of the Kioto Palace, in front of which there was a canal. The purification offerings were set out before this gate. The officials took their seats in due order, the women being separated off by a curtain. The officials of the Jingikwan then distributed kiri-nusa[253] among the audience, upon which the Nakatomi took his place and recited the ritual, the officials responding Ô after every paragraph. When the purification was finished, the Oho-nusa ceremony was performed. It had also a purifying influence, and consisted, according to Dr. Florenz, in brandishing the Oho-nusa over the assembly, first to left, then to right, and then again to left. 36The norito (No. 10 of the Yengishiki) is as follows:-- 37"He[254] says: 'Give ear, all ye Imperial Princes, Princes, Ministers of State, and functionaries who are here assembled, and hearken every one to the Great Purification by which at this year's interlune of the sixth (or twelfth) month he deigns to purge and absolve all manner of faults and transgressions which may have been committed by those who serve in the Imperial Court, whether they wear the scarf or the shoulder-strap, whether they bear on their back the quiver or gird on them the sword, the eighty attendants of the attendants, including, moreover, all those who do duty in the various offices of State.' 38"He says: 'Hearken, all of you. The Sovran dear ancestors,[255] who divinely dwell in the Plain of High Heaven, having summoned to an assembly the eight hundred myriads of deities, held divine counsel with them, and then gave command, saying: "Let our August Grandchild[256] hold serene rule over the fertile reed-plain, the region of fair rice-ears,[257] as a land of peace." 39"'But in the realm thus assigned to him there were savage deities. These were called to a divine account and expelled with a divine expulsion. Moreover, the rocks, trees, and smallest leaves of grass which had power of speech were put to silence. Then they despatched him downward from his celestial everlasting throne, cleaving as he went with an awful way-cleaving the many-piled clouds of Heaven, and delivered to him the Land. At the middle point of the lands of the four quarters thus entrusted to him, Yamato, the High-Sun-Land, was established as a peaceful land, and there was built here for the Sovran Grandchild a fair Palace wherewithal to shelter him from sun and sky,[258] with massy pillars based deep on the nethermost rocks and upraising to the Plain of High Heaven the cross-timbers of its roof. 40"'Now of the various faults and transgressions to be committed by the celestial race destined more and more to people this land of his peaceful rule, some are of Heaven, to wit, the breaking down of divisions between rice-fields, filling up of irrigation channels, removing water-pipes, sowing seed over again,[259] planting skewers,[260] flaying alive, 41"'Earthly offences which will be committed are the cutting of living bodies, the cutting of dead bodies, leprosy, kokumi,[262] incest of a man with his mother or daughter, with his mother-in-law or step-daughter, bestiality, calamities from creeping things, from the high Gods[263] and from high birds, killing animals, bewitchments.[264] 42"'Whensoever they may be committed, let the Great Nakatomi, in accordance with the custom of the Heavenly Palace, cut Heavenly saplings at the top and cut them at the bottom, and make thereof a complete array of one thousand stands for offerings.[265] 43"'Having trimmed rushes of heaven at the top and trimmed them at the bottom, let him split them into manifold slivers.[266] 44"'Then let him recite the mighty ritual words of the celestial ritual.[267] 45"'When he does so, the Gods of Heaven, thrusting open the adamantine door of Heaven and cleaving the many-piled clouds of Heaven with an awful way-cleaving will lend ear. The Gods of Earth, climbing to the tops of the high mountains and to the tops of the low mountains, sweeping apart the mists of the high mountains and the mists of the low mountains, will lend ear. 46"'When they have thus lent ear, all offences whatsoever will be annulled, from the Court of the Sovran Grandchild to the provinces of the four quarters of the Under-Heaven. 47"'As the many-piled clouds of Heaven are scattered by the breath of the Wind-Gods; as the morning breezes and the evening breezes dissipate the dense morning vapours and the dense evening vapours; as a huge ship, moored in a great harbour, casting off its stern moorings, casting off its bow moorings, drives forth into the great sea-plain; as yonder thick brushwood is smitten and cleared away by the sharp sickle forged in the fire, so shall all offences be utterly annulled. Therefore he (the Mikado) is graciously pleased to purify and cleanse them away. The Goddess called Se-ori-tsu-hime who dwells in the rapids of the swift streams whose cataracts tumble headlong from the tops of the high mountains and from the tops of the low mountains will bear them out into the great sea-plain. Thereupon the Goddess called Haya-aki-tsu-hime, who dwells in the myriad meetings of the tides of the myriad brine-paths of the myriad ways of the currents of the boisterous sea will swallow them up. And the God Ibuki-do nushi, who dwells in the Breath-blowing-place,[268] will puff them away to the Root-country, the Bottom Country.[269] Then the Goddess Haya-sasura-hime,[270] who dwells in the Root-country, the Bottom-country, will banish and abolish them. When they have been so destroyed, every one, from the servants of the Imperial Court to the four quarters of the Under-Heaven, will remain void of all offences whatsoever. 48"'Attend, therefore, all of you to this Great Purification, by which he is graciously pleased at sunset on this interlunar day of the sixth (or twelfth) month of this year to purify and cleanse you, having led hither a horse as an animal that pricks up its ears to the Plain of High-Heaven.'[271] 49"He says: 'Ye diviners (Urabe) of the four provinces, remove them to the great river-way and abolish them.'"[272] 50In addition to the Oho-harahi, or National Purifications, there were local and individual celebrations. In the latter case, of which Susa no wo's punishment is the mythical type, the harahi-tsu-mono were naturally furnished by the person for whose benefit they were performed, and so amounted practically to a fine on the offender. The Nihongi (A.D. 646) mentions a number of cases in which travellers and others were compelled by the country people to do harahi, that is, to pay a fine, under various pretences. For example, when a man returning from forced labour fell down by the roadside and died, the villagers of the place said, "Why should a man be allowed to die on our road?" and detained the companions of the deceased until they had done harahi. Cases of drowning were followed by similar claims, and even the cooking of rice by the roadside or the upsetting of a borrowed pot. An Imperial decree was issued prohibiting these extortions, which are described as habitual with the unenlightened vulgar. 51The application of the harahi to the purpose of a fine was regulated by an ordinance which was issued in 801. Those who were guilty of neglect in connexion with the celebration of the Ohonihe, or who, during the month of special avoidance of impurity, contracted mourning, visited the sick, were concerned with capital sentences, ate flesh, or touched anything impure were mulcted in an oho-harahi, which in this case meant simply a heavy fine. It consisted of one horse, two swords, two bows, and a long list of other sundries. Other offences of the same classes were fined in a naka-harahi, or medium harahi. 52Dr. Florenz describes a more modern form of harahi as follows: "As a third species of harahi we may mention the purification preceding every greater festival of a Shinto shrine, through which the priests and others taking part in the Matsuri are purified. This ceremony takes place in a hall or open place specially prepared for the purpose, called harahi-dokoro (purification-place). It consists in the Kami-oroshi (bringing down the spirits of the purifying deities) into the himorogi, which stands on an eight-legged table in the middle of the harahi-dokoro, the recitation of the purification prayer, various subsequent symbolic ceremonies, and the Kami-age, or sending back the Gods to their abodes. Thereupon the priests are considered to be pure, and the Matsuri proper can begin. The prayer addressed to the Gods is as follows:-- 53"In reverence and awe: The great gods of the purification place who came into existence when the Great God Izanagi deigned to wash and purify himself on the plain of Ahagi [east] of Tachibana [near] the River Wotō in Himuka in Tsukushi, shall deign to purify and deign to cleanse whatever there may be of sins and pollutions committed inadvertently or deliberately by the officials serving here to-day. Listen ye to these my words. Thus I say reverentially." 54In later times there were many abuses and perversions of the harahi, due mainly to Buddhist influence. The formula was much modified, and is found in numerous versions. Some of these are wholly Buddhist, such as the well-known "Rokkon shōjō" (may the six senses be pure), so constantly in the mouths of pilgrims at this day. Others include a prayer for purity of heart, which is an idea quite foreign to the ancient Shinto. Harahi-bako (harahi-boxes) were sold at Ise with inscriptions half Buddhist and half Shinto. In imitation of a similar Buddhist practice, these boxes contained a certificate that the harahi had been recited one thousand or ten thousand times for the purchaser's benefit. Pieces of the gohei wand used by the priests at the Oho-harahi of the sixth and twelfth months were enclosed with these certificates. Sometimes a small fragment of the old shrine, which was broken up every twentieth year and a new one erected, was compressed between two thin boards and called an o-harahi. Pilgrims received these in return for their offerings. The devout could even purchase them from hawkers, who went about the country (like the sellers of indulgences in Luther's time) disposing of them for the benefit of the shrine. This practice is now prohibited.[273] 55The ideas associated with the harahi ceremony also underwent a change. Some writers speak of it as intended "to propitiate evil deities." The harahi sold by the priests of Ise were set up in the Kami-dana, or domestic shrine, and worshipped as the shintai of the deity. They were supposed to be indestructible by fire or water, to keep away robbers, to heal diseases, to make the old young, and to protect against calamity of every kind. 56In some later forms of the harahi the purifying Gods are besought to cleanse from evil, sin, and pollution. This marks a different attitude from that of the Nakatomi no Oho-harahi, where they are merely a part of the machinery of purification. 57=Invocation by the Hereditary Corporation of Scholars of Yamato and Kahachi=.--This norito (No. 11 of the Yengishiki) was read previous to the performance of the Oho-harahi. The two corporations named were descendants, or, at least, successors of the Korean scholars who in the fifth century introduced Chinese learning into Japan. The language, thought, and sentiment of this norito are Chinese. The Sun, Moon (not Hirume and Tsukiyomi) and stars, the High Emperor of Supreme Heaven (Shangti), the five Emperors of the five cardinal points, the King-father of the East, the King-mother of the West, the four influences of the four seasons, and other Chinese divinities are invoked to grant prosperity to the Mikado. An offering was made of a silver man in order that calamity might be averted from him, and of a golden sword so that his reign might be lengthened. The sword, really of wood gilt, was called the harahi-tsu-tachi, or sword of purification, and was breathed upon by the Mikado before being taken away. The silver man was also for use as an aga-mono, or ransom-object. 58=Michi-ahe no Matsuri=.--The object of this ceremony was to invoke the aid of the Sahe no Kami in preventing evil spirits, that is to say, pestilences, from entering Kioto.[274] The norito (No. 13 of the Yengishiki) read on this occasion is as follows:-- 59"I humbly declare in the presence of the Sovran Gods whose functions first began in the Plain of High Heaven, when they fulfilled the praises[275] of the Sovran Grandchild by guarding the great eight-road-forks like a multitudinous assemblage of rocks.[276] 60"Naming your honoured names, to wit, Yachimata-hiko, Yachimata-hime, and Kunado, I fulfil your praises. Whenever from the Root-country the Bottom-country there may come savage and unfriendly beings, consort not and parley not with them, but if they go below, keep watch below, if they go above, keep watch above, protecting us against pollution with a night guarding and with a day guarding. 61"The offerings I furnish in your honour are bright cloth, shining cloth, soft cloth, and rough cloth. Of sake I raise up the tops of the jars and fill and range in order the bellies of the jars. [Grain] in juice and in ear I offer you. Of things that dwell in the mountains and on the moors I offer the soft of hair and the coarse of hair. Of things that dwell in the blue sea-plain, the broad of fin and the narrow of fin, even to the weeds of the offing and the weeds of the shore. Peacefully partaking of these plenteous offerings, which I lay before you in full measure like a cross range of hills, hold guard on the highways like a multitudinous assemblage of rocks, preserving from pollution the Sovran Grandchild firmly and enduringly, and bless his reign to be a prosperous reign. 62"Also be pleased peacefully to preserve from pollution the Imperial Princes, the Princes, the Ministers of State, and all the functionaries, including, moreover, the people of the Under-Heaven. 63"I, as official of the Department of Religion, humbly fulfil your praises by this celestial, this great pronouncement." 64The offerings included hides of oxen, boar, deer, and bear, in addition to those above enumerated. 65=Sagi-chō=.--This is a modern ceremony, which was also intended to repel evil influences. The Wakan-Sansai-dzuye (1713) gives the following description of it as practised in the Imperial Palace:-- 66"On the fifteenth day of the first month[277] green bamboos are burnt in the courtyard of the Seiryōden, and happy reports[278] sent up to Heaven therewith. On the eighteenth also bamboos are dressed up with fans attached to them, which are burnt at the same place. There is a reader of spells called Daikoku Matsudaiyu, who has four followers, two old men and two old women. These wear devil-masks and 'red-bear' wigs. The two old women carry drums, and the two old men run after them trying to beat the drums. There are two boys without masks, but with 'red-bear' wigs, who beat double cymbals. Moreover, there are five men in dress of ceremony who stand in a row and join in with cries of 'dondoya,' while one costumed somewhat differently calls out 'Ha!'" 67The Wakan Sansai does not know the origin of this ceremony, which is said to expel demons. There is a similar Chinese practice, though on a different date, namely, the first day of the year. Its object is said to be to drive away mountain elves. 68=Mikado matsuri=.--This ceremony was in honour of two Gate Gods named Kushi-iha-mado (wondrous-rock-gate) and Toyo-iha-mado (rich-rock-gate).[279] The Yengishiki contains a norito (No. 9) in which their praises are fulfilled, because they prevent the entrance to the Palace of noxious things and exercise a superintendence over the persons who come in and go out. 69=Tsuina= or =Oni-yarahi=, that is to say, demon expelling, is a sort of drama in which disease, or more generally ill-luck, is personified, and driven away with threats and a show of violence. Like the Oho-harahi, it was performed on the last day of the year. This association is only natural. The demons of the tsuina are personified wintry influences, with the diseases which they bring with them, while the Oho-harahi is intended to cleanse the people from sin and uncleanness, things closely related to disease, as well as from disease itself. Though probably of Chinese origin, the tsuina is a tolerably ancient rite. It is alluded to in the Nihongi under the date A.D. 689. It was at one time performed at Court on an imposing scale. Four bands of twenty youths, each wearing a four-eyed mask, and each carrying a halberd in the left hand, marched simultaneously from the four gates of the Palace, driving the devils before them. Another account of this ceremony says that a man disguised himself as the demon of pestilence, in which garb he was shot at and driven off by the courtiers armed with peach-wood bows and arrows of reed. (See illustration, p. 310.) Peach-wood staves were used for the same purpose. There was formerly a practice at Asa-kusa in Tokio on the last day of the year for a man got up as a devil to be chased round the pagoda there by another wearing a mask. After this 3,000 tickets were scrambled for by the spectators. 70These were carried away and pasted up over the doors as a charm against pestilence. At the present day, the popular form of tsuina consists in scattering parched beans with the cry, "Oni ha soto: fuku ha uchi," that is, "Out with the devils and in with the luck." The former phrase is uttered in a loud voice, the latter in a low tone. This office should properly be discharged by the head of the family, but it is frequently delegated to a servant. The performer is called the toshi-otoko, or year-man. In the Shōgun's palace a specially appointed toshi-otoko sprinkled parched beans in all the principal rooms. These beans were picked up by the women of the palace, who wrapped them in paper in number equal to the years of their age, and then flung them backwards out of doors. Sometimes tsuina beans were gathered by people who had reached an unlucky year (yaku-toshi), one for each year of their age and one over, and wrapped in paper with a small copper coin, which had been rubbed over their body to transfer the ill-luck. These were placed in a bamboo tube and flung away at crossroads. This was called yaku-sute (flinging away ill-luck). Other people pass under seven tori-wi as an antidote. 71The significance of the peach and bean in this ceremony has been already explained.[280] The vulgar notion is that the beans hit the devils in the eye and blind them. A more philosophical theory is that the beans dispel the in-aku no ki, or female evil influences, and welcome in the sei-yō, green male influences. By the female influences are here meant wintry influences; by male influences those of spring. 72Mr. J. G. Frazer, in 'The Golden Bough,' iii. 67, second edition, gives an interesting account of another Japanese form of this custom. 73The tsuina is only a special form of a world-wide ceremony. We may compare with it the Roman Lemuria, a festival for the souls of the dead, in which the celebrators threw black beans nine times behind their backs, believing by this ceremony to secure themselves against the Lemures. Some of my readers may have witnessed the Scotch Hogmanay, when the house is thrice circumambulated on the last day of the year in order to frighten away devils. In Lady Burton's life of her husband she tells us that at Trieste on St. Sylvester's Eve, the servants went through a very usual ceremony of forming procession and chevying the evil spirits with sticks and brooms out of the house, inviting the good spirits and good luck to come and dwell there. This is curiously like the Japanese formula just quoted. At Chæronea, in Bœotia, the chief magistrate at the town hall and every householder in his own house, as we learn from Plutarch, had on a certain day to beat a slave with rods of agnus castus, and turn him out of doors, with the formula, "Out hunger! in health and wealth." The "expulsion of winter" of Teutonic and Slavonic folklore belongs to the same class of customs. It should be remembered that the Japanese New Year was later than our own, and was recognized as the beginning of spring. 74I must not quote further from the extensive literature of this subject. The reader is referred to 'The Golden Bough,' second edition, vol. iii. pp. 39 et seqq., for a rich collection of evidence relating to it. 75=New Year in Modern Japan=.--Although most of the New Year's observances in modern Japan belong to the province of popular magic rather than of Shinto, some general account of them may not be out of place here. The preparations begin on the thirteenth day of the last month, which is therefore called koto-hajime (beginning of things). On this day people eat okotojiru, a kind of stew, whose ingredients are generally red beans, potatoes, mushrooms, sliced fish, and a root called konnyaku. Presents of money are made to servants at this time. About the same date there is a partly real, partly ceremonial house-cleaning called susu-harahi (soot-sweeping). The other preparations for the New Year consist in decorating the front entrance by planting at each side of it small fir-trees, with which bamboos are frequently joined. Both of these symbolize an ever-green prosperity. A shimenaha is hung over the door or gate, attached to which are fern leaves, and yudzuri-ha (Daphniphyllum macropodum) with daidai (a kind of bitter orange). Daidai also means ages, generations, so that this is a sort of punning prayer for long life and the continuance of the family. The prawn, which forms part of the decorations, is supposed by its curved back to suggest old age. Sometimes holly leaves, of which the prickles are thought, as in Europe, obnoxious to demons, bean pods, and a head of a salt sardine (ihashi) are added. 76On the domestic shrine is placed an offering of unleavened cakes of glutinous pounded rice, the preparation of which is a matter for much fun and excitement. These cakes are called kagami-mochi, or mirror-cakes, on account of their shape, which is that of a flattened sphere. There are two of them. One is said to represent the sun, the yō, or male principle of Chinese philosophy, the parent and the husband, while the other is put for the moon, the female principle, the child and the wife. The kagami-mochi is also called the ha-gatame mochi (tooth-hardening cake) because it fortifies the constitution. The explanation given is that the Chinese character for ha, "tooth," also means "age." 77The tsuina on the last day of the year is described above. 78The first act of the New Year is for the toshi-otoko to proceed at dawn to the well or stream whence the household water is supplied. He throws into it a small offering of rice, and draws water in a new pail crowned with shime-naha. To drink this water, called waka-midzu or young water, brings luck and exemption from disease during the year. 79On New Year's day zōni, a stew of various kinds of vegetables is eaten and a spiced sake called toso is drunk and offered to visitors. No work is done. Visits are exchanged between friends, and formal calls made on superiors. The phrase Shinnen o medetô gozarimasu (New Year's congratulations to you) is in everybody's mouth. The ujigami are visited and also the Shinto temples which lie in the direction (ehô) indicated by the cyclic name of the year. Thus the year of the Hare is associated with the East. The Gods who preside over this particular year are called the Toshi-toku-jin (year-virtue-Gods). 80In some places a lamp, consisting of a coarse earthenware saucer with a wick, is lighted at the New Year in honour of the God of the Privy. Sick people at this time throw away their stockings or drawers on a frequented road, and if any one picks them up they expect to recover. Samurai boys receive presents of hamayumi (devil-quelling bows). 81The seventh of the first month is called Nanakusa, or seven herbs, because in ancient times people went out into the country to gather wild pot-herbs which were made into a mess with rice and eaten on this day. 82The New Year's celebrations end with the Sahe no Kami festival (now called dondo or sagichô) on the fourteenth or fifteenth of the first month, when the decorations above described are made the material for a bonfire.[281] 83=Tatari-gami wo utsushi-tatematsuru norito= (service for the respectful removal of deities who send a curse).--This norito (No. 25) is long, but it contains nothing worthy of special notice. The mischievous deities are reminded of the divine right of the Mikado, and of the quelling by Futsunushi and Takemika-dzuchi of the evil beings who plagued Japan before the descent of Ninigi. Offerings of cloth, a mirror, jewels, bows and arrows, swords, a horse, sake, rice in ear and in grain, and various kinds of flesh and vegetables, are set before them, with the request that they should retire to enjoy these good things in some pure spot among the hills and streams and remain there, rather than work curses and violence in the Palace. 84It is to be distinguished from the Michiahe ritual, which was addressed to the Protective Road-deities in order to keep off pestilence. The present formula is a direct appeal to the evil deities themselves. It is not quite clear who they were. Perhaps all possibly harmful Gods were meant to be included. 85=Ceremony when Envoys were despatched to Foreign Countries=.--On such occasions the Gods of Heaven and Earth, with the phallic Chiburi no Kami, or Road-Gods, were worshipped outside the city, the envoys taking part in the ceremony and reading a norito. The wood-Gods and mountain-Gods were worshipped before cutting the timber for building their ship. 86The Yengishiki preserves a norito (No. 26) used on one of these occasions. It is addressed to the Sea-Gods of Sumiyoshi, and presents thank-offerings to them for providing a harbour there more convenient for the envoys to sail from than a more distant port in Harima. 87=Ho-shidzume no Matsuri= (fire-calming-service).--This ceremony was performed on the last days of the sixth and twelfth months by the Urabe, or diviners, at the four outer corners of the Imperial Palace, in order to prevent its destruction by fire. The Urabe kindled a fire by means of the fire-drill and worshipped it. The following norito (No. 12) was read on the occasion:-- 88"I humbly declare according to the celestial the great pronouncement (norito) delivered to the Sovran Grandchild by his Sovran, dear, divine ancestor and ancestress when they granted to him the Under-Heaven, commanding him to rule tranquilly as a peaceful realm the fair Rice-ear-land of the Rich-reed-plain, as follows: 'The two Gods Izanagi and Izanami, having become united as husband and wife, procreated the eighty countries and the eighty islands and gave birth to the eight hundred myriads of deities. When Izanami's last son, the God Homusubi (fire-growth), was born her pudenda were burnt and she became rock-concealed.[282] She said, "For nights seven and for days seven look not on me, oh my husband." But before the seven days were fulfilled, Izanagi, wondering at her concealment, viewed her, and behold, her pudenda had been burnt in giving birth to the Fire.[283] "Oh, my honoured husband," said Izanami, "thou hast insulted me by looking on me despite my having besought thee to refrain from doing so at such a time. Therefore thou must govern the upper world and I the lower world." So saying, she was rock-concealed. When she had reached the Even Pass of Yomi, she bethought herself: "I gave birth to, and left behind me in the upper world ruled by my honoured husband, an evil-hearted child." So she went back and gave birth to other children, namely, the God of Water, the Gourd, the River-weed, and the Clay-mountain-lady, four kinds in all. 89Moreover, she taught him, saying, "When the temper of this evil-hearted child becomes violent, do thou assuage it with the Water-God, the Gourd, the River-weed, and the Clay-mountain-lady." 90"'Therefore do I fulfil thy praises as follows: To the end that thou mayest deign to control thy transports against the Palace of the Sovran Grandchild, I offer thee bright cloth, shining cloth, smooth cloth, and rough cloth, of various colours. Of things which dwell in the blue sea-plain, I offer the broad of fin and the narrow of fin, even unto the weeds of the offing and the weeds of the shore. Of sake, I raise up the tops of the jars, and fill and range in order the bellies of the jars. Nor do I omit rice, cleaned and in the husk. Heaping up these things like a cross-range of hills, I fulfil thy praises according to the Celestial, the Great pronouncement.'" 91It will be observed that the tone of this norito is not particularly reverent. It reads more like an offer to pay blackmail than a prayer. The phraseology implies that the Mikado is the God's superior. And surely there is a malicious humour in the reminder that the God was a bad boy, to provide the means for whose control and chastisement his mother came back expressly from Hades. 92Kasuga no Matsuri.--This service is comparatively modern, having been first used in 859. It is in honour of the Gods worshipped at Kasuga, near Nara, namely, Take-mika-dzuchi, Futsunushi, Koyane, and a Goddess who is supposed to be the wife of the last-named deity. It was celebrated twice annually by a priestess despatched from Kiōto to Nara for the purpose. I take from Sir Ernest Satow's 'Ancient Japanese Rituals' in the T.A.S.J. the following account of the ceremonies used on this occasion. They may serve as an example of the elaborate ritual of Shinto at this period, and to illustrate the intimate association of government with religion. 93Before the celebration of the service, orders were given to the Divination Office to fix a day, hour, and locality for a purification (harahi) to be performed. On the day preceding the purification a sort of tent was erected near the river (i.e., the Kamogaha at Kiōto), and at the hour appointed the priestess who had been selected for the occasion proceeded to the place of purification in a bullock-car. The procession was magnificent, and was ordered with extreme precision. It consisted of nearly one hundred and forty persons, besides porters. First went two municipal men-at-arms, followed by two citizens and eight officials of rank. They were succeeded by the bailiff of the priestess's official residence with four attendants, after whom came ten corporals of the Guard of the Palace Gates, and a few men from the other four Imperial Guards. Next came the car of the priestess herself, with eight attendants in brown hempen mantles, two young boys in brown, and four running foot pages in white dresses with purple skirts. A silk umbrella and a huge long-handled fan were borne on either side of the car by four men in scarlet coats. Ten more servants completed her immediate retinue. Then came a chest full of sacrificial utensils, and two carriages containing a lady, who seems to have acted as a sort of duenna to the priestess, and the Mikado's messengers, surrounded by attendants in number suited to their rank. 94Close behind them were borne two chests full of food-offerings, and four containing gifts from the Mikado intended for those members of the Fujihara family who attended on the occasion. Seven carriages carried the female servants of the priestess, each of them being a lady of rank, and therefore accompanied by half-a-dozen followers of both sexes. Two high officials of the provincial government of Yamashiro awaited the procession at a convenient point, and conducted it to the spot chosen for the ceremony of purification. A member of the Nakatomi tribe presented the nusa, consisting of a white wand with hemp-fibre hanging from its upper end, the symbol of the primitive offerings of greater value, and a diviner read the purification ritual. After the ceremony was over, refreshments were served out, and the Mikado's gifts distributed. The priestess then returned to her official residence. 95On her journey to the temple of Kasuga, the priestess was preceded by various priests, diviners, musicians, cooks, and other functionaries of inferior grade, who set out one day earlier in the charge of an officer of the Ministry of Religion. At the boundary of the province of Yamato she was received by officers of the Provincial Government, who accompanied her to the temporary building erected for her accommodation on the bank of the Saho-gaha. During the day the rite of purification was performed on the western side of the temple, and the offerings placed in readiness for the final ceremony. At dawn on the following day officials of the Ministry of Religion superintended the cleaning of the shrine by a young girl (mono imi) who had been carefully guarded for some time previous from contracting any ceremonial uncleanness, while other officials decorated the buildings and set out the sacred treasures close to the shrines and by the side of the arcade round the innermost enclosure. Everything being now in readiness, the high officers of State who had come down from the capital for the service entered by the gate assigned to them, and took their seats in the outer court, followed by members of the Fujihara family of the sixth rank and under. 96The priestess now arrived in a palanquin, with a numerous retinue of local functionaries, infantry and cavalry soldiers, and followed by porters carrying the offerings of the Mikado, his consort, the heir-apparent, and of the priestess herself. Next came race-horses sent by the Mikado's consort, by the heir-apparent, and from the Six Guards of the Palace, the rear of the procession being brought up by a crowd of lesser officials and men-at-arms. The palanquin of the priestess was surrounded by a large body of guards, torch-bearers, and running pages, umbrella and screen-bearers, and women and girls on horseback. After them came the chest of sacrificial vessels, a number of servants, three chests full of food-offerings, six chests of clothing for the Gods, with carriages containing some of the Mikado's female attendants, the priestess's duenna, and some young girls. On arriving at the north gate, on the west side of the temple enclosure, the men got off their horses and the women descended from their carriages. The priestess then alighted from her palanquin, and passing between curtains held by her attendants in such a way as to render her invisible to the crowd, entered the waiting-room prepared for her inside the courtyard, followed by the women of the Mikado's household. 97The Mikado's offerings were now brought forward by the Keeper of the Privy Purse and laid on a table outside the gate, while the women of the Household entered the inner enclosure, and took their places in readiness to inspect the offerings. In a few minutes they were joined by the priestess, who had changed her travelling dress for sacrificial robes. The Keeper of the Privy Purse now brought the Mikado's presents in through the gate, and placing them on a table in front of the midzu-gaki, or inner fence, saluted the chapels by clapping his hands four times, alternately standing upright and bowing down to the ground. On his retiring, the same ceremony was performed by the persons charged with the offerings of the Mikado's consort and heir-apparent, after which the offerings of the Fujihara and other noble families were deposited on lower tables, with similar ceremonies. The kandomo, or subordinate officials of the Ministry of Religion, next carried up the Mikado's offerings and delivered them to the mono-imi, who carried them into the chapel. The kandomo then spread matting on the ground in front of each of the four chapels, and members of the Fujihara clan[284] who held a sufficiently high rank carried in and arranged the tables destined to receive the food-offerings. 98Two barrels of sake were then brought in and placed between the first and second and third and fourth chapels, in a line with the tables, a jar of sake brewed by the priests being also placed in front of each chapel. This over, every one quitted the enclosure, making way for the women of the Household, who uncovered the food-offerings and poured out two cups of sake for each deity. The liquor appears to have been of the turbid sort called nigori-zake. All the preparations being thus complete, the high officers of State and the messengers sent by the Court entered the enclosure and took their seats. Four saddle-horses intended as offerings to the Gods and eight race-horses were now led up in front of the temple, preceded by a major-general of the Guards and a Master of the Horse. A superior priest, with his brows bound with a fillet of paper mulberry fibre (yufu-kadzura) then advanced and read the ritual, bowed twice, clapped his hands four times, and retired. The congregation afterwards withdrew to the refectory, where the food-offerings were consumed by the participants in the solemn act of worship, and the sansai, or thanksgiving service, was conducted by the kandomo of the Ministry of Religion. 99The sacred horses were then led eight times round the temple by the grooms of the Mikado's stables, who received a draught of consecrated sake as their reward. The general of the body-guard next directed some of his men to perform the dance called Adzuma-mahi, and when they had finished a meal of rice was served to them with much ceremony by the Mikado's cooks. At the command of the Vice-Minister of Religion, the harpists and flute-players were summoned to perform a piece of music, called mi koto fuwe ahase (the concert of harp and flute); the flutes played a short movement alone, and were then joined by the harps, whereupon the singers struck in. An officer of the Ministry of Religion sang the first few bars, and the official singers finished the piece. This was followed by one of the dances called Yamato-mahi, performed in turn by the principal priests of the temple, by members of the Fujihara family and by the Vice-Minister of Religion himself. After the sake-cup had been passed round three times, the company clapped their hands once and separated. Then everybody adjourned to the race-course, and the day was wound up with galloping matches. 100The norito (No. 2 of the Yengishiki) read on this occasion has been translated by Sir Ernest Satow. It is of minor interest. 101=Hirose Oho-imi no Matsuri= (service in honour of the Food-Goddess of Hirose).--The norito of this ceremony (No. 3 of the Yengishiki) announces offerings to the Food-Goddess and makes promise of more if good harvests are granted by her. The Gods of the ravines which supply water for irrigating the Crown-farms are joined with her in this service. Sir E. Satow has translated this norito. It contains nothing of special interest. 102=Tatsuta kaze no kami no Matsuri= (service of the Wind-Gods at Tatsuta).--The norito (No. 4 of the Yengishiki) of this service has been translated by Sir E. Satow. It contains a legend which professes to account for its first institution and for the founding of the shrine at which it was celebrated. For several years in succession violent storms had destroyed the crops. The diviners having in vain endeavoured to discover the cause of this calamity, the Wind-Gods revealed themselves to the Mikado in a dream and proposed to him a bargain, namely, that if he built them a shrine, and made them certain offerings, they would in future bless and ripen the grain and vegetables. The "golden thread-box," "golden shuttle," and "golden reel" enumerated in this norito as offerings to the Goddess were in reality of painted wood, one of the numerous cases of cheaper substitutes in Shinto ritual. 103The Nihongi mentions very frequent embassies from the Mikado to this shrine in the seventh century. Princes were selected for the office of envoy. 104In addition to the above, the Yengishiki has brief mention of ceremonies for "calming" the roaring of the kitchen-furnace, calming (or propitiating?) the God of Water, the August Abiding-place (of the Mikado), the Earth-Prince, the site of a new palace, in honour of the kitchen-furnace, of the august well (such as that from which water was taken for the Ohonihe ceremony), of the birth-well (from which water was drawn for washing a new-born prince), of the water of a privy, and a ceremony performed when the Mikado went out from the Palace. The same work contains schedules of offerings to various local deities, of whom we know little or nothing. 105=More recent norito=.--In addition to the old norito of the Yengishiki, a good number have come down to us of more recent date, chiefly from the ninth century. We find among them for the first time norito addressed to deceased Mikados, a practice which was, no doubt, introduced from China. I give the substance of some selected examples.[285] They exhibit numerous traits of Chinese origin. 106A.D. 733. The protection of the Sea-Gods of Suminoye was invoked for ships sailing to China. 107805. The wrath of the God of Iso no kami was deprecated. He was supposed to have sent an illness upon the Mikado because his "divine treasures" had been removed for convenience to a place nearer the capital. 108825. Envoys were sent to the tomb of a deceased Mikado to promise that it should be removed elsewhere the Urabe having discovered that he was dissatisfied with its site. 109827. The Sun-Goddess was besought to stay a pestilence, and a member of the Imperial family promised her as priestess. 110827. The diviners having attributed the Mikado's illness to the cutting down of the trees of the shrine of Inari, envoys were sent to recite a norito asking for pardon, and that he should be restored to health. 111836. Degrees of rank were conferred on Futsunushi (lower third), Mikatsuchi (upper second), and Koyane (upper third), with the lower fourth rank for the Himegami (lady-deity). Prayer was made that the envoys should have a safe journey. 112839. Trees on the Empress Jingō's tomb having been cut down, the Mikado feared that a drought might be the consequence, and sent envoys to deprecate her wrath. 113840. The Mikado being affected by an evil influence (mono no ke), the diviners attributed it to a curse from the Great Abstinence (oho-imi) deity of Deha.[286] At the same time envoys to China were cast away among southern savages. The savages were many and they were few, but by the help of some God, they had the victory over them. A report was received from Deha that on the same date a noise of fighting was heard in the clouds of the Great God and a rain of missile stones fell. The Mikado in a norito expressed his gratitude and wonder at the far-reaching power of the God, and conferred on him the lower fourth rank with two households of peasants to serve him. 114841. The Mikados Jimmu and Jingō were prayed to for rain, and apology made for previous neglect. 115850. The Mikado Mondoku announced to his predecessor his accession to the throne in the following norito, which was read at his tomb by a high official commissioned for the purpose:-- 116"I humbly make representation: 'He [the Mikado] with profound reverence declares--with respect be it spoken--to Your Sovran Majesty. In accordance with the commands bequeathed by Your Majesty the Court nobles repeatedly besought him to take over the celestial succession, but as the date [of his predecessor's death] was still fresh and his heart distracted by grief, he twice and three times humbly declared his inability to accede to this request. But when they strongly insisted, saying that it was the wish of Your Majesty, he felt that he ought not to indulge his own inclination. After considering the matter in all its bearings, he therefore purified the Great Abiding place, and reverently assumed the celestial succession, which he now with reverence announces to Your Majesty his intention to maintain.' 117"Furthermore he says, with profoundest reverence, 'That he hopes Your (with respect be it spoken) Sovran Majesty will deign to bestow on him your gracious loving favour, so that he may continue peacefully to maintain the government of the celestial succession as long as Heaven and Earth, the Sun and Moon endure.'" 118850. The Wind-Gods of Tatsuta were thanked for their protection, awarded the lower fifth rank, and begged to continue their guardianship. 119850. The Mikado Jimmu was prayed to on behalf of the reigning Mikado, who was dangerously ill. 120851. Floods having been caused by pollution, prayer was made for fine weather to the Gods of Ise, Kamo, Matsu no wo, and Otokuni. 121857. The Mikado Mondoku despatched envoys to all the famous shrines to announce the change of the year-name (nengō) to Tenan (celestial tranquillity) which had been made in consequence of the good omens of trees whose branches had grown together and of the appearance of a white deer. He sent offerings with prayers for abundance and immunity from storms and floods. He further petitioned the Gods to guard him by day and by night and to grant him a long reign. 122864. Envoys were sent to Yahata (Hachiman) Daibo-satsu[287] in Buzen to give thanks for preservation from calamity. But as a boiling of the Lake of Aso (a volcano in Kiushiu) was held by the diviners to portend war and pestilence, and numerous other portents occurred, a lucky day had been chosen and offerings (which would have been sent sooner only for pollution) made. 123866. Envoys were sent to all the Gods of Nankaido asking their protection against rebellion, for a good harvest &c., and apologizing for a delay caused by pollution. 124866. An envoy was sent to Ihashimidzu with an offering of shields, spears, and saddles to the God Hachiman Bosatsu. It is explained that of three saddles two only have been sent; the third is to be despatched by a later opportunity. He is asked to guard the Mikado by day and by night and to watch over the affairs of the Empire. 125866. A fire having destroyed one of the gates of the Palace, the diviners said that it portended sickness to the Imperial person with disasters by conflagration and battle. After some delay, caused by various pollutions, the Mikado sent an envoy to the shrine of the Sun-Goddess at Ise with prayer to avert these calamities, and more especially to send down a sweet rain on the land which was then suffering from drought. 126868. Envoys were sent to Hirota and Ikuta praying the Gods of these places that earthquake shocks attributed to them should cease. A patent of rank was sent to them, and they were besought to bless the Mikado and the country. Thanks were also given for a good harvest. 127874. Inari was raised in rank and prayed to for many blessings, of which some do not apparently belong to the province of a Rice-God. 128For an account of Shinto festivals at the present day, Mr. B. H. Chamberlain's 'Things Japanese' or Capt. Brinkley's 'Japan and China' may be consulted. Their nearest counterpart is the carnival of Southern Europe. The Chinjiu Matsuri, or annual festival of the local patron deity, is everywhere a great event, with processions, dramatic performances, wrestling, fireworks, races, new clothes for the children, &c. ‹Previous chapterShinto: The Way of the Gods 26Next chapterShinto: The Way of the Gods 28›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg