The above account of Shinto offences must be taken with some qualifications. It is drawn from various sources and different periods of history. Some applied to the whole people, but in most cases it was only the priests and other persons concerned on whom the prohibitions were binding. TheShintō Miōmokuhas an enumeration of the "six prohibited things" which includes only "mourning for a relative, visiting the sick, eating flesh of quadrupeds, condemnation of criminals, execution of criminals, music, and contact with impure things."
Imi.--The avoidance of impurity in preparation for a festival was calledimi(avoidance). The intending officiator or worshipper remained indoors (i-gomori), abstained from speech and noise, and ate food cooked at a pure fire. For six days previous to the celebration of a festival at the Great Shrine of Idzumo there was no singing or dancing, no musical performances, the shrine was not swept out, no building operations were carried on, and no rice pounded. Everything was done in stillness. A specialimiof one month was observed by the priests before participating in the greater festivals. This was calledaraimi. For middle-class festivals three days'imiwere sufficient, and for those of the third class one day. At the present timeimiis usually confined to abstinence from meat and from vegetables of the onion class.
By a natural transitionimiis also used in the sense of sacred, holy. Animi-donois a building in which purity is observed. Sacred (imi) axes and mattocks were used in some ceremonies. The Sun-Goddess was in her sacred weaving-hall when Susa no wo outraged her by flinging the hide of a horse into it. A modern derivative ofimi, namely,imeimashī, is the nearest Japanese equivalent for "Hang it!" Compare the two meanings of the Frenchsacré.
Mourning is also calledimi, perhaps in the passive sense of something to be avoided in connexion with the service of the Gods.
The following story illustrates the danger of appearing before the Gods while in a state of impurity. In 463 the Mikado Yūriaku desired to see the form of the deity of Mimuro, and ordered one of his Ministers to fetch the God. The Minister brought him before the Mikado in the form of a great serpent. But the Mikado had not practised religious abstinence, and when the God showed his displeasure by rolling his thunder and showing his fiery eyeballs, the Mikado covered his eyes and fled into the interior of the palace.
Fire-drill.--In order to avoid the risk of using unclean fire in the great Shinto ceremonies, it was the custom at the shrines of Idzumo, Ise, Kasuga, Kamo, and perhaps other places, to make fire afresh on each occasion by means of the fire-drill. Even when not produced in this way, the sacrificial fire was calledkiri-bior drill-fire. A description of the Japanese form of the fire-drill will be found in a paper by Sir Ernest Satow,T. A. S. J., vol. vi. pt. ii. p. 223, and a good specimen from Idzumo itself may be seen in the Oxford University Museum. Dr. Tylor, in his 'Early History of Mankind,' has shown how universally this method of producing fire has been employed. It is a natural development of the savage plan of rubbing two sticks together, and no doubt originated independently in many places. It is therefore unnecessary to assume that the Japanese fire-drill was borrowed from India, where it is used for sacred purposes, or even from nearer China, where it is also known. It is frequently mentioned in the old Japanese traditions. TheKojikisays that the God Kushiyadama was appointed steward for the service of Ohonamochi (the God of Idzumo), in which capacity he recited prayers, made a fire-drill, and drilled out fire wherewith to cook the heavenly august banquet of fish for the deity.[208]The priests of Idzumo have always used pure fire produced in this way, and pure water from a special well called theAma no mana-wi (true well of Heaven). At the present day, when the office is transmitted from one high priest to his successor, they proceed to the "Shrine of the Great Precinct," where the ceremony of "divine fire" and "divine water" is held. The original fire-drill, given by Ama-terasu to Ame no hohi and preserved as the chief treasure of the shrine, is carried in a bag slung round the neck of the chief priest, who solemnly delivers it over to his successor. This ceremony is calledhi-tsugi(fire-continuance). It is curious that the same term (hitsugi) is constantly used of the succession to the Mikado's throne, and that the delivery of the sun-mirror formed part of the ceremony used on his accession.Himeans either sun or fire.
The old fire-drill was worshipped every New Year's day at Idzumo at a festival calledhi no matsuri(fire or sun-festival). A fire-drill was among the objects carried in procession at theOhonihe, or coronation ceremony, and was used to produce the fire used for cooking the sacred rice offered on this occasion.
A modern Japanese writer, describing a festival celebrated at Gion in Kiôto on the last day of the year, says: "A big bonfire burns within the precincts of the shrine. It has been kindled from a year-old flame tended in a lamp under the eaves of the sacred building, and people come there to light a taper, which, burning before the household altar, shall be the beacon of domestic prosperity. At 2a.m.the Festival of Pine Shavings takes place. A Shinto priest reads a ritual. His colleagues obtain a spark by the friction of two pieces of wood, and set fire to a quantity of shavings packed into a large iron lamp. These charred fragments of pine wood the worshippers receive and carry away as amulets against plague and pestilence."
A Japanese book written two centuries ago informs us that sticks resembling the wands used for offerings at the purification ceremony were part shaven and set up in bundles at the four corners of the Gion shrine on the lastday of the year. The priests, after prayers were recited, broke up the bundles and set fire to the sticks, which the people then carried home to light their household fires with for the New Year.[209]The object of this ceremony was to avert pestilence. There is here a striking resemblance to the Christian practice mentioned by M. D'Alviella: "The fire which the clergy, on the dawn of Easter, had struck from the flint and steel, served to rekindle the fires of individuals which had all been previously extinguished." The use of such fire to prevent pestilence may also be illustrated from European customs. The need-fire, made by striking flints or by the fire-drill, and used to rekindle all household fires, is one of numerous examples.[210]
Removal of Impurity. Lustration.--With every precaution, it is not always possible to avoid the pollution of dirt, disease, and sin. In order, therefore, to do away with the offence to the Gods arising from such impure conditions, various expedients are resorted to. The most natural and universal of these is washing or lustration.[211]The Chinese notices of ancient Japan already quoted from inform us that the Japanese, after the ten days' mourning was concluded, all went into the river and washed. Hirata says that even at the present day, when mourning is over, people go to the bank of a stream or to the sea-beach and cleanse themselves. The mythical account of Izanagi's washing in the sea in order to remove the pollutions of Yomi has been given above. In a fourteenth-century work entitledKemmu nenchiu giōgi, the ablutions of the Mikado previous to the ceremony of Shingonjiki are described with great minuteness; and if this preliminary is usually passed over in descriptions of Shinto ceremonies, the reason no doubt is that it was too well known to require special mention.
Clean garments were put on at the same time. Both the Japanese words for the purification ceremony show by their derivation that washing was originally its cardinal feature.Misogimeans "body-sprinkling," andharahiis probably the same word asarahi, "wash."[212]Penitence is not one of the old Shinto means of purification.
Salt.--In Japan, as in other countries, the antiseptic quality of salt has led to its religious use as a symbol for, and means of, purification. In a modernharahiceremony the priest purifies thehimorogiwith salt water. At the entrances to theatres at the present day a saucer of salt is placed on a table in order to keep out evil influences. Thekaname-ishi, or pivot stones of the earth,[213]are covered with salt, which is then rubbed on a diseased part in order to obtain relief. "A housewife will not buy salt at night. When obtained in the daytime, a portion of it must first be thrown into the fire to ward off all danger, and especially to prevent quarrelling in the family. It is also used to scatter round the threshold and in the house after a funeral for purificatory purposes."[214]
Spitting.--Spitting, or the ejection from the mouth of any disagreeable substance, is naturally used by analogy as a symbol of dislike and disgust when other senses or feelings than that of taste are offended. The modern writer Fukuzawa tells us that when he left his home for the first time he spat in order to show his disgust with the narrowness and poverty of his life there.[215]Spitting as a means of symbolical purification is a further corollary from the natural function of this act. In the Izanagi myth a God of the Spittle (Haya-tama no wo) is the result of thatdeity's spitting during the ceremony of divorce. The "spittle" deity is here associated with another God, who is styled a God of Purification. A commentator on this passage says that "at the present day spitting is essential in the purification ceremony." The ritual, however, does not mention it. Another writer adds that "this is the reason why at the present day people spit when they see anything impure." In the myth of Susa no wo spittle is mentioned along with the nails of the fingers and toes and nose-mucus among the materials for expiatory offerings. When Hohodemi is recommended to "spit thrice" before giving back the lost fish-hook to his brother, a magical effect is probably intended, such as to convey to him any impurity which may have become attached to his own person. Rinsing the mouth as a purifying ceremony before pronouncing an oath is mentioned in theNihongi.[216]
Breathing on.--Ritual impurity may also be conveyed away by the breath. The origin of this practice is the sudden expulsion of air from the mouth when some offensive odour or vapour has found an entrance. This instinctive action[217]is represented onomatopoetically in English by Pooh! Faugh! Pshaw! and in other languages by similar words, which have come to express not only physical repulsion, but dislike and contempt generally.
As a religious practice, breathing away impurity is exemplified by the custom of the Mikado breathing on certainaga mono(ransom-objects) of theharahiceremony, thus communicating to them the pollutions of his own person. It is in order to avoid polluting the offerings by their breath that in some ceremonies the assistant priests cover their mouths with a white fillet and hold their armsoutstretched. Even at the present day the stewards who prepare the Mikado's food cover their mouths with a white paper mask. TheNihongistates that when Izanagi washed in the sea in order to remove the pollutions of Yomi, he "blew out" and produced a number of deities, among which were the Great God of Remedy and the Great God of Offences. But the action of the Sun-Goddess and Susa no wo in producing children by crunching various objects and then "blowing away" the fragments, and of Izanagi's creation of the Wind-God by puffing away the mists, requires further explanation. These myths were probably the work of a person who had only a vague idea of the precise nature of the efficacy of this act, and regarded it simply as attended with some magical power. Spitting, primarily a mark of disgust, then practised with the object of purification, is finally done simply "for luck."
Ransom.--The notion of expiating ritual guilt by giving ransom (aga-mono) is familiar to the Japanese. The more intimately the objects offered are connected with the person of the offender, the more effectual is the sacrifice. Susa no wo is said to have expiated his offences by the loss of his hair and of his finger and toe nails. Among objects of ransom presented by the Mikado at purification ceremonies clothing is the most important. The Mikado was measured with great ceremony for suits of garments. Bamboo sticks were used for this purpose, which were broken to the required lengths. Hence the ceremony was calledyo-ori(joint-break). The clothing when made was placed in a vase, and set before the Mikado by a Nakatomi woman. He breathed on it thrice, and then returned it to be taken away by the Urahe (diviners) and thrown into a stream. Other ransom offerings were human figures of iron, wood, or leather, and swords, which were similarly treated.
A specialmi-aganahi no matsuri(august-ransom-celebration) was inaugurated in 814 for the sake of the Mikado,who was then ill. It was continued annually every sixth and twelfth month, themikoofficiating.
In the thirteenth century the Onyōshi (diviners of the Chinese school) presented to the Mikado human figures in a box, inscribed with the place and name. The Mikado breathed on them, rubbed them on his person, and then returned them to the box.
The principle of ransom is illustrated in the present day by the custom ofkata-shiro(form-token) ornade-mono(rub-thing). At a shrine of the Sea-Gods in Tokio a purification ceremony is performed twice a year. A few days before, the parishioners and other believers who wish to be purified go to the shrine and obtain from its official akatashiro, that is, a white paper cut into the shape of a garment. On this the person to be purified writes the year and month of his birth and his or her sex, and rubs it over his whole body. When he has thus transferred his impurities to the paper he returns it to the shrine. All thekatashirowhich are brought back are packed into two sheaths of reed and placed on a table of unbarked wood. They are then calledharahi tsu mono, or things of purification. Finally they are put into a boat which is rowed out into the sea, and they are thrown away there.[218]The bundles of reeds or rushes which are thrown into the sea at the shrine of Gion at Tsushima in Owari, to avert pestilence, probably represent human figures. It is said that wherever they float to, pestilence breaks out.
A more expeditious form of the same custom is when thekatashiroornademonoare simply bought from theKashima-fure, strolling vendors belonging to the shrine of Kashima, rubbed over the body, and cast into a stream. The object, however, is not so much the removal of ritual pollution as protection against disease. At the present day paper figures, called Ama-gatsu, are made to avert calamity from children. They are prepared before thebirth of the child, and are worn up to the age of three. It is thought that evil spirits are diverted into these images from the infant. It is an obvious degradation of these practices when they are used merely to procure good luck instead of to remove impurities offensive to the Gods.
Chi no wa (Reed-ring).--In a modern form of theharahiceremony there is a kind of purification which consists in passing three times through a large ring made of reeds (pp. 266, 267), holding in the hands hemp leaves and reeds, and repeating the verse:--
The sixth month'sSummer--passing-away--PurificationWho ever doethIs said to extend his lifeTo one thousand years.
The sixth month'sSummer--passing-away--PurificationWho ever doethIs said to extend his lifeTo one thousand years.
Or, according to another version:--
To the end thatMy impure thoughtsMay be annihilated,These hemp leaves,Cutting with many a cut,I have performed purification.
To the end thatMy impure thoughtsMay be annihilated,These hemp leaves,Cutting with many a cut,I have performed purification.
TheShinto Miōmoku(1699) says that this ring represents the round of the universe. The same work adds that the object of the ceremony is to avert the dangers connected with the change of summer influences to those of autumn. But these explanations have a tincture of Chinese philosophy. The purification of the heart from evil thoughts is also a conception foreign to the older Shinto. The injunction to cleanse the inside of the cup and the platter belongs to a later stage of religious development.
Thechi no wais subsequently flung into the water.
Another means of purification was to shake agoheiover the person or thing to be purified.
The virtue of set forms of speech in absolving from uncleanness is fully recognized in Shinto, as will be seen in the next chapter.
There were various forms of purification at various places for consecrating a new shrine, or new utensils for it, or for reconsecrating a place which had become unclean.
[Pg 267]
CHAPTER XII.CEREMONIAL.
CEREMONIAL.
Ceremonies are combinations for some specific purpose of the elements of worship described in the two preceding chapters.[219]
TheYengishikiis the chief authority for the following account of some of the more important ceremonies of Shinto. I have also availed myself freely of the results of Sir E. Satow's researches contained in vols. vii. and ix. of theT. A. S. J.
Ohonihe or Daijowe.--TheYengishikiplaces the Ohonihe in a class by itself, as much the most solemn and important festival of the Shinto religion.Ohomeans great, andnihefood offering. It was substantially a more elaborate and sumptuous Nihi-name (new-tasting), or festival of first fruits, performed soon after the accession of a Mikado to the throne, and, like our coronation ceremony, constituting the formal religious sanction of his sovereignty.
A modern Japanese writer explains its object as follows:
"Anciently the Mikado received the auspicious grain from the Gods of Heaven, and therewithal nourished the people. In the Daijowe (or Ohonihe) the Mikado, when the grain became ripe, joined unto him the people in sincere veneration, and, as in duty bound, made return to the Gods of Heaven. He thereafter partook of it along with the nation. Thus the people learnt that the grain which they eat is no other than the seed bestowed on them by the Gods of Heaven."
In so far as the motive of the Japanese worshipper is concerned, this is, I think, nearer the mark than Mr. Frazer's: "Primitive peoples are, as a rule, reluctant to taste the annual first-fruits of any crop until some ceremony has been performed which makes it safe and pious for them to do so. The reason of this reluctance appears to be that the first-fruits either are the property of, or actually contain, a divinity." It is gratitude rather than fear which animates the Japanese.
The preparations for the Ohonihe began months in advance. The first step was to designate by divination two provinces from which the rice used in the ceremony was to be provided. These were called respectivelyyukiandsuki. The most probable meaning of the former term is "religious purity."Sukiis said to mean next or subsidiary. The object of thus duplicating the offerings was, no doubt, that if any unnoticed irregularity or impurity occurred in one case, the error might not vitiate the whole proceedings. Officers callednuki-ho no tsukahi(messengers of the plucked-up ears) were then selected by divination. One of these was called the Inami no Urabe, or rice-fruit diviner, the other the Negi no Urabe, or prayer-diviner. These officers on arriving at theyukiorsukidistrict performed a purification ceremony in presence of the local officials and people. The site of theinami-dono, or rice-fruit-hall, was then chosen by divination and marked out at the four corners by twigs of the sacred evergreen tree (sakaki) hung with tree-fibre.[220]It was 160 feet square. Somewhat more than an acre of rice-field was next set apart, the owner being compensated by the authorities. Here twosakakitwigs hung with tree-fibre were planted, and a guard of four labourers was set over it. Divination was also used for the selection of a local staff of religious functionaries. It consisted of one Saka-tsu-ko, that is, sake-child or brewer-maiden, an unmarried girl of good family, with several other girls asassistants, an Inami no kimi, or rice-fruit-lord,[221]a charcoal-burner, wood-cutters, &c. A choir of twenty male and female singers was also provided. Then the site of the Inami-dono was propitiated by prayer and offerings. A pure mattock and sickle were used in clearing the ground for the buildings, which comprised a shrine to the eight Gods Mi-toshi no Kami (august harvest deity), Taka mi musubi, Niha-taka-hi no Kami (courtyard-high-sun-deity), Mi ketsu no Kami (food-Goddess), Ohomiyanome no Kami, Koto-shiro-nushi, Asuha, and Hahigi.[222]A "rice-fruit-store," an office for the envoys from Kiōto, and lodgings for the rice-fruit-lord and for the brewer-maiden and her assistants were built of unbarked wood and grass. The surrounding fence was made of brushwood and the gates consisted of hurdles.
Offerings having been made to the eight Gods above mentioned, the diviners from Kiōto, accompanied by the local authorities and by the special staff of the inami-dono proceeded to the rice-field. The brewer-maiden plucked up the first ears. She was followed by the rice-fruit-lord and the people. Songs were sung during the operation. The first four sheaves were reserved for the offering of boiled rice to be made by the Mikado to the Gods. When all the rice was pulled up, it was carried in procession to the capital, with the four reserved sheaves in the place of honour and the rice-fruit-lord acting as guide. It arrived at Kiōto in the last decade of the ninth month.
Meanwhile a general purification of the whole country had been performed, and to prevent all possibility of error, repeated at a short interval. As soon as this formality was completed, offerings of cloth and of material for wearing apparel were sent to all the Gods. The followingnorito[223]was read on this occasion:--
"He says: 'Hearken! all ye assembled kannushi and hafuri. I humbly declare in the presence of the sovran Gods, who, according to the command of the dear divine ancestor and dear divine ancestress who dwell in the Plain of High Heaven, bear sway as Heavenly Shrines and Earthly Shrines.'
"He says: 'To the end that on the middle day of the Hare of the 11th month of this year, the Sovran Grandchild[224]may partake of the Great Food (ohonihe) as Heavenly Food, as Long Food, as Distant Food, I pray that ye sovran Gods will jointly undertake to bless his reign, to be firm and enduring, and give it happiness as a prosperous reign. Therefore, on behalf of the Sovran Grandchild, who will rule peacefully and serenely for one thousand autumns and five hundred autumns with festive ruddy countenance, do I set forth these fair offerings, namely, bright cloth, shining cloth, soft cloth, and rough cloth.
"'Hearken! all of you to this fulfilling of praises as the morning sun rises in glory.'
"He says: 'More especially would I enjoin on the kannushi and hafuri with all due ceremony to receive, take up, and present the offerings purely provided by the Imbe, hanging stout straps on weak shoulders.'"
A special embassy was sent to Ise, consisting of one Prince, one Nakatomi, one Imbe, and one Urabe.
In the third decade of the tenth month the Mikado went in state to a river-bank near Kioto and performed a ceremonial ablution (misogi).
For one month before the Ohonihe lesser abstinence (ara-imi) was enjoined, and for three days greater abstinence (ma-imi). Buddhist ceremonies, and the eating of impure food, were interdicted throughout the five home provinces. Purity of language[225]was also necessary. During the three days ofma-imi, no official was allowed to do any work except that connected with the ceremony.
Special buildings were erected for the Ohonihe at Kitano, a suburb of Kiōto. After a purification ceremony, a site 480 feet square was marked out by twigs ofsakakihung with tree-fibre. On the arrival of theyukiandsukirice from the provinces, this site was propitiated. The Brewer-maidens then with a pure mattock turned the first sod and dug the holes for the four corner posts. The Urabe went to the mountain where the timber was to be cut, and worshipped the God of the mountain. The Brewer-maiden struck the first blow with a pure axe, and wood-cutters completed the work. Similar formalities were practised in cutting the grass for thatch and in digging wells.
The sacred enclosure (yu-niha) was divided into two sections, an inner and an outer, and contained numerous buildings, such as shrines to the eight Gods already mentioned, storehouses for the rice and other necessaries, lodgings for the Brewer-maidens and their assistants, kitchens, &c.
The site of the principal building, or Ohonihe no Miya, measured 214 feet by 150 feet. It was erected after the others and was in duplicate, one being for theyuki, the other for thesuki. Each was forty feet long by sixteen feet wide. The roof-tree ran north and south. Undressed wood was used for the erection, which was covered by a roof of thatch. The floor was strewn with bundles of grass over which bamboo mats were placed. In the centre of the sleeping-chamber (the sanctum) several whitetatami(thick mats) were laid down and upon them theSaka-makura, which was a cushion three feet broad by four feet long, for the use of the God or Gods.[226]This was called the "Deity seat." The Mikado's seat was placed to the south of it.
The preparation of thesakefor the ceremony was preceded by worship of the Well-God, the Furnace-God, andthe Sake-God. The first fire was produced by a fire-drill. The Brewer-maiden began to turn it and the Rice-fruit-lord continued the work. A third official blew the fire and the attendants then kindled a torch with it. All the utensils had been provided by the Imbe with great care, performingharahiand worship at every step.
The Mikado himself practised lesser abstinence for a month and greater abstinence for three days before the ceremony. The procedure at the Ohonihe is too elaborate to describe in detail. It included the recitation before the Mikado of "old words" (myths and legends?) by the Kataribe, or corporation of reciters, and songs by the women who pounded the rice for the offerings, wishing him long life and prosperity. The rice was presented to him by the Nukiho no tsukahi, with the words, "We bring a thousand and five hundred auspicious ears which we offer as divine food of a million loads." Old-fashioned music was performed and the regalia were delivered to him by the Urabe.
The cardinal feature of the Ohonihe was the offering of food to the God (or Gods) by the Mikado in person. With his own hands he sprinkled rice withsakewhich he then placed before the "Deity-seat." No one else was present but the Uneme, or ladies-in-waiting, who repeated the formula, "Let that which ye should clip first be clipped afterwards. Moreover, whatever faults there be, receive these offerings with divine amendment, with great amendment." The Mikado then bowed his head slightly, clapped his hands, and saidÔ(amen), after which he joined the God in partaking of the food. When theyukiceremony was completed the Mikado went to his retiring-room, washed and changed his clothes, after which he proceeded to thesukichamber and repeated the same ceremonial.
It is not quite certain what God or Gods were worshipped. Some say that the offerings were to the Sun-Goddess, others think that all the Gods were included. The haziness on this point is highly characteristic of Shinto.
The followingnorito, No. 27 of theYengishiki, was pronounced by the Idzumo no miyakko on this occasion. They were the reputed descendants of Ama no hohi, who holds the same position in the Ohonamochi myth that Koyane does in that of the Sun-Goddess. They were originally the hereditary Governors--perhaps even kings--of the province and had also sacerdotal functions. They retained the latter after all lay jurisdiction had been taken from them.
"The words of blessing of the Miyakko of Idzumo.
"Among the many tens of days that be, on this day, this living day, this perfect day, do I[here insert name],Miyakko of the Land of Idzumo, humbly declare with deepest reverence, to wit: 'With the object of pronouncing a blessing on the great august reign of our Sovran Lord, who rules the Great-eight-island country as--with fear be it said--a wise manifest deity, and blessing it as a long and great reign, did I, hanging stout straps on weak shoulders,[227]fastening the cords of the sacred offerings, wearing the celestial cap, shearing and spreading the coarse grass as a sacred mat in the sacred house, blackening the sacred vessels, dwelling in pure retirement by the celestial sake-jars, calming the deities in their calm shrines by the avoidance of impurity, did service first to the Great God of Kumano, Kushi mikenu,[228]our divine ancestor, the Great-Grandchild of Izanagi, and to Ohonamochi, the maker of the land, for whom within the blue hill-confines of the province of Idzumo the temple pillars have been stoutly planted on the rock-roots below, while the projecting crossbeams of the roof are exalted to the Plain of High Heaven. Thereafter I did worship to the Sovran Gods who dwell in the one hundred and eighty-six shrines.'
"Then, as the morning sun went up in glory, there came these good words of divine blessing, to wit: 'WhenTaka-mi-musubi and Kami mi-musubi, the High-Heaven divine ancestors, bestowed upon the Sovran Grandchild this sub-celestial Great-eight-island country, Ama no hohi, the remote divine ancestor of the Omi[229]of Idzumo, was sent by them toview the condition of the land. Forcing his way through the eight-fold clouds of Heaven, soaring across the sky, soaring over the earth, he surveyed the Under-Heaven on all sides, and made report that the Fair-Ear-Land of the Rich-Reed-Plain was a savage land where there were Gods who in the daytime swarmed like flies in the fifth month, and at night shone like fire pots, and where the rocks, trees, and blue water foam had power of speech. However, he promised that it should be subdued so that the Sovran Grandchild might rule it serenely as a peaceful land. Therefore his son Ame-hina-dori, and with him Futsunushi were sent down from Heaven. They drove out and subdued the savage deities, and persuaded the Great God who made the Land[230]to divide off the visible outward things[231]of the Great-eight-island Country.'
"Then Ohonamochi said: 'In the land to be governed by the Sovran Grandchild and called Great Yamato I will make my own gentle spirit (nigi-tama) to be attached to an eight-hand mirror, and enshrined in Miha, under the title of Yamato no Oho-mono-nushi kushi-mika-tama no mikoto (great-thing-master-wondrous-awful-spirit), the spirit of my son Ajisuki-taka-hikone to be enshrined at Kamo in Katsuraki, that of Kotoshironushi at Unade, and that of Kaya-narumi at Asuka, dedicating them to dwell there divinely as near guardian deities of the Sovran Grandchild.' He then went to rest in the shrine of fertile Kitsuki.[232]Thereupon theSovran dear divine ancestor and ancestress (of the Mikado?)gave command, saying: 'Do thou Hohi no Mikoto bless the Sovran's long age so that it may be firm and enduring, and make it happy as a prosperous age.'
"In accordance with this injunction, I (his successor) perform this service of blessing, and as the morning sun rises in glory, bring tribute of congratulatory divine treasures in token of the God's (Hohi) regard and in token of the Omi's (his own) regard.
"(These) white jewels are (a prognostic of) the great august white hairs (to which your majesty will reach). The red jewels are the august, healthful, ruddy countenance, and the green-estuary jewels are the harmonious fitness with which your Majesty will establish far and wide, as with a broad sword-blade, his lasting great august reign over the Great-eight-island-country which he governs. As (this) white horse plants firmly his fore hoofs and his hind-hoofs, so will the pillars of the Great Palace be set firmly on the upper rocks and frozen firmly on the lower rocks. The pricking up of his ears is a sign that Your Majesty will, with ears ever more erect, rule the Under-Heaven.[Here follows a passage too corrupt for translation. It continues to allude to the emblematic character of the offerings.]As a token that the visible deity (the Mikado) shall peacefully and serenely rule the Great-eight-island-country as long as Heaven and Earth, the Sun and Moon endure, I offer these congratulatory divine treasures by way of respect from the God, and by way of respect from the Omi, with profound awe, and pronounce these auspicious words of divine congratulation delivered to me from Heaven."
The offerings were sixty jewels, white, red, and green, a sword with mountings of gold and silver, a mirror, two pieces of cloth, a horse, a swan, and fifty trays of eatables.
The similar formula used by the Nakatomi in 1142, invoking the blessing of the Gods on the new sovereign, is given in Dr. Florenz's German translation of theNihongi, Book xxx., Appendix.
The above is the merest outline of a ceremony to a description of which Hirata devotes 480 pages of hisKoshiden. It varied a good deal at different times, and was altogether discontinued for eight reigns (1465-1687) no doubt because it was found too heavy a burden on the people.
Nihi-name.--The Nihi-name or new tasting, when the rice of the new harvest was first partaken of, was the same as the Ohonihe, except that it was simpler and was celebrated annually. The festival is frequently referred to in theKojikiandNihongi. The Sun-Goddess is said to have celebrated a Nihi-name in a New Palace. It was accompanied by songs and dances and was followed by feasting in holiday dress and presents to the Court and officials.
At shrines not officially recognized, the local official in charge conducted this ceremony. It was then calledo-hi-taki(august-fire-kindling) because a courtyard fire (nihabi) was made, the ceremony taking place at night. Strict Shinto devotees would not eat the new season's rice until it had been performed.
It appears from allusions in poetry and legend that there was also a household Nihi-name. It was celebrated with closed doors, no stranger being admitted, apparently in order to prevent pollution by impure persons. The following legend from theHitachi Fudokiillustrates this point.
"When the God called the 'Divine Ancestor' went to the places of the various deities, he came to the Peak of Fuji in Suruga. The sun went down and he asked for a lodging, but the God of Fuji refused, saying that he was that day performing the Nihi-name, and his household were therefore practising abstinence. So he ascended the Peak of Tsukuba, and asked for a lodging. The God of Tsukuba said: 'Although I am this night celebrating the Nihi-name, why should that prevent me from acceding to your august behest?'"
Nanakusa.--There was in later times a correspondingspring festival called Nana-kusa (seven herbs), in which wild potherbs of seven different kinds were gathered and eaten.
Ahi-name or Ahimbe.--This word means "joint-tasting." It was a harvest festival not essentially differing from the Nihi-name, and was so called because the Mikado joined the Gods with himself in tasting the new season's rice andsake. Hirata thinks, however, that the expression "joint-tasting" refers to the association of certain inferior Gods with the greater Gods directly worshipped at this time. It was celebrated on the first Hare day of the eleventh month, and was in honour of the deities of seventy-one shrines.
Kan-name(divine-tasting).--This was another harvest festival, distinguished from the preceding by being celebrated in the ninth month, and being confined to the deities of the Ise shrines. An embassy of high officials was specially dispatched to Ise for the purpose, after an elaborate ceremonial in the Palace, in which the Mikado himself took part.
Thenorito(Nos. 20, 21, and 22) used on this occasion are preserved in theYengishiki. They contain nothing of interest.
When a princess was dedicated to the service of the shrines, the following formula (No. 23) was added:--
"More especially do I humbly declare: 'The offering of a Sacred Princess of the Blood Imperial to serve as the Deities' staff, having first, according to custom, observed the rules of religious purity for three years, is to the end that thou mayst cause the Sovran Grandchild to live peacefully and firmly as long as Heaven and Earth, the Sun and Moon, may last. I, the Great Nakatomi, holding the dread spear by the middle,[233]with deepest awe pronounce this dedication of her by the Mikado to the end that she may serve as an august staff.'"
Kamu-ima-ge or Shingonjiki.--This festival was celebrated in the palace at night after the Tsukinami. The name means literally God-new-food. It consisted in the Mikado in person or by deputy making an offering of food to the Sun-Goddess. The forms resembled those in use for the Ohonihe or Nihi-name, and included laying down a cushion (saka-makura) to represent the Deity, the use of a firedrill, &c.
Hirano no Matsuri.--Festival of Hirano, a village in the province of Settsu. There is much doubt as to the deities in whose honour this service (No. 5 of theYengishiki) was first instituted. It is believed that it was originally celebrated in honour of Image no Kami (the God of New Food) and of Kudo no Kami and Kobe no Kami, the Gods of the kitchen-boiler and of the cooking-pan. TheImagewas probably, as explained by Sir E. Satow, freshly hulled rice offered monthly to the Gods.
After the Mikado Kwammu founded the shrine of Hirano, about the end of the eighth century, it became the custom for all the branches of the Imperial family to be represented at the two annual celebrations. It was Kitabatake Chika-fusa (1293-1359) who first invented the popular account of the Gods worshipped here. Knowing that they were in some manner family deities, he proceeded to allot asuji-gamito the Tahira, Minamoto, Ohoye and Takashina families, ancient members of the Imperial line taken here and there at random, and comprising the Sun-Goddess, Yamato-dake, and the Mikados Chiuai and Nintoku. This is an instructive example of the intrusion of ancestor-worship so-called into the older Shinto.
Thenoritoread at this festival affords no clue to the identity of the Gods worshipped. It mentions the founding of the shrine at the behest of the Sovran Great God (or Gods) and makes offerings in acknowledgment of his (or their)preserving the Mikado's life and prospering his reign.[234]
Kudo and Kobe no Matsuri.--This service (No. 6 of theYengishiki) is practically identical with the last, which is natural, if, as is probable, the Gods worshipped are really the same.
Toshigohi no Matsuri(harvest-praying service).--This festival (No. 1 of theYengishiki) was in honour of the deities of the 3,132 official shrines, in other words, the entire Shinto Pantheon. It was celebrated on the 4th day of the 2nd month (when the seed rice is sown) in theSai-in, or sacred precinct, a courtyard in the Palace measuring 230 feet by 370 feet, with offices opening on to it on all sides. On the west were the shrines of the eight deities[235]in a row, surrounded by a fence to the interior of which three sacred archways gave access. In the centre of the court a temporary shed was erected in which the altars were placed. Early on the morning of the festival day, the offerings, prepared by the Imbe, were set out here. They are minutely described in theYengishiki, and consisted of silk and cloth of various kinds, some of the raw materials for the same, models of swords, shields, spear-heads, bows, quivers, stags' horns, mattocks, sake, fish of various kinds, edible seaweed, salt, and matting. In the case of the Ise temples, a horse was added. A white horse, cock, and boar were sent to Mitoshi no Kami, the special deity of Harvest, and a horse to each of nineteen others, including the God of Growth and the water-deities of Yamato.
When everything was ready, the officials of theJingikwan, accompanied by themiko, or virgin priestesses, entered by the middle gate and took their places in the western offices with their faces to the east, the north being the upper (or more honourable) end. The Ministers of State and theirsubordinates entered by the north gate and took their places in the north office, the Ministers facing the south, the others east or west. The priestesses occupied seats below the office. The other officials entered by the south gate and sat facing the north. The subordinate Shinto functionaries andhafuristood in the courtyard south of the west office.
Then the Jingikwan officials came down and took their places in front of their office. They were followed by the Ministers of State. A Nakatomi read thenorito, thehafuriresponding withÔ("Yes" or "Amen") at the end of every paragraph. It is as follows:--
"He[236]says: 'Hearken all ye assembled Kannushi and Hafuri.'
"He says: 'I humbly declare in the presence of the Sovran Gods, whose praises are fulfilled as Heavenly Deities and as Earthly Deities, by command of the Sovran, dear, divine ancestor and ancestress who divinely dwell in the Plain of High-Heaven.
"'In the second month of this year the Sovran Grandchild is graciously pleased to pray for harvest, and I, therefore, as the morning sun rises in glory, offer up his plenteous offerings, thus fulfilling your praise.'[Here the Kannushi and Hafuri of the shrines concerned remove this set of offerings.]
"He says: 'I humbly declare in the presence of the Sovran Gods of the harvest.
"'If the Sovran Gods will bestow in ears many a hand's breadth long and ears abundant the latter harvest which they will bestow, the latter harvest produced by the labour of men from whose arms the foam drips down, on whose opposing thighs the mud is gathered, I will fulfil their praises by humbly offering first fruits, of ears a thousand, of ears many a hundred, raising up the tops of the sake-jars, and setting in rows the bellies of the sake-jars, in juice and in ear will Ipresent them, of things growing in the great moor-plain, sweet herbs and bitter herbs, of things that dwell in the blue sea-plain, the broad of fin and the narrow of fin, edible seaweed, too, from the offing and seaweed from the shore, of clothing, bright stuffs and shining stuffs, soft stuffs and coarse stuffs--with these I will fulfil your praises.[In the meantime]having furnished a white horse, a white boar, and a white cock, with things of various kinds before the Sovran Gods of the Harvest, I fulfil their praises by humbly presenting these plenteous offerings of the Sovran Grandchild.'
"He says: 'I humbly declare in the presence of the Sovran Gods whose praises the chief priestess fulfils, and I fulfil your praises, namely, Kami-musubi, Taka-mi-musubi, Iku-musubi, Taru-musubi, Tama-tsume-musubi, Oho-miya no me, Oho-mi-ketsu no kami, and Kotoshironushi. Because you bless the Sovran Grandchild's reign as a long reign, firm and enduring, and render it a happy and prosperous reign, I fulfil your praises as our Sovran's dear, divine ancestor and ancestress by making these plenteous offerings on his behalf.'
"He says: 'I humbly declare in the presence of the Sovran Gods, whose praises the priestess of Wigasuri fulfils. I fulfil your praises, repeating your names, to wit, Live Well, Blessing Well, Long-rope Well, Asuha, and Hahigi.[237]Whereas, on the nethermost rock-roots ruled by the Sovran Gods (just named) the palace pillars have been raised stout and high, and the projecting cross-beams exalted to the Plain of High-Heaven, furnishing a fair abode for the Sovran Grandchild, wherein, finding shelter from the rain and shelter from the sun, he serenely governs in peace the world on all sides, I fulfil your praises by making these plenteous offerings on his behalf.'
"He says: 'I humbly declare in the presence of the Sovran Gods, whose praises are fulfilled by the priestess of the Gate. Repeating your names, to wit, Kushi-iha-mado (wondrous-rock-gate)and Toyo-iha-mado (rich-rock-gate), I fulfil your praises. Whereas you guard the gates of the four quarters by night and day, obstructing the passage like manifold piles of rock, and whether you open them in the morning or close them in the evening, guard below against unfriendly things coming from below, and guard above against unfriendly things coming from above, I fulfil your praises by making these offerings on behalf of the Sovran Grandchild.'
"He says: 'I humbly declare in the presence of the Sovran Gods, whose praises the priestess of Ikushima (live-island or region) fulfils. Repeating your names, to wit, Iku-kuni (live country) and Taru-kuni[238](perfect country), I fulfil your praises. Because you the Sovran Gods, who rule the islands many tens in number wherever the frog of the valley finds his way, wherever the ocean foam extends, making wide the narrow regions and the steep regions level, have granted these many islands to him every one, I fulfil your praises by making these plenteous offerings on behalf of the Sovran Grandchild.'
"He says: 'More especially do I humbly declare in the mighty presence of the Great Heaven-shining Deity who dwells in Ise. Because the Great Deity has bestowed on him the lands of the four quarters over which her glance extends as far as where the wall of Heaven rises, as far as where the bounds of Earth stand up, as far as the blue clouds are diffused, as far as where the white clouds settle down opposite, by the blue sea-plain, as far as the prows of ships can go without letting dry their poles and oars; by land, as far as the hoofs of horses can go, with tightened baggage-cords, treading their way among rock-roots and tree-roots where the long road extends, continuously widening the narrow regions and making the steep regions level, drawing together, as it were, the distant regions by throwing over them (a net of) many ropes,--therefore will the first-fruits for the Sovran Great Deity be piled up in her mighty presence like a range of hills, leaving the remainder for him tranquilly to partake of.'
"'Moreover, whereas you bless the Sovran Grandchild's reign as a long reign, firm and enduring, and render it a happy and prosperous reign, I plunge down my neck cormorant-wise in reverence to you asour Sovran's dear, divine ancestress, and fulfil your praises by making these plenteous offerings on his behalf.'
"He says: 'I humbly declare in the presence of the Sovran Gods who dwell in the Crown lands and name your august names, to wit--Takechi, Katsuraki, Tohochi, Shiki, Yamanobe and Sofu.[239]Whereas the Sovran Grandchild partakes of, as his long food, his distant food, the sweet herbs and bitter herbs which grow in and are brought from the six Crown lands aforesaid, I fulfil your praises by making these plenteous offerings on his behalf.'
"'I humbly declare in the presence of the Sovran Gods who dwell in the mountain-mouths and name your august names, to wit--Asuka, Ihare, Osaka, Hatsuse, Unebi, and Miminashi.[240]Whereas the great trees and the small trees which grow on the near mountains and on the far mountains are cut at the root and at the top, and brought to furnish a fair abode for the Sovran Grandchild, wherein, sheltered from the rain and sun, he serenely governs in peace the lands of the four quarters, I fulfil your praises by making these plenteous offerings on his behalf.'
"He says: 'I humbly declare in the presence of the Gods who dwell in the water-partings, and, naming your august names, to wit--Yoshinu, Uda, Tsuge, and Katsuraki, fulfil your praises. If you, the Sovran Gods, will bestow in ears many a handsbreadth long, and ears abundant the latter harvest which you will bestow, I will fulfil your praises by offering first-fruits in ear and in juice, raising up the tops of the sake-jars and filling and setting in a row the bellies of the sake-jars. The Sovran Grandchild will then partake with ruddy countenance of that which remains as the corn ofhis august morning meals and his august evening meals, for his long food, and for his distant food. Therefore do I now fulfil your praises by making these plenteous offerings on his behalf.
"'Lend ear, all of you.'
"He says: 'More especially, let the Kannushi and Hafuri, having received the offerings which the Imbe, hanging stout straps on weak shoulders, have prepared with purity, take them away and offer them in all due form.'"
It will be observed that thisnoritocontains paragraphs--possibly later accretions--which have nothing to do with the harvest. In some of the petitions thedo ut desprinciple is very thinly disguised.
Tsukinami no Matsuri.--This festival was in honour of the Gods of the "Greater Shrines." The name means monthly festival, but it was really celebrated only twice a year, on the eleventh day of the sixth and twelfth months. Thenorito(No. 7 of theYengishiki) is almost identical with the Toshigohi. TheJingishiriō, a modern history of Shinto, describes it as a thanksgiving service for the protecting care of the Gods.
Another Tsukinami ceremony was performed at Ise by a Nakatomi despatched thither as special envoy in connexion with the Toshigohi and also in the sixth and twelfth months of every year. Thenorito(No. 16) read on these occasions was as follows:--
"He says: 'By the great command of the Mikado, I humbly declare in the mighty presence of the Great Deity whose praises are fulfilled (in the shrine built) upon the nethermost rock-roots on the bank of the River Isuzu in Watarahi. I, of such a rank, of such a name, humbly repeat his commands, as his envoy to convey hither and make offering of the customary great offerings of Praying-for-Harvest in the second month (or as the case may be).'"
A similar service (No. 17) was performed at the same time in honour of the Goddess of Food. The phraseology is somewhat less honorific.
On the two latter occasions, the Chief Priest of Ise read the followingnorito(No. 19).
"He says: 'Hearken, all ye kannushi and mono-imi to this celestial, this great norito, which I humbly pronounce in the mighty presence of the Heaven-Shining Great Deity, whose praises are fulfilled in Uji of Watarahi, where on the bank of the River Isuzu the pillars of the Great Shrine are stoutly erected, and the projecting cross-beams are exalted to the Plain of High-Heaven. (Here the Negi and Uchi-bito, priests of lower rank, answer "Ô," that is, "Yes," or "Amen.") Bless the life of our Sovereign as a long life, let his reign be prosperous, firm and enduring as a pile of multitudinous rocks, and show thy favour to the princes born of him. As to the functionaries of every rank, down to the peasants of the four quarters of the Under-Heaven, make the five grains which they long and peacefully cultivate to flourish abundantly. Favour them with thy protection, and grant them thy blessing.
"'On this seventeenth day of the sixth month (or as the case may be) as the morning sun rises in glory, I fulfil thy praises, setting before thee in ample measure, like seas and mountains, the tribute yarn and the great food-offerings of holy rice and sake, provided according to custom by the consecrated peasants of the three districts, and the various localities of the various provinces, while the Great Nakatomi himself is hidden in offering-branches.
"'Hearken, all ye kannushi and mono-imi.'
"He says: 'This service is likewise addressed to the Aramatsuri shrine and to the Tsukiyomi (Moon-God) shrine.' (The kannushi again answer 'Ô.')"
Ki-u no Matsuri(praying for rain). Nonoritoof this ceremony is given in theYengishiki. It was performed inhonour 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.
Mr. 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.
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. Thenorito(No. 18) is very short and uninteresting.
Service for the Removal of the Ise Shrine.--Thenorito(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.
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.
I quote from Sir Ernest Satow's 'Ancient Japanese Rituals' in theT. A. S. J., vol. ix. pt. ii., a ninth-century description of this ceremony:--
"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 andImbe 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: '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 lowvoice 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."
Thenorito(No. 8) of this ceremony, as appears from the archaic forms of language which it contains, is probably very ancient. It is quoted in theKogojiui; and theNihongidescribes as "an ancient saying" a sentence which forms part of it.
The 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.
"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.
"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 fairPalace 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.
"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.'
"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 goin 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.'"
Naishi-dokoro or Kashiko-dokoro.--Every new moon offerings were presented in thenaishi-dokoro(naishi-place) orkashiko-dokoro(place of reverence)[246]by thenaishior 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 yearKagurawas 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. TheYengishikihas not preserved thenoritobelonging to it.
A Japanese writer thus describes the modern form of this ceremony:--
"Within the palace there is a large hall, thekashiko-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 theEmperors 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,sakakiboughs 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. Thereafter 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 ofsakakiwith pendantgohei, 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.