Shinto Festival
Shinto Priest Blessing the beginning of the Festival
Our village had it’s Shinto Shrine festival today, now let me give you a little background on the festival itself so you can understand the meaning behind it. Lets start with the Shinto religion itself, Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion that started about 500 BC or possibly even earlier. Shinto creation stories tell of the “Kami” or deities, of them a couple Izanagi-no-mikoto and Izanami-no mikoto who gave birth to the Japanese islands.
Portable Shrine
The children of this couple became the deities of the various clans. Amaterasu Omikami (Sun Goddess) was one of their daughters. She is the ancestress of the Imperial Family and is regarded as the chief deity. Her shrine is at Ise. Her descendants unified the country. Her brother, Susano came down from heaven and roamed throughout the earth. He is famous for killing a great evil serpent.
One of the Taiko players
The Kami are the Shinto deities. The word “Kami” is generally translated “god” or “gods.” However, the Kami bear little resemblance to the gods of monotheistic religions. There are no concepts which compare to the Christian beliefs in the wrath of God, his omnipotence and omni-presence, or the separation of God from humanity due to sin. There are numerous other deities who are conceptualized in many forms.About 84% of the population of Japan follow two religions: both Shinto and Buddhism.
Children bouncing the Mikoshi on their shoulders
Buddhism first arrived in Japan from Korea and China during the 6th through 8th centuries CE. The two religions share a basic optimism about human nature, and for the world. Within Shinto, the Buddha was viewed as another “Kami”. Meanwhile, Buddhism in Japan regarded the Kami as being manifestations of various Buddhas and Bodhisattva’s. Most weddings are performed by Shinto priests; funerals are performed by Buddhist priests.
Carrying the shrine through the village
There are “Four Affirmations”in Shinto:1. Tradition and the family: The family is seen as the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved. Their main celebrations relate to birth and marriage.2. Love of nature: Nature is sacred; to be in contact with nature is to be close to the Gods. Natural objects are worshiped as sacred spirits.3. Physical cleanliness: Followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouth often.4. “Matsuri”: The worship and honor given to the Kami and ancestral spirits.And the 4th one is what brings us to the festival that we celebrated today.
Young Boy manning the Taiko Drum
The children from the elementary school today carried the portable shrine called a Mikoshi around our village giving honor to the ancestral spirits, the festival is very similar to pagan celebrations in which I have no problem with. The worship of mother earth or animism has been around much longer than Christianity.The children carried the Mikoshi past all of the residents in our village today, while the fire truck played the matsuri music.
Younger kids carrying the Mikoshi
To see the eyes of some of the elderly light up when the children passed their houses really made you feel a sense of satisfaction, bringing joy to others. Also many people gave envelopes containing money to help with the upkeep of the Shrine (jinja) and to contribute to the villages children’s fund.
Waiting to donate money
We had a great time, and the kids enjoyed themselves as you can see from all of the photos. Afterward’s the men got together and ate lunch together, and after lunch we had a park golf tournament. I will save the explanation of park golf for another post. Take Care all!
Fire Chief directing traffic around the festival
Youngest kids of the village on the back of the firetruck
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Comments
Your posts are always fascinating. I value how you incorporate images to add to the depth of your storytelling. I wonder if you have heard anything about a new school in Japan for Rainbow and crystal children? I am fascinated with what I have heard about it.
It’s so beautiful that the Shinto religion has Affirmations - it sounds so much nicer than commandments! Lovely photos - I wish we celebrated life and nature in such a beautiful way here in the UK.
Thanks for sharing, Dan.
Wow Charlie!
Excellently written and incredibly informative article.
Amazing photos used to illustrate it.
I almost cried when I saw the photo of the elderly lady with a look of total joy on her face.
Well done my friend.
Norman D.
http://www.everythingjapan.net
P.S. Shrine = Jinja