Basic Terms of Shinto 神道基本用語集

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Title
Dôzokushin
同族神
Text The deity of a family group (dôzoku), unified in the consciousness of possessing a common paternal ancestry (a family group actually living together in the same village and having a real genealogical relation). The deity may be the ancestor of the family group or a deity introduced from elsewhere, but in either case the practice seems to be based on the worship of ancestral spirits. The honke or main household (from which the other households have usually branched off) is generally entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out the worship at the festival where the entire kinship group assembles. The assembly to pray for the prosperity of the group also strengthens its solidarity.