Encyclopedia of Shinto

Main Menu:   
Links:   

詳細表示 (Complete Article)

カテゴリー1： 5. Rites and Festivals
カテゴリー2： Individual Shrine Observances
Title
Yatagarasu shinji
Text
"Rite of the eight-foot-long crow." A rite held the evening of January 7 at Kumano Hongū Shrine in Hongū Town, Higashimuro District, Wakayama Prefecture. During this rite, the shrine stamps the image of a jewel on amulets of the Kumano Goō (i.e., the great crow). Also called the "jewel stamp rite" (hōin shinji). The stamp is made from the trunk of the pine tree that was used for the New Year's decorations on the shrine grounds (keidai). Following the recitation of a liturgy (norito), a paper printed with a design based on the great crow Yatakarasu is offered at the altar. After being purified with fire, the jewel stamp is lifted up and then pressed three times on the pillar to the left of the altar. The stamp is then offered to the chief priest (gūji), who then stamps a piece of Japanese paper (washi) with it three times. The other priests (shinshoku) use it to stamp the amulets. Once this is completed, representatives of each parishoner clan (ujiko) receive one piece of paper each that has been stamped using the jewel stamp. The rite is said to be based on a tale (from Kojiki) that tells of how Emperor Jinmu was guided to victory by an eight-foot long crow (the yatakarasu) at the time he made his expedition to the east.
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

No movie/映像なし