Encyclopedia of Shinto

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カテゴリー1： 5. Rites and Festivals
カテゴリー2： Individual Shrine Observances
Title
Mikari shinji
Text
"Kami hunt rite." Held from December 26 to January 4 at Awa Shrine in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture. There is a uniqueness to the food offerings (shinsen) in this rite. The morning offering comes with white rice and the evening offering features sekihan (rice mixed with azuki beans, whose redness gives the dish its name, "red rice"), with each accompanied by a carrot and daikon (Japanese radishes) salad, broiled fish, "sacred sake" (omiki), vegetables, and various sea foods. Small red-and-white oval-shaped mochi called shita no mochi ("tongue rice cakes") are presented with the morning offering on the final day and are later divvied up among the worshippers. This is a rite for giving thanks to the enshrined deity (saijin) Amenotomi-no-mikoto, who hunted wild boars and destructive animals. The shita-no-mochi symbolize the tongues of the animals taken in the hunt. While the festival is underway, the shrine's parishioners (ujiko) engage in abstinences (monoimi), avoiding needlework, weaving, trips to the mountains, and noisemaking (mono-oto).
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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