Encyclopedia of Shinto

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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
Tamakae shinji
Text
"Ball exchange rite." This rite is held the evening of January 15 at Kōra Shrine in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture. The rite entails holding a ceremony in which a golden and a silver ball along with food offerings (shinsen) are presented before the altar. At 11 p.m. a person carrying the two balls is put into the completely darkened shrine grounds (keidai), and worshippers exchange wooden balls with one another in the dark. The shrine grounds are once again lit up after about an hour. The person who wound up with the gold and silver balls presents them the following morning in a thanksgiving rite. The two balls are said to represent the two balls that control the tides.
A tamakae matsuri ("ball-exchange festival") is also held January 21 at Miyajidake Shrine in Tsuyazaki Township, Munakata district, Fukuoka Prefecture. Other similar events include the tamatorisai ("ball-taking ritual") held at Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima Township, Saeki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, and the tamatorisai held April 16 at Kamato Shrine in Daizaifu City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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