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
Shikaura shinji
Text
"Deer divination rite." A rite held December 8 at Ichinomiya Nukisaki Shrine in Tomioka City, Gunma Prefecture. Participants burn deer bones to divine whether there will be fires in the region. The shrine, in its capacity as the highest ranked shrine (ichi no miya) for the ancient Kōzuke Province (today Gunma Prefecture), invites kami from the greater and lesser shrines of the province to come to a temporary altar or space (himorogi). A diviner's hearth is placed in the center of the worship hall (haiden). Bamboo skewers are then planted in the center of the hearth and a purifying fire (imibi) lit. The fire is used to heat an awl that is then pierced three times through the shoulder bone of a deer. The fortunes of all locations throughout the province are divined from the way in which the bone splits and cracks (see bokusen). After the divination, the priest (shinshoku) charged with the awl then performs a dance using a bell (suzu) and a leaf of bamboo (sasa) as with (torimono).
— Mogi Sakae

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

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