Encyclopedia of Shinto

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詳細表示 (Complete Article)

カテゴリー1： 4. Jinja (Shrines)
カテゴリー2： Offerings and Talismans
Title
Shinme
Text
A horse presented as a votive offering (hōnō), to serve as a mount for the kami. Also called jinme or kamikoma. Horses were viewed as mounts for the kami since ancient times, and it was customary to present a horse to the kami as an expression of gratitude when making a vow or entreaty (kisei) at a shrine. If it were not possible to present a living horse, one might offer a wooden carving of a horse or a horse painting on a wooden plaque to serve as emblem (katashiro) of a horse. It is believed that the latter custom was the origin of the votive horse paintings called ema. In some cases, shrines specified the color of a horse to be offered as a votive. The custom also existed of dedicating a black horse when praying for rain and a white horse when praying for rain to end. Shinme might be given to a shrine in perpetuity and thereafter raised in a special stable, or they might be returned to their stables once they had been dedicated to the kami.
— Iwai Hiroshi

Pronunciation in Japanese/用語音声

A dedicated horse (shinme) in its stable on the grounds of Ise Jingu.
2005年 **月 **日
Ōsawa Kōji

The votive offering of a horse(shinme) and the procession of the kami(shinkō) at the Kunimuke matsuri_Ichida Masataka___2003****_Ishikawa Prefecture