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Title |
Text |
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| 1 |
Chōyō |
"The Chrysanthemum Festival." Held on the ninth day of the ninth month (September 9), this was another of the five seasonal feasts ( gosekku ) recognized and established by the Tokugawa bakufu . It is also generally known as kiku no sekku (the Chrysanthemum Festival). Bec... |
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| 2 |
Ehō |
The most auspicious geomantic direction for the given year; the geomantic direction inhabited by Toshitokushin (also ehōgami ; in either case, the kami that heralds the New Year) for that year. It may also be written as "auspicious direction" ( kippō ) or "elder dir... |
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| 3 |
En'nichi |
#N/A |
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| 4 |
Hana matsuri |
"Flower Festival." In Buddhism the kanbutsue festival held on the eighth day of the fourth month of the old lunar calendar to celebrate the anniversary of Buddha's birthday is sometimes also called hana matsuri ; that usage was first employed by the Pure Land (Jōdoshū) se... |
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| 5 |
Hatsumiyamōde |
"First shrine visit," this term refers to the first pilgrimage to the tutelary deity ( ujigami ) after the birth of a child. It is also more simply called miyamairi . It may also be referred to as hiake , hibare , ubuake , or shimeage , terms that mean it marks the day when the tabo... |
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| 6 |
Hatsumōde |
A visit to a shrine or a temple ( sankei ) at the beginning of a new year. In a narrow sense it refers to the visit on New Year's Day. Today it is very often the case that people will visit shrines or temples from midnight on New Year's Eve in order to hear the temple bells ringing in the ... |
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| 7 |
Hatsuuma |
"First Horse Day Festival." This term refers to an event that is held in February on the first day of the horse. The custom of worshipping Inari (the harvest deity) is found all over Japan, and hatsuuma festivals are held at shrines throughout the country including Fushimi ... |
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| 8 |
Jichinsai |
"Ground-purification rites." Also read tokoshizume no matsuri . This ritual is performed at the commencement of civil engineering or architectural projects to pray that work proceeds safely and smoothly, and that no structural problems will arise after its completi... |
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| 9 |
Jinjitsu |
A seasonal festival held on the seventh day of the New Year or the seventh of January. One of the "five seasonal festival holidays" established by the Edo bakufu . Because people celebrate by making and eating the nanakusagayu (seven-grass soup) on this day, it is often cal... |
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| 10 |
Joyasai |
An event held at a shrine during the night on December 31st, New Year's Eve ( ōmisoka ). Also called the toshikoshi matsuri (lit., "crossing the years festival"). Joya refers to the "night" of " jonichi ," which in turn is another word for ōmisoka . Unt... |
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| 11 |
Jōshi |
Seasonal festival that takes place on the third day of the third month; also called genshi and jōmi . One of five seasonal celebrations ( gosekku ) established as holidays by the Tokugawa bakufu . This celebration is generally known as hinamatsuri (Doll Festival) or momo no sekku (Pea... |
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| 12 |
Jōtōsai |
An architectural ritual also called ' mune'age ' (roof-raising). This ritual is performed during construction of a new building to pray that there will be no problems with the structure during or after construction. References to jōtōsai can be found in certain Nara period documen... |
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| 13 |
Kanreki |
One's "sixtieth" birthday, or alternately one's "sixty first" calendar year (traditionally in Japan, when a person was born they were said to be "one," and at every New Year's Day thereafter turn a "year" older. This leads to an age coun... |
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| 14 |
Kaza-matsuri |
A village communal invocation event conducted around the two-hundred and tenth day of the year, or around " hatsusaku " (first day of the eighth month by the old calendar), to ward off damaging winds. Also referred to as kazahimachi . The two hundred and tenth day is counted ... |
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| 15 |
Nagoshi no harae |
Also called nagoshi , minatsuki barae , or aranigo no harae , this refers to the "great purification" ( ōharae ) performed on the last day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. A great purification was held at the imperial court on the last day of the sixth and twelfth month... |
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| 16 |
Nenjū gyōji |
"Annual events," a general term for the communal events that are held by people at the same time every year. Many of these observances have religious elements and even today not a few of them have a close connection to Shintō, such as hatsumōde , setsubun , and so forth. The te... |
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| 17 |
Nijūshi sekki |
"The twenty-four seasonal divides." Established to mark precise turning points within the annual seasonal cycle, the nijūshi sekki comprise a calendar divided into twenty-four points beginning with risshun ("the beginning of spring") and ending with da... |
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| 18 |
Reisai, nensai |
One of the events performed in Shintō for the ancestral spirits ( soreisai ). This event is held a fixed number of years after the funeral to remember the spirit of the deceased and is equivalent to the Buddhist memorial service ( nenki hōyō ). In Shintō the nensai is usually performed in ... |
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| 19 |
Sagichō |
A fire festival event usually held around the fifteenth of January. It can be found throughout most of the country, but is referred to by such names as tondo , dondonyaki , saitōyaki , bokkengyō , and sankurōyaki , depending on the region. There is also a fair amount of regional variatio... |
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| 20 |
Setsubun |
"Seasonal Division." Originally, the term referred to each of the days prior to the first days of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Nowadays, however, only the day before the one that marks the start of spring ( risshun ) is referred to as setsubun . The old lunar calendar ... |
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