|
Title |
Text |
|
| 1 |
Chokusai |
A ritual performed by order of the emperor and for which a special envoy ( chokushi ) is sent to a shrine to read a prayer ( saimon ) before the deity and present heihaku offerings. The term chokusai cannot be found in old records or literature and first appears in the phrase "shrines ... |
|
| 2 |
Chokushi |
A messenger who delivered imperial commands. Messengers who were dispatched to shrines on the occasion of either an ordinary or an extraordinary rite were generally called tsukai (messengers), saishi (festival messengers), or hōbeishi . The Taihō Code (702) stipulated that for ... |
|
| 3 |
Hasshinden |
The Hall of Eight Deities. Under the ritsuyō system, this hall was located in the western hall of the Jingikan (Department of Divinities) and it enshrined the eight tutelary deities of the emperor. According to Engishiki ( Procedures of the Engi Era) of 967, the names of enshrined dei... |
|
| 4 |
Hōbei |
Offerings of heihaku made to shrines and imperial tombs by order of the emperor. The term also refers to an envoy who bore these offerings, (alternatively called the hōbeishi ). The characters can also be read as hōhei . Sometimes this was offered to only one shrine, while on other occa... |
|
| 5 |
Hōbeishi |
The general name for envoys who carry offerings ( heihaku ) to royal mausolea and kami at the command of the emperor. There are various types of envoy including the general category of hōbeishi , reiheishi (who carry offerings to Ise Shrine) and yoshinohōbeishi (who serve as envoys to ... |
|
| 6 |
Kunaichō |
(Imperial Household Agency) A bureaucratic agency established in 1949 as an external agency under the aegis of the Prime Minister's cabinet. The Agency, as stipulated by Article 7 of the Japanese Constitution, is responsible for Imperial Household affairs dealing with fore... |
|
| 7 |
Kunaishō |
(Imperial Household Ministry) Originally, the Kunaishō, which was in charge of all court affairs, was one of the eight agencies established under the ritsury ō system. With the dissolution of the ritsuryō system, however, the ministry gradually lost its actual power, and only ret... |
|
| 8 |
Kyūchū sanden |
(Inner Sanctuary of the Imperial Palace) Kyūchū sanden (Inner Sanctuary) refers to the three Imperial Palace buildings located in the southeastern part of Fukiage Park (Fukiage Gyōen): the Kashikodokoro, the Kōreiden, and the Shinden. The Kashikodokoro houses the sacred mirro... |
|
| 9 |
Kōikeishō |
The imperial succession. Prior to the Taika era (645-650 CE) the process is unclear, but from the Ōjin era (270-310AD), agnatic succession (fraternal succession, not stem patrilineal succession) was dominant. According to current scholarship, the succession passed to the elde... |
|
| 10 |
Kōshitsu Tenpan |
(Imperial House Code) The code of the Imperial household. Although not originally made public, the Imperial House Code was implemented in 1889 and modified in 1907 and 1918. The original code was presented in 1884-5 as part of the Imperial Rules. The rules were rewritten (now called ... |
|
| 11 |
Reiheishi |
An envoy who was sent from the imperial court to the Grand Shrines of Ise (Ise Jingū) to present offerings ( hōbei ) on the occasion of the Kannamesai. Also referred as Ise reiheishi . A reiheishi was one type of imperial "messenger" ( hōbeishi ) who brought offerings to shrin... |
|
| 12 |
Ryōbo |
Burial mounds and tombs of the imperial family. Current law distinguishes the ryō (mausolea) and the bo (tombs). The former denotes the burial place of an emperor, his consort, mother (empress dowager) and grandmother, while the latter denotes the burial site of other imperial fam... |
|
| 13 |
Shikibushoku |
(the Board of Ceremonies) The Board of Ceremonies was created and attached to the Kunaishō (Imperial Household Ministry) in 1884, replacing the original Board of Ceremonies. The original Board was established in 1871 and was responsible for rites and rituals held in the Imperial P... |
|
| 14 |
Shōten |
Official responsible for imperial rituals performed at the kyūchū sanden . The post, which featured three positions of descending rank, was founded in 1871 as part of the Jingishō. Later, it was moved to the Shikiburyō and then became part of the Kunaishō's Shikibushoku. With the po... |
|
| 15 |
Tennōsei, Tennōseido |
The origins of the tennō (Heavenly Sovereign or emperor) and the various systems associated therewith are largely unclear. However, there are ancient beliefs set out in Kikishinwa (the mythology expressed in the Kojiki and Nihongi ) that the descendants of Amaterasu hereditaril... |
|
| 16 |
Yoshi no hōbeishi |
On the occasion of the sokui (imperial accession), the Daijōsai, and the emperor's genpuku (Coming-of-Age Ceremony) extraordinary hōbei (offerings) called Yoshino hōbei were sent to the Grand Shrines of Ise (Ise Jingū) and other shrines to announce impending court ceremonies a... |
|
