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Title |
Text |
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| 1 |
Emaki |
A kind of scroll composed of an illustrated narrative that unfolds as the scroll is unrolled. The origins of emaki are unknown, but they were produced as early as the late Heian period, and they assumed their present form in the twelfth century. The term emaki apparently dates to the ea... |
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| 2 |
Jingū taima |
Shrine amulets distributed throughout Japan by the Grand Shrines of Ise on an annual basis. The work of the priests called oshi in spreading the cult of the Grand Shrines nationwide began from the end of the Heian period and continued through the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, reach... |
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| 3 |
Kagami |
Also written 鑑. Mirror. A device that reflects an image using the reflective properties of its surface. Mirrors may be made of copper, silver, iron, jewels, or glass, and can be found in many different styles, including round, square, elliptical, "eight-petal hollyhock&quo... |
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| 4 |
Kamidana |
A household Shinto altar, a facility for the conduct of family rites at home, in which amulets of the kami , an "apportioned spirit" ( bunrei ) of the kami , and similar items may be enshrined. The place chosen for installation of the kamidana should be clean, bright, and quie... |
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| 5 |
Mandara |
Transliteration of the Sanskrit mandala , objects originally of Buddhist origin created to express fundamental doctrines or ideas. Mandala in the form of pictures were used at Buddhist ritual sites, particularly as decorative depictions of the beatific scenes of Paradise. Base... |
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| 6 |
Mitamaya |
A place or installation for enshrining the spirits of ancestors or noble persons; also called otamaya or reibyō . Ancient domestic rites were observed with the kinensai in the fourth or second month and Niinamesai in the eleventh month. At such times, ancestral tutelaries ( ujigami ... |
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| 7 |
Shichishitō |
A sword passed down as a divine treasure ( shinpō ) in the treasury of Isonokami Jingū. Originally housed in the shrine and treated as an object of worship, the sword was displayed in the shrine's sacred procession ( shinkōsai ) called the "Sacred Procession of Swords" held ... |
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| 8 |
Shinboku, Shinju |
Literally, "divine tree." A tree regarded as sacred, as the symbol of sacred territory or a place in which the kami dwell. As such, the cutting or polluting of such trees is avoided. In some cases, however, the term is used to denote the lumber used in building shrines. Durin... |
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| 9 |
Shinpō |
Also read kamudakara , a general name for shrine treasures, but also referring more specifically to objects found in a shrine's inner sanctum and intimately related to the enshrined kami ( saijin ), or to those objects that are renewed on the occasion of the shrine's rebuilding, such ... |
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| 10 |
Shinsatsu, Mamorifuda |
Shinsatsu are a type of thaumaturgic talisman (also known as gofu ) distributed at shrines and symbolic of a spiritual being or its supranormal power. Shinsatsu may be made of wood, paper, or metal and bear a written or printed inscription. The term is generally used to refer to the rel... |
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| 11 |
Shintai |
A physical object serving as an object of worship at shrines, and in which the spirit of the kami is believed to reside. Those used in Shrine Shinto (Jinja Shintō) are frequently called mitamashiro . Shintai typically take the form of mirrors, swords, and jewels, although ritual wand... |
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| 12 |
Shinza |
The place within a shrine where symbols of the kami ( mitamashiro ; see also shintai ) are enshrined. In Shrine Shinto, a building is constructed as a place to worship the kami . Within that building a shinza is established, decorated in a manner appropriate for a dwelling of the kami , an... |
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| 13 |
Shinzō |
Wooden images of kami carved from the end of the Nara period under the influence of Buddhist culture and in imitation of Buddhist sculpture. The trend toward the identification of Buddhas with indigenous kami ( shinbutsu shūgō ) intensified in the Heian period, and statues of honji-... |
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| 14 |
Statistics for the Distribution of Amulets from the Grand Shrines of Ise |
The annual number and distribution rate of Jingu Taima (Ise amulet) peaked in 1943. Although both figures plummeted immediately after World War II, the number of amulets distributed annually saw a gradual increase after 1947. However, the distribution rate consistently decreas... |
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| 15 |
Tokusanokamudakara |
[Tokusa no kamu dakara] Also read jusshu jinpō . According to the "Original Record of the Heavenly Grandchild" ( Tenson hongi ) in Sendai kuji hongi , these are the "ten kinds of heavenly-emblem sacred treasures" ( amatsushirushi mizutakara tokusa ) bestowed ... |
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| 16 |
Yorishiro |
The place (or object or person) inhabited by a kami 's spirit when it descends for a religious ceremony or when possessing a person. Yorishiro may take the form of natural objects such as trees or rocks, or implements prepared for use in rituals, such as pillars, banners, or ritual ... |
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