|
Title |
Text |
|
| 1 |
Sarutori matsuri |
A festival originally held on the first sarutori ("monkey cockerel") day of the eleventh lunar month, and now held December 4–5 at Tsuno Shrine in Koyu District, Miyazaki Prefecture. The festival is followed by a kagura performance held before a "mountain" m... |
|
| 2 |
Seihakusai |
"Young oak festival." A festival held May 13–15 at Ōtokonushi Shrine in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture. The name comes from the fact that the special food offerings ( shinsen ) are presented piled up branches of young oak ( aokashira , characters that can also be read seih... |
|
| 3 |
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 ... |
|
| 4 |
Shanichi |
An "irregular holiday" ( zassetsu , a holiday celebrated on a day when the sun is not situated at one of the 24 equal divisions of its annual orbit) celebrated on the tsuchinoe days closest to the vernal and autumnal equinoxes. Individually the two are called shunsha (the &q... |
|
| 5 |
Shibai |
A popular term for "theater" ( engeki ). Originally the term referred to sacred grounds covered in lawn ( shibafu ) found within the precincts of temple or shrine. From the Edo period (1600-1867) onward it has been used to refer to kabuki or kabuki theaters in particular. Fu... |
|
| 6 |
Shichigosan |
A celebration for three-, five-, and seven-year-old children. Generally, on November 15th boys aged three and five and girls aged three and seven are dressed in their best clothes and taken on a pilgrimage ( sankei ) to their ujigami (clan or tutelary kami ) to express gratitude and pr... |
|
| 7 |
Shichijūgo musubi matsuri |
"Bound seventy-five times festival." An annual festival held September 16 at Togakushi Shrine (also known as Kuzuryū Daimyōjin) in Wara Village, Gujō District, Gifu Prefecture. On the day of the festival, two large floats known as ōyamayatai (see dashi ) are decorate... |
|
| 8 |
Shidaisetsu |
A comprehensive term for the four main national holidays of the prewar period: New Years, Kigensetsu , Tenchōsetsu , and Meijisetsu , After the Meiji restoration observances such as shihōhai , chōga , shinnen enkai were amalgamated into a protracted New Year's celebration, to whic... |
|
| 9 |
Shikaura shinji |
"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 th... |
|
| 10 |
Shikinensai |
Rites held in prescribed years. Rites of this type are broadly divided into those held at shrines and those held for the imperial ancestors at the palace. Shikinensai held at the palace are conducted according to the Ordinance of Imperial Household Rites ( Kōshitsu saishirei ) of 190... |
|
| 11 |
Shikinensengū |
The transfer of the deity to a newly constructed shrine ( sengū ) in prescribed years ( shikinen ). Also referred to as Shōsengū , this major traditional project involves building anew the Main Sanctuary ( shōden ) and other buildings of Ise Jingū, renewing all vestments ( shōzoku ) and ... |
|
| 12 |
Shimotsuki matsuri |
A folk harvest festival held in the eleventh month of the old (lunar) calendar. There is a court harvest festival called the niinamesai in which the emperor dedicates the new grain on the "day of the rabbit" ( u no hi ) in the eleventh month, but the date of the commoners' shimo... |
|
| 13 |
Shin-nō |
Divine nō theatre. A type of kagura dance. Part of the repertoire of the Izumo line of kagura , found in the classical Chūgoku region provinces of Izumo, Iwami, Bitchū, Bingo, and so forth (that is, the area bounded by Okayama Prefecture to the east and Shimane Prefecture to the west). U... |
|
| 14 |
Shinane matsuri |
A festival held August 24–25 at Tosa Shrine in Kōchi City, Kōchi Prefecture. The festival had once been known as the Tosa Boat Festival ( Tosa ofune asobi ). After a ceremony, the portable shrine ( shin'yo ) is taken to the temporary resting spot ( otabisho ) located in front of the shrine... |
|
| 15 |
Shinkenhōten shinji |
"Offering the sacred sword to heaven." A rite held on New Year's Eve at Hinomisaki Shrine in Taisha City, Hikawa District, Shimane Prefecture. In this extremely secret and ancient ceremony, the chief priest ( gūji ) lights a divine flame and rigorously carries out purif... |
|
| 16 |
Shinkōsai |
The procession of portable shrines (see the separate entry also titled shinkōsai ) is an essential element of nearly all shrine festivals. Here, the festival held May 4 at Toga Shrine in Ichinomiya Town, Hoi District, Aichi Prefecture, will be used as an example, as it brings togethe... |
|
| 17 |
Shinkōsai |
The characters for ‘ shinkō' can also be read ‘ miyuki' , indicating a rite concerned with journey of the kami out of the sanctuary. The shinkōsai is frequently held as part of the reisai , as stipulated in Jinja saishiki. There are three types of shinkōsai : 1. rites occurring within the ... |
|
| 18 |
Shinnen enkai |
The official "New Year's Banquet" held at the Imperial Palace on January 5 before World War II, and to which the emperor invited the imperial family, high-level government officials, ambassadors, and others. Also invited were holders of the Grand Order of Merit, offici... |
|
| 19 |
Shinobigoto |
Words of condolence said to a deceased person. Along with expressing sadness, they also praise the good works performed and merits accrued during that person's lifetime. Also called shinobikotoba and shinubigoto . The word first appears in the twentieth volume of the Nihon sh... |
|
| 20 |
Shinobite |
A clap ( kashiwade ) performed without making a sound. Sometimes written with characters otherwise read as mijikade . In the ritual protocol for Grand Shrine rites, this is the final silent clap performed after the yahirate (eight claps). Also, in the shinsōsai (Shinto funeral), th... |
|
