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Title |
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| 1 |
Ainame-sai |
Also called Ainie no matsuri or Ainbe no matsuri . In ancient times, this festival was held at select shrines several days prior to the niinamesai festival to celebrate the new harvest. The first documentary mention of the term occurs in Nihonshoki under the entry for the third day of t... |
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| 2 |
Chinka-sai (hana shizume matsuri) |
"Festival for appeasing the spirits of the blossoms". Also called "hana shizume matsuri." One of the rites specified in Jingiryō . In ancient times, the Department of Divinities would make offerings to the shrine attendants hafuribe of the Ōmiwa and Sai Shri... |
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| 3 |
Chinka-sai (hi/ho shizume no matsuri) |
"Festival for appeasing the fire deity" Also called "hi/ho shizume no matsuri ." Recorded in the Jingiryō as one of the so-called rituals of the Ritsuryō Shinto system. Ryō no gige mentions the festival as a fire-prevention rite, although it may have been inte... |
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| 4 |
Chinkon-sai |
"Festival for the pacification of the spirit". A ritual of the ancient and medieval eras. Also called " mitama furi ," " mitama shizume ," " ō-mitama furi ," " tama shizume no matsuri ." According to the Commentary on the Legal C... |
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| 5 |
Chōga |
"New Year greetings to the emperor." In ancient times these characters were read " mikado ogami ." In ancient Japan, it was a state ceremony carried out at the Daigoku Hall with the participation of the many ministry officials. However, from the mid-Heian peri... |
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| 6 |
Daijōsai |
A ceremony of state accompanying a new emperor's accession to the throne, the Daijō sai has been considered since ancient times one of the most important among the various rites associated with accession. Also called the Daijōe and the Senso daijō sai , the ceremony had its origi... |
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| 7 |
Fūjin sai |
"Festival of the wind deities." A festival of the ancient and medieval eras. Also called Tatsuta Wind Deities Festival. Often referred to collectively, together with the Hirose Ōimi Festival ( Ōimi sai ), as the "Hirose-Tatsuta Festival." A ritual praying f... |
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| 8 |
Hanpei |
"Distribution of ritual offerings." In the ancient era, the distribution of offerings by the Department of Divinities ( Jingikan ) to officially designated shrines, where they were dedicated to the enshrined deities as part of state observances. The first mention of h... |
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| 9 |
Kanmisosai |
A major rite of the Ise Shrines, performed only at Kōtaijingū and Aramatsuri no Miya, during which either garments ( mi-so ) of light weave ( nigitae ) or of heavy weave ( aratae ) are offered to the kami on the fourteenth day of the fifth (May) and tenth (October) months, respectively—th... |
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| 10 |
Kannamesai |
A rite at the Grand Shrines of Ise celebrating the divine ancestry of the imperial lineage by offering the "first rice ears" hatsuho of the autumn harvest to Amaterasu Ōmikami on the seventeenth day of the tenth month; the harvest festival of the Ise Shrines. On the day of th... |
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| 11 |
Kigensetsu |
A holiday and ritual observed from the beginning of Meiji until just after the end of World War II to commemorate the founding of the nation through Emperor Jinmu's legendary ascension to the throne. The rite observed at the palace's three ritual halls is called Kigensetsu sai , while ... |
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| 12 |
Kinensai |
A regular observance of the Ritsuryō state, also called toshigoi no matsuri . It ranks alongside the Tsukinamisai (in the sixth and twelfth months) and the Niinamesai (in the eleventh month) as one of the most important observances of the time, as shown by the relatively large amount ... |
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| 13 |
Meiji setsu |
"Meiji Emperor Observance." From the beginning of the Showa era to just after the end of World War II, Meijisetsu was a national holidaycelebrated on the Meiji emperor's birthday to commemorate his virtues. In 1927, at the behest of the Imperial Diet, the Meiji Emperor's ... |
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| 14 |
Michiae no matsuri |
"Festival of the Road Gods". A ceremony performed in the ancient period, as stipulated by the Divinities Prescriptions ( Jingiryō ). Intended to prevent evil spirits such as demons and epidemic gods ( ekishin ) from entering the capital, it was performed on the roads ( ōji ... |
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| 15 |
Niiname sai |
Literally, "First Taste Celebration," niiname sai refers to the set of harvest festivals in November carried out at the imperial palace and at shrines throughout the country. Complements the Kinen sai , a rite involving prayers for a healthy crop and held on the fourth da... |
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| 16 |
Saigusa no matsuri |
A rite conducted in ancient times during the fourth month at the Isagawa Shrine, a subshrine of the Ōmiwa Jinja. A rite of the Ritsuryō ritual system, which appears in the Jingiryō . The name is said to derive from the saigusa flower (a mountain lily; or perhaps ikarigusa or the koshō tre... |
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| 17 |
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... |
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| 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... |
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| 19 |
Sokui |
Enthronement ceremony. One of several ceremonies accompanying a new emperor's accession to the throne. Originally the characters for "sokui " were read " ama-tsu-hi-tsugi shiroshimesu ," and referred to the same rite as " senso ". However, duri... |
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| 20 |
Tenchō setsu |
"Celebration of the longevity of heaven". The old term designating the emperor's birthday, deriving from a similar observance in Tang China. It was a religious holiday from the early Meiji period to just after World War II. The ceremony performed on this day at the Three S... |
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