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Title |
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| 1 |
Omikuji |
Also called mikuji , a form of divination used to make decisions or determine the fortune of an undertaking. The term kuji suggests two meanings, one being the use of random chance to render an impartial verdict, and the second involving a querying of the divine will in cases where the k... |
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| 2 |
Omodaru, Ayakashikone |
[Omodaru no kami.Aya Kashikone no kami] (Kojiki) The sixth of the first seven generations of kami , produced immediately prior to Izanagi and Izanami. It is generally believed that the two kami actually represent a single being, Omodaru being the male half and Kashikone the female, ... |
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| 3 |
Omoikane |
[Omoikane no kami](Kojiki)(Nihongi) Other names: Tokoyo no omoikane no kami( Kojiki ) An offspring of the kami Takamimusuhi, and endowed with the ability to "think together" ( omoi-kane ) about various things. In Sendai kuji hongi, the kami 's name is also given as Yagok... |
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| 4 |
Omoro |
There are many varieties of ancient songs found in the area between Amami and Yaeyama. Omoro are a type of song that were sung between the 12th and the beginning of the 17th centuries in Amami and the Okinawa archipelago. They are collected in the Omoro sōshi , a work compiled by the court ... |
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| 5 |
Onarigami |
In Okinawa there is the belief that women possess spiritual power; sisters, referred to as onarigami , use their power to spiritually protect their brothers, called umiki . When there are no sisters, paternal aunts—called obagami —take over the role. The umiki in their turn provide ... |
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| 6 |
Onbashira matsuri |
"Honored pillar festival." A festival held the fifth month of the seventh year of the tiger and monkey at the main hall ( hongū ) and forehall ( zengū ) of the upper shrine ( kamisha ) of Suwa Taisha in Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture, and also at the spring hall ( harumiya ) and autu... |
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| 7 |
Oni |
A misshapen supernatural demon or devil visiting this world from the other world, bringing with it disaster or blessing. Due to their fearful spiritual power, oni were considered ambivalent beings possessing the power of both good and evil, and were thus the objects of both worship ... |
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| 8 |
Ontake Shinkō |
Beliefs and practices associated with Mt Ontake in Kiso (Nagano Prefecture). It is a mountain cult chiefly supported by confraternities ( kō ) and religious organizations ( kyōkai ). It is not clear when Ontake began to be considered a sacred mountain but from the fact that it was of ol... |
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| 9 |
Ontakekyō |
One of the thirteen sects of Shinto in the prewar period. Centered on the cultic faith in Mount Ontake ( ontake shinkō ), it was organized as a religious sect in response to the religious policies of the early Meiji government. Emerging from the confraternity ( kōsha ) style of early mod... |
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| 10 |
Orikuchi Shinobu |
(1887-1953) Scholar of folklore, Japanese literature and Shinto. As a poet, he wrote under the name Shaku Chōkū. Born February 11, 1887, to a merchant family in Kizumura Village, Nishinari District, Osaka, Orikuchi graduated in 1910 from Kokugakuin University. He worked for a whi... |
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| 11 |
Oshi |
Religious functionaries attached to specific shrines and temples who guide visitors ( sankei ) through that shrine or temple and accommodate them by providing prayer ( kitō ), lodgings, and the like. They are called this because of a shortening of the original term okitōshi . They fi... |
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| 12 |
Oshiki |
Originally a square serving tray used to hold food, the oshiki is made of thin pieces of wood such as Japanese cypress ( hinoki ) and is used in the presentation of ritual offerings ( shinsen or heihaku ). Today they are mainly known as forming the upper part of the platform tray called san... |
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| 13 |
Oshirasama |
A tutelary of the home ( ie no kami ) found throughout Japan's northeastern region; also referred to as Oshirabotoke ("the Oshira Buddha"). Although Oshirasama is commonly viewed as a tutelary of agriculture and silkworm production, little agreement has been reac... |
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| 14 |
Osukuni |
A compound of "to possess" plus "land." Generally means the land ruled by the kami and the emperor. "Osu" is made up of the continuative form verb "to be" plus the honorific particle "su." As an honorific, it originally denote... |
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| 15 |
Otabisho |
Also called okariya or angū , a facility serving as the temporary destination or midway resting point during a kami 's ritual procession ( miyuki ). On the occasion of such processions, the kami 's symbol is taken from its usual "seat" ( shinza ) in the shrine and is t... |
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| 16 |
Otariya matsuri |
Kami procession festivals held at Futarayama Shrine in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture. The word " otariya " is said to refer to procession festivals ( togyo matsuri ) and can be written with characters meaning "passage festival." The festival is held tw... |
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| 17 |
Otobami shinji |
"Bird feeding rite." A major shrine association ( kō ) festival held May 15 at Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima Township, Saeki District, Hiroshima Prefecture. There is a ceremonial visitation to the seven Ebisu deities at the seven inlets around the island. Priests ( shi... |
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| 18 |
Oumanagashi shinji |
"Rite of setting horses adrift." A rite observed at Honmoku Shrine, Naka Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. It takes place on Honmoku Beach at high tide on either the first or second Sunday of August. It is also known as the juuniten no oumanagashi ("setting a... |
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| 19 |
Oyagami |
"Parent deity," an extension of the image of parenthood to kami , expressing the belief that kami care for human beings in the same way that human parents care for their children. The term is believed to describe the close relationship between kami and humans, one embodyin... |
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| 20 |
Oyama sankei |
"Shrine visit on the mountain." A festival held the twenty-eighth day of the seventh lunar month to the first day of the eighth lunar month at Iwakiyama Shrine in Iwaki Township, Tsugaru District, Aomori Prefecture. Groups from around Tsugaru carrying large banners and ... |
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