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| 1 |
Okayu shinji | 御粥神事 |
"Rice-gruel rites." Rites for divining the year's fortune ( toshiura ) in which rice gruel is used are performed all over Japan during koshōgatsu (the "lesser" New Year) around January 15. At Kamooya Shrine in Sakyō Ward, Kyoto, a rite takes place on January 15 ... |
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| 2 |
Okera matsuri | 白朮祭 |
A rite held on New Year's Eve at Yasaka Shrine in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. Okera (a kind of chrysanthemum, actratylodes japonica ) is a medicinal herb used in traditional Chinese medicine that is said to overcome the effects of poisons. In the past this rite was ... |
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| 3 |
Okinagatarashihime | オキナガタラシヒメ |
[Okinaga tarashihime no mikoto] (Kojiki Other names: Ōtarashihime A reference to the legendary Empress Jingū, consort of Emperor Chūai. According to Kojiki and Nihongi , during a campaign to subdue the indigenous Kumaso people, the empress received a divine oracle instructing t... |
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| 4 |
Okizakaru, Okitsunagisabiko, Okitsukahibera | オキザカル、オキツナギサビコ、オキツカヒベラ |
[Okizakaru no kami.Okitsunagisabiko no kami.Okitsukahibera no kami] (Kojiki) Kami appearing in Kojiki as Izanagi returned from the land of Yomi. As Izanagi purged himself from his pollution, he threw away the bracelets on his left arm, thus producing these three deities. The pre... |
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| 5 |
Okobo matsuri | おこぼ祭 |
A festival held the morning of January 8 at Sakai Shrine in Shimo-sakamoto, Ōtsu City, Shiga Prefecture. Glutinous rice ( mochigome ) is collected from village families and pounded into rice cake, which is then formed into distinctively shaped rice cakes called okobo mochi . These a... |
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| 6 |
Okuyamatsumi | オクヤマツミ |
[Okuyamatsumi no kami] (Kojiki) A kami produced from the belly of the fire deity Kagutsuchi when he was beheaded by his father Izanagi. According to Kojiki , Izanagi's wife Izanami died as the result of burns received when giving birth to the fire deity. Grieving at Izanami's death, I... |
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| 7 |
Omikuji | おみくじ |
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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| 8 |
Omodaru, Ayakashikone | オモダル、アヤカシコネ |
[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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| 9 |
Omoikane | オモイカネ |
[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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| 10 |
Omoro | オモロ |
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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| 11 |
Onarigami | オナリ神 |
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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| 12 |
Onbashira matsuri | 御柱祭 |
"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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| 13 |
Oni | 鬼 |
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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| 14 |
Ontake Shinkō | 御嶽信仰 |
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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| 15 |
Ontakekyō | 御嶽教 |
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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| 16 |
Orikuchi Shinobu | 折口信夫 |
(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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| 17 |
Oshi | 御師 |
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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| 18 |
Oshiki | 折敷 |
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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| 19 |
Oshirasama | オシラサマ |
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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| 20 |
Osukuni | 食国 |
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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