There was a happy Christmas at Ujigami Shrine near Kyoto, for the kami there were restored to their home after being relocated during the extensive repairs carried out. There is often speculation about the nature and location of kami since they are spirits and thereby immaterial. However, Shinto tradition ascribes their unseen presence to ‘spirit-bodies’ (goshintai) within the shrine. These are sacred vessels of some kind into which the spirit descends, typically a mirror but anything from a rock to a doll to a sword.
Relocation of the ‘spirit-body’ is done with great veneration and in secrecy, typically involving a white sheet to shroud the objects from view. What made the occasion special in this case is that the relatively small Ujigami Shrine is a World Heritage Site because of its sanctuary (honden) being the oldest such building still in existence.
Kyoto shrine celebrates return of venerated religious objects after repair work
December 25, 2014 By TAKU KOYAMA/ Staff Writer, Asahi Shinbun
UJI, Kyoto Prefecture–Ujigamijinja shrine, a World Heritage site, held a ceremony Dec. 24 to celebrate the return of sacred deities to its main hall following year-long restoration work.
The torii entrance to the small shrine of Ujigami and a World Heritage Site
The shrine is dedicated to Emperor Ojin and his sons, the imperial prince Uji no Wakiiratsuko and Emperor Nintoku.
The main hall, believed to have been built in the late Heian Period (794-1185), is the oldest example of Shinto shrine architecture.
The latest repairs included the re-thatching of the cypress bark roof, its first restoration in more than 30 years, and the re-painting of walls.
The restoration work follows the completion in September of major repairs at Byodoin temple’s Phoenix Hall, which is located on the opposite shore of the Ujigawa river. Byodoin temple, founded in 1053, is also a World Heritage site.
The festival at Ujigamijinja shrine began shortly after 7 p.m. when chief priest Toru Miyamura, 65, quietly carried the three sacred objects, symbolizing Ojin and his two sons, to the main hall.
“I cannot put my feelings into words,” Miyamura said. “With major repairs completed here and at Byodoin temple, it is as if spring has come at once.”
Ujigamijinja was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site as one of the “Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto” in 1994.
People queue up at New Year to pay respects at the Honden, the country's oldest
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