Yes, believe it or not, we are nearly halfway through the year, and there’s a Shinto custom that invites participants to reflect on their past and purify themselves in anticipation of a fresh start for the coming half-year. A … Read the rest
Category: Rites and celebrations (Page 7 of 11)
For Jinja Honcho, Association of Shrines, the summer solstice is one of the ‘major annual household events in Japan’. Around June 21 is Geshi (the Summer Solstice), they say, “The day when the daytime is the longest and nighttime shortest.” … Read the rest
“Why should the trees be so lovely in Japan? With us, a plum or cherry tree in flower is not an astonishing sight; but here it is a miracle of beauty so bewildering that, however much you may have … Read the rest
Here in Kyoto all the promise of early spring has been evident in the sunny warm 20 degrees we’ve enjoyed today. From my kitchen window I can see the cherry blossom trees lining the river are on the brink … Read the rest
The spring equinox is celebrated in Japan with Shunbun no hi, a national holiday. It was established in 1948 as a day for the admiration of nature and the love of living things. Prior to 1948, the vernal … Read the rest
The following is adapted from a paper by John Breen entitled ‘A brief history of Amaterasu in Tokyo’. (For those living in Kyoto, he’ll be giving a talk next Tuesday, Feb 25, on ‘Amaterasu’s progress: on Ise, its priests … Read the rest
A happy Solstice to all the readers of this blog…
Shinto doesn’t seem to do anything to celebrate the occasion, but my neo-pagan sympathies tell me that it’s a grand occasion for lighting fires and making merry revelry to keep … Read the rest