The ubiquitous Okinawan shisa is a guardian lion-dog, usually seen in pairs. One has its mouth open to ward off evil spirits, and one with mouth shut is to keep in good spirits.
About an hour north of Naha Airport is Ryukyu Mura (Ryukyu Village). It is a showcase of life in the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429-1879), when the independent country was a tribute state of China before coming under the sway of the Satsuma domain.
As well as buildings in traditional style, there are examples of the crafts and customs. This includes a charming dance show of elegant movements to the Polynesian sounds of Okinawan music.
In one of the compounds is a display of Ryukyu religion. This is of particular interest because of the light it sheds on the southern strand of overseas influences that were moulded into what we now know as Shinto. As Fabio Rambelli writes in The Sea and the Sacred in Japan: “Many folklorists, beginning with Yamagita Kunio and Origuchi Shinobu, have taken Okinawan religion as a remnant of ancient Japanese religion and, often, as the model for Japanese religion as a whole.”
Entrance to the compound is marked by a torii and banyan tree
At the entrance to the compound is a board which states as follows:
Utaki is the symbolic place in a village which is the sacred place to pray to ancestral monument or guardian of the village. Every village has one. Rocks and trees are at the centre before which incense is placed.
The holy tree is called Kuba (or Shuro palm tree). Ibi is the place where gods come down and only female shamans can enter. Rituals in the shrine are called Kami Asagi Tun located close to Ibi. Kami Ashagi Tun is built low to prevent animals entering.
Banyan trees come from India and south-east Asia. Here the roots of a big mother tree are connected with a child tree. The board continues: “It is believed that a Kijimuna (fairy) lives in old banyan tree. Banyan trees are used for lacquer ware and manure, and the tree bark are used for remedy. The parent tree is over 180 years old.”
To one side is a small section devoted to religious festivals. A notice board states that ‘Most festivals in Okinawa are dedicated to god of nature and ancestors for harvest and health. HA-RI (Festival for ocean god, Niraikanai) in every fishing port.’ (sic)
What looks like a giant shimenawa is in fact a long rope used for tug of war. Though not explained, such contests often featured in ancient religions as a means of divination. It is registered in The Guinness Book of Records.
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For other pieces on Okinawan religion, see here on the Dragon King and the first of five articles on Okinawa. Or click here for a piece on Miyakojima. Or here on Amami Oshima.
The Department of Global Japanese Studies at Tohoku University would like to invite you to the following lecture:
Mark R. Mullins (University of Auckland) “Imperialist Secularization and the Politics of Religious Nationalism”
January 28, 2022 (16:30-18:00 JST)
ABSTRACT: “Yasukuni Fundamentalism” examines the relationship between religion and resurgent nationalism in contemporary Japan. Although religious fundamentalism is often thought to be confined to monotheistic “religions of the book,” this study identifies the emergence of a fundamentalism rooted in the Shinto tradition and considers its role in shaping postwar Japanese nationalism and politics. Over the past half-century, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the Association of Shintō Shrines, and, more recently Nippon Kaigi, have been engaged in collaborative efforts to “recover” or “restore” what was destroyed by the process of imperialist secularization during the Allied Occupation of Japan. This seminar will highlight some of the key findings of this study, including the increased support for the political agenda to revive patriotic education, promote Yasukuni Shrine, and revise the constitution, particularly since the disaster years of 1995 and 2011.
ABOUT THE LECTURER: Mark R. Mullins is Professor of Japanese Studies and Director of the Japan Studies Centre at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Prior to this appointment in 2013, he was engaged in academic work in Japan for twenty-seven years and taught at Shikoku Gakuin University, Meiji Gakuin University, and Sophia University. He is the author and co-editor of a number of works, including Religious Minorities in Canada: A Sociological Study of the Japanese Experience (1989), Religion and Society in Modern Japan, co-edited with Shimazono Susumu and Paul Swanson (1993), Christianity Made in Japan (1998), Religion and Social Crisis in Japan, co-edited with Robert Kisala (2001), Disasters and Social Crisis in Contemporary Japan, co-edited with Kōichi Nakano (2016), and Yasukuni Fundamentalism: Japanese Religions and the Politics of Restoration (2021).
Green Shinto wishes all its readers a Happy New Year and the best for 2022. Hopefully the Year of the Tiger will scare off any unwanted viruses, and this large ema at Shimogamo Jinja should certainly help!
For more about Oshogatsu and its vital place in Japanese culture please see these previous Green Shinto posts –
All about New Year significance, customs, decorations….. click here. And for more, click here.
Buddhism rings out the old, Shinto celebrates the new. Click here. And for a syncretic start to the year, click here. Or here.
Preparing for Oshogatsu, the big clean-up (osoji)…. click here.
Hatsumode 2019 – first shrine visit of the year … click here. And for Hatsumode in pics, click here.
New Year decorations, including kadomatsu…. click here, And for more pics with explanation of the symbolism, click here.
Chinese zodiac animals …. click here. And for a more in-depth look at zodiac worship click here.
New Year at Japan’s most visited shrine – Meiji Jingu. Click here.
New Year food, known as osechi ryori…. click here.
New Year lucky arrows, known as hamaya…. click here.
As we approach the mid-winter solstice, it is worth thinking again about Shinto’s sacred tree – sakaki. In a previous posting I put forward a theory regarding the linguistic signficance of sakaki. Now I have settled on a different rationale.
Evergreen trees in the midst of a deciduous forest must have been a striking sign of blessedness to ancient humans. Amidst the falling leaves of autumn, the evergreen stood out vigorous and strong, able to resist the demons of cold and decay. In contrast to the human cycle of birth and death, the evergreen represented the eternal, able to continue even in midwinter.
Every culture had its symbolic evergreen, used for spiritual occasions. Egyptians hnoured Ra with palm branches. Romans placed evergreen in homes for Saturnalia. Celts and Vikings used a variety of evergreen, such as fir, spruce and pine. And of course there is the Christmas tree, a pagan custom taken over by Christians because it was so powerful. The spirit in the tree defies the cycle of winter decay and death.
Green has long been seen as a healing and soothing colour. Immersion in wooded greenery is known to be mentally calming, and the recent fashion for shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) has been shown to have many benefits. Green represents a deep connection to nature.
But here is the question: why did Shinto choose sakaki out of all the other possibilities? Japan after all is a land of wonderful pine trees. Would that not be more suitable?
In all the books on Shinto I have read, I could never find an answer to this question, which is odd since it is so central. I even tried asking priests, but they did not come up with anything satisfactory. But now I see that an answer is easily available on google. Such is the blessing of the age in which we live.
Here is the gospel according to google: “Sakaki began to be used in Shinto rituals because since ancient times people believed that gods sometimes choose to dwell in plants, and what’s more, branches with pointed leaves (like the sakaki branch) are considered yorishiro.”
Yorishiro are objects into which kami descend, so it seems the leaves of the sakaki were attractive to them. In fact, looking back on a previous Green Shinto post I find that I already wrote of this, proving google has a better memory than myself! “Plants with point-tipped leaves, such as pines and thorns, were believed to be the landing point for spirits, and this was no doubt how the association with the sakaki arose. Its evergreen nature, like the Christmas fir tree, must have appealed to ancients as a symbol of nature’s vitality and kami immortality.”
Jomon Period magatama bead,
The ‘point-tipped leaves’ make particular sense to me, because I remember discussing magatama once with an eminent archaeologist at my university (he made the national news for discussing the grave of O no Yasumaro, compiler of Kojiki (710)). I asked him about the shape of the magatama jewel, and he said it was a kind of hook for attracting kami, almost as if one were fishing for invisible spirits.
The sakaki tree is found acsross East Asia and as far as India, though it is known botanically as cleyera japonica. I have a theory that much of Shinto came not through the Korean peninsula as is commonly supposed, but from through southern Kyushu from Chinese coastal regions (see here). Recent DNA research lends support to the supposition. In this respect it is interesting to note that the sakaki grows in China too and could well have arrived with the kami who ‘descended’ on Mt Takachiho (my theory would suppose Ninigi no mikoto actually arrived by sea via Kinko Bay).
Wikipedia tells us the sakaki tree can reach a height of 10 m, and that the oval-shaped leaves are 6–10 cm, leathery and shiny. In early summer there are small, scented cream-white flowers, followed by berries which start red and turn black. The wood is used for building and utensils.
A final midwinter thought: how about the lyrics below for a Shinto solstice song? (discerning readers will be able to identify the tune)…
O sakaki, O sakaki, You bear a joyful message: That faith and hope shall ever bloom To bring us light in winter’s gloom. O sakaki, O sakaki, You bear a joyful message
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Footnote: Shinto scholar Mark Teeuwen has pointed out that there is no ‘hook’ on the sakaki leaves, and that it may be the thick ‘plastic’ nature of the leaves made them stand out from other plants. JD suggested this may well have been a factor, and that the leaves can be easily cleaned of dust and impurities.
As the days close in on a pandemic year, Okinawa continues to enchant with its ocean blues, golden sands and healing greens. It is the off-season so there are few around to distract from the immersion in nature. Here indeed one feels an underlying divinity.
As the ferry nears Zamami, a distinctive red torii comes into view. This being Japan, it seems an integral part of the landscape. Yet those who know their history will be aware that until an invasion in 1609, the Ryukyu Kingdom was an independent entity, trading with both China and Japan. Following the invasion the islands came under the sway of the Satsuma domain, and not until 1879 were they officially integrated into Japan as Okinawa Prefecture.
Zamami is a small island accessed from Naha, with a population of just under 1000. As far as I could tell, the Shinto shrine at the harbour is the only one on the island.
Inside was a quite unconventional arrangement of coral and implements, with what looked like a kamidana and ofuda on the floor in the corner.
A bilingual notice on the exterior explained that the name was Ibimiya and that it was dedicated to a sea deity that was also guardian of the village. In March there is a celebration to pray for safe voyages and large catches. And in August is another ceremony for a good harvest and safe voyages.
The August ceremony seems particularly intriguing. Fish and bento are on sale, and kaminchu (priestess-shamans) offer thanks for the past year and prayers for the coming one. There is too a boat race and a parade featuring Fukurokuju, one of the Seven Lucky Deities personifying longevity.
Fukurokuju came originally from China, which makes me wonder whether, like the kaminchu, he predates the coming of Shinto. Either way the August festival sounds an ideal occasion for those who like heat, beaches and an unusual festival. (I wish I could tell you the date, but all I got was ‘August (lunar calendar).’
Green Shinto has written of the attractions of Okinawa before (see the relevant category to the right). Blessed by sea, sand and sun, the islands feel close to the spirit world and it is said that in the religion of the Ryukyu days lies part of the roots of Shinto. Like Donald Richie in his celebrated journey to The Inland Sea, I feel as if I’m travelling back to an earlier, unbuttoned and more carefree version of Japan.
Just as pagan rites underlie Christmas and Yuletide, so does the old Ryukyu religion underlie the modern forms of Shinto in these offshore islands. What some call a jinja (Shinto shrine with torii), locals call an utaki and they worship their own gods there with bundles of incense.
Mt Gusuku (172m) has long been a landmark for sailors and is clearly visible from the mainland. It played an important role in WW2 and pockmarks from the fighting can still be seen. From the top is a 360 degree panorama. Because of its distinctive shape and dominating presence, it is seen by the island population (4,260) as a sacred mountain.At the base of the mountain is a torii and Shinto shrine (pictured above), at the back of which is a Ryukyu altar with a simple rock for altar and direct worship in the traditional way. From what I could gather, the Shinto version was put up in 1969 on the Ryukyu sacred site, just as Christians built churches on pagan sacred sites.Is it a shrine? Ara Utaki certainly looks that way from the bottom, but when you climb the steps what do you see….The best ever example of yohai (distant worship) I have come across in Japan. As the name suggests, Ara Utaki is a traditional sacred site and the torii a recent addition, presumably by newcomers to the island. Dedicated to sea guardians, the utaki is close to a bay used by boats in former times. Direct worship of a mountain does not come better framed than this.Three incense holders lined up in front of a simple stone altar at Ara Utaki. A notice to one side asks for the incense to be cleared up after worshipping (not a traditional custom).Further along the island is a different kind of sacred site, called Niyathia Cave. From above it looks nothing special, which made it perfect for use as an airraid shelter in WW2. At the entrance is a shrine made of stone. Notice the simplicity of the focus for worship – a true spirit symbol (see Green Shinto entries for rock worship). Caves, mountains and the sea; put them together with female shamans and the island encapsulates all the ingredients of the appealing Ryukyu religion of old. The cave is huge – and staggeringly beautiful.In one part of the cave is a notice saying the spot is particularly sacred because spirits descend there – and you can see why.Not far away is a Rinzai temple founded in 1554 by someone ‘sympathetic to local belief’. The syncretic result is evident in its Gongen-do hall with Shinto mirror, which stands near to a more modern Kannon-do. As well as amulets, the Zen temple offers bilingual fortune slips.A lucky future marks a fitting end to a happy island visit.
The traditional way of making money, by offering protection for a year, or in this case furthering the chance of meeting a lovepartner. Notice the particularly smart Heian-style appearance, at once looking back to an age of glamour and yet contemporary in design.
The busy priests at Kibune have made a lot of improvements and efforts to keep up with the times, as shown in the previous post. I was struck this time also by how they had introduced a contemporary note to their fund raising activities. This goes along with what I have noticed at my local shrine, Shimogamo Jinja, where efforts to attract more people to spend money at the shrine is an ongoing business.
At the entrance to the shrine a very puzzling board is displayed with cute little characters under the title of Kamizu.
My Japanese companion had no idea what the above was about, despite looking carefully, and we had to resort to the internet to find a page that gave some kind of explanation. The idea is that Kamizu is a portmanteau of kami + tsukai (messenger) and the cute characters are an artist’s rendition of what those messengers might look like.
Building on the custom of Goshuin, by which pilgrims collect stamps to complete a particular set of shrines or temples, Kibune Shrine has apparently joined with Heian Jingu, Kamigamo Jinja, and Matsuo Taisha to form a set of four Kyoto shrines.
This art project, from what I could see, was simply a commercial enterprise, and this was confirmed by a priest. The website indicates that shrines elsewhere, such as in Tokyo, are also partaking in the project. The artist behind these fanciful creations is Sumi Keiko, associated with a longstanding uchiwa (fan) business in Kyoto called Komaruya.
One or two of the ‘messengers’ were clear enough. That for Kamigamo for instance featured a crow with three legs, known as yatagarasu (see the lefthand item in the picture above). Others were just bizarre (and to me belittling). Nonetheless the characters are featured on a whole range of goods, from perfume bottles to erasers and facial tissues, from cord bracelets to eco bags.
Shrine shops usually sell only a limited number of goods, ranging not much further than omamori amulets, ema prayer boards and omikuji fortune slips. I had the feeling that Kifune and the other shrines involved might be in the vanguard of a new trend as shrines look to increase revenue by reaching out to goods with a wider appeal. Who knows, but people in future might be making shopping expeditions to shrines, with a quick call on the side to pay respects to the kami!
Fortune slips are a traditional way of raising money and finding innovative ways of using them helps draw visitors to a shrine. In recent years Shimogamo Shrine has adopted the water revelation method too.
