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Emoto R.I.P.

October 19, 2014 / John D. / 2 Comments

Sadly, news has come of the demise of Dr Emoto, whose water crystal photography stunned many and raised awareness of the damage done by pollution and negativity. Here is a statement from Michiko Hayashi, his Personal Assistant.

“I am sad to let you know that our dear Dr. Emoto passed away at 12:50am on the 17th October, 2014 Japan Time. His very last word was ‘Arigato’ (‘Thank you’ in Japanese). He wanted to say it to every precious friend of his around the world. And as his personal assistant, I would like to say “Thank you very much” from the bottom of my heart to you and to my dearest Dr. Emoto.

“Now he is a light, and I am very sad, but I know he is in a higher dimension now and watching us, helping us to continue to make this place a beautiful and peaceful place. As he asked me to inherit his life work ‘EMOTO PEACE PROJECT’, I am honored to have the responsibility to spread the beautiful and powerful project to bring the true peace on earth.

“I would like to ask you please to take one minute to send love, light, and gratitude to Dr. Emoto who is now a light and is watching us from above. Please also continue to support EMOTO PEACE PROJECT, and please let us all work together to make this planet earth the beautiful and peaceful place to live for all beings in harmony.”

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Masaru Emoto’s website (English version) is here. Click and prepare to be amazed….

Five-minute video of how the crystals are photographed here.

Yasui Konpira-gu

October 19, 2014 / John D. / 1 Comment

A happy visitor to the shrine's famous power stone, passing through which helps cut bad relationships and form good new ones

Yasui Konpira-gu is one of Green Shinto’s favourite shrines.

Mochitsuki, or making rice cakes.

It’s in the heart of Kyoto, next to Gion’s traditional geisha era. It’s small but full of history, and it houses the country’s first ema museum. It is famous for its enkiri enmusubi ‘power rock’. And it hosts a wonderful Kushi Matsuri (Comb Festival) featuring the gorgeous hairstyles of Japanese women down a millennium of changes.

Squeezed into an L-shaped space, the shrine leads from the geisha houses of Gion towards the streets running up to Kodai-ji and Kyoto’s Kiyomizu tourist area. The shrine is noticeably sandwiched between love hotels at both its entrances, appropriate for a place which prides itself on promoting happy relationships.

Last weekend was the annual Taisai (main festival) of the shrine, when its mikoshi (portable shrine) is paraded around the parish (there’s a fully illustrated report of last year’s event here).

This year I attended the community event on the day prior to the parade, featuring mochitsuki (making rice cakes). There was a pleasant relaxed atmosphere, which allowed me to explore some of the shrine’s unusual features while talking to the locals and learning of the folklore.

Below follows a listing of 7 striking features I came across in the charmed small compound of the shrine.

1) The entrance torii, unusually, has square pillars instead of round ones.

View from inside the entrance torii with its square pillars, looking towards the east

The slogan across the torii advertises the shrine as a place to sever bad ties and make good new ones

2) Thanks to the recent boom in ‘power spots’ and ‘enmusubi’ (good ties), the shrine has got popular at weekends.

The queue to crawl through the shrine's 'power rock' can stretch all the way down the approach and past the adjacent love hotel.

3) The power rock has a crack running down from the top through which ‘cosmic energy’ passes down into the circular hole through which crawl those wishing to cut off bad ties and make new happy ties.

There's a special spot to stand respectfully before crawling through the hole

You have to be a certain shape and flexibility to slip through so easily

Being reborn to a better life is cause for celebration

3) The Comb Mound (Kushizuka) is relatively recent. Contrary to expectations, the burial mound to pacify used and discarded combs is not ancient but was (re-)created by a scholar in the Showa era. His statue can be seen next to the mound.

The Comb Mound and the scholar whose ideas led to its creation

4) There’s a fantastic dragon carving in the honden (sanctuary). Most people only get to see the Worship Hall (haiden). However, if you take the trouble to look behind it and into the honden building, you’ll see a magnificent ranma carving featuring a dragon.

Hiding in the rafters of the Honden (Sanctuary) is this superb dragon

5) There’s a ‘distant prayer’ shrine facing towards the main Konpira shrine in far-off Shikoku.

The shrine faces towards Kotohira-gu, known as Konpira-san, in Shikoku

6) There’s a Buddhist-style subshrine, most unusually. Inside is a Buddhist bell and incense set before the statues of eight sumo-style figures, representing strength. They are carved from the base stones (‘strength stones’) which supported the massive pillars of the temple to which Yasui Konpira-gu was attached prior to the enforced separation from Buddhism at the beginning of the Meiji Era in 1868.

The shrine of the 8 strong men is a legacy of the temple-shrine complex to which Yasui Konpira-gu once belonged

inside are eight sumo style strong men, carved out of the pillars of the former Buddhist temple that once stood nearby

7) The shrine claims to have Kyoto’s oldest existing komainu, by its northern entrance. I would like to get that confirmed because they’re surprisingly not that old, dating back to the middle of the Edo Period. The faces are worn, but one can make out the closed mouth (yin) and open mouth (yang), and no doubt these fierce creatures are still vigilant enough to see off any evil spirits trying to lurk into the shrine.

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For a full page report of the shrine by Hugo Kempeneer as part of his Kyotodreamtrips.com site, please click here. The page also contains a video of the Comb Festival, which takes place in September and features a parade of women’s hairstyles and fashion over the past millennium and a half.

Awata Jinja festival

October 16, 2014 / John D. / 2 Comments

The eye-catching lantern festival of Awata Jinja with Seiryu (blue dragon) at the front

Autumn is a busy time for festivals, and this weekend in Kyoto there were fascinating events at two of Kyoto’s less well-known shrines, Yasui Konpira-gu and Awata Jinja. Green Shinto has reported on the festivals before (see here and here). Last year we very much enjoyed the daytime event at Awata Jinja, when mikoshi (portable shrines) are paraded around the parish. This year, because of a typhoon, it had to be cancelled; however, the lantern parade the evening before was able to take place – and what a fascinating event it was!

Awata san is descended from the original clan that established the shrine

Awata Jinja in the east of Kyoto was once the home shrine of the Awata clan, who lived in the area in the early centuries of the first millennium. In the seventh century however they left for Nagoya, and amazingly some 1400 years later I met one of their descendants who had come from Nagoya specially for the event.

Amongst the many things I learnt from Awata san was that the festival was closely associated with the famous Gion Matsuri, based on neighbourhoods sponsoring constituent parts of the parade. In Awata’s case, these take the form of kenboko, long poles or halberds. There are 18 of them in all, but not all of them are taken around in the parade because there are not enough people with the skills and strength to support them.

According to the shrine literature, the Awata Festival started in 1001. Now there are two parts, the first of which is the parade of eye-catching lantern floats. This is a modern revival, based on records that show in Muromachi times there were 20 huge lanterns some 3.6 meters in length. Later in Edo times parishioners accompanied the mikoshi (portable shrines) with hundreds of lit lanterns.

The top of a kenboko halberd. Each is up to 8m long, weighing around 35kg, and carried by a single bearer.

Five years ago the head priest of the shrine initiated a new style of parade with the cooperation of Kyoto Art University, and the result has been a striking success which draws increasing attention from locals and tourists alike. The floats are in modern manga style and based on mythological and folklore characters related to Awata Shrine. Some reflect the local character, and some the Izumo myths about the shrine’s kami, Susanoo no mikoto and Onamuchi no mikoto (another name for Okuninushi).

The floats are not the only remarkable thing about the event. The opening ritual called Yowatari shinjji (crossing into night rite) is deeply and distinctly syncretic, with the Buddhist priests of Chion-in taking an active part. A temporary altar is set up in the street facing Chion-in before an iwakura (sacred rock), into which the kami descends. The altar is Shinto, but the priests of Chion-in take full part in the service. (Chion-in is the head of the popular Jodo Shu sect, which believes in salvation through the mercy of Amida Buddha.)

Like other shrines, Awata Jinja was part of a Shinto-Buddhist complex until the great separation of the religions at the beginning of the Meiji Era in 1868. The syncretic instincts it retains are now given public expression in the joint celebration with its Pure Land neighbour, a practice that apparently began some fifteen years ago. It shows how even today the bonds between the two religions remain strong, and for many they are indeed inseparable.

In looking back to the past, Awata Jinja may well be blazing a trail for the future…

The five Shinto priests of Awata Jinja sit facing the twelve Buddhist priests of Chion-in

A Shinto priest purifying the assembled Buddhist priests

A Shinto priest pays respects at the altar…

… as does the Buddhist head priest of Chion-in

Buddhist priests lined up to recite the Hannya sutra before the Shinto altar

One of the enshrined kami at Awata Jinja is Susanoo no mikoto, who slew an eight-headed Orochi monster (the sacred sword he extracted is represented by the vertical piece)

White fox representing an ancient legend associated with Awata Shrine, which hosts an Inari subshrine

The one-eyed Kozo, sponsored by Fresco, representing the smiths who once lived in the parish area and whose eyes may have been damaged by sparks

Karasu Tengu (Crow Monster) is a reference to folk hero Minamoto Yoshitsune, who grew up at Kurama and was trained by tengu in martial arts. When he escaped from Kyoto, he stopped off to pray at Awata Jinja.

Onamuchi is one of the kami worshipped at Awata Jinja. The kami is considered to be the same as Okuninushi no mikoto, the main deity of Izumo Taisha.

In mythology Onamuch turns into a snake, thought to refer to an ancient snake cult (snakes symbolised regeneration because of being able to slough off their skin)

The blue dragon (‘seiryu’) is a reference to the Chinese feng-shui symbol that rules the eastern hills where Awata Jinja stands. (In the north, a black serpent-turtle, in the south a red phoenix, and in the west the white tiger.)

The float of Shusse Ebisu is a reference to Awata Jinja’s possession of Japan’s oldest statue of Ebisu (the fisherman kami)

Akechi Mitsuhide was the traitor who killed Nobunaga, but was subsequently killed himself. His head is buried not far from Awata Jinja, and as a restless spirit (goryo) he is accompanied here by a komainu guardian to pacify his spirit.

Sheep are next year’s Chinese zodiac animal, representing group togetherness

A couple of lambs to accompany the sheep

Each area of the Awata parish has a base for meetings and displaying treasures. This is the one for Nakanomachi, reminiscent of the grander bases for the gorgeous floats of the Gion Festival.

The Nakanomachi altar and offerings

Maiko ‘do’ Inari

October 14, 2014 / John D. / 0 Comments

A morning programme on KBS television this morning saw a pair of maiko visit Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto. Maiko are young trainee geisha in Kyoto, aged between 16 and 20. These days many are from distant parts of Japan and are unfamiliar with Kyoto and its tourist sights. I recently saw a film ‘Maiko wa Lady’ which was a musical (done by the director of Shall We Dance?) based on the idea in My Fair Lady of a young woman being trained in how to speak and behave properly. In the Japanese version it involved the maiko learning the Kyoto dialect and geisha manners.

In the tv programme the pair of maiko went up the main ‘sando’ (approach) of Fushimi Inari, passing through the tunnel of torii to the small area where fox faces are filled in on the shrine’s ema, before returning and exiting along the ‘urasando’, or back approach, which is lined with souvenir shops.

Maiko and Inari are a winning formula for a television programme. Maiko tend to be treated like film stars and photographed wherever they go. For its part, Fushimi Inari was recently voted the most popular attraction in Kyoto, outranking even Kiyomizu temple, and it has become a no. 1 destination for foreign visitors too.

“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

For a detailed description of Fushimi Inari, see Cali and Dougill Shinto Shrines, p.101. For an illustrated visit, click here. For the Fushimi sai festival, see here. For Fushimi as Kyoto’s no. 1, see here.

The main approach to Inari leads up to the magnificent romon gate

One of the guardian foxes has a ball of wisdom

... the other has the key to the rice granary

After saying their prayers, the maiko headed up the hill behind the shrine...

through the tunnel of torii.....

... to the place where the ema are filled in with do- it-yourself pictures of foxes

There's a rock there (Omokaru ishi) which you have to lift up to see if it feels heavy or light

... if it's heavy it means bad luck, but if it feels light then you're in for good fortune

Afterwards the girls headed back to the exit where they stopped at a traditional rice cracker shop

The shop has been in existence for more than 100 years and specialises in fox-shaped rice crackers

The girls also bought fortune cookies

... and were delighted to find they had 'Daikichi' or Good luck. It brought their visit to a happy end, and next time they declared their intention to climb up to the top of Inari Hill

Harvest thanksgiving

October 13, 2014 / John D. / 0 Comments

A miko shakes hot water from bamboo grass (sasa) over the surrounding area (all photos by McCullough)

Spring and autumn are busy times of year for Shinto, as festivals take place based around the rice cycle of ancient times. One such event took place this weekend in the charming village of Ohara, just north of Kyoto, and thanks go to David McCullough for providing information and photos. As a resident of the village, David is on the organising committee for religious events in the area.

The Yu no Shiki at his local shrine involves boiling water in the traditional style, as shown in the photo below. This is accompanied by a miko (shrine maiden) dancing for the pleasure of the kami in front of the hot water. Salt and saké are added to the boiling water, which is scattered around the shrine, presumably as a form of purification.

This is a wonderful example of localised rites handed down from ancient times, and it reminds me of the way that rice spirit is strewn on the ground in Korean shaman practice. In ancient Japan boiling water was used for divination, and in some cases steam created in front of an altar was used to induce the miko into spirit possession. ‘In later ages,’ says the Kokugakuin encyclopedia, ‘the boiling water was believed to possess the power of purification, and the ritual was combined with dance and transformed into a performing art.’

Adding salt to the water, symbolic of Shinto's stress on purity

Christianity-Shinto seminar

October 13, 2014 / John D. / 0 Comments

The International Shinto Foundation will be holding a dialogue with Christianity at their 18th international seminar on Nov. 22 at St. Andrew’s Church in Minato-ku, Tokyo from 2 pm.

Academics and Christian priests will engage in the discussion, including some top names in the field of Shinto studies such as Michael Pye and John Breen (both resident in Kyoto, and both practising Christians).

Attendance is free of charge, and is restricted to 150 people. Applications by Oct 31. The seminar will be in Japanese, and further details can be had either by email (info@shinto.org) or fax (03-6805-7769).

Shinto memorial for seventeenth-century Christian martyrs (Senninzuka on Ikitsuki Island)

Roots

October 11, 2014 / John D. / 1 Comment

Fukuoka City with Hakata Bay, gateway to Korea and the continent

Roots of rural development [and Amaterasu?] found in northern Kyushu
By Kevin Short / Special to The Japan News September 23, 2014

Northern Kyushu is a very exciting area for anyone interested in the roots of the Japanese countryside landscape. Hakata Bay and Karatsu Bay are well-protected harbors facing north toward the Tsushima Straight and the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. During the formative centuries of Japanese civilization, when the satoyama landscape was just developing, these bays were the entry ports for new people, ideas and technologies coming into Japan from Korea and the Asian mainland.

The modern form of rice came to Japan through northern Kyushu, where continental practices first establshed themselves

For example, sometime before 2,600 years ago, people arrived here with the tools and technologies necessary for irrigated rice cultivation. The oldest paddies in Japan are found at the Nabatake archeological site in Karatsu. Irrigated rice dramatically changed Japan’s landscapes. Marshes were drained and diked to form paddies, and streams diverted into a system of irrigation ponds, sluices and canals. Populations increased, and virgin forests were cut down and replaced by managed secondary habitats such as coppice woods, bamboo groves and thatch grass fields.

Thus was born the beautiful Japanese traditional countryside landscape, which can still be seen today in many areas. The great productivity of paddy rice, however, also revolutionized the regional socioeconomic fabric. Wealth could now be created and stored as surplus grain. Soon regional power centers, called kuni or koku, appeared. The capitals of these kuni were substantial towns surrounded by moats, walls and fences. Gradually the kuni grew in size and power. One of them, the Yamato, eventually evolved into the fledgling Japanese nation.

In the mid-third century, the Chinese kingdom of Wei sent an envoy to the Japanese islands. His observations were later recorded in the famous Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sangoku-shi, written around AD 280). The Wei ambassador described what appears to be a loose confederation, under the leadership of a kuni called Yamatai-koku, which was ruled by a mysterious shamaness-queen named Himiko. Unfortunately, the envoy’s travelogue is hard to interpret, and the actual location of Yamatai-koku has become one of the great controversies of early Japanese history.

A third-century bronze mirror, similar to those found in the burial mound

One of the confederation kuni mentioned in the text is the Ito-koku, said to be located to the north of Yamatai-koku, and to serve as a sort of port of entry for all goods and people coming into the Japanese islands. The location of this kuni can be clearly traced by historic place names, as well as by spectacular burials mounds and archaeological remains dating to precisely the time of the envoy’s visit.

The burial mounds, along with an interpretive museum, are located along the Zuibaiji River, with flows south from Hakata Bay into the northern foothills of the Sefuri Mountains. As a glamour-sensitive Celt I have long been enthralled by the idea of third-century shamaness-queens, and quickly planned a bicycle excursion to Itokoku.

The most spectacular display at the Itokoku History Museum is a superb reconstruction of a third-century burial mound that is thought to be that of the kuni’s queen. Grave goods buried along with her include a long sword, 40 bronze mirrors, strings of colorful glass beads, magatama comma-shaped jade earrings, and beautiful ear decorations in the style of third-century Chinese noblewomen. Interestingly, the mirror, sword and magatama jewels are the three symbols that Amaterasu the Sun Goddess is said to have passed on to her earthly descendents, the historic emperors and empresses of Japan.

Short is a naturalist and cultural anthropology professor at Tokyo University of Information Sciences.

The mirror, sword and magatama were adopted by the Japanese imperial family as their regalia