Tag: imperial Shinto

Daijosai details

November 16, 2019 / John D. / 0 Comments

Preparations are made at the Suki Hall at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo for the Daijosai ceremony, which took place on Thursday and Friday. | KYODO

Clandestine Japanese enthronement rite embodies tradition but is marked by controversy

by Reiji Yoshida (Japan Times Nov 13, 2019)

Throughout this year, a series of elaborate ceremonies are being held in Japan to mark the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito and the beginning of the new imperial era, named Reiwa, said to mean “beautiful harmony.”

The Daijosai, the most secretive and arguably controversial part of those ceremonies, was set to begin Thursday evening and continue into the early hours of Friday. The ceremony is a Shinto rite during which a new emperor prays for peace and a rich harvest for the nation.

The ceremony, which originated centuries ago, is mysterious because the exclusive ritual is attended only by the emperor and a handful of female assistants, all wearing traditional-style dress, and according to Shinto beliefs involves deities descending to the ground during the ceremony.

What exactly is the Daijosai, and what will happen inside the two temporary shrines at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo? Here we examine in more detail the Shinto rite set to take place from 5 p.m. Thursday until 3 a.m. Friday:

What is Daijosai?
The Daijosai, which can be roughly translated to mean “great food offering ritual,” is the last of the three main imperial ceremonies making the enthronement of a new emperor, following the Kenji to Shokei no Gi in May and Sokui no Rei last month. Compared to the two other events, the Daijosai is a more religious and private ceremony for the emperor and is held in autumn after the year’s rice harvest.

It is a variation of Niinamesai, an annual ceremony in which the emperor offers gratitude for the year’s rice harvest and prays for the peace and prosperity of the nation.

The Daijosai is the first such ceremony following an enthronement, and is considered the most important rite for an emperor.

What’s the origin of the Daijosai?
According to the Imperial Household Agency, the Daijosai originates from the Niinamesai, which is mentioned in the Kojiki, Japan’s oldest existing historical record, which was compiled in 712.

Until the mid-seventh century, there was no clear distinction between the first Niinamesai after an enthronement and other Niinamesai conducted afterward.

Emperor Tenmu, who reigned from 673 to 686, was the first to distinguish between the Niinamesai and the Daijosai, the agency said.

Has the imperial family carried out the ritual every time a new emperor ascended to the throne since then?
No. Although often touted as the world’s oldest monarchy, the emperor lost control of the country in ancient times, and samurai effectively ruled the country for centuries from the late 12th century to the late 19th century.

Hit hard by financial difficulties, the emperor did not conduct a Daijosai ceremony for more than 220 years until the late 17th century.

What exactly will the emperor do during Daijosai?For the rite, two temporary shrines called the Yuki Hall and the Suki Hall respectively are set up within the compound of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

On Thursday evening, the emperor will enter the main room of Yuki Hall, the interior of which will be lit dimly by only traditional-style oil lamps. In the room, newly harvested rice, fish, abalones, fruit, chestnuts, sake and other food from across the country will be placed on wooden plates.

The emperor will pick up each food item and place it on leaves, dozens of which will be arranged on the floor, to dedicate it as an offering to Amaterasu Omikami and other Shinto gods that have descended to the room. In Shinto belief, the goddess Amaterasu Omikami is said to be the ancestor of the imperial family.

The emperor then will read out a prayer offering gratitude for peace and the harvest, and will wish for the same for the nation.

The foods are then eaten by the emperor together with the gods in the room. The same rite will be repeated in the Suki Hall, where it will continue until 3 a.m. Friday.

Why does the emperor repeat the same rite in two halls?
The Yuki Hall, located in the east, represents eastern Japan and the Suki Hall western Japan. For that reason, rice from eastern Japan is dedicated to the gods in the Yuki Hall while rice from western Japan is used for the rite in the Suki Hall.

In ancient times, the Yuki Hall in most cases represented the Omi region, which is today’s Shiga Prefecture, while the Suki Hall represented Tamba or Bicchu, which are today’s Hyogo and Okayama prefectures respectively.

For the Reiwa succession, rice from Tochigi Prefecture represents eastern Japan and that from Kyoto Prefecture western Japan. Those areas were chosen based on an ancient-style fortune-telling ritual using sea turtle shells.

In the ritual, a fortune-teller reads signs indicated by cracks on turtle shells heated with fire, and locations of the rice fields are chosen on that basis, according to the Imperial Household Agency.

What is controversial about Daijosai?
The act of the emperor praying directly to Shinto deities, including Amaterasu Omikami, marks the event as highly religious. Some scholars and activists are concerned that the Shinto ritual violates Article 20 of the Constitution, which stipulates the separation of state and religion.

The principle is considered particularly important by historians given Japan’s past militarism in the 1930s and 40s, which was grounded in state-centered nationalism that centered on people’s worship of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, as a living god.

The Article 20 of the postwar Constitution reads: “No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority … The State and its organs shall refrain from religious education or any other religious activity.”

The state government plans to spend ¥2.44 billion for the Daijosai, including ¥1.9 billion on construction of the two main shrines and other temporary structures — which will be all dismantled after the planned public viewing.

Hundreds of people have filed a lawsuit against the state government, arguing that such funding violates Article 20 and that their freedom of religion has been damaged.

What does the government say about the claim?
The government at the same time has acknowledged that the Daijosai is more religious, unlike other enthronement-related ceremonies.

For that reason the government is handling Daijosai as a separate imperial activity, rather than a “matter of state,” to allow the emperor’s involvement while respecting the Constitution.

Who will attend the Daijosai this year?
Besides the emperor, only a handful of female assistants are allowed to enter the two halls, to help him, according to public broadcaster NHK.

About 700 guests are invited to wait outside the Yuki and Suki halls during the ceremony. They will not be able to see anything happening inside the halls.

Invited guests include Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, current Cabinet ministers, speakers of the Lower House, the president of the Upper House, Supreme Court judges and dozens of Diet members. No representatives from foreign countries are invited.

Can the general public watch the ceremony live?
No. However, general visitors will be allowed to enter the compound and see the structures used for the ceremony from Nov. 21 through Dec. 8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visitors are asked to come to the entrance of Sakashita-mon Gate of the Imperial Palace by 3 p.m.

Map: sankan.kunaicho.go.jp/english/guide/access_map_kokyo.html

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For those who wish to read in detail about the sacred space in Daijosai and its connection with Ise Jingu’s twenty year renewal, please see this article by Gunther Niitschke.

Emperor’s night with Amaterasu

November 11, 2019 / John D. / 0 Comments

Symbolic night with ‘goddess’ to wrap up emperor’s accession rites

By Elaine Lies TOKYO © (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019.
As published in Japan Today Nov 11, 2019

On Thursday evening, Emperor Naruhito will dress in pure white robes and be ushered into a dark wooden hall for his last major enthronement rite: spending the night with a “goddess.” Centered on Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess from whom conservatives believe the emperor has descended, the Daijosai is the most overtly religious ceremony of the emperor’s accession rituals after his father Akihito’s abdication.

Scholars and the government say it consists of a feast, rather than, as has been persistently rumored, conjugal relations with the goddess. Although Naruhito’s grandfather Hirohito, in whose name soldiers fought World War Two, was later stripped of his divinity, the ritual continues.

That has prompted anger – and lawsuits – from critics who say it smacks of the militaristic past and violates the constitutional separation of religion and state, as the government pays the cost of 2.7 billion yen.

WHAT HAPPENS?
At about 7 p.m., Naruhito enters a specially-built shrine compound by firelight, disappearing behind white curtains. In a dimly-lit room he kneels by piled straw mats draped in white, said to be a resting place for the goddess, as two shrine maidens bring in offerings of food, from rice to abalone, for Naruhito to use in filling 32 plates made from oak leaves.

Then he bows and prays for peace for the Japanese people before eating rice, millet and rice wine “with” the goddess.The entire ritual is repeated in another room, ending at about 3 a.m.

John Breen in 2011, researcher at Kyoto’s Nichibunken

Long a secret, the ceremony was re-enacted this year by NHK public television, an unprecedented move scholars say may have been a government initiative to dispel rumors.”There is a bed, there is a coverlet, and the emperor keeps his distance from it,” said John Breen of Kyoto’s International Research Center for Japanese Studies, adding that de-mystifying the ceremony could be a government defense.

“Kingmaking is a sacred business, it’s transforming a man or a woman into something other than a man or a woman,” he said, pointing to mystical elements in Britain’s coronation functions. “So the Japanese government’s denial that there’s anything mystical to it is bizarre, but the purpose is pretty clear – it’s to fend off accusations there’s something unconstitutional going on.”

HOW ANCIENT IS THE TRADITION?
Believed to have started in the 700s and observed for about 700 years, the ritual was then interrupted for nearly three centuries, a gap that Breen said led to the loss of much of its original meaning.

Although believed to have initially been one of the less important enthronement rites, the ceremony gained status and its current form from 1868, as Japan began to turn itself into a modern nation-state, unified under the emperor.

WHAT IS THE FUNDING CONTROVERSY?
At a news conference, the emperor’s younger brother, Crown Prince Akishino, wondered if it was “appropriate” to use public money, suggesting instead the private funds of the imperial family, which would necessitate a far smaller ceremony.

But Koichi Shin, the head of a group of 300 people suing the government to halt the ritual, and demand damages of 10,000 yen each for “pain and suffering”, says that would still not be satisfactory, as the private funds are still tax money.

With part of one lawsuit thrown out by the Supreme Court and another set for hearing after the rite, the court battle is mostly symbolic, as concern over nationalism and the emperor fades.

At then Emperor Akihito’s accession in 1990, protests were louder and bigger, including rocket attacks ahead of some of the rituals, while 1,700 people sued amid harsh media coverage.

“Emperor Hirohito was responsible for the war, but Akihito has done a lot to soften the family’s image,” said Shin, a 60-year-old office worker. “But I think showing these ceremonies on television solidifies the idea of the emperor as religion.”

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For those who wish to read in detail about the sacred space in Daijosai and its connection with Ise Jingu’s twenty year renewal, please see this article by Gunther Niitschke.

The Thames and I (Naruhito)

May 29, 2019 / John D. / 0 Comments

You’re regarded as the high priest of Shinto and chief ritualist of the realm. Your grandfather was considered a living god. Your family line claims descent from the Sun Goddess and has ruled as emperor for 126 generations. With a pedigree like that, what kind of a memoir could you possibly write?

The book in question was first produced in 2006 by the then Crown Prince Naruhito, now Emperor of Japan. This year it has been reissued as a paperback to coincide with his inauguration. It’s entitled, ‘The Thames and I: A Memoir of Two Years at Oxford‘ (Renaissance Books, 2019).

As the subtitle suggests, it’s an account of the Crown Prince’s time as a student at Merton College, where he spent two years studying 18th century navigation on the River Thames. It’s also a part-guide to Oxford, to the way the university works, and to the history of his college. There are cultural observations too on the English and the way the island country resembles but differs from Japan. In so doing, Naruhito gives one of the best overviews of English classical music I’ve seen (a special interest of his, since he plays the viola to a high standard).

Dreaming spires – Naruhito was in Merton College, with claims to being the university’s oldest

By far the most intriguing part of the book, however, are not the factual passages but those that offer insight into the crown prince’s lifestyle. We learn for instance that he is accompanied by two police guards, who take it in turn to watch over him and who act as cultural informant and language aide. They even play a part in helping with his research. As we know from Princess Di and films on the subject, bodyguards and the people they protect can strike up close friendships.

There are some amusing touches, and he confesses to several ‘blunders’ such as spilling coins across the floor.. He had never used a washing machine before and overfilled it with washing powder, so that soap suds flooded across the floor. But by the end of his stay he had mastered how to iron his own clothes. As you might expect, the writing is discrete and circumspect. At one point he meets a challenge to drink five cups of an alcoholic concoction, but he writes not a word about how he feels afterwards. In fact, there’s not a single person who could be offended by what he writes. He makes friends wherever he goes.

In many ways it’s an enchanted time, as if he’s escaped from the starightjacket of Kunaicho (Imperial Household) like the male equivalent of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. The people he meets are all kind and entertaining. He very much enjoys the conversations he has, with people in all stations of life. His tutors at Oxford are inordinately wise and helpful. When he goes abroad, he’s invited to stay in castles and palaces by European aristocracy. He enjoys his meetings with the royal family. He climbs the tallest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales. He travels extensively. And he even has time for study as he chases up ancient documents in obscure archives. As he explores the world of eighteenth century transport on The Thames, he learns to love the river that flows close by his college.

Through all this, Emperor Naruhito comes over as humble, modest, well-read and likeable. He’s very much an international figure and a man of his time, a modern monarch one might say. One can’t help feeling that he’s certainly not someone the ultra-right in Japan would choose to champion as their semi-divine national symbol. This struck me this week while watching the new emperor and Masako welcome with ease Trump and his wife to the imperial palace. It was Naruhito who was making the small talk. In English. Far from being overshadowed by the greater stature of his guest, he looked pleased at being able to entertain the most powerful man on earth.

But what of Shinto you might ask? I read the book with great interest, not only as a former citizen and author of guidebooks to Oxford, but as someone who thought there may be a mention or two to shed light on his attitude to his native religion. But there was not a word, not a suggestion even. There were passages about European cathedrals, but nothing about Ise or Izumo. There were observations on nature, the ascent of mountains, a lot about the River Thames, but nothing that indicated the vital role of such phenomena in the religious life of his native country. Not even an animistic hint. I found this odd, though perhaps it was because his focus was fixed so steadily on England. But surely someone brought up to be a symbol of his country must be imbued with awareness of a tradition that is so indelibly woven into the national culture? I confess to a touch of disappointment.

Notwithstanding that, the book is a charming read for anyone with the least interest in how Japan will fare in the coming era under this engaging figure. Let’s hope he has the strength of character to go with his undoubted sensitivity. In these troubled times he may well need it.

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The Main Hall of Jingu Kaikan fills up with an international audience to hear the talk by Oxford-educated Princess Akiko on what Shinto means to her

For insight into how the imperial family might regard Shinto, a talk by Princess Akiko (daughter of Prince Tomohito of Mikasa) at an Ise conference shed light on subject. You can read the whole report here, but let me quote an extract from my report of her speech….

The talk by Princess Akiko raised the question of whether Shinto was a matter of belief or simply part of the Japanese way of life. With a doctorate in Japanese art history from Oxford University, she spoke of her impressions of living abroad. Japan was said to be proud of having four seasons, she noted, but Britain often had four seasons in one day. Moreover, whereas British water was good for black tea, Japanese water was good for green tea.

But what made the most impression on her was the British supermarkets had the same food throughout the year, which made her miss the seasonal nature of Japanese food. There was something in Japanese culture that was in tune with the changing seasons of nature. It had to do with an affinity for the deities living in rocks, waterfalls and trees, etc. It was, she suggested, difficult for foreigners to appreciate.

It was the pluralism of Japanese thinking that led to another aspect difficult for foreigners to comprehend. ‘Born Shinto, marry Christian, die Buddhist’ was an accepted path in Japan. Because of polytheism, it was easy for Japanese to accept any kind of deity as valid. She herself had felt power and refreshment from a rock at Suwa Shrine named after Susanoo no mikoto. And as a child, she had felt a sense of awe at the woods of Ise Jingu.

So what in the end was Shinto? ‘Pay respects and have gratitude to the kami,’ she had been told by a priest. It’s not a question of salvation or belief as in Abrahamic religions, but of simple things like saying itadakimasu before meals and gochisosama afterwards. For Japanese these aspects of daily life enrich their existence. There was little doubt this pertained to the imperial family too.