Most of Japanese people are both Buddhist and Shintoist at the same time. However I do not think we are very religious. Whenever there is an occasion, we practice the ceremony either at temples （寺院: ji in） or shrines （神社: jin ja）. There are about 85,000 shrines in Japan.
Today there was o kagura (御神楽), at the nearest shrine from my house, so I went to see the ceremony for the first time. Kagura (神楽) literally means god-entertainment. First kannushi (神主), Shinto priest recited a ritual Shinto prayer. Then he danced with the music by drum and bells for dedicating to God. Finally he purified with hot water around. It lasted for an hour. It seems there was naorai (直会), drinking party later.
Here attached the picture of the Wakamiya jinja (若宮神社).
No comments:
Post a Comment