User:Immanuelle/Previous Emperor's Festival
The Previous Emperor's Festival is a festival to commemorate the former emperor. There are two main examples
- A court ritual to honor the previous emperor . A grand festival held every year on the anniversary of the death of the previous emperor.
- A festival held at Akama Shrine in Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture . It is held every year from May 2nd to May 4th . In this case, the previous emperor refers to a specific successive emperor, Emperor Antoku .
Court Rituals[change | change source]
It is one of the major festivals stipulated by the Imperial Household Rites Act and is held every year on the anniversary of the death of the previous emperor. The actual name of the ritual is not "Former Emperor's Festival," but the posthumous name of the emperor is used in place of "former emperor."
The Imperial Household Rites Law was abolished in 1947, but the ceremony has continued to be held as an Imperial Court ritual ever since. During the Heisei era, the Emperor Showa Festival has been held, but with the abdication of the 125th Emperor, Akihito, on April 30, 2019 (Heisei 31), the Emperor Showa Festival will continue into the Reiwa era as a memorial service for the most recent deceased emperor, rather than the previous emperor.
The day of the Senten Festival was a national holiday under the former Holiday Law " Determining Holidays for Annual Festivals and National Holidays " and " Matters Concerning Holidays ," but was removed as a national holiday under the current Holiday Law "Law Concerning National Holidays " that came into effect in 1948 (Showa 23).
| Imperial era name | Former Emperor's Festival | date |
|---|---|---|
| Meiji | Emperor Komei Festival | January 30 |
| Taisho | Emperor Meiji Festival | July 30 |
| Showa | Emperor Taisho Festival | December 25 |
| Heisei | Emperor Showa Festival | January 7 |
| Reiwa | Emperor Showa Festival | January 7 |
Festivals at Akama Shrine (Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture)[change | change source]
It is said that the origin of this festival dates back to 1186, the year after the Battle of Dannoura, when Emperor Gotoba issued an imperial decree to Nagato Province to erect a Goei-do Hall in the grounds of Amida-ji Temple (now Akama-jingu Shrine), where Emperor Antoku's remains were laid to rest, and held a ceremony to commemorate his virtues on the anniversary of his death (March 24th). Since then, a "Goryobatasai" (rite in front of the tomb) has been held in front of Emperor Antoku's tomb every year on March 24th, and after the Meiji period, the date of the festival was changed to the solar calendar (April 23rd) and made into an annual festival, and later changed to the current date (May 2nd).
On the 2nd, a Shinto ritual will be held in front of the tomb with the participation of the National Heike Association, an organization made up of descendants of Heike refugees, as well as a memorial service for the Heike clan. On the following day, the 3rd, a surviving Taira retainer named Nakajima Shirotayu disguised himself as a fisherman and hid in Shimonoseki while plotting the restoration of the Taira clan, and in keeping with the history of the time, he paid homage to the previous Emperor's Ceremony with great dignity. In keeping with this story, members of a fishing group called the Nakajima Gumi, which originated from his descendants, paid homage to the shrine, and this is known as the Nakajima Gumi Paying Worship Ceremony. This is followed by the "Ceremony of Visits by Upper Class Ladies and Court Ladies ('Joryo Dochu')," which is said to have originated from the fact that after the Battle of Dannoura, the maids of Kenreimon'in (Taira no Tokuko) were supported by a local thatched hut and offered incense and flowers to the Imperial tomb while being supported by the local thatched hut, and made sure to look their best when they visited the ceremony to pay homage to the previous Emperor. Later, the owner of the thatamaya house, which began running a brothel, had his maids and their families pass away, so he had his courtesans imitate these customs and dress up in court attire to worship at the shrine; this tradition continued into the Edo period and was carried on by the courtesans of the Inari-cho brothel that existed at the time, becoming the modern-day "Jourou Dochu," in which a tayu modeled after a Yoshiwara courtesan walks through the city of Shimonoseki in a formal attire accompanied by kamuro, jourou, young boys, and guards.
The Shinko Festival is held on the fourth day after the regular festival.
This festival is located on the opposite bank of the Kanmon Straits from the Kokura Gion Festival in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. There is an old saying that "if it doesn't rain at Kokura Gion, money will fall," which describes the situation when it doesn't rain and large numbers of people come to the festival, making it a very lively event.
It has been designated an intangible folk cultural property of Shimonoseki City. [1]
References[change | change source]
- "Shinto Encyclopedia" ( Heibonsha, condensed reprint of the 1939 edition), Rinkawa Shoten, 1969, ISBN 4-653-01347-0
footnote[change | change source]
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