User:Immanuelle/Shihohai

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Japanese Imperial Rituals [ja; en] - [edit] - [view]
January
Shihohai [ja; fr]Saiten-sai [ja]
Genshi-sai [ja]
Start of Musical Performance [ja]
Festival of Emperor Showa (Previous Emperor's Festival [ja])
Festival of Emperor Kōmei[a]
February
Kinensai
The Emperor's Birthday [en]
March
Festival of the Flower Calming - Ōmiwa-jinja
Spring Kōreisai [ja; en]・Spring Shrine Festival [ja]
April
Sacred Clothing Festival - Ise Grand Shrine
Saegusa Festival - Isagawa Shrine [fr; simple]
Great Taboo Festival - Hirose Taisha [fr; en]
Festival of the Wind God - Tatsuta Taisha [fr; en]
Jimmu Festival [ja]Kōrei-den [ja; en] Kagura [ja; en]
June
Tsukinami-no-matsuri [ja; simple; en:draft]
Fire Calming Festival [ja]
Road Festival [ja]
Yoori [ja; fr]Ōharae-shiki [en; fr; ja]
July
Great Taboo Festival - Hirose-jinja
Festival of the Wind God - Tatsuta-taisha
September
Sacred Clothing Festival - Ise Grand Shrine
Autumn Kōreisai [ja; en]・Autumn Shrine Festival [ja]
Kannamesai Festival [ja; en] - Ise Grand Shrine
November
Ainame Festival [ja]
Chinkon-sai [ja; simple; en:draft; fr]
Niiname-no-Matsuri (Daijosai [ja; en; fr])
December
Kashiko dokoro [ja] Sacred Kagura
Festival of the Emperor Taishō[a]
Tsukinami-no-matsuri [ja; simple; en:draft]
Fire Calming Festival [ja]
Road Festival [ja]
Yoori [ja; fr]Ōharae-shiki [en; fr; ja]

Shihohai is a ritual in which the Emperor of Japan pays homage to the gods of the four directions in the Imperial Palace East Garden [en] early in the morning on January 1st ( New Year's Day ) every year. This is an imperial ritual in which people bow in all four directions and pray for the elimination of annual disasters and for a bountiful harvest . [1] [2] Shihohai is the name of ceremony held at Imperial Palace in the beginning of the year.

The Shihōhai [ja] (Shihōhai) is a ritual performed by the Emperor at dawn on January 1st (New Year's Day), prior to the Saitan-sai [ja] (New Year's ceremony). It takes place in the south garden of the Jingū Kaikan [ja] within the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor pays homage to the deities of heaven and earth in all directions. The ceremony is held outdoors, symbolizing the Emperor's descent to the earth to pay respect to the heavenly and earthly deities, referred to as "Tegami-no-Mi" or descending to the garden.

From the early Meiji era, when national holidays were officially designated, until around 1945, January 1st was known as "Shihō no Setsu." Article 23 of the Imperial Household Ceremonial Code (Meiji 41, Imperial Household Ordinance No. 1) stipulated that the Shihōhai should be performed before the Saitan-sai on New Year's Day, except during the Emperor's mourning period or other exceptional circumstances. After this ordinance was abolished in 1947, the ritual continued as a private event in the Imperial family according to former practices.

Overview[change | change source]

Shihohai is a ritual in which the Emperor pays respects to the gods of the four directions of heaven and earth in the southern garden of the Shinkaden Hall in the Imperial Palace early in the morning on January 1st (New Year's Day ) every year, prior to the New Year's Festival. The reason why the ceremony is held in the garden rather than on the palace grounds is said to signify that the Emperor himself descends to earth, abdicates and bows down to the gods of heaven and earth, and this is referred to as the " Teijo-no-uego " ceremony [3] .

During the early Heian period, this ceremony originated in the Imperial Palace and spread to lords and ordinary people as a wish to be in full harvest and a perfect state of health by praying in various directions no matter what the year might bring, but as time went by the ceremony remained simply as a court function.[4]

From the early Meiji period, when the holiday was legally established, until around 1945 (Showa 20), January 1st, the day when this Imperial Court ritual was held, was called Shiho-setsu . Article 23 of the Imperial Household Rites Order (Imperial Household Order No. 1 of 1908), one of the Imperial Household Ordinances, stipulates that "On the day of the New Year's Ceremony, a ceremony of worship in all four directions shall be held first...However, if the Emperor passes away or there are other circumstances, the ceremony of worship in all four directions shall not be held." After the order was abolished in 1947, the New Year's Ceremony has been held in accordance with the old rules as a private event of the Imperial Household .

The Shihohai in 2009 (Heisei 21) was held at the Imperial Palace due to the simplification of the rituals following the aging of the then Emperor Akihito (the 125th Emperor).

Practices[change | change source]

The gist of the ceremony is as follows: At 5:30 a.m. on January 1 (New Year's Day), the Emperor dons a formal robe called 'kōrozen no gohō [ja]' and enters a temporary building set up in the garden to the south of Shinkaden, which is located to the west of the Three Palace Sanctuaries [en], and bows toward both the Kotai Jingu and Toyouke Daijingu shrines of Ise Grand Shrine, then makes bows to the deities in all four directions. The gods and imperial tombs that the Emperor worships at this time are Ise Shrine, the gods of heaven [en] and earth [en], the tomb of Emperor Jimmu and the mountain tombs of the three previous emperors [note 1], the Ichinomiyas of many provinces: Musashi Province ( Hikawa Shrine [ja; en]), Yamashiro Province ( Kamo Wakeikazuchi Shrine and Kamomioya Shrine ), Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine , Atsuta Shrine, the Ichinomiya of Hitachi Province ( Kashima Shrine ), and the Ichinomiya of Shimousa Province ( Katori Jingū [ja] ).

The origin of Shihohai[change | change source]

There are different theories that it originated in the Way of Yin and Yang or it came from China, but there are no written materials to show the exact history of how it started.[4]

It is believed to be true that Shihohai is a cultural ceremony that came from China and was changed to suit the Japanese culture while retaining various aspects of Chinese culture, since the Way of Yin and Yan originally came from China and has been systematized, including Chinese studies, thinking, magic and rituals.[4]

Asuka Period:[change | change source]

The first recorded documented instance of the Shihohai in Japan was in the “Nihon Shoki” ( Chronicles of Japan ), in the entry for the first day of August in the first year of the reign of Empress Kōgyoku . [5] [6] It is said that at Minami-buchi, the Emperor “bowed in all four directions and looked up to the heavens in prayer,” and this is said to be the very beginning of the custom. [6] The purpose of Empress Kogyoku's worship in all four directions at this time was to pray for rain, but since it was the emperor's personal worship and the act was called "shihohai," it is believed to have been influenced in some way by the shihohai that was institutionalized during the Heian period. [5] [note 2]

In addition, the imperial tombs of the Asuka and Fujiwara-kyo periods were octagonal tombs, and the Takamikura in the Daigokuden Hall was also octagonal in shape, which suggests that Fujiwara-kyo was the location of rituals demonstrating control over and peace in the entire land in all directions. [5] For this reason, it is said that the prohibition of vicariously worshipping may be related to the Emperor's sovereign right to worship the North Star. [5]

Suburban worship in the Heian period[change | change source]

The establishment of the Shihohai system during the Heian period is said to have been influenced by the ancient Chinese imperial rituals known as suburban worship [ja], which were performed by Emperor Kanmu . This was supposedly done with the support of the Baekje king, who was the only person on the Korean peninsula who performed the suburban rites to worship heaven, which had been performed by the ancient Chinese emperors (the vassal states of Silla and Goguryeo did not perform suburban rites out of respect for the emperor) through the Baekje royal family [en] . [8]

Such rituals are called "suburban" since they were performed in the suburbs of the capital, rather than in central areas.

In Japan, the " Nihon Shoki " (Chronicles of Japan) states that Emperor Jimmu established a sacred ground at Mount Torimi and performed suburban rituals after ascending to the throne (Jinmu 4th year, February 16, Koshin article), but this is an embellishment made by later generations, and the description of the festival also differs from that of the Chinese suburban rituals.

The first suburban rituals influenced by China were held in Kashiwara (Katano Kashiwara) in Katano County, Kawachi Province, on the southern outskirts of Nagaoka-kyo, on November 10, 4th year of Enryaku and November 5, 6th year of Enryaku, as part of Emperor Kanmu 's policy of adopting Chinese influence. A small circular hill that existed until the early Showa period in what is now Katahoko, Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture, is said to be the remains of this shrine. [9] On the latter occasion, the emperor's real father, Emperor Kōnin, was also enshrined, and the ritual text adopted the style of Chinese suburban worship, stating, "To the Emperor Haotian" [注釈 1] . This was intended to re-establish the Ritsuryo government through the introduction of Chinese culture, and it is said that the Emperor was familiar with Chinese culture through the Wa clan, which was descended from immigrants on his mother's side, and that the imperial line of Emperor Tenmu had been broken since the Jinshin War and the imperial line of Emperor Tenchi had been restored, and that the Emperor intended to report this fact to the Emperor in Nagaoka-kyo, the capital of the new dynasty.

Afterwards, a suburban ritual was also held in Kashiwara from November 22nd to the following day in the third year of the reign of Emperor Montoku ( Montoku Jitsuroku [en] ). However, by this time the capital had already been moved to Heian-kyo long ago, and although Kashiwara was in the southern suburbs of Heian-kyo, it was still far away, leaving many mysteries such as why a new altar was not built in a location closer to Heian-kyo, and why a suburban ritual that had not been recorded and had been carried out for over 70 years since the 6th year of the Enryaku era was revived. Moreover, in Japanese history, it can be confirmed that suburban worship was performed only three times: twice during the Enryaku period and once during the Saikō period, and it is believed that these were the only three times that it was actually performed. Many mysteries remain surrounding the history of suburban rituals in Japan.

Heian period[change | change source]

The current Shihohai ritual is said to have begun at the Imperial Court during the reign of Emperor Saga in the early Heian period (early 9th century ). It is believed that the ritual was established during the reign of Emperor Uda (late 9th century), and the oldest record of Shihohai being performed is on New Year 's Day of the second year of Kanpyo (January 25, 890 in the Julian calendar), as recorded in the " Uda Tenno Goki ."

Emperor Uda wrote, "Our country is a divine country. Therefore, every morning I pay homage to the large, medium and small deities in the four directions. This begins from now. From now on I will not neglect it even for a single day" (Uda Tenno Goki, entry for October 19, 4th year of the Ninna era). It is believed that the institution of this "daily morning worship" was founded on the premise of the "New Year's Day worship in all four directions" established during the Kōnin era of [8] .

Disasters such as disease, epidemics, earthquakes, fires, and natural disasters were all believed to be caused by the curse of the gods, and the gods who caused the curses were likened to demons or feared as gods of plague . [1] [10] [11] Onmyodo was developed as a form of magic based on the aristocratic society of the Heian period, and many of the Shinto rituals under the Ritsuryo system included yin and yang elements [1] [2] . Various rituals were performed, such as the Festival for the Plague God, the Festival for the Chinka Flower, the Festival for the Wind God, the Great Purification [en], the Festival for the Plague God in the Four Corners of the Palace, the Firefly Planet Festival, [1] [2] and the Kyoto area was barrier-bound (secular and sacred areas) and rituals for the "four corners and four boundaries" such as the Festival for the Plague God in the Four Corners of the Palace (capital) and the Festival for the Plague God in the Four Corners of the Palace (imperial palace) were performed to pray for peace and prosperity in the world [1] [2] .

Azuchi-Momoyama period[change | change source]

The persecution and oppression of Onmyōji (practitioners of Japanese esoteric cosmology) by Toyotomi Hideyoshi began, driving those who made a living from prayers and divinations to the provinces, and they rapidly lost power. The number of people who called themselves Onmyōji across the country far exceeded the number of official Onmyōji present in the Onmyōryo (Bureau of Yin-Yang) at the time. During the persecutions of the Sengoku period, even the leading Tsuchimikado family, lost many of their inherited Onmyōdō texts and ritual tools to fire. The most important "Great Law" of Onmyōdō, the Taizan Fukun Festival, also lost its altar, and ritual tools had to be borrowed from Yoshida Shrine in Kyoto to conduct a ground-breaking ceremony at the Imperial Palace. This had a significant impact, and the imperial rituals increasingly took on Shinto characteristics. Meanwhile, under the authorization of the shogunate, Tsuchimikado Yasufuku, influenced by the Tachikata Shintō, transformed Onmyōdō into what is known as Jinja Shintō. Before the Meiji era, retired Emperors conducting cloistered rule also occasionally performed the ritual of Shihōhai (worship in all four directions).[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

In other bows made by the Emperor at Imperial Court ceremonies, the regent [en] or the head of the Shinto priest would sometimes bow on his behalf, but since the Shihohai was a bow to the Emperor's guardian star and parents, no bow was made on his behalf. In the "Kasetsu Ryakuki" written by Masataka Shirakawa in the Edo period, he denies that Shihohai is a Shinto ritual, saying that it is a ritual to pay homage to guardian stars and ancestral shrines ("non-divine ritual"), so it is possible that Shihohai was a ritual established under Taoism or Onmyodo and was originally a ritual unrelated to Shinto [20] .

Following the Emperor's example, the nobles and commoners also performed Shihohai, praying for a good harvest and good health for the year [note 3], but over time it came to remain only as an Imperial Court event [note 4] .

The festival was temporarily suspended during the Onin War in the second half of the 15th century, but was revived in Bunmei 7 ( 1475 ) during the reign of Emperor Go- Tsuchimikado, and was held in the front garden of the Seiryoden Hall of the Kyoto Imperial Palace until the reign of Emperor Komei in the second half of the 19th century .

Edo Period[change | change source]

Subsequently, although the ceremony was interrupted with the Onin War, it started again in 1475, running from the reign of Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado to that of Emperor Komei; the ceremony was held in the front garden of the Palace of Heian (currently Kyoto Imperial Palace), Seiryo-den.[4]

On January 1, torano koku (at about four o'clock in the morning), the Emperor, wearing Korozen no go-ho at Ryoki-den, came to the east garden of Seiryo-den and prayed for his Zokusho (one of the stars of the Big Dipper, which is said to have destiny depending on the year in which the person was born) and spirits in every direction, or the direction of his parents' Imperial Mausoleum [fr; en], whereupon he wished for the peace and security of the nation and good harvests for the coming year.[4]

The chanting words on this ceremony are described in 'Dairi [fr; ja] Gishiki' and 'Go-ke Shidai.'[4]

According to these materials, it is mentioned as Zokuko shichu kado ga shin, Dokuma shichu kado ga shin, Kiyaku shichu kado ga shin, Goki rokugai shichu kado ga shin, Hyakubyo joyu, Shoyoku zuishin, Kyukyu nyoritsu ryo.[4]

After the Meiji Period[change | change source]

After the Meiji period, from the viewpoint of Kokugaku [en], the influence of Taoism (belief in the Big Dipper and spells such as the Suiho-Ritsuryo system) was eliminated, and it was reconstructed as a Shinto ritual. It was held as a national event, called the Shiho-Setsu festival, and was considered one of the four major festivals among national holidays.

After the Meiji period, it was regulated by Ordinance No. 1 of Koshitu Rei (Imperial Household), Koshitu Saishi Rei (Imperial Household Religious Rites) (1908). Prior to World War I, it was called Shiho-setsu and was conducted as a national ceremony, being considered one of the biggest of four major ceremonies held on national public holidays.[4]

After the war, the ceremony was continued along with Koshitu Rei (Imperial Household) ordinance, although this law was eventually abolished.[4]

After the war, the ceremony's name was changed to 'Shihohai' and it was conducted as a private function of the Imperial Family.[4]

On January 1, at about 5:30 in the morning, the Emperor, wearing a traditional formal court dress called Korozen no go-ho, would enter a building constructed in the southern garden of Shinka-den, which is located west of the Three Shrines in the Imperial Court, whereupon he would bow toward the direction of two shrines--Ko-tai jingu Shrine and Toyouke Dai-jingu Shrine of Ise-jingu Shrine--and pray to spirits in various directions.[4]

The Imperial mausoleums and Gods the Emperor prays for are, the Ise-jingu Shrine, Tenjin Chigi/all gods, Emperor Jimmu, former three Emperor's mausoleum (Fushimi Momoyama Imperial Mausoleum of Emperor Meiji, Musashi Imperial mausoleum of Emperor Taisho, Musashi Imperial mausoleum of Emperor Showa), Ichi no miya Shrine in Musashi Province (Hikawa-jinja Shrine), Ichi no miya Shrine in Yamashiro Province (Kamowake ikazuchi-jinja Shrine and Kamo mioya-jinja Shrine), Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine, Atsuta-jingu Shrine, Kashima-jingu Shrine and Katori-jingu Shrine.[4]

On New Year's Day in 1945, during World War II, air raid sirens sounded to warn of the impending attack of B-29 bombers, but Emperor Showa used the Gobunko library, which was being used as an air raid shelter, as a makeshift funeral hall and performed a Shihohai ceremony. [21]

Footnotes[change | change source]

Template:脚注ヘルプ

Note[change | change source]

  1. 上皇明仁の場合、曾祖父・明治天皇伏見桃山陵、祖父・大正天皇多摩陵、父・昭和天皇武蔵野陵の三陵。
  2. 皇極天皇の漢風諡号の「皇極」と重祚した時の「斉明」は中国古典に由来するが共に「中央」や北斗七星と関連がある語である[7]
  3. 『江家次第』には「関白四方拝」「庶臣儀」に関する記述もあるTemplate:要出典
  4. ただし、江戸時代においても摂家など一部の公家の間でも四方拝が行われていた記録も残されている。例えば元文3年(1738年)の元旦に当時の関白一条兼香が四方拝の行った時に記録が、彼の日記『兼香公記』に残されており、それによれば、天皇の四方拝と異なり三座が設けられず、山陵に代わって藤原氏や陰陽道に関わる諸神・諸社への拝礼が行われているTemplate:要出典
  1. 1.0 1.1 This is an example festival. The last three emperors have their festivals celebrated.
  1. This is the earliest time Saimon [ja] appears in Japanese literature。村山(1979)p.43

source[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 小池康寿 2015. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF小池康寿2015 (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 林淳 2005. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF林淳2005 (help)
  3. 松山能夫 1966.
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Yu, A. C. "Shihohai - Japanese Wiki Corpus". www.japanesewiki.com. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 渡辺瑞穂子 2020. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF渡辺瑞穂子2020 (help)
  6. 6.0 6.1 八束清貫 1957.
  7. 渡辺瑞穂子 2020, pp. 113–114. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF渡辺瑞穂子2020 (help)
  8. 8.0 8.1 石野浩司 2011. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF石野浩司2011 (help)
  9. 林陸朗「交野の郊祀円丘」(『平安時代史事典』角川書店、1994年、ISBN 978-4-04-031700-7)P496
  10. 斎藤英喜 2007. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF斎藤英喜2007 (help)
  11. 繁田信一 2005. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF繁田信一2005 (help)
  12. 小池康寿 2015, p. 33. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF小池康寿2015 (help)
  13. 林淳 2005, pp. 44–48. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF林淳2005 (help)
  14. 圭室文雄 2006, p. 279. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF圭室文雄2006 (help)
  15. 小池康寿 2015, p. 34. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF小池康寿2015 (help)
  16. 繁田信一 2005, pp. 72–76. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF繁田信一2005 (help)
  17. 林淳 2005, pp. 75–77. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF林淳2005 (help)
  18. 岡田荘司 2010, pp. 136–137. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF岡田荘司2010 (help)
  19. 木場明志 1982, pp. 65–66. sfn error: multiple targets (3×): CITEREF木場明志1982 (help)
  20. 村和明 2013. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF村和明2013 (help)
  21. 藤田尚徳 2015. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREF藤田尚徳2015 (help)

References[change | change source]

Books
paper
Dictionaries
  • Heibonsha's "Shinto Dictionary" : 3 volumes. Volume 2, Shihohai, Shihohai, Heibonsha, 1941.

[[Category:Articles lacking sources from December 2023]] [[Category:Pages with unreviewed translations]]

simple:User:Immanuelle/Shihohai