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Shinto
Ceremony by Barrish Guji
and Omikoshi Procession Saturday, September 6, 2008 from 1:00 p.m. Bellevue Community College Main Campus GYM (G Bldg) [campus map] Stage |
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(Photo from 2007 Aki Matsuri) |
| A full-scale
Omikoshi from Tsubaki Grand
Shrine of America will be brought to BCC Campus during Aki Matsuri
2008, and it will be on display during the two-day events. On Saturday,
September 6, we are going to do a shinto ceremony to purify the omikoshi
and conduct an omikoshi procession with delegates from the Tsubaki
Grand Shrine of America. Everyone is invited to join in and help carry
the omikoshi. This would be a really good experience! Don't miss it!!
The omikoshi is always on display in the "Haiden" (public hall) of Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America Shrine located in Granite Falls, WA. Contact: Rev. K. Barrish (Shrine Director and Senior Priest) 17720 Crooked Mile Road, Granite Falls, WA 98252 (360) 691-6389 http://www.TsubakiShrine.com |
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| What is omikoshi? |
(Photo from 2007 Aki Matsuri) |
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word mikoshi is written with the characters for kami (deity) and kago,
or koshi (palanquin). A central element of Matsuri (festival) in Japan
is for the Priest of the local shrine to ask Kami/deity to inhabit
the mikoshi and then Ujikojin (local people) to carry the mikoshi
around the village or local area ... this is a time of great celebration
when people connect profoundly with Kami (vertical connection) and
each other (horizontal connection) ... the people and the Kami are
enriched and renewed by this connection (musubi). This kind of closeness
between people and Kami is the basis for the Shinto paradigm of "Kyozon
Kyoei" (mutual prosperity and coexistence) the foundation of
culture and life in Japan. The mikoshi is a kind of ornate palanquin with long poles for carrying. The mikoshi usually has a gilded "Ho" phoenix bird on top, contains a symbol or emblem of the shrine deity and is a miniature shrine replica. O-mikoshi, is written with the honorific prefix indicating the sacred nature of this portable shrine. The use of a mikoshi was first recorded in the 8th century, when one was used to carry the deity from Kyushu's Usa Shrine to Nara, where the deity was to guard construction of the great Buddha image at the Todaiji temple in 749 AD. By the 10th century, carrying omikoshi into the community during (Shinto) shrine festivals had become a common practice. Today in Japan many festivals feature an omikoshi being carried through the local community, sometimes quite raucously, owing to the deity's turbulent nature "aramitama" and his visit to the parishioners to extend his protection to them. En route, the omikoshi may be set down on an o-tabisho (resting stand), where sake and food may be offered to the deity. These shrines are incredibly heavy, and usually more than 25 people clad in happi (coat) and hachimaki (headband) are required to carry them. A mikoshi on its way to the place of matsuri service is carried in a way that is not supposed to provide the "kami" with smooth, fast ride. Instead they make it in a zigzag, swaying in all directions and pushing the mikoshi up and down, often very violently to amuse the kami. The movement of a mikoshi is considered to be directed by the will of the kami beyond the control of those shouldering it. Without a mikoshi, a matsuri lacks proper atmospheres. Though a mikoshi is only a means of transportation for the kami to the place of service and non-essential as an element in the matsuri from the religious point of view, it has been made to bring a highlight to the festive occasion. The only religious excuse for making the mikoshi more elaborate in style in more gorgeous a procession is to please and amuse the kami. In Japan, there are countless local festivals because almost every Shrine has its own mikoshi. Most festivals are held on an annual basis and celebrate events like the beginning and end of each year's agricultural cycle. |
| TSUBAKI GRAND SHRINE OF AMERICA |
(Photo courtesy of Tsubaki Grand Shirine of America) |
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