Autumn is the season of harvest. Many fruits, vegetables, and grains, including rice, the staple food of Japan, come to fruition. At the time of harvest, various rituals have been handed down in Japan since ancient times, including prayer for the harvest and ceremonies to celebrate the harvest.
There has been an animistic belief in nature since ancient times in Japan, where kamis are believed to dwell in various things, such as the mountain kami in the mountains and the river kami in the rivers. Therefore, I believe that in rural areas where there are many farmers and they receive a lot of blessings from nature, these rituals are often passed down from generation to generation.
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Major Religion of Japan : Ancient Shinto, Shinto, and Buddhism
The main religions in Japan are said to be Shinto and Buddhism, but what exactly is Shinto? What is Shinto? Shinto is a indigenous religious beliefs and practices that emerged spontaneously from ancient times in Japan. There is a belief in the so-called "eight million kami": the sun kami for the sun, the water kami for water, the tree kami for trees, and so on.("eight million" is an example of a large number.) Also, the original beliefs do not have founders. There was no "holy book," the equivalent of the Bible in Christianity or the Koran in Islam. It is ...
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Before I moved to Matsunoyama Kurogura, I was invited by Yokoyama-san, a resident of Kurogura, to participate in a prayer for a huge harvest. In the Kurogura area, prayer for a huge harvest were held on September 5. In the Kurokura area, the shrine is already gone, but the remains of the shrine are still there. What deity is enshrined there remains a mystery. This is where preparations for the prayer for a good harvest were made.
When it was time for the ceremony to begin, a shrine maiden appeared.In front of this stone shrine, she read some kind of congratulatory words (maybe a message to the kami? We couldn't understand what she was reading), and we listened to her words as we sat behind her.
After she finished reading a kind of speech, she performed the "Yudate". The water was boiled in a large pot in front of the shrine, and bamboos were dipped in the water and sprinkled over their surroundings.
It is said that the reason for boiling the water in the pot is to present it to the kami, and for the shrine maiden to act as an oracle for the kami. (1)
Thus, the prayer ended successfully. It was a precious experience for me. If you live in a big city like Tokyo, work at a company, or live in an area where the percentage of farmers is small, I think it is not easy to come across such an opportunity. I felt that the reason why we are able to have these opportunities is because there is a sense of solidarity in the local community and everyone takes the time to prepare for pray.
With the declining birthrate and aging population, and the concentration of the population in Tokyo and other large cities, these opportunities are probably disappearing in other regions as well. Of course, the Kurokura area will not be an exception in the future. It was a valuable experience to feel close to the crisis of cultural extinction.
After this ritual, the time for harvesting rice arrives in Kurokura area.
Reference: (1) 湯立神楽とは？内容や各地の湯立神楽が見れる場所はこちら
