Imperial rites and wrongs

Posted on by December 3, 2018
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The article below from the Japan Times caught my attention for two reasons. First of all, I was puzzled by the motives of Prince Akishino, brother of the next emperor, because I had always found him more conservative than the rest of his family and therefore more inclined to support state support of Shinto. A second reason for interest was because very soon next year we are going to be seeing a lot of discussion about the abdication of the present emperor and the rites concerning the new emperor. Judging by Akishino’s outburst, things could get interesting.

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Prince’s right to free speech a hot topic in Japan

Prince’s right to free speech a hot topic in Japan Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, attend a news conference ahead of his 53rd birthday at the their residence in Tokyo on Nov. 22. | REUTERS

A remark by Prince Akishino, who will become first in line to the throne next year, has stirred controversy over how freely members of the Imperial family can speak about contentious matters because the Constitution prohibits the head of the family from being involved in politics.

In a rare move for a royal, Prince Akishino, second son of the outgoing Emperor Akihito, questioned the government’s decision to use a massive amount of public money for a Shinto-related ritual to take place in November next year as part of the ascension of Crown Prince Naruhito.

“I wonder whether it is appropriate to cover the highly religious event with state funds,” the prince said during a recent news conference for his 53rd birthday, baffling senior bureaucrats of the Imperial Household Agency as well as many experts on royal family matters.

Major Japanese media outlets covered his comments extensively Friday morning, prompting many in Japan to revisit not only the principle of the separation of state and religion, but the issue of how freely members of the Imperial family can speak in public.

The Emperor and his family members have generally refrained from making political remarks as the Constitution, compiled after Japan’s surrender in World War II, stipulates the emperor “shall not have powers related to government.”

The prince has “crossed the line,” an official of the agency said. Another criticized the prince’s remark, saying, “It is hard to understand why (the prince) stuck his nose into the matter of the Crown Prince, who will engage in the rite.”

Emperor Akihito, his first son Crown Prince Naruhito and Prince Akishino typically give news conferences ahead of their birthdays.

But only Prince Akishino speaks to reporters without prepared text on hand as a matter of practice, which means his aides and other agency bureaucrats have few opportunities to know in advance what he will say in public.

It was not the first time that remarks made by Prince Akishino have led to various disputes.

In 2004 Crown Prince Naruhito questioned the treatment of his ailing wife Masako, saying, “There were developments that were regarded as denying her a career and going against her personality.”

After the remark made headlines and worried the Emperor, Prince Akishino challenged his elder brother, telling reporters that the Crown Prince should have made the remark through consultation with their father in advance. A number of media outlets, including foreign media, highlighted the apparent Imperial family split.

Prince Akishino also proposed Japan discuss setting a retirement age for the Emperor at his 2011 birthday news conference, years before the country authorized the abdication. The Emperor will turn 85 on Dec. 23.

An official involved in the agency said, “It seems that the prince believes it is a good thing that people know there are differences in the Imperial family.”

“It should not be a problem in light of the Constitution if a member of the Imperial family makes such a remark,” said Koichi Yokota, an expert on the top law who serves as professor emeritus at Kyushu University.

“The Constitution bans the emperor from involvement in government but does not mention royal family members apart from the emperor,” Yokota said in support of Prince Akishino’s right to free speech.

Isao Tokoro, another constitutional expert who serves as professor emeritus at Kyoto Sangyo University, urged Prince Akishino to be more careful about his remarks.

“I would like him to recognize the weight of the position he will take six months later, and use caution when making remarks, such as by consulting with people around him,” Tokoro said.

Nonfiction writer Masayasu Hosaka, who has written many books on modern Japanese history, said, “I regarded the prince’s remark as a strong message from the Imperial family that they want people to think seriously about the principle of separation of state and religion.”

A Japanese Wiccan

Posted on by November 26, 2018
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The Solitary Witch

John Dougill meets a Wiccan – who’s Japanese

The growth of Wicca in recent years has been striking and it is now the UK’s seventh biggest religion.  The revival was sparked by Gerald Gardner’s Witchcraft Today (1954) based on his experiences in a coven that had supposedly preserved pre-Christian beliefs. Now there is a whole support system, with a network of covens, gatherings and conferences. And under the umbrella of the Pagan Federation, Wiccans interact with like-minded groups. All Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are necessarily Wiccan.

Gerald Gardner, discoverer or inventor of Wicca

In the US too Wicca has taken hold and is recognised by the military for official rites. American witchcraft tends to be diverse, and though many witches follow Wicca there are others too. A witch can simply be a spellcaster or someone who practises magic. There are even Christian witches.

In Japan one seldom comes across Western witchcraft outside the fantasy world of Harry Potter. Imagine then being Japanese with a calling to Wicca.  Not an easy option, you might say, but such is the path pursued by one  practitioner. His is a remarkable story.

Course work

‘Pendragon’ first developed an interest in the occult through the study of tarot. But it was Wicca to which he felt most connected, and from Doreen Valiente’s Witchcraft for Tomorrow (1979) he practised a form of self-initiation.

Later he met a Wiccan priestess who motivated him to go deeper in his studies. To cast spells he grew his own herbs such as rosemary, sage and lavender.  ‘It’s easy to grow them,’ he says, ‘but you lose a lot in the heat and humidity of summer.’

If Shinto is a religion of the sun, paganism is of the moon

Magic spells

Nowadays Pendragon practises on his own with a prized collection of ritual tools. These include a chalice, an athame (witch’s knife), and a pentacle (disc inscribed with symbols). What kind of rituals could one do on one’s own, I wondered?  As an example, Pendragon told me that for the spring equinox, which marks a time of new beginnings he might decide to bless a project he is about to undertake, ask the deities for success and do meditation.  By moonlight, of course.

And what of the Magic? Wiccans only practise good magic, for it’s a central tenet that one should not knowingly do evil. As the creed says, ‘Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, An it harm none do what ye will.’  For example, Pendragon told me how he might perform a spell for love by lighting a red candle, anointing it with oil, burning incense and making an appropriate chant.  ‘What I find in fact, and maybe many witches find this, is that the need for spells becomes less and less as you practise,’ he says. ‘You learn to go with the flow of life.’

Red hitogata (effigy) for disease protection

Healing practice

One attractive part of Wicca is the healing aspect. There are two main types of Wiccan techniques for helping others. One is done in the coven with a focused cone of energy created by a dancing circle.  The other is based on sympathetic magic, typically done with poppets or dolls to represent the patient. In this respect there are similarities to Shinto.

Japanese Pagans

Talking to Pndragon it sounds as if Paganism might be on the rise in Japan, but he tells me that is not the case.  ‘In fact, the Japanese scene is very small,’ he says .  There is no national organisation.’

Starhawk’s influential book about Goddess worship, The Spiral Dance (1989), was translated into Japanese but did not sell well. Similarly with Margot Adler’s study of Paganism in America, Drawing Down the Moon (1979). By contrast the clairvoyant Doreen Virtue’s angel therapy has won a wide following, and her oracle cards are popular among New Age types.

Has there not been a surge of interest in witchcraft since Harry Potter, I ask?  ‘Not so much from Harry Potter, but from Japanese anime and manga,’ Pendragon says.  There was an Abe no Seimei boom in onmyodo (Way of Yin-Yang). And there was a popular novel for teenagers, Toaru Majutsu no Indekkusu (Forbidden Index of Magic).’   It seems the interest is superficial, however.  Many simply want to learn to fly!

Magical pentagram uniting east and west. Here it serves as Daoist wizard Abe no Seimei’s sign, but the pentagram also forms the witch’s symbol..

Asked to explain the disinterest, Pendragon points out that the Pagan revival in the West was sparked by a reaction against Christianity.  People wanted something more meaningful and less moralistic, a spirituality that relied on intuition rather than revelation.  They sought an earth-based religion that incorporated a goddess as well as a god.

In Japan, by way of contrast, because of the dominance of Shinto-Buddhism there simply was not the same need.  Interestingly, Japanese people drawn to Wicca typically have some kind of Christian background.

Like their counterparts in the West, such Japanese are drawn to a religion that has ecological concerns and emotional depth.  In so doing, they feel the same sense of ‘coming home’ that others experience who return to a primal religion after dogmatic Christianity.  It’s reflected in the embrace of a Great Goddess rather than the Virgin Mary – or Amaterasu.

Who knows, perhaps one full moon we’ll be seeing dancing circles in Kansai!

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For more about paganism in Japan, see this posting.

Pagan charms at Glastonbury’s White Spring, a Western equivalent to shimenawa and shide markers

Pagan practice in Japan

Posted on by November 24, 2018
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Back to nature witchcraft (photos by John Dougill)

The extracts below are taken from a paper written by a postdoctoral researcher at Kyoto University, Eriko Kawanishi. She has an interest in Western paganism, particularly British Wicca and Celtic forms or paganism, and has made what she calls a pilgrimage to the power spot of Glastonbury and the Goddess Temple there. Her survey of Japanese practitioners is limited (11 people in all), which reflects the paucity of numbers. Whether these first beginnings will develop into anything more substantial, only time will tell. The same of course could be said for the relatively small number of Shinto followers in the West.

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Witchcraft in Japan as a Contact Zone for Western and Japanese traditions
by Eriko Kawanishi
Joint Conference between the British Association for the Study of Religions and the Irish Society for the Academic Study of Religions (2018) : Borders and Boundaries: ‘Religion’ on the Periphery
 

Pagan honoring of the four directions, or the four seasons

From 1994, practical books of Western witchcraft were published in Japan, including
Spiral Dance by Starhawk. However, after the members of a cult, Aum Shinrikyo, released poisonous gas on the Tokyo subway lines in 1995, many matters relating to magic were considered to be dangerous because both were considered as occult. Many magicians stopped holding open gatherings and practised in secret at home.
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How they use Western witchcraft
Only two informants clearly said they didn’t include any traditions from Japan because
 both prefer European culture. All the informants hold their ceremony in Japanese. All of my informants followed the Celtic calendar for seasonal ceremony and the concept of four Western elements. Many said it was easy to find the similar celebrations in Japanese traditional calendar which was divided into 24 seasons. Equinoxes, the first day of spring (4th February) and the winter solstice are well recognised in Japan, and therefore more important days for some witches. Both equinox days are national holidays and the period of thinking ancestors. Additionally ancestors are coming back to our home in the middle of August. Therefore some Japanese witches said they felt strange to welcome ancestors in Samhain season (31st October).

Pagan-Shinto altar (photographer uncertain)

Jomonian Modern Witchcraft group
The Jomonian modern witchcraft group, Uphyca, is a small and minor group of solo female witches, founded by Lumi Tanizaki (33) in 2013. She shares and teaches healing, divination, songs etc. based on her worldview of Uphyca without charge. Around 30 people are members, 10 are practising and only 5 are active. According to their website: Following the Western modern witchcraft practitioners revived the old faith before  Christianity, Tanizaki chose Jinja Shinto and “Jomon faith” before Yayoi culture as “Japanese ancient divinities” for the source of inspiration of Uphyca. (Uphyca website)
Jomon is a name of prehistoric era between 14,000-300 BCE in Japan. The origin of Jomon people are still unknown, probably from Pacific or Southeast Asia. Around 10th century BCE, Yayoi people came from China and Korea and mixed with Jomon people. Some Jomon people are said to have moved to the edge of Japan, so the indigenous people in Hokkaido (Ainu), and Okinawa are the descendants of Jomon people. In fact, their genomes are similar.
Lumi was a professional healer and has been to O.T.O (Ordo Templi Orientis) meetings. She and her friend were dissatisfied with O.T.O., so they left and started Tokyo Ritual in 2012 which aims to study and practise modern occultism. They organise workshops and open rituals and make podcasts and Youtube movies. Their style is pop, light and hippy, so their followers are mainly in their 20s.

One of the fascinating Jomon dogu

Based on this experience, Lumi founded Uphyca in 2013 and opened a magic shop, Guinqujack (silver peacock), with another friend in 2015. One reason why she focused on Jomon is that she saw an analogy between the Celts in Europe and the Jomon in Japan. She said,

I researched Jomon (culture), but there is nothing left, only dogu (female figurines),  pottery and stone circles. (…) So if I pick up cultures between which were left  behind by the main culture, and connect, I may get closer to (Jomon culture). (…) But, yes, it’s my creation…

 
Books are her main resource for understanding Jomon. She also uses Ainu culture but refrains from visiting Ainu people. She said, I don’t think the Ainu want to be approached from the perspective of modern witches. They have more serious problems, such as human rights. So I think my visit will bother them. I don’t think Ainu souls call me. She and her friends are interested in Ainu culture which may have succeeded ancient Jomon culture. However the lifestyle of contemporary Ainu is similar to that of ordinary Japanese, so they learn not from face-to-face communication, but from books, the Internet, museums and manga.
Shinto and Witchcraft
Lumi is fond of Shinto but distinguishes her practices of Uphyca, Sumer (her original interest) from a mixture of Shinto & witchcraft. For her, Uphyca is more a creation and Shinto & witchcraft are more religious practice. She has two altars at home, Western witchcraft and Shinto altar, and prays regularly.
Her magic shop puts black Shinto altar and sells colourful military painted Shinto altar. Her business partner explained that there was no reason why Shinto altar should be white. On the spring equinox this year, this shop and Uphyca held a ceremony in Shinto style. A qualified but independent Shinto priest organised an original ceremony.
After his chanting (message for divinities), a man played sumo. Sumo is considered a sacred sport, dedicating for divinities. Then Lumi and other girl dedicated song and dance. The lyrics and music are created by Lumi. She used classical Japanese words and Ainu words for lyrics. The lyrics means suggesting priestess to pray.
Shinto has been mixed with Buddhism for a long time. The Shinto which is widely spread in contemporary Japan, was constructed in late 19th century. It was used for authorising the Imperial Family as the descendants of Japanese divinities. Therefore some Japanese try to revive the “Ancient Shinto” practised before arrival of Buddhism in Japan or use Shinto elements in their own way.
Lumi is not the only informant who has set up a Shinto altar. Many of my informants like to visit Shinto shrines and worship Shinto divinities. For example, one Goddess altar is set up by a woman who took Goddess training in Glastonbury. She also has Shinto altar.

Glastonbury’s Goddess Temple, first in the land for 1500 years

 

Science and spirituality

Posted on by November 5, 2018

Green Shinto has posted quotes before about bridging the divide that apparently exists between science and religion. Thinkers like Richard Dawkins have been particularly harsh about the absurdities and transgressions of organised religion.

If one replaces religion with spirituality however, then common ground opens up. This is particularly the case in areas of awe and wonder for the magic of existence. Joseph Campbell on his visit to Kyoto in 1956 observed that Shinto was a religion of awe, and interestingly Carl Sagan’s view of the Cosmos was very much imbued with a sense of wonder. Even Richard Dawkins has admitted to similar feelings, and indeed it is one of his justifications for taking a scientific rather than religious approach to life because the facts themselves are so ‘miraculous’.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is a leading spokesman for science these days, so it’s not without significance that the US National Academy of Sciences awarded him an award in 2015 for his “extraordinary role in exciting the public about the wonders of science”.  So when he gives an interview about the relationship of Buddhism and science, it’s worth listening.

This is a subject that Lafcadio Hearn had a strong interest in over 100 years ago, and in his writings on Buddhism he strongly argues for the similarities of the two ways of thinking and even asserts that in the future they will converge to form a new scientifically based religion against which it will be impossible to argue. He may have got the idea for this from his mentor, Herbert Spencer, though I”m not sure.

Nonetheless, 100 years later Neil deGrasse Tyson is much less carried away with the idea. You can read his thoughts at the following link

What does Neil deGrasse Tyson have to say about “Buddhistic” astrophysics?

Two quotations that stood out for me….

1) In my concluding words from The Universe series, when I say “we’re connected,” what I mean is that the carbon that is in your body is the same carbon that is across the universe. And it has similar points of origin — origin in the centers of stars. That shared identity is what I call the connectivity. For me, that shared genetic, atomic, and molecular heritage allows me to feel a part of the universe in a way that might not have otherwise empowered me to do so.

2) In Buddhism, there’s not a challenge to reconcile with science, because the spirituality doesn’t really prevent Buddhists from having those thoughts.
The first quotation bolsters my feeling that the ancients in Japan and East Asia felt connection with rocks and mountains and trees and streams as animistic beings composed of the same material as themselves. The second may seem irrelevant to Shinto, but the shamanistic practice is so thoroughly imbued with Buddhist thought that it’s impossible to separate them. It’s often said for instance that Shinto priests are ritualists, and whether they believe in anything supernatural is not entirely relevant.
Agree or disagree, I think you’ll agree that Neil deGrasse Tyson provides plenty of food for thought!

The wonders of nature can have a healing effect, and that may be something on which both science and spirituality can agree.

Festival decline

Posted on by November 1, 2018

Yesterday I had lunch with Danish Shinto expert Esben Andreasan. He kindly gave me his book on “Japansk Religion” which contains s a compilation of 18 significant texts on Shinto divided into sections on Mythology, Ritual, Nationalism and Modernity. Some of the pieces look intriguing and I’d dearly love to read them. Trouble is I can’t read Danish!

One of the topics that came up during our discussions was the matter of rural depopulation and the problems facing Shinto in the near future. Both Shinto and Buddhism are facing a crisis as society ages and young people migrate to the cities. Shrines and temples are beginning to find it increasingly difficult to survive along traditional lines. Indeed, many rural practices are being abandoned for good.

In her Japan Times column this month Green Shinto friend Amy Chavez gives a great example of what is happening by drawing on her own experience on the Inland Sea island of Shiraishi. (The following is an extract; for the original article please see this link.)

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The death of a Japanese countryside festival

by Amy Chavez, Japan Times Oct 31, 2018

The residents, 60 percent of them over 60 years old, are garbed in festival gear: strips of cotton hachimaki cloth tied around their heads, colorful happi coats belted around their waists and their black tabi shoes gripping the pavement. They’re pulling a large wooden mikoshi festival float down the narrow street past rows of houses, just as their ancestors did over 300 years ago.

This is my neighborhood, on an island of just under 500 people in the Seto Inland Sea. I’m pulling this mikoshi too. We’re celebrating the autumn festival, which used to ring in the seasonal harvest, but which now serves as the one day of the year when people let their guards down, let bygones be bygones and just have fun together. The sake is brought out and the locals dance in the street. Some have grown-up children who return with grandkids to take part in the annual festival. But most do not come.

Nowadays non-traditional vehicles are used

We’re tugging the float, a wooden mikoshi on wheels, along the street to the main Shinto shrine. We pull it past houses, some of which are occupied, some not. Of those unoccupied, some are collapsing, some not.

Though the residences have changed in appearance, losing their luster over the years, the mikoshi still retains its dignity, albeit with a few adjustments. The heavy structure of Japanese cedar used to be carried on mens’ shoulders, but years ago it was given wheels to make up for the declining pool of strong young people who had moved to the cities to take office jobs.

Each neighborhood (previously eight but now reduced to five) pulls its own mikoshi through the streets and up to the main Shinto shrine, where the island’s guardian deities reside. There, more sake drinking and dancing takes place. Then, finally, we treat the gods to a symbolic tour of sacred spots around the island.

The junior high school students have their own dedicated mikoshi that they still carry on their shoulders. Although it used to be only the boys who shouldered it, now all the students do: five boys and three girls.

The lion and maiden dances performed in honor of the gods at the main shrine by appropriately costumed elementary school children were discontinued three years ago. Next year, the elementary school will close due to a complete absence of students.

As the years draw on, the residents do too, and the neighborhoods shrink further, so they must find more ways to compensate for the diminishing manpower. One has scaled down its mikoshi to the size of a baby buggy, while another sits the structure on the back of a pick-up truck, leaving the residents to saunter along behind it.

Carrying mikoshi up steep flights of stairs requires enormous strength

As for my neighborhood, this year we abandoned our mikoshi halfway through the day. After the visit to the main shrine, we dropped it off at its home parking spot, then piled into the back of a pick-up truck to finish the route. It wasn’t the pulling of the wheeled shrine that was proving difficult, it was the kilometers of walking required to accompany it to the different sacred sites scattered around the island. The younger individuals had no problem, but no one wanted to leave the elderly behind, so the ad hoc decision was made to park the mikoshi.

This, however, did not go down well with the local policeman, who, after the festival, reprimanded us for violating traffic regulations — namely, riding in the back of a pick-up truck and drinking and driving. On this festival day, most policemen would have looked the other way, but this guy was new. And the law, after all, is the law. People began to feel ashamed of our infraction, even though they thought the policeman silly.

When 300-year-old traditions clash with modern governance, traditions become even more of a challenge to maintain. And the policeman’s admonition only reinforced that times aren’t as good as they used to be.

People are starting to wonder why we’re trying to continue these traditions. It used to be done for posterity, back when posterity was taken for granted. And how would we pull the mikoshi next year?

Back when houses stood pristine, well-maintained and proud, those who couldn’t participate would stand outside their homes along the road leaning on their canes, or waving from their wheelchairs as each precinct paraded past with their festival float. But they no longer do this. Perhaps it’s because there’s no one to stand alongside.

Or maybe it’s because if they did wave, they know they’d be waving farewell to a 300-year-old festival.

Amy Chavez is author of “Amy’s Guide to Best Behavior in Japan: Do it Right and Be Polite!” (Stone Bridge Press). Japan Lite usually appears in print on the last Monday Community page of the month.

Carrying mikoshi was traditinally a man’s job but these days women help out

Village children dance as miko, but how long will the supply of children last? The elementary school on Shiraishi is closing…

Amy and islanders in full festival mode

Children’s mikoshi with a home-made touch

Phoenix atop the children’s mikoshi

Festival of Ages

Posted on by October 24, 2018

(courtesy mboogiedown)

Jidai Matsuri in Kyoto, Oct 22

Just a reminder that Oct 22 is a big day for Kyoto, with the Jidai Matsuri (Festival of Ages) taking place at noon. (The Kurama Hi Matsuri (Fire Festival) in the evening has been cancelled this year owing to damage from the typhoon to the Eiden railway.)

The Jidai Matsuri was created in Meiji times as a conscious attempt to revive the city’s fortunes in the wake of the move of the emperor and his associates to Tokyo. It’s given the full backing of the city in provision of its lavish costumes etc, and it has a strong imperial bent in keeping with Kyoto being the seat of the emperor for over 1000 years.

The procession begins with present-day officials, then works its way back through history to the days of Heian-kyo in the ninth century. An English language pamphlet is most useful for working out who the colourfully costumed characters represent. The effect is to see a moving tableau of Japanese history pass before one.

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(courtesy ishama.com)

The following is taken from the monthly publication, Kyoto Visitors Guide.

The Jidai Matsuri Festival (Oct. 22)
The rich costume pageant portraying Kyoto’s history

In 1895, Kyoto city held its first Jidai Matsuri Festival: a colorful, exotic costume parade dedicated to the Old Capital’s 1100 year history. The first festival also marked the opening of Heian Shrine, a 2/3 scale model of Kyoto’s original imperial palace. The shrine was specially built to enshrine the spirit of Emperor Kammu (reigning 781-806), who founded Kyoto in 794, and the city’s last reigning emperor and Emperor Komei (reigning 1847-1866). [Actually Komei’s spirit was installed later, during WW2.]

(courtesy Frantisek Stoud)

Today, after nearly 120 years, the Jidai Matsuri Festival continues to be a major focus of pride for Kyoto. For most visitors, the festival’s biggest attraction lies in the fantastic range of authentic historical costumes, covering twelve centuries of Kyoto’s history and social development, worn by the participants.

The festival begins at seven in the morning on the 22nd with the transferal, on sacred palanquins, a covered seat carried on poles on the shoulders of two or four people, of the imperial spirits from Heian Shrine to the Old Imperial Palace.

At around 12:00, the southern central axis of the Old Imperial Palace becomes a massive stage of the ages. The procession departs from here and slowly makes its way through the streets of Kyoto to Heian Shrine.

Jidai Matsuri (courtesy Kyoto Visitors Guide)

One of the historical characters, Shizuka Gozen, lover of Yoshitsune

One of the most appealing aspects of the festival is the authenticity of the costumes, which were made of material as close to the original as possible. Even the weaving and dyeing was done in the manner of the age they represent.

courtesy Nick Jones

courtesy Nick Jones

courtesy Nick Jones

courtesy Nick Jones

 

Shugendo training

Posted on by October 15, 2018

In the past five years, due to the rise in tourism there have been tremendous changes in Japan’s traditional culture. Aspects of the culture that were insular and hard for foreigners to fathom are increasingly opening up and advertising in English. This includes the geisha world here in Kyoto, along with Zen meditation and other Buddhist practices.

Like many traditions, Shugendo (mountain asceticism) was said to be in decline in recent times, but it seems that it too is turning to foreigners and spiritual tourism as a source of reinvigoration. Thanks to Green Shinto supporter Jann Williams, we have learnt recently of foreign participation in pilgrimages. Now comes news of five day and two day courses run in English.

For the webpage, please click here. The price for the five day course described below is not disclosed, but we are informed that it does not come cheap!

Full five-day experience that takes place on all three of the Dewa Sanzan: Mt. Haguro, Mt. Gassan, and Mt.Yudono. Includes waterfall meditation. Only limited places available.

Day 1 “Disconnection”

An opportunity to disconnect from the everyday world in preparation for your adventure. Connect to your inner self in an ancient Japanese monastery.

Day 2 – 4 Authentic Yamabushi practice

Day 5 “Post-Yamabushi Restoration”

Feel the sense of universe at the Yamabushi territory in the Sea of Japan.

Training Locations

Mt. Haguro, Mt. Gassan and Mt. Yudono, the three Dewa Mountains, considered highly sacred in Japanese culture. Traditionally and among select groups today, Dewa Sanzan is a unique hub of animistic Shinto and Buddhist fusion, where different forms of Japanese spirituality blend into one.

They represent the past, the present, and the future.

Mt. Gassan is the mountain for the souls of the dead. It is the highest of the three sacred mountains. It represents the past, the things that we want to let go of.

Mt. Haguro represents the present. The Haguro hike climbs 2,446 stone steps, which pilgrims have walked for more than 1,000 years.

Mt. Yudono represents the future, and the possibility of new potential after rebirth, and casting off the past.

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Mt. Haguro, stone steps
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Schedule

5 days, 4 nights

Schedule in 2018

(3 times a year only)

July 9-13
August 6-10
September 3-7

Other options are available. Feel free to contact us.

Master Hoshino

All Yamabushido Programs are supervised by Master Hoshino, a famous local Yamabushi priest, and the 13th generation of his family to follow this vocation. Master Hoshino lives in and runs Daishōbō, a pilgrim lodge located at the foot of Mt. Haguro.

He has dedicated his life to living as a Yamabushi, introducing many people from all over the world to its mystical power.

His approach to the Yamabushi tradition is grounded in deep tradition, but also made deeply relevant to the way we live our lives today.

* Master Hoshino may not be present with the group throughout the whole program

Accommodation

We provide accommodation at Daishōbō pilgrim lodge at the foothills of Dewa Mountains.

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Daishōbō Entrance

Day 1 Cozy western-style single room
Day 2-3 Daishōbō pilgrim lodge
Day 4 Yudono-an or Tamaya in Yutagawa Onsen

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Yudono-an
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Meals

On the first day, you will eat a simple meal at Zenpōji Temple and a smaller dinner to ready you for proper Shugyō training that begins the next day.

Day two to Day four is proper Shugyō training, and the meal for Shugyō training is very simple; rice, Miso soup, and small pickles.

Please be aware that allergy free meals will not be available at Zenpōji Temple and during Shugyō

On the fourth day, there is a special lunch with hand-made Shojin Cuisine and local Sake made by the landlady of Daishōbō. Please be aware that allergy free meals will not be available during Shugyō unless specially requested. The meals will include rice, miso paste (soybeans and rice), Tofu, Seaweed, Japanese herbs, mushrooms, and Fu (wheat gluten). Allergy free meal will be available.

On the fifth day, we will have a more substantial meal of meat, fish, or vegetables to help you adjust back to normal life.

Please be aware that we cannot change the content of the meals at Zenpoji Temple or during Shugyo Training. Feel free to leave behind things that you cannot eat.

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Limited meals will be served during the Training..
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Transportation Service

To / From Shonai Airport or Tsuruoka Station is included.

Minimum amount for running a program

1 people (Maximum : 20 people)

Price

make an inquiry

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Island Shrine

Posted on by October 15, 2018

Kojima Shrine offshore from Iki Island in Nagasaki (photos courtesy Sora News). The causeway is covered over by the sea at high tide, so the shrine is only accessible at low tide.

Sora News by Casey Baseel May 31, 2017

The Shinto faith holds that there is divinity in nature. As such, many of the Shinto shrines that dot the Japanese countryside weren’t built to be easily accessed by visitors, but rather to be close to mountain peaks, dense forests, or coastal promontories.

A torii stands before the island grove

However, their out-of-the-way-locations enhance the mystical atmosphere of these shrines, and many have since been dubbed “power spots” by Japanese media and travel enthusiasts. One of the trickier power spots to get to is Kojima Shrine in Nagasaki Prefecture.

What makes it so difficult? The only way to approach the shrine is on foot, but the path leading to it gets swallowed up by the sea every day at high tide. When the waters recede, the path to the shrine’s island appears, like something out of a Final Fantasy or Legend of Zelda installment.

It’s said that those who offer a prayer at Kojima Shrine will be blessed with good fortune in their love life. Other benefits purported to be bestowed upon visitors are increased fertility and healthy childbirth, so it’s kind of a one-stop destination for those looking to find a serious romance and start a family one day.

Pathway to the island shrine

However, before you walk over to this island, you’ll have to take a boat to Ikinoshima, the larger island to which the shrine island is connected at low tide. From the port of Fukuoka City, the sea voyage takes about one hour.

Shrine information
Kojima Shrine / 小島神社
Address: Nagasaki-ken, Iki-shi, Ashibe-cho, Moroyoshi Futamatafure 1969
長崎県壱岐市芦辺町諸吉二亦触1969番地

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The Kojima Island Shrine, only accessible at low tide from Iki Island, one hour north of Fukuoka and Hakata Bay

Yasukuni resignation

Posted on by October 12, 2018

Yasukuni Shrine’s chief priest forced to quit after criticizing Emperor for not visiting war-linked shrine

by Reiji Yoshida

Yasukuni – a Meiji-era invented tradition

In one of the most shocking scandals to hit Tokyo’s 149-year-old war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, the shrine’s top priest has been forced to resign after admitting his reported remarks harshly criticizing Emperor Akihito were genuine.

According to the Shukan Post magazine, Kunio Kohori argued in a meeting at the shrine on June 20 that the Emperor is “now trying to crush Yasukuni Shrine” by not visiting it and by instead making trips to commemorate victims of the war Japan waged in the 1930s and 1940s.

Kohori also argued that, because Emperor Akihito hasn’t paid a visit to the shrine since his enthronement, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako are also unlikely to go there after he abdicates next spring.

Kohori also alleged the Crown Princess “detests Shinto and Shinto shrines,” according to the weekly magazine.

The magazine claimed it has a 110-minute voice recording of the meeting and uploaded part of it to its Twitter account (@News_MagVi).

Criticizing the emperor is taboo for Shinto priests, particularly those at Yasukuni Shrine, which was established in 1869 at the instruction of Emperor Meiji.

The shrine sent a brief statement by fax to media outlets Wednesday, saying Kohori had already expressed his intention to resign when he visited the Imperial Household Agency and apologized for his remarks. The shrine also admitted Kohori’s remarks were “extremely improper.”

A new top priest will be chosen at a general meeting of the shrine on Oct. 26, according to the statement.

Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, did not visit Yasukuni Shrine after Japanese class-A war criminals from World War II were enshrined there in 1978 — including Hideki Tojo, a wartime prime minister and general — alongside 2.46 million war dead.

Emperor Akihito has repeatedly expressed “deep remorse” over World War II, while the shrine and many of its supporters have claimed Japan fought a war of self-defense.

The common interpretation of the Constitution bans the emperor from engaging in any political activity. A visit to Yasukuni would likely cause major controversy, an apparent reason Emperor Akihito hasn’t visited since acceding to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

Mt Atago pilgrimage

Posted on by October 12, 2018

Dr Jann Williams, in front of a farmhouse at Oomoto

Green Shinto supporter Jann Williams has for the past four years been researching the association of Elements with Japan – this includes the physical elements, the Chinese Five Elements, as well as the elements used by Buddhist sects. You can see the results of her research on her wonderful and beautifully illustrated blog at https://elementaljapan.com/.

The posting below is an abridged version of her latest posting about climbing Kyoto’s highest mountain, Mt Atago, to the west of the city. Unusually she did this in the form of a pilgrimage with a Shugendo group and was able to participate in the prayers and rites involved. For the full-length and beautifully illustrated original post, please click here.

Some other posts from Jann’s blog of interest to Green Shinto readers include: pilgrimage on Mt Ontake; fusui (the Japanese style of feng shui); Japan – a destiny drawn by nature.

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View over Kyoto (photo by Jann Williams)

Mt Atago, Kyoto: exploring the energy of a sacred mountain
October 11, 2018 by Jann Williams (taken from her Elemental Japan blog)

Mt Atago is the highest mountain in the ranges that flank Kyoto. It has been a place of Shugendo practice and worship for over 1300 years. Ever since learning that a deity that provided protection from fire was enshrined there, my heart was set on climbing the mountain.

The first opportunity to ascend Mt Atago arose on the 21st of May 2017 when a friend and I hiked the 3.7 km trail to Atago Jinja at the summit. The second ascent took place on the 7th of October 2018 as part of a Shugendo pilgrimage with the Shugendo group, Wani-ontakesan.

Both visits to Mt Atago, with their different seasons and different circumstances, were compelling in their own way. Both were connected to the element of fire and in October 2018 to the phenomenal power of typhoons. The energy of the mountain and the long history of veneration at the mountain was palpable.

Mt Atago was opened to pilgrims by En-no gyoza, the founder of Shugendo, and Taicho-zenji around 1300 years ago. Taicho was a sacred man who opened Hakusan in Ishikawa Prefecture. Kyoto has changed in many ways since Shugendo practices started on Atagosan, including how new buildings are constructed. One constant has been the ongoing risk of fire to life and property, albeit at reduced levels in modern times. The Atago Jinja, found at the summit of the mountain, is the head of 900 Atago Shrines across the country that offer protection from this erratic element.

The view from my accommodation in Kyoto looks to the northwest, with Mt Atago evident on the horizon. Combined with my interest in fire as a sacred element, there is little wonder that I have been drawn to the mountain.

It was only a matter of time until I made the journey to Mt Atago. Climbing the mountain twice exceeded my expectations, providing a contrast on many levels. The Shugendo pilgrimage in October 2018 was particularly enlightening, further opening my eyes to the energy, awe and wonder of Atagosan. It was a privilege to share it with members of the Wani-ontakesan community.

At 924 m, Mt Atago is the highest mountain in the ranges that help define Kyoto. Many sacred sites are found on the mountain and you could spend many days exploring and learning about the mountain and its history. Kuuya Falls are an important part of the Shugendo connection with Mt Atago. I would like to visit there one day.

There have been several twists and turns in the long religious history of Mt Atago, especially after the forced separation of Shinto and Buddhism at the start of the Meiji era. It is a testament to the energy, vitality and relevance of the mountain and its Gods that it continues to attract tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Fire prevention signs are found at the start of the trail to Atagosan, starting just in front of the torii entrance.  They continue along the path to the summit. Along the main path there are 40 signs at around 100 metre intervals that assist in keeping track of the progress. The total distance to the summit from Kiyotaki is 3.7 km. It helps to take occasional breaks along the way to rest and rehydrate.  On the pilgrimage I learnt that the short rest stops are called ‘sho kyu shi‘. That is a useful phrase to remember.

The busiest and most crowded time of the year at Atagosan spans the evening of July 31 to the dawn of August 1 when Sennichi Mairi (One Thousand Day Worship) is held.  Lanterns illuminate the way up the mountain. Tens of thousands of visitors make the pilgrimage to pray for 1000 days of protection from fire and receive a charm to put in their kitchens. This overnight visit to Atago Jinja gives worshipers as much benefit as visiting the Shrine 1000 times.

Many local people make the annual pilgrimage to give the charms to their neighbourhood. The element of fire is uppermost in the mind of most visitors to Atagosan. I bought a fire protection charm in May 2017 during my first visit to Atagosan. Added protection from fire was gained during the 2018 pilgrimage when Yasunari Okamoto, a Shugendo Master, prayed for the safety of our bushland home.

The pilgrimage to Atagosan in October 2018 brought another element to the uppermost of our minds. The element of wind. In the month prior to the pilgrimage two Super Typhoons had passed through the area. The high velocity winds tore large trees up by the roots and snapped others at the base. It will take some time for the path to the summit and Atago Jinja to be cleared.

The rain leading up to the pilgrimage strengthened the aroma of the broken pine branches. The recent promotion of the health benefits of ‘forest bathing’, developed as a concept in Japan during the 1980s, came to mind. The main Shrine houses five sacred beings including Atago Gongen, who provides protection from fire. We prayed at several shrines and participated in a Shinto Ceremony in the main Shrine, something I was only able to watch during my 2017 visit.

There are a number of images of boars around the Shrine. The animals were ridden by Shogun Jizo, the Buddhist avatar of Atago during the medieval period. As a consequence, the Year of the Boar (next held in 2019) and Day of the Boar are important at Atago Jinja.

There are shrines to different deities in the grounds outside of the main Atago Jinja where prayers to the Gods were conducted during the pilgrimage. The services led by the Shugendo Masters included prayers for world peace, recovery from disaster and providing help to families.

Our last stop before leaving the summit of Mt Atago was a Shrine dedicated to the Atago Tarobo, the King of the Tengus.  An Oza session was conducted here where the kami spoke through Motoshige Okamoto. My post on the 2018 winter pilgrimage to Mt Ontake refers in greater detail to these remarkable occasions, as well as providing more information on Shugendo. It is a religion that has strong and specific links to the elements.

Twin Torii are found at each end of the path leading to Shrine dedicated to Atago Tarabo, the King of Japanese Tengu. The amount of debris from the canopy of surrounding conifers was significant. When I spoke to Doukan Okamoto, one of the Shugendo Masters, about the damage to the forest he spoke about the cycle of life and how both people and plants are born and die. Death and rebirth are fundamental tenets of the Shugendo faith. The elements play a crucial role in the process.

Going downhill can sometimes be as challenging as going up, especially on uneven surfaces. As we reached the bottom of the climbing route I noticed for the first time the ruins of the Cable Car that operated on Mt Atago for a short period from the late 1920s. It was used to transport people to tea-houses, ski-fields and the like. You would hardly know they existed today. Through all of the changes on and to Atagosan, the pilgrimages continue. Having experienced the energy of the mountain I can appreciate the attraction.

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