#chinowa-kuguri

[konjaku]

茅|萱[Kaya] Poaceae; general term for grasses used to thatch roofs

茅の輪[Chi-no-wa]

It means a ring made of bundles of Kaya. 茅 is also read as chi. 輪[Wa] means ring or circle. Chinowa is used for a ceremony to purge away the sins and impurities of the past six months, and is placed in front of the shrine at the end of each of June and December. This ceremonial manner is called 茅の輪くぐり[Chinowa kuguri], 茅輪神事[Chinowa shinji] or 輪越祭[Wagoshi matsuri], etc., and this held in June is called 夏越の祓[Nagoshi no harae] and this in December is called 大祓[Ooharae].

The procedure is as follows: before visit, pass through it and go round the left side, pass through it again and go round the right side, pass through it again and go round the left side, pass throught it again, and then visit the hall of worship. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMcRt5QCdCA

人形|人型[Hitogata]

It is also called 形代|型代[Katashiro]. If 人形 is read as ningyō, it means doll; if hitogata, it means human figure made of paper used as a substitute for humans during purifications and prayers.

Today, December 31, is called 大晦日[Oomisoka]. 大[Oo] means big, 晦日|晦|三十日[Misoka] is the 30th of the month. 晦 is also read as tsugomori, which is a corruption of 月隠り[Tsuki-gomori](the moon is holed up.) Therefore, 大晦日 is also called Ootsugomori. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Last_Day_of_the_Year

[pix4japan]

New Year’s Holiday Ikonahime-no-Mikoto Shrine Before Sunrise

Location: Shirahama, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan Timestamp: 05:32 on January 3, 2024

Pentax K-1 II + DFA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 34 mm ISO 100 for 2 sec. at ƒ/11

Ikonahime-no-Mikoto Shrine (伊古奈比咩命神社), colloquially called Shirahama Shrine (白浜神社), is located next to the beautiful Shirahama Beach on the eastern coast of the Izu Peninsula. It is about 175 km (107 mi) southwest of Tokyo. I reached the beach in less than three hours by driving through the night, avoiding heavy traffic and ensuring access to an empty parking space.

Historical records make reference to this shrine as far back as 392 BCE, making it 2,415 years old. This shrine complex is the oldest one on the Izu Peninsula.

In this shot, we can see the main worship hall, which was rebuilt in 1860. The main sanctuary that houses the shintai (an object believed to contain the spirit of a deity) is up at the top of the hill behind the main hall.

Visitors to can pray for the following at this shrine: ・Warding off evil spirits ・Successful marriage ・Maritime safety ・Good luck in making large fish catches ・Prosperous business endeavors ・Safe delivery of a newborn ・Traffic safety ・Family safety

As the shrine welcomes visitors for the New Year's holidays, a special purification ritual called chinowa-kuguri (茅の輪くぐり) takes place. Participants step through a big hoop of grass three times in a figure 8 fashion, cleansing themselves of any impurities and praying for sound health.

Check out my ad-free blog post, where I include Google Maps links to the shrine, along with additional information about the history of this location. You can find the post at https://www.pix4japan.com/blog/20240103-shirahama

[wiggies-inward-post]

summer purification rites 夏越の祓

　 早起きして稲荷神社に御参り行ってきました。今日は、お稲荷さんの夏祭だったんです。 　 　

　夏越の祓は、記紀神話に見られる伊弉諾尊（いざなぎのみこと）が黄泉の国から戻った時に行った禊祓いを起源とする宮中行事であり、現在では多くの神社の恒例となっているそうです。 年に二度おこなわれ、６月の大祓は夏越の祓（なごしのはらえ）と呼ばれています。

　茅を束ねて作った茅の輪（ちのわ）が神前に立てられ、 これを三回くぐりながら、「水無月の夏越の祓する人は千歳の命のぶというなり」と唱えます。 また、人形ひとがた（人の形に切った白紙）に自分の氏名と生年月日を���き、それで自分の身体を撫でてから息を吹きか��ます。そうやって、自らについた穢れを祓うのです。人は知らず知らずうちに罪を犯し、穢れを身に付けてしまうため、清らかな気持ちで日々の生活にいそしむことができるように、穢れを祓い、 無病息災を祈るのです。　

　信仰の有無にかかわらず、「祈る」という行為が好きです。目を瞑り、手を合わせて、神様や誰ともない何かに対して思いを伝えたり縋ったりするわけですが、過去、ある人が苦しんでいる私に、あなたのために祈るよと言ってくれたことがありました。それまで考えてみたことすらありませんでしたので、その時、祈るという行為について一考する機会が与えられたのです。 　　

　その人は敬虔な信者であり、祈りを捧げることが生活の一部となっていましたので、私のために祈りを捧げてくれたのでした。さらに、私は、その人の他者への関わり方や、他者に向ける愛情の注ぎ方を学びとりました。すなわち、愛するとは、対象そのものに向けるべきであるとは限らないのだということを、その人の祈りから教えられたのです。

　誰かのことが救われるようにと祈ることは、祈りを捧げている人と神と��対話です。その二者に私は含まれません。しかし、その人の祈りの対象は、たしかに私なのです。したがって、愛することは、必ずしも愛情の対象と融合する必要はないということになります。 　

                                                             （↓メジロが水を飲みに来ていました。）

　苦しみから這い上がる過程で学びとることができることは多いです。苦しんでいる時はとても辛いものですが、その苦しみはいつか終わりがきて、苦しみが過去のものになるときがくるはずです。 　

　苦しみから解放された今、私にも、ある人のために祈りたいと思う機会が訪れました。彼女の病が治りますように。はやく苦しみから解放されますように。かつて、私の苦しみを和らげようとしてくれた人がいたように、私も彼女のために祈りたい。そう思い、石段を登って、手を合わせてみたのです。

　私の祈りが通じるかどうかは、まさに、お稲荷様のみぞ知るということになりますが、祈るという行為に見返りがあるとは限りません。心を込めて祈ったとしても、その祈りが通じるかどうかは神の手に委ねられている、不確かなものです。それでも人は祈り、念じたり、心の漣を鎮めようとしたりするものなのだと思います。 　

　今日は夏越の祓で茅の輪くぐりもできたので、穢れを祓い、無病息災を祈願することができました。

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  I woke up early and went to the nearby Inari-Shrine. Today was Inari's summer festival.

  Regardless of the faith, I like praying. It's a way of meditating, clasping my hands, and putting my thoughts and trust in God or something else, in the past, someone once told me that she would pray for me when I was suffering . I had never thought about it before, and that's when I thought about the act of pray. The opportunity was given to me.

  She was a devout believer and to pray was a part of her daily life, so she prayed for me. I also learned how to relate to others and how to direct your love toward other people. In other words, to love is not always directed at the object itself, I was taught by her act of praying.

  Praying for someone's salvation is a dialogue between the person praying and God. I am not included in those two parties. But the object of that person to pray is indeed me. Therefore, it follows that loving does not necessarily have to be merged with the object of affection. 　

  There is much that can be learned in the process of crawling out of suffering. It is very painful when you are suffering, but the pain will end one day and the suffering will be in the past, there will be a time when it will be a thing.

  I am released from suffering, now I have an opportunity to pray for someone else. May she be cured of her illness. May she be relieved of her suffering soon. I wanted to pray for her, just as someone once tried to relieve my suffering. So I climbed up the stone steps and put my hands together in front of Inari-sama,.

  Whether my pray would be answered or not is truly a matter for Inari-sama to know, but I pray there is no guarantee that there will be anything in return for the act of even if you pray with all your heart, it is in God whether your prayer will be answered, uncertain It is a thing. Even so, people still pray and reminisce and try to calm the ripples in their hearts, I think. 　

  Today, I was able to do Chinowa-kuguri (passing through a hoop made of kaya grass (plants of the sedge family) at the summer purification ceremony, so I was able to purge the dirt and pray for good health.

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  Je me suis réveillé tôt et je suis allé au sanctuaire d'Inari tout proche. Aujourd'hui, c'était le festival d'été d'Inari.

  Quelle que soit la foi, j'aime prier. C'est une façon de méditer, de serrer les mains et de mettre mes pensées et ma confiance en Dieu ou autre chose. Dans le passé, une personne m'a dit qu'elle prierait pour moi quand je souffrais. Je n'y avais jamais pensé auparavant, et c'est alors que j'ai pensé à l'acte de prier. L'occasion m'a été donnée.

　Elle était une croyante fervente et prier faisait partie de sa vie quotidienne, alors elle a prié pour moi. J'ai aussi appris à établir des relations avec les autres et à diriger son amour vers les autres. En d'autres termes, l'amour n'est pas toujours dirigé vers l'objet lui-même, j'ai appris par son acte de prière.

　Prier pour le salut de quelqu'un est un dialogue entre la personne qui prie et Dieu. Je ne suis pas inclus dans ces deux parties. Mais l'objet de cette personne qui prie, c'est bien moi. Il s'ensuit donc que l'amour ne doit pas nécessairement se confondre avec l'objet de l'affection. 　

　On peut apprendre beaucoup de choses en rampant hors de la souffrance. C'est très douloureux quand on souffre, mais la douleur prendra fin un jour et la souffrance sera du passé, il y aura un moment où elle sera une chose.

　Je suis libéré de la souffrance, j'ai maintenant la possibilité de prier pour quelqu'un d'autre. Qu'elle soit guérie de sa maladie. Qu'elle soit bientôt libérée de sa souffrance. Je voulais prier pour elle, tout comme quelqu'un a essayé un jour de soulager ma souffrance. J'ai donc monté les marches de pierre et j'ai rassemblé mes mains devant Inari-sama,.

  Inari-sama doit vraiment savoir si ma prière sera exaucée ou non, mais je prie pour qu'il n'y ait aucune garantie qu'il y aura quoi que ce soit en retour, car même si vous priez de tout votre cœur, c'est en Dieu que votre prière sera exaucée, incertaine. Même ainsi, les gens continuent de prier et de se souvenir et essaient de calmer les ondes dans leur cœur, je pense. 　

　Aujourd'hui, j'ai pu passer par un anneau de chaume lors de la cérémonie de purification de l'été, j'ai donc pu purger la terre et prier pour une bonne santé.

[studentofshinto]

"Chinowa kuguri," the tradition of walking through and around a large grass "chinowa" hoop in a figure eight, is a part of summer purification rites called "nagoshi no harae," which are meant to cleanse any impurities from the first half of the year and pray for sound health through the second half of the year.

[naturetakarazuka]

June 30th is the day of “Chinowa Kuguri” (passing through a hoop made of kaya grass).

[lifelifeadore]

nagoshi no harae

[todayintokyo]

This straw circle is called a chinowa kuguri (茅の輪くぐり). It’s part of a purification ritual that you see at most major shrines during the New Year’s period. Stand in front of the circle, walk through it towards your left, return to the front, walk through it again towards your right. The white papers tied to the straw are called shide (紙垂), and are meant to prevent impurities from entering the sacred space. I took these photos at Ootori Jinja (鷲神社) in Asakusa.

[walkingbikingjapan]

At the end of June, you may find a large ring made of a rope in the property of shrine.  It looks like this.

The ring called “chinowa”

This ring called Chinowa is made of plants called Chigaya.  On the day of the ritual at the end of June, you will cross this ring and it is said that the stigma of the first six months of the year will be taken away from you and that you will be purified.  This ritual is called Nagoshi-no-Harae.  It is a symbol of summer.

If you cross the large ring made of a plant called “chigaya”, it is said that the stigma of the first six months will be cleared.

The details of this ritual is explained in here.

I visited Fukiage Inari Shrine and crossed Chinowa.  There is a certain way of doing the crossing.  First you cross the ring and turn left.  You cross again and this time turn right.  You cross one more time and turn left.  This three-time crossing is called Chinowa Kuguri which means crossing of Chinowa.  The ritual started at six pm.  First the chief priest Guji offered a prayers and the assembled followed.  After that, people crossed the ring.  There were about a hundred people in the shrine and we all finished crossing before seven pm.  Then we had sake, the rice wine offered to the god and after that we were all treated with cold beer and soft drinks.

  Summer ritual of shinto. #shinto #shrine #tokyo #japantravel At the end of June, you may find a large ring made of a rope in the property of shrine.  

[willflyforbeer]

At the Gojo-tenjin Shrine in Ueno Park, the New Year begins when one passes through the grass ring. This purification ritual is called Chinowa Kuguri. (at Ueno Park)

[bugatsu]

Ceremony of 'Chinowa-Kuguri' at Oh-Harai Festival which is going on at shrine #ceremony #festival #shrine #shintoism #tokyo #japan

[pix4japan]

Shinto Shrine after Sunrise during New Year’s Holidays

Location: Shirahama, Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan Timestamp: 07:30 on January 3, 2024

Fujifilm X100V with 5% diffusion filter ISO 800 for 1/125 sec. at ƒ/2.0 Film simulation: Astia/Soft

Step into the 2,400-year-history of Ikonahime-no-Mikoto Shrine, commonly known as Shirahama Shrine, where time seems to have left its mark on the weathered tiles and wooden elements of the shrine. As you enter the sacred grounds, the sacred objects lining the walkway to the shrine are a testament of the shrine’s history as it stands as the oldest shrine on the Izu Peninsula. The worship hall the shrine complex is not just a structure; it's a living testament to resilience, having weathered the onslaught of annual tropical storms and salty winds from the nearby Shirahama Beach.

Coming back to the shrine after sunrise, the number of visitors picked up as the vibe transitioned into its New Year's festivities. A focal point is the large grass hoop, the chinowa-kuguri ((茅の輪くぐり), inviting visitors to partake in a ritual where you walk through the hoop three times in a figure-eight fashion, cleansing yourself of impurities and sending prayers for robust health.

As you gaze beyond the chinowa-kuguri, you’ll see that the base of the main worship hall is adorned in a traditional Japanese curtain known as a kohaku-maku ((紅白幕). The red and white vertical stripes are a symbol of happiness. In this ancient pattern, red signifies peace and prosperity, while white represents both spiritual and physical purity.

For those with a keen interest in cultural celebrations, mark your calendars for the shrine’s annual 3-day festival in October. I have provided links to useful sources and map links at my latest pix4japan blog post: https://www.pix4japan.com/blog/20240103-shirahama