A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine

Autorentext

John K. Nelson

Klappentext

What we today call Shinto has been at the heart of Japanese culture for almost as long as there has been political entity distinguishing itself as Japan. A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine describes the ritual cycle at Suwa Shrine, Nagasaki's major Shinto shrine. Conversations with priests, other shrine personnel, and people attending shrine functions supplement John K. Nelson's observations of over fifty shrine rituals and festivals. He elicits their views on the meaning and personal relevance of the religious events and the place of Shinto and Suwa Shrine in Japanese society, culture, and politics. Nelson focuses on the very human side of an ancient institution and provides a detailed look at beliefs and practices that, although grounded in natural cycles, are nonetheless meaningful in late-twentieth-century Japanese society.

Zusammenfassung
Describes the ritual cycle at Suwa Shrine, Nagasaki's major Shinto shrine

Inhalt

A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine

Acknowledgments

Conventions

1. Frames and Focuses

2. Historical Momentums

3. The Kami

4. Ritual and Ceremony: An Overview

5. Finding the Measure

6. Head Priest Uesugi

Spring

7. Beans versus Demons

8. On Becoming a Priest: Matsumoto-san's Version

9. Backstage at the Doll's Day Festival

10. Judgement by Scalding Water

11. Festival for Fecundity

Summer

12. Being Dirty, Getting Clean, and the Ritual of Great Purification

13. "I Shouldn't Be Telling You This, But..."

14. A Woman's Place Is the Shrine

Autumn

15. Okunchi: A City's Heart and Soul

16. Children and Silk

17. Thanksgiving for New Rice

Winter

18. On Spirit, Geomancy, and Sake

19. Sanctifying the Earth

20. Three Rites for Enduring and Beginning the Year

21. To Be an Adult

Conclusion

Appendix 1: The Rituals and Festivals of Suwa Shrine

Appendix 2: Map and Guide to the Shrine Precincts

Notes

Glossary of Japanese Terms

Works Cited

Index