Shrine Secrets Articles

Momote-shiki is a traditional rite in which numerous archers draw their bows in unison at the New Year, loosing a total of one hundred arrows to drive away evil. We unravel the mysteries of this thousand-year-old archery rite, including why the number 'one hundred' was chosen, the meaning of the character for 'demon' written at the center of the target, the differences from yabusame and hamaya, and the structure of this distinctive ritual fusing warrior culture with Shinto.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

Funadama is a sea-guardian deity—regarded as a goddess—enshrined at the center of a vessel. We unravel why a goddess was sealed inside a ship, the meanings of the distinctive sacred objects—a strand of woman's hair, dice, copper coins, and five grains—the mysterious phenomenon of a ship 'singing' before departure, and the traces of Funadama belief that remain at seaside shrines across Japan, illuminating a thousand years of relationship between the Japanese and the sea.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

Miare-no-Shinji is an extremely secretive rite held at midnight in the Miare-no field of Kamigamo Shrine in Kyoto, on the eve of the Aoi Matsuri. We unravel the mysteries of this rite—a tradition continuing for more than a thousand years—including why the kami must be 'reborn' each year, the reason participants must utter no sound at all, the mechanism by which the divine spirit descends into the sakaki branch called areki, and the uniquely Japanese cosmology that 'kami too grow old.'

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

Aouma-no-Sechie is a court ritual performed on the seventh day of the New Year from the Nara through Heian periods, in which the emperor reviewed the white horses of the left and right horse offices. We unravel the mystery of horses as divine messengers—why it is read 'aouma' (literally 'blue horse') when the horses are white, the basis of the belief that simply seeing a horse dispelled evil, the traditions passed down at shrines such as Kamo Kurabe-Uma and Sumiyoshi Taisha's white horse ritual, and the lineage of white horse belief continuing today.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

Hohei-shi are imperial envoys dispatched as the emperor's representatives to offer heihaku at shrines. Beginning with provisions in the Engishiki, the institution spans more than a thousand years, with reihei-shi sent to Ise Jingu, hohei-shi for the Kanname Festival, and the Kamo Festival imperial messenger forming a circuit of prayer linking the court and the shrines. We unravel the oldest form of prayer linking shrines and the state—why the emperor sends a representative rather than going himself, the robes and procedures of the hohei-shi, the history of interruption by warfare and revival in the Meiji era, and the system of chokusaisha shrines that still survives today.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

Kanayamahiko-no-Mikoto is a deity in Japanese mythology who governs mines, metals, and forges. We unravel the mystery of this god who supported metallic civilization—exploring the unusual birth story from Izanami's vomit, the path to becoming the head shrine at Nangu Taisha in Mino Province, the thousand-year faith that supported swordsmiths and Japanese sword culture, and the prayers that still live today in the steel and metalworking industries as the 'progenitor god of metals.'

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

Held every harvest moon at Sarusawa Pond in Nara, Uneme-no-Sai is a millennium-old ritual mourning the lost love of an uneme—a court lady who, having lost the favor of the emperor, is said to have thrown herself into the pond. Why did an ancient court woman become a goddess enshrined within Uneme Jinja in the middle of the pond? We unravel the mystery of why its torii faces west, the meaning of the two music-laden boats and the flower fan, the uneme waka in the Manyoshu, and the living essence of Uneme-no-Sai today.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

Said to have lived over two hundred—or even three hundred—years, the legendary minister Takenouchi no Sukune served five generations of emperors from Keiko to Nintoku and supported Empress Jingu's expedition to the Three Korean Kingdoms. Why was Japan's greatest ancient minister deified as 'the deathless elder'? We unravel the secrets of Kehi Jingu and Ube Jinja that enshrine him, his prewar appearance on Japanese banknotes, and the living legacy of Takenouchi no Sukune as a symbol of longevity and loyalty.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

Hashihime of Uji Bridge, Hashihime of Seta no Karahashi—at the foot of Japan's famous bridges sit shrines to a goddess called Hashihime. Why is the protector of bridges imagined as a woman, and why is she remembered as a fearsome, jealous spirit? We unravel her essence as a deity of boundaries, her angry image in Noh's Kanawa, and the living traces of Hashihime belief in modern bridge-opening rites.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

Kemari shinji is the ritual in which kemari players in white robes continually kick a deerskin ball before the gods. We unravel why a game transmitted from China became an offering to the deities, why it has been performed for more than a millennium at Shiramine Jingu and Shimogamo Jinja, the identity of the kemari deity Seidai-myojin, the secret traditions of the Asukai and Namba houses, and the spirit of kemari being rediscovered today.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

The toshigami-dana and eho-dana are temporary household altars set up only for the few days of New Year. Why did Japanese homes need this provisional shrine, separate from the permanent kamidana? We explore regional variations, the ritual of facing the year's auspicious direction, and the heart of a New Year tradition that is quietly vanishing today.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team

From ancient times the oak (kashiwa) has held food offerings on its leaves and been honored as the dwelling of the leaf-guarding deity. We explore the culture of kashiwa-mochi, the linguistic roots of kashiwade hand-clapping, the symbolism of family continuity in evergreen leaves, and the living sacredness of the oak at shrines today.

Shrine Secrets Editorial Team