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Hatsumōde
is one of the major Japanese traditions of the new year, which is the first visit to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine visit of the Japanese New Year. Typically taking place on the first, second, or third day of the year, it is meant to bring a fresh start to the year. ''Hatsumōde'' is written with two kanji: the former means “first” and the latter means “visiting a shrine or temple.” Many visit on the first, second, or third day of the year. Generally, wishes for the new year are made, new '' omamori'' (charms or amulets) are bought, and the old ones are returned to the shrine so they can be cremated. Major shrines throughout Japan often have long queues. Most people in Japan outside of the retail and emergency service professions are off work from December 29 until January 3 of every year. It is during this time that the house is cleaned, debts are paid, friends and family are visited and gifts are exchanged. It is customary to spend the early morning of New Year's D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese New Year
The is an annual festival that takes place in Japan. Since 1873, the official Japanese New Year has been celebrated according to the Gregorian calendar, on January 1 of each year, . Prior to 1872, traditional events of the Japanese New Year were celebrated on the first day of the year on the modern Tenpō calendar, the last official lunisolar calendar. History Prior to the Meiji period, the date of the Japanese New Year had been based on Japanese versions of lunisolar calendar (the last of which was the Tenpō calendar) and, prior to Jōkyō calendar, the Chinese version. However, in 1873, five years after the Meiji Restoration, Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar and the first day of January became the official and cultural New Year's Day in Japan. Traditional food The Japanese eat a selection of dishes during the New Year celebration called , typically shortened to ''osechi.'' Many of these dishes are sweet, sour, or dried, so they can be kept without refrigeration: th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumiyoshi Taisha
, also known as Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is the main shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines. It gives its name to a style of shrine architecture known as '' Sumiyoshi-zukuri''. The shrine is called Sumiyoshi-san or Sumiyossan by the locals, and is famous for the large crowds that come to the shrine on New Year's Day for ''hatsumōde''. Sumiyoshi taisha enshrines the Sumiyoshi sanjin (Sokotsutsu no Ono-mikoto, Nakatsutsu no Ono-mikoto, and Uwatsutsu no Ono-mikoto) (collectively known as the "Sumiyoshi Ōkami") and Okinagatarashi-hime no Mikoto ( Empress Jingū). History The shrine became the object of Imperial patronage during the early Heian period. In 965, Emperor Murakami ordered that Imperial messengers were sent to report important events to the guardian ''kami'' of Japan. These ''heihaku'' were initially presented to 16 shrines including Sumiyoshi. Sumiyoshi was designated as the chief Shinto shrine (''ich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ema (Shinto)
are small wooden plaques, common to Japan, in which Shinto and Buddhist worshippers write prayers or wishes. are left hanging up at the shrine, where the (spirits or gods) are believed to receive them. This is particularly evident at shrines such as at the Ikoma Shrine, where ''ema'' more often than usual indicate great despair or tragedy in one's life and show a heavy dependence on divine intervention. However, ''ema'' have been hung up for many other purposes, such as advertisements for certain Kabuki groups at shrines such as Naritasan Shinshôji in the Chiba prefecture. Typically wide and tall, they often carry images or are shaped like animals, or symbols from the zodiac, Shinto, or the particular shrine or temple. In ancient times, people would donate horses to the shrines for good favor; over time this was transferred to a wooden plaque with a picture of a horse, and later still to the various wooden plaques sold today for the same purpose. Once inscribed with a wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Year's Day
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter solstice. In contrast, cultures and religions that observe a lunisolar or lunar calendar celebrate their Lunar New Year at varying points relative to the solar year. In pre-Christian Rome, under the Julian calendar, the day was dedicated to Janus, god of gateways and beginnings, for whom January is also named. From Roman times until the mid-18th century, the new year was celebrated at various stages and in various parts of Christian Europe on 25 December, on 1 March, on 25 March and on the Date of Easter, movable feast of Easter. In the present day, with most countries now using the Gregorian calendar as their civil calendar, 1 January according to Gregorian calendar is among the most celebrated of public holidays in the w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinking, and watching or lighting fireworks. Many Christians attend a watchnight service to mark the occasion. New Year's Eve celebrations generally continue into New Year's Day, January 1, 1 January, past midnight. The local time zone determines the advent of the New Year; the first places to welcome the New Year are west of the International Date Line: the Line Islands (part of Kiribati), Samoa and Tonga, in the Pacific Ocean. In contrast, American Samoa, Baker Island and Howland Island (part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands) are among the last. By region Africa Algeria In Algeria, New Year's Eve is usually celebrated with family and friends. In the largest cities, there are fireworks at midnight. The Martyrs' Memorial, Algiers, Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horoscope
A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an astrological chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, astrological aspects and angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word horoscope is derived from the Greek words ''ōra'' and ''scopos'' meaning "time" and "observer" (''horoskopos'', pl. ''horoskopoi'', or "marker(s) of the hour"). It is claimed by proponents of astrology that a horoscope can be used as a method of divination regarding events relating to the point in time it represents, and it forms the basis of the horoscopic traditions of astrology, although practices surrounding astrology have been recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century. Horoscope columns are often featured in print and online newspapers. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omikuji
are random Prophecy, fortunes written on strips of paper at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples in Japan. Literally "sacred Cleromancy, lot", these are usually received by making a small offering and randomly choosing one from a box, hoping for the resulting fortune to be good. , vending machines sometimes dispense . The predicts the person's chances of their hopes coming true, of finding a good match, or generally matters of health, fortune, life, etc. When the prediction is bad, it is a custom to fold up the strip of paper and attach it to a pine tree or a wall of metal wires alongside other bad fortunes in the temple or shrine grounds. A purported reason for this custom is a pun on the word for and the verb , the idea being that the bad luck will wait by the tree rather than attach itself to the bearer. In the event of the fortune being good, the bearer has two options: they can also tie it to the tree or wires so that the fortune has a greater effect or they can keep it f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oracle
An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Description The word ''oracle'' comes from the Latin verb ''ōrāre'', "to speak" and properly refers to the priest or priestess uttering the prediction. In extended use, ''oracle'' may also refer to the ''site of the oracle'', and the oracular utterances themselves, are called ''khrēsmoí'' (χρησμοί) in Greek. Oracles were thought to be portals through which the gods spoke directly to people. In this sense, they were different from seers (''manteis'', μάντεις) who interpreted signs sent by the gods through bird signs, animal entrails, and other various methods.Flower, Michael Attyah. ''The Seer in Ancient Greece.'' Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. The most important oracles of Greek antiquity were Pythia (priestes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kokugakuin University
Kokugakuin University , abbreviated as ''Kokugakudai'' () or ''Kokudai'' (), is a Shinto-affiliated private research university in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. The university consists of undergraduate departments in humanities and social sciences and a graduate school, and specializes in Japanese literature, history, and Shinto Studies. The predecessor institution was founded in 1882 as an institution of classical and religious learning. Prince Arisugawa Takahito served as the institution's inaugural head. In Japanese, the university uses kyūjitai characters to stylize its name. In government-published materials and several unaffilated private publications, shinjitai characters are used instead to write as "". History The university's predecessor was the Koten Kokyusho, established in 1882 as an institution for the study and dissemination of Japanese classics and training of Shinto priesthood, based on the State Shinto. In 1890 it was expanded into the that offered courses in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hikawa Shrine (Saitama)
is a Shinto shrine located in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the two shrines claiming the title of '' ichinomiya'' of former Musashi Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on August 1. The district of Omiya, literally "Great Shrine", derives from the special favor shown by Emperor Meiji, who raised Hikawa above all other shrines in the Kantō region.Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1962). ''Studies in Shinto and Shrines,'' p. 391. It is the head of a network of approximately 280 Hikawa shrines mostly around the Kantō region. Enshrined ''kami'' The '' kami'' enshrined at Hikawa Jinja are: * , brother of Amaterasu, god of sea, storms, fields, the harvest, marriage, and love * , wife of Susanoo, goddess of rice, agriculture, marriage, love, childbirth, and child rearing * , god of nation-building, agriculture, medicine, and protective magic History According to the shrine's tradition, the shrine was established during the reign of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
