祝詞

are liturgical texts or ritual incantations in Shinto, usually addressed to a given '' kami''.

History

The first written documentation of ''norito'' dates to 712 CE in the ''Kojiki'' and 720 CE in the '' Nihongi''.

The Engishiki, a compilation of laws and minute regulation presented by the court compiled in 927 CE, preserves twenty-seven representative forms of ''norito''.

Etymology

There is no single universally accepted theory to explain the meaning of the term.Philippi (1990). p. 2. One theory derives ''norito'' from ''noru'' ( 宣る, 'to declare'; cf. the verbs '' inoru'' 'to pray' and '' norou'' 'to curse') - combined with the suffix ''-to''. A variant term, ''notto'', is derived from a combination of ''norito'' with ''koto'', 'word'.

There are various known ways of writing the word in kanji: aside from 祝詞 (currently the standard), 詔戸言, 詔刀言, and 諄辞 are also attested.

One recent writer summed up the original meaning of ''norito'' as "a general term meaning magic by means of words."

Form and content

The Shinto religion did not produce any writings, particularly those that inferred from myths and legends, that would have constituted a religious theology except for the norito. (One should, however, note that the Kojiki and the Nihongi, while written primarily as historical works rather than sacred scriptures, do contain mythical narratives of the Shinto tradition.) These few prayers were primarily used in purification rituals and articulated gratitude towards the gods for the blessings of ''kami'' or to ask for climate change such as rain.

Norito is a form of a rhythmic poem recited to facilitate the transmission of posterity. The incantation would usually begin with praises for the supreme power of ''kami'' and concludes with an expression of respect and awe. The ''Nakatomi no Harae Kunge'' or the ''Exposition of the Ritual of Purification'' describes norito within a process that implies the idea of human beings as children of the ''kami'' who lost their purity but who return to their divine origin by restoring it.

Reading

''Norito'' were (and still are) traditionally written in a variety of '' man'yōgana'' where particles and suffixes are written in a smaller script than the main body of the text. This style of writing, used in imperial edicts (宣命 ''senmyō'') preserved in the ''Shoku Nihongi'' and other texts dating from the 8th century ( Nara period), is known as ''senmyōgaki''.

See also

* Kotodama

References

{{Authority control

Shinto terminology
Language and mysticism
Shinto in Japan