The Niiname-sai (新嘗祭, also read Shinjō-sai and Niiname-no-Matsuri) is a Japanese harvest ritual. The ritual is celebrated by the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

, who thanks the

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

deities for a prosperous year and prays for a fruitful new year. It takes place near the

Three Palace Sanctuaries The are a group of structures in the precincts of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in Japan. They are used in imperial religious ceremonies, including weddings and enthronements. The three sanctuaries are: * ''Kashiko-dokoro'' (賢所) – the centra ...

of in the imperial palace and several large

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The ''honden''Also called (本殿, meanin ...

s. The first Niiname-sai for a new emperor is known as the Daijō-sai (大嘗祭), and is part of his enthronement ceremonies. In pre-modern Japan, the date of the Niiname-sai was moveable, taking place on the last Day of the Rabbit of the eleventh month of the old Japanese lunar calendar, but in the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

the date was fixed at

November 23 Events Pre-1600 * 534 BC – Thespis of Icaria becomes the first recorded actor to portray a character on stage. * 1248 – Conquest of Seville by Christian troops under King Ferdinand III of Castile. * 1499 – Pretender to the t ...

, and this date became a national holiday, Labor Thanksgiving Day, in the

Shōwa period Shōwa may refer to: * Hirohito (1901–1989), the 124th Emperor of Japan, known posthumously as Emperor Shōwa * Showa Corporation, a Japanese suspension and shock manufacturer, affiliated with the Honda keiretsu Japanese eras * Jōwa (Heian ...

after World War II.

Ceremony

During the Niiname-sai, an ancient Shinto ritual that says thanks for the crops of the previous year and prays for fruitfulness in the following year, the

says thanks to his

gods A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

. It is held in the Imperial Palace, as well as other shrines including

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie, Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . ...

and Izumo Shrine.

Date

Traditionally, it was held on the last Day of the Rabbit in the eleventh month of the old lunar calendar. Since the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

the date has been fixed on

, which corresponds to the modern public holiday Labor Thanksgiving Day, which was introduced in 1948. As a ''

kigo is a word or phrase associated with a particular season, used in traditional forms of Japanese poetry. Kigo are used in the collaborative linked-verse forms renga and renku, as well as in haiku, to indicate the season referred to in the sta ...

'', the name of the ritual is associated with

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

Name

''Niiname-sai'' is the common name of the festival, but the same kanji can also be read ''Jinshō-sai'' or ''Niiname-no-Matsuri''. ''Niiname'' can also be read ''Niinae'', ''Niinai'', ''Niwanai'', ''Niwanami'' or ''Nyūnami''. The first Niiname-sai following the accession of a new emperor is called the '' Daijō-sai'' (大嘗祭, also read ''Ōname-Matsuri'' and ''Ōnie-no-Matsuri'').

In literature

Book 19 of the ''

Man'yōshū The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...

'' includes six poems (numbered 4273 to 4278) composed on the 25th day of the eleventh month of 752, the "''Niiname-kai'' poems". The "''nyūnami''" is alluded to in one of the '' azuma-uta'' (songs of eastern Japan) included in Book 14.

References

Works cited