Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

terminology indicates a propagation process through which a ''

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

'', previously divided through a process called '' bunrei'', is invited to another location and there re-enshrined.

Evolution of the ''kanjō'' process

''Kanjō'' was originally a

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

term and later entered Shinto vocabulary.Smyers (1999:235) A ''kanjō'' was the request of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

's sermon with a sincere heart, and later came to mean the urging of a

buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

to remain in this world to preach and save other human beings. The concept then evolved further to mean the act (and the actual words) of asking buddhas or bodhisattvas to descend to the altar during a Buddhist service. In Japan, the word gradually assumed the present meaning of enshrinement of a buddha or ''kami'' in a building for the first time.

The ''kanjō'' process

Before it can be transferred to its new location the ''kami'' must be divided. The division sub-process and the divided spirit itself are called , or .　 The process of propagation, described by Shinto priests as akin to the lighting of a candle from another already lit, leaves the original ''kami'' intact in its original place and therefore does not alter any of its properties. The resultant ''wakemitama'' has all the qualities of the original and is therefore both living and permanent. The process is used often, for example during ''

Matsuri Japanese festivals, or , are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. The origin of the word ''matsuri'' is related to the ; there are theories that the word ''matsuri'' is derived from meaning "to wait (for ...

'' (Shinto festivals) to animate temporary shrines called and their portable versions, called ''

mikoshi A is a sacred religious palanquin (also translated as portable Shinto shrine). Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when ...

''.Sonoda (1975:12)

''Inari kanjō''

Inari is the ''kami'' that has been subjected to ''kanjō'' more often than any other,Smyers (1999: 156-160) and is therefore a good illustration of the process. The transfer does not necessarily take place from a

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

to another: the new location can be a privately owned object or a ''

kamidana are miniature household altars provided to enshrine a Shinto . They are most commonly found in Japan, the home of worship. The is typically placed high on a wall and contains a wide variety of items related to Shinto-style ceremonies, the mos ...

'' ("god-shelf", or altar) within an individual house. The case is recorded of Inari being re-enshrined in a

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

holeThe fox is Inari's symbol. In fact, the first recorded Inari ''kanjō'', in 842, involved the ''kamis transfer to

Ono no Takamura , also known as , was a Japanese calligrapher and poet of the early Heian period. Life Takamura was a descendant of Ono no Imoko who served as Kenzuishi, and his father was Ono no Minemori. He was the grandfather of Ono no Michikaze, one of t ...

's scepter. The ''kami'' was then transported to Mutsu no Kuni (

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

) by its owner. Some years later, he returned to

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, and Aomori's people asked him to leave the ''kami'' behind, which he did in what would become Takekoma Inari. In 1194,

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Go-Toba decided that only Fushimi Inari Shrine could perform any of the parts of the Inari ''kanjō'', however abuses were so rampant that the shrine started providing an authenticity certificate with each divided spirit. The process was briefly outlawed nationwide during the

Meiji Era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...

, but was reinstated by popular demand. Nowadays, most large Inari shrines will perform it for a fee, sometimes set by the shrine or left to the discretion of the worshiper. As of 1990, Fushimi Inari Shrine had performed it eighty thousand times for private citizens. The faithful are often given the option to give a personal name to their personal ''kami''. At Toyokawa Inari, the worshiper can buy a statue and then participate in the ceremony, called '' kaigen'', to animate it. When one of Inari's forms is re-enshrined with a different name, it may also be worshiped for a specific function. All the new functions are thereafter assumed to be specialties of the ''kami'', particularly in case of a great success in the re-enshrinement, even when those functions are very far from its original nature, as for instance fishing in Inari's case.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Smyers, Karen Ann. (1999). ''The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship.'' Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ;
OCLC 39523475
* Smyers, Karen Ann
“My own Inari”: Personalization of the deity in Inari worship
1996. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies Online Archive, retrieved on July 22, 2020 * Sonoda, Minoru
The Traditional Festival in Urban Society
1975, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies Online Archive, retrieved on July 22, 2020
Bunrei
Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on July 8, 2008

External links

Shinto ja:分霊 {{Shinto shrine