Ofuda
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In Shinto and Buddhism in Japan, an Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo is a talisman made out of various materials such as paper, wood, cloth or metal. Template:Transliteration are commonly found in both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples and are considered to be imbued with the power of the deities (Template:Transliteration) or Buddhist figures revered therein.
Certain kinds of Template:Transliteration are intended for a specific purpose (such as protection against calamity or misfortune, safety within the home, or finding love) and may be kept on one's person or placed on other areas of the home (such as gates, doorways, kitchens, or ceilings). Paper Template:Transliteration may also be referred to as Template:Nihongo, while those made of wood may be called Template:Nihongo. Template:Transliteration, another kind of Japanese talisman, shares the same origin as and may be considered as a smaller and portable version of Template:Transliteration.
A specific type of Template:Transliteration is a talisman issued by a Shinto shrine on which is written the name of the shrine or its enshrined Template:Transliteration and stamped with the shrine's seal. Such Template:Transliteration, also called Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo, are often placed on household Shinto altars (Template:Transliteration) and revered both as a symbol of the shrine and its deity (or deities) – containing the Template:Transliteration's essence or power by virtue of its consecration – and a medium through which the Template:Transliteration in question can be accessed by the worshiper. In this regard they are somewhat similar to (but not the same as) Template:Transliteration, physical objects which serve as repositories for Template:Transliteration in Shinto shrines.
In a similar vein, Buddhist Template:Transliteration are regarded as imbued with the spirit and the virtue of buddhas, bodhisattvas, or other revered figures of the Buddhist pantheon, essentially functioning in many cases as a more economic alternative to Buddhist icons and statuary.
HistoryEdit
The origins of Shinto and Buddhist Template:Transliteration may be traced from both the Taoist Template:Transliteration, introduced to Japan via Onmyōdō (which adopted elements of Taoism), and woodblock prints of Buddhist texts and images produced by temples since the Nara and Heian periods.<ref name="EncShinto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> During the medieval period, the three shrines of Kumano in Wakayama Prefecture stamped their paper talismans on one side with intricate designs of stylized crows and were called Template:Nihongo3 or the Template:Nihongo.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> At the time, these and similar Template:Transliteration were often employed in oath taking and contract drafting, with the terms of the oath or agreement being written on the blank side of the sheet.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The Template:Transliteration currently found in most Shinto shrines meanwhile are modeled after the talisman issued by the Grand Shrines of Ise (Ise Jingū) called Template:Nihongo. Template:Transliteration were originally Template:Nihongo that wandering preachers associated with the shrines of Template:NihongoTemplate:Clarify handed out to devotees across the country as a sign and guarantee that prayers were conducted on their behalf. These wands, called Template:Nihongo, were contained either in packets of folded paper – in which case they are called Template:Nihongo (also Template:Transliteration),<ref name="Breen"/> due to the packet's shape resembling a Template:Nihongo – or in boxes called Template:Nihongo. The widespread distribution of Template:Transliteration first began in the Muromachi period and reached its peak in the Edo period: a document dating from 1777 (An'ei 6) indicates that eighty-nine to ninety percent of all households in the country at the time owned an Ise talisman.<ref name="Breen"/><ref name="nakanishi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1871, an imperial decree abolished the Template:Transliteration and allotted the production and distribution of the amulets, now renamed Template:Transliteration, to the shrine's administrative offices.<ref name="nakanishi"/> It was around this time that the talisman's most widely known form – a wooden tablet containing a sliver of cedar wood known as Template:Nihongo3<ref name="Breen">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> wrapped in paper on which is printed the shrine's name (Template:Nihongo) and stamped with the seals of the shrine (Template:Nihongo) and its high priest (Template:Nihongo) – developed. In 1900, a new department, the Template:Nihongo3, took over production and distribution duties. The distribution of Template:Transliteration was eventually delegated to the Template:Nihongo in 1927 and finally to its successor, the Association of Shinto Shrines, after World War II.<ref name="nakanishi"/> The Association nowadays continues to disseminate Template:Transliteration to affiliated shrines throughout Japan, where they are made available alongside the shrines' own amulets.
Varieties and usageEdit
Template:Transliteration come in a variety of forms. Some are slips or sheets of paper, others like the Template:Transliteration are thin rectangular plaques (Template:Nihongo) enclosed in an envelope-like casing (which may further be covered in translucent wrapping paper), while still others are wooden tablets (Template:Transliteration) which may be smaller or larger than regular Template:Transliteration. Some shrines distribute Template:Transliteration, which consists of a sliver of wood placed inside a fold of paper. The Template:Transliteration issued by the shrines of Ise before the Meiji period were usually in the form of Template:Transliteration; while the Template:Transliteration variety is currently more widespread, Template:Transliteration of the Template:Transliteration type are still distributed in Ise Shrine.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration are available year round in many shrines and temples, especially in larger ones with a permanent staff. As these items are sacred, they are technically not 'bought' but rather Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo, with the money paid in exchange for them being considered to be a donation or Template:Nihongo.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="HonchoOfuda">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One may also receive a wooden talisman called a Template:Nihongo after having formal prayers or rituals (Template:Nihongo) performed on one's behalf in these places of worship.
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An example of a Template:Transliteration (from Kōjinyama Shrine in Shiga Prefecture): a plaque with the names of the shrine's Template:Transliteration – Homusubi, Okitsuhiko and Okitsuhime – written in Template:Transliteration and its paper casing on which is written the name of the shrine or the epithet of its deity – in this case, Template:Nihongo – and stamped with the seals of the shrine (middle) and its priest (bottom).
ShintoEdit
Template:Transliteration such as Template:Transliteration are enshrined in a household altar (Template:Transliteration) or a special stand (Template:Transliteration); in the absence of one, they may be placed upright in a clean and tidy space above eye level or attached to a wall. Template:Transliteration and the Template:Transliteration that house them are set up facing east (where the sun rises), south (the principal direction of sunshine), or southeast.<ref name="jinjanohiroba">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="wagokoro">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="shiroyama">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Association of Shinto Shrines recommends that a household own at least three kinds of Template:Transliteration:
- Template:Transliteration
- The Template:Transliteration of the tutelary deity of one's place of residence (Template:Transliteration)
- The Template:Transliteration of a shrine one is personally devoted to Template:Nihongo
In a Template:Nihongo altar, the Template:Transliteration is placed in the middle, with the Template:Transliteration of one's local Template:Transliteration on its left (observer's right) and the Template:Transliteration of one's favourite shrine on its right (observer's left). Alternatively, in a Template:Nihongo Template:Transliteration, the three talismans are laid on top of one another, with the Template:Transliteration on the front. One may own more Template:Transliteration; these are placed on either side of or behind the aforementioned three.<ref name="jinjanohiroba"/><ref name="wagokoro"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Regular (preferably daily) worship before the Template:Transliteration or Template:Transliteration and offerings of rice, salt, water, and/or Template:Transliteration to the Template:Transliteration (with additional foodstuffs being offered on special occasions) are recommended.<ref name="wagokoro"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The manner of worship is similar to those performed in shrines: two bows, two claps, and a final bow, though a prayer (Template:Transliteration) – also preceded by two bows – may be recited before this.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Other Template:Transliteration are placed in other parts of the house. For instance, Template:Transliteration of patron deities of the hearth – Sanbō-Kōjin in Buddhism, Kamado-Mihashira-no-Kami (the 'Three Deities of the Hearth': Kagutsuchi, Okitsuhiko and Okitsuhime) in Shinto<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> – are placed in the kitchen. In toilets, a talisman of the Buddhist wrathful deity Ucchuṣma (Ususama Myōō), who is believed to purify the unclean, may be installed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Protective Template:Transliteration such as Template:Nihongo3, a depiction of the Tendai monk Ryōgen in the form of a yaksha or an Template:Transliteration<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> are placed on doorways or entrances.
Japanese spirituality lays great importance on purity and pristineness (Template:Nihongo3), especially of things related to the divine. It is for this reason that periodic (usually annual) replacement of Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration are encouraged. It is customary to obtain new Template:Transliteration before the end of the year at the earliest or during the New Year season, though (as with Template:Transliteration) one may purchase one at other times of the year as well. While ideally, old Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration are to be returned to the shrine or temple where they were obtained as a form of thanksgiving, most Shinto shrines in practice accept talismans from other shrines.<ref name="shiroyama"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (Buddhist Template:Transliteration are however not accepted in many shrines and vice versa.) Old Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration are burned in a ceremony known either as Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo, also Template:Transliteration or Template:Transliteration) held during the Little New Year (January 14 or 15th), the end of the Japanese New Year season.<ref name="HonchoOfuda"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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Various possible ways of arranging Template:Transliteration (Template:Transliteration) in a Shinto altar
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A place for returning old talismans at Template:Ill in Tokyo
GalleryEdit
- KUMANOGOOUHU.JPG
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Template:Nihongo3, a talisman issued by Suwa Shrine in Nagano Prefecture. At a time when meat eating was mostly frowned upon due to Buddhist influence, these were held to allow the bearer to eat venison and other meat without incurring impurity or negative karma.
- 西野神社竈神鎮火札.jpg
An Template:Transliteration of the tutelary deities of the hearth (Template:Transliteration), for use in kitchens (from Nishino Shrine in Sapporo)
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Template:Transliteration]]), a Shinto-Buddhist grouping of thirty Japanese Template:Transliteration presiding over the thirty days of a lunar month against disease, from a Nichiren-shū ritual manual
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Template:Transliteration posted beside a doorway
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According to legend, the Tendai monk Ryōgen (left) defeated evil spirits by assuming the terrifying form of a horned yaksha or Template:Transliteration (right). Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration bearing this likeness, known as Template:Nihongo3, are available in some Buddhist temples.
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Different types of Template:Transliteration and Template:Transliteration at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū in Kamakura
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Place for returning old talismans (Hokoji Shrine, Takatō, Ina City, Nagano Prefecture)
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A Template:Nihongo inside battleship Template:Transliteration (currently in Mikasa Park in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture). Beside the altar is a wooden Template:Transliteration (Template:Transliteration) from Tōgō Shrine (dedicated to the deified naval leader Tōgō Heihachirō, who used Template:Transliteration as his flagship) in Harajuku, Tokyo.
See alsoEdit
- Template:Transliteration
- Template:Transliteration
- Template:Transliteration
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
- Holy card
- Template:Transliteration
- Template:Transliteration
- Template:Transliteration
- Template:Transliteration
- Template:Transliteration
- Template:Transliteration
- Netsuke
- Template:Transliteration
- Shikigami
- Thai Buddha amulet
Explanatory notesEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Nelson, Andrew N., Japanese-English Character Dictionary, Charles E. Tuttle Company: Publishers, Tokyo, 1999, Template:ISBN
- Masuda Koh, Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo, 1991, Template:ISBN
External linksEdit
Template:Shinto2 Template:Shinto shrine Template:Amulets and Talismans