sai (ritual, offer prayers, celebrate, deify, enshrine, worship)
shi (enshrine, worship)
saishi (ritual, religious service, festival)
shû (state, province)
zoku (customs)
shûzoku (local customs)

---

❖ Traditions, practices, and customs related to festivals and the rituals that form part of them

Basic Format of matsuri – Usually has four elements: 1) harae; 2) shinsen; (3) norito; and (4) naorai. It may also include other events.

(purification,exorcism)

---

❖ Purification, exorcism
❖ Also called harai

(purification,exorcism)

---

hara.i (purification,exorcism)

shin | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
sen (food, offerings)

---

❖ Food offerings presented to kami

nao.ra (straightaway, honesty, frankness)
i (meeting, meet, party, association)

---

❖ A communal feast consisting of the offerings

o (honorable)
mi (august, beautiful)
koshi (palanquin, bier)

---

o (honorable – written with kanji or hiragana)
mi | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
koshi (palanquin, bier)

---

❖ Portable shrine (carried in festivals)
❖ Used to carry the kami in procession to its temporary location for a matsuri
❖ Also called dashi, mikoshi, yama-boko

da | sa (mountain)
shi | sha (car)

---

da | ? ka (flower) – may be derived from dai (counter for vehicles)
shi | sha (car)

---

mi (august, beautiful)
koshi (palanquin, bier)

---

mi | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
koshi (palanquin, bier)

---

yama (mountain)
boko | hoko (festival float)

kagu | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
ra (music, comfort, ease)

---

❖ Ancient shintô music and dancing
❖ Dances and music performanced for the kami
❖ (See satokagura)

(ability, talent, skill, capacity)

---

❖ Dramatic performances
❖ Usually with a mythic theme
❖ (See noh)

kan | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
waza (business, vocation, arts, performance)

---

❖ Martial displays and artistic activities
❖ Also called kamiwaza, kamuwaza

kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
waza | koto (matter, thing, fact, business)

---

kamu | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
waza (business, vocation, arts, performance)

funa (ship, boat)
kura.be (competion, bout, contest, race) – archaic

---

❖ Boat races between villages

kei (competion, bout, contest, race)
ba (horse)

---

❖ Horse racing

kyû (bow, archery)
dô (way, course, teachings)

---

❖ Japanese archery

su | sô (inter-, mutual, together, each other)
mo | boku (slap, strike, hit, beat)

---

❖ Japanese wrestling
❖ Highly ritualized

ya | na (current, flow)
busa | kabura (arrowhead)
me (horse)

---

❖ Mounted archery while riding past three equal size targets

matsuri (ritual, offer prayers, celebrate, deify, enshrine, worship)
gi (ceremony, rules)

---

❖ Rites / rituals

ga (gracious, elegant, graceful, refined)
gaku (music, comfort, ease)

---

❖ Traditional music of the Japanese Imperial Court
❖ gagaku is considered a vehicle of communication between the kami and worshipers

bi (glissando on strings, lute)
wa (lute)

---

❖ A short-necked lute
❖ The kami benzaiten is often shown carrying a biwa

hichi (fence)
riki (horn, flageolet)

---

❖ Small double-reed wind instrument
❖ Made of bamboo, with 7 holes on top and 2 below

(traditional Japanese wind instrument resembling panpipes)

---

❖ A reed mouth organ made of 17 bamboo pipes

tai (plump, thick, big around)
ko (drum, beat)

---

❖ Drums

hai (prayer, worship)
rei (ceremony)

---

❖ The formal manner of paying worship to kami

❖ kami no mae ni tachidomatte – Stand in front of kami

---

❖ nirei – (two expressions of gratitude) Bow deeply twice

---

❖ nihakushu – (two oak hands) Clap hands twice

---

❖ shinsen – Make an offering

---

❖ kigan – or a prayer

---

❖ norito – or an invocation to the kami (See norito)

---

❖ ichirei – (one expression of gratitude) Then make another deep bow

haku (oak)
shu (hand)

---

❖ (clapping one's hands in prayer)
❖ Part of proper etiquette for worshipping a kami

chô (long)
haku (oak)
shu (hand)

---

❖ (long clapping)
❖ Four claps or more

hira (flat, open)
de | te (hands)

---

❖ (palm, open hand clapping)

kashiwa (oak)
de | te (hands)

---

❖ (oak hands)
❖ One of the formal manners of performing worship in shintô
❖ One raises the hands to chest level and claps
❖ The ways of clapping and the number of times vary

ni (two)
haku (oak)
shu (hands)

---

❖ (two claps)

rai (come, next, become) ?
shu (hands)

---

❖ Performed when presented with a cup of sake or before kyozen (food served on individual tables at a banquet)

shino.bi (endure, bear, put up with, conceal)
te (hands)

---

❖ Silent clapping
❖ Performed at shinsôsai

tan (short, brief)
haku (oak)
shu (hands)

---

❖ (short clapping)
❖ One to three times

kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, gratitude, awe, or terror)
ri (rough-woven fence, bamboo hedge)

---

❖ (kami fence) [archaism]
❖ Actual pronunciation appears to be based on the two kanji below

---

[archaism] (offerings to kami)

---

[archaism] (offerings to kami)

---

❖ A temporarily erected sacred space or "altar" used as a locus of worship
❖ Primitive shrine – originally a swath of sacred land surrounded by evergreens; later a decorated sakaki branch on an eight-legged table
❖ himorogi are represented by the demarcation of a physical area with branches of green bamboo or sakaki at the four corners, between which are strung sacred border shimenawa
❖ In the center of the area a large branch of sakaki festooned with hei is erected as a yorishiro

kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, gratitude, awe, or terror)
mukae (welcome, meet, greet)

---

❖ Ritual invitation to kami to attend

kô (descend, fall)
shin | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
no (possessive particle)
gi (ceremony)

---

❖ The descent of kami on a sakaki branch at the opening of a ritual

kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, gratitude, awe, or terror)
oku.ri (escort, send)

---

❖ Ritual sending off of kami after harai

shô (ascend, rise up)
shin | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
no (possessive particle)
gi (ceremony)

---

❖ The ascent of kami at the end of a ritual

(ability, talent, skill)

---

❖ Religious drama evolved from shintô rituals that expresed themes in Japanese mythology
❖ Also called nôgaku

nô (ability, talent, skill)
gaku (music)

shin | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
ji (matter, thing, business)
nô (ability, talent, skill)

---

❖ nô plays performed as part of shintô ceremonies

sai (ritual, offer prayers, celebrate, deify, enshrine, worship)
jitsu (day, sun)

---

❖ (Literally: festival day)
❖ The day on which a matsuri is held

sato (village)
kagu | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
ra (music)

---

❖ All kagura not held at the imperial palace
❖ An umbrella term containing folk dances derived from mikagura, and incorporated with other folk traditions
❖ kagura is considered a vehicle of communication between kami and worshipers

kagu | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
ra (music)
uta (song, sing)

---

❖ Songs composed to go with kagura

miko (female shrine attendants)
onna (woman, female)
miko (shrine maiden, virgin consecrated to a kami, medium, sorceress)
kagu | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
ra (music)

---

miko (female shrine attendants)
ko (child) – archaic
kagu | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
ra (music)

---

kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, gratitude, awe, or terror)
ko (child) – archaic
kagu | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
ra (music)

---

❖ Dances performed by miko derived from ritual dances in which the miko channeled kami, speaking, singing, and dancing as kami

miko (female shrine attendants)
mai (Japanese traditional dance, circle, wheel)

---

❖ Ritual dances performed at shintô shrines by one or more miko, holding bells, o-gi (folding fans), fronds of bamboo, or sakaki as torimono

ura (bay, creek, inlet, gulf, beach, seacoast)
yasu (quiet, contented, peaceful)
no (possesive | of)
mai (Japanese traditional dance, circle, wheel)

---

❖ Based on a poem by emperor showa:
To all kami, Of heaven and earth I pray, For a tranquil world,
Without disturbances, — like the sea in the morning.

shi (lion) | shi (child)
kagu | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
ra (music)

---

shi (expert, teacher, master) | shi (child)
kagu | kami (that which inspires feelings of reverence, awe, gratitude, fear/terror)
ra (music)

---

❖ A form of lion dance, in which dancers take on the role of the shishi lion and parade around the town

shi (lion)
shi (child)
mai (Japanese traditional dance, circle, wheel)

---

shi (expert, teacher, master)
shi (child)
mai (Japanese traditional dance, circle, wheel)

---

shishi (deer)
mai (Japanese traditional dance, circle, wheel)

---

❖ Ritual dance using the mask of a lion or a deer

shishi (beast – esp. one used for its meat, such as a boar)

---

shishi (animal, beast – esp. one used for its meat, such as a boar or a deer)

---

shishi (beast – esp. one used for its meat, such as a deer)