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Category Archives: Folklore
Izumo celebrates (May/June)
By now most people have heard of the Ise celebrations this year for the completion of its 20 year shikinen sengu cycle of renewal. The buildings will have been reconstructed, the furnishings remade, and the long series of … Continue reading
Posted in Folklore, Izumo, Rites and celebrations
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Sacred arrows
Today is auspicious arrow day… A symbolic shooting of arrows in the air in the direction of the four quarters to ward off evil. There’s a sacred archery festival (busha sai) at Fushimi Inari, which has a close connection with … Continue reading
Posted in Festivals, Folklore, Kyoto shrines, Shrine items
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Ainu
Japan Today carries news of a new political party planned by an Ainu activist… ******************************************************************************************************************************************* Fairer-skinned and more hirsute than most Japanese, the Ainu traditionally observed an animist faith with a belief that God exists in every creation—trees, hills, … Continue reading
Posted in Folklore, Hokkaido, Mythology
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Pagan connections 1) Sacred rocks
Avebury stone circle There are sacred rocks (iwakura) all over Japan, but I’ve never seen a date put on them. The supposition is that they date to the Yayoi Age (300 BC-300 AD), when waves of immigrants brought new … Continue reading
Posted in Ancestor worship, Folklore, International, Paganism, Rocks
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Foxes
In a recent article in the Daily Yomiuri, naturalist and anthropologist Kevin Short has written of the role of the fox in Japanese folklore. For Shinto, the fox looms large in the cult of Inari, and in The Fox and … Continue reading
Posted in Folklore
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