Conducting a 'jichinsai' (land-pacifying) ceremony before the construction of a new building

5) How is Shinto manifest in your daily life now? 

I think the more a person can be aware of the divine, the happier he or she will be and the more meaningful his or her life.  I have my kamidana in the room where I work, and whenever I look at it, I let go of all my anger or fears.  When I am outside, too, the mountains around me are all like friends witnessing my life.  When you see the world this way, it is a much happier place and it has a longer perspective than a single human life.  The purification prayers and rituals have such refreshing imagery.  Whenever I feel troubled, say I’ve had a nightmare, I can summon the great power of nature and feel secure in this world again.  My husband does not believe in gods or spirits outside of living beings, but he has also learned the Great Prayer of Purification (Ohharae no Kotoba) and appreciates its healing powers.  A person can be agnostic or atheist and still derive a lot of benefit from Shinto.  There is joy in maintaining cultural traditions and the wisdom of the elders and in interacting with others on a meaningful level in the community.

Pat Ormsby's altar, complete with Russian Orthodox picture

 6) What do you think of the idea that Shinto should be only for Japanese people?

When I first came to Japan, I thought Shinto was only for the Japanese.  Foreigners have this impression.  I have never heard the Japanese say this, though.  Maybe some of them think it, but they never say it.  I cannot imagine a group of humans anywhere without a small percentage of them being xenophobic.  The only objections to foreign participation I have encountered have been from Japanese who do not like Shinto for some reason.  A few Buddhist sects such as Nichiren denounce it, and there are bad memories from World War II.

Each time I go to a new shrine to participate in its public ceremonies, I get some nervous looks from the staff, but when I demonstrate knowledge of the protocol, they are invariably happy.  Just a week ago, due to a misunderstanding, I wound up participating (not as a priestess) in a ceremony heavily attended by conservatives.  When we inquired at the reception, my husband and I discovered we had not been invited, but the staff insisted we participate anyway.  They are surprisingly inclusive.  You recall the controversy of Yasukuni Shrine is not its exclusivity, but rather its inclusion of persons designated as Class A war criminals and also some foreigners who died for Japan, whose souls arguably might not want to be there.

Shinto is a set of traditions of which Japan is very proud.  When a foreigner shows sincere interest, they take it as a compliment and proof that there really is something special about Shinto.  “When in Rome, do like the Romans,” so when in Japan, why not observe Shinto?  But it goes beyond that, of course.  This is a method of bringing divine inspiration into your life and can be applied wherever you happen to be.  The prayers are in Japanese, though, so it takes a commitment to Japan really to practice it, unlike more cosmopolitan religions like Buddhism.

7) How would you like to see Shinto develop in future?

Shinto has got to appeal more strongly to younger Japanese.  There is too much materialism now and the young are really going to be in trouble if they fail to find their roots in something beyond the pleasures that money can buy or energy-intensive technology can provide.  I think foreigners understand this much better than young Japanese.  This is why foreigners in Japan are starting to turn to Shinto.  It helps you grow roots here.  It helps you understand the heart of Japan.

I like Shinto as it is.  There is a lot one can do without taking steps to join the priesthood, which conservative relatives at home are apt to oppose.  There are non-shrine forms of Shinto which are less formally organized and more highly participatory, such as Shugendo, which has strong Buddhist influence but emphasizes understanding nature.  I participate in Fuji-kyo, which is a folk religion centered around Mt. Fuji, where I live, with more elements of Shinto than Shugendo has.  In Shrine Shinto, the knowledge is codified and preserved, but in folk Shinto it is alive and moving.  The former involves more strict discipline and a remembrance of how things once were, and this is very important as we face a future in which old knowledge will once again play a crucial role in life.  This is why I practice both forms of Shinto.

Pat at the shrine where she trained and practises, Asakawa Konpira

For Part One of this interview, see the previous post below this.

1) I believe you may be the first qualified non-Japanese female priest.  How did that come about?

Actually, Rev. Ann Evans, an accomplished priestess who has a lovely shrine near Victoria, Canada, was the first non-Japanese Shinto priestess as far as I know.  [Reports suggest the shrine is non-functioning.] I presume she was licensed.  Her acquaintance with Shinto was through Rev. Koichi Barrish near Seattle, who had been introduced to Shinto through his knowledge of Aikido.  He was initiated through Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Mie Prefecture.  Within Shrine Shinto, Tsubaki Grand Shrine has been something of an internationally-minded maverick.  The shrine could get away with this (and also took a stand against militarism prior to and during World War II) on account of being too important to crush.  It was second in importance only to Ise Jingu nearby, but the shrine suffered economic hardship and decreased visibility as a result, however.

Kompira Shrine, more formally known as Kotohiragu, was more conservative, but because it represents the god of international trade and travel and because there was a Kompira branch shrine in Hawaii, they felt they had good reason to consider taking in a foreigner.  It is an international age after all.

My own introduction to Shinto was through efforts by a community of Japanese and foreigners to save a small mountain on the western edge of Tokyo, which had a Kompira shrine that had fallen into disuse.  The mountain, they learned, could be saved from destruction if the shrine were revitalized and ceremonies held on a regular basis.  Through this effort, many foreigners living in Tokyo were able to learn about Shinto, and were finding that it has some surprisingly positive aspects.  I wanted to help out in a meaningful way, so I offered to become a priestess.  Because I was raised as a Buddhist (in Salt Lake City), my family had no objection to this.

2) Could you tell us what the training involved?

The formal training of Kotohiragu Honkyo consists of a five-day course in Shikoku held annually in May.  Prior to attending, however, there is a tacit understanding that one will have already received much training and basic knowledge at one’s local shrine.  (I went with very little.)  One must of course be fluent in Japanese.  It is also considered normal to have memorized several standard prayers.

Kotohiragu, commonly known as Konpira Shrine, in Shikoku (photo by Joe Jones)

Course participants wear white hakamas and kimonos, participate in formal shrine ceremonies, practice and perform standardized ceremonies in groups, attend classes on subjects such as shrine history, prayer composition, specialized purification ceremonies, formal dressing, etc.  The teachers never fail to surprise and challenge the students.  This year, the course included a special ceremony for Japan’s recovery after the March disaster, for which we studied a special prayer written by the shrine’s historian.  There are written tests each year.  Students have given impromptu sermons, written essays on unfamiliar kanji and memorized new prayers.  They practice the discipline of a traditional Japanese lifestyle.  This has never been too hard, though, because everyone works as a group, and people with greater abilities help those with lesser.  By participating I have come to appreciate how Japanese society really works.

3) Does the licence qualify you to carry out ceremonies anywhere, or just at Kompira shrines? And do you currently hold a position?

My license qualifies me to perform ceremonies at any Shinto shrine.  The other factor is demand.  I hold no formal position, but would be welcome to participate or even lead ceremonies at the Asakawa Kompira Shrine in western Tokyo.  I just live too far to do that regularly.

4) What kinds of rituals and ceremonies have you presided over?

The kinds of ceremonies one can perform in Shinto are virtually limitless, and depend on the needs of one’s community.  Caitlin Stronell, our other foreign priestess at Asakawa Kompira has suggested “divorce ceremonies” and purification rituals for rape victims.  I have performed weddings, ground-breaking ceremonies, an exorcism of a haunted house, purification ceremonies for people who felt they were under a curse, formal mid-summer and New Year’s festivities, monthly shrine ceremonies and divination ceremonies involving fire or a resonating cask of steaming rice placed over boiling water.  I have also practiced, but not yet led, the misogi ceremony, involving purification by water, typically by standing under a waterfall.  In all cases, I would say the objective is to provide a venue conducive to experiencing divine presence by all participants. Anything you can do to help people emotionally or spiritually can become the focus of a special ceremony.

(For Part Two of the interview, click here.)