Treatise 5: Deities of Heaven and Earth V: Rituals II

¶The Ōimi Festival (Ōimi-no-Matsuri) honors the Ōimi deity of Hirose, the wind deity of Tatsuta, the six deities of the Six Districts (Mutsu-no-Agata) of Yamato Province, and the fourteen Yamaguchi (mountain-entrance) deities. The festival was held in the hope that the waters of the mountains and valleys would become sweet and good, moisten the seedlings and the rice, and bring a rich harvest. (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige and the Engishiki.)

¶In the reign of Emperor Sujin, a great wind ravaged the crops, and even the grasses and trees withered. The Emperor was greatly alarmed, purified himself, and prayed to the gods. Then an oracle came to him in a dream, saying: "Worship the two deities of Hirose and Tatsuta." The Ōimi Festival begins from this (Note: based on the Ryō no Shūge and the Engishiki). Following the gods' instruction, the Emperor also offered a black shield and spear and worshipped the Yamaguchi deity of Ōsaka (Note: based on the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki; the Yamaguchi deities follow the Engishiki). The joint worship of the Yamaguchi deities is also based on this precedent. After this, the histories record only the outline and lack detail. The festival probably became a fixed observance beginning in the third year of Emperor Temmu, and was held in the first month of summer and of autumn (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki). After the Taihō era it was carried on in the same way, with four days used for it (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige and the Engishiki).

¶In the eighteenth year of Enryaku (799), because the provincial governor of Yamato had neglected the two festivals of Hirose and Tatsuta, an imperial order was issued admonishing and correcting him (Note: based on the Nihon Kōki).

¶Under the Kōnin regulations, one envoy was designated from among the princes and ministers of the Fifth Rank and above, and the matter was reported to the Office of Controllers (Benkan). The Office of Controllers passed it on to Yamato Province, and the officials of the provincial governor's office from the vice-governor upward took sole charge of conducting it. That is, each district was made to present two loads of offerings (nie) obtained by trade; the payment for these, together with rice, sake, and rice plants, was all drawn from the province's regular tax revenue, and whatever else was needed was requested from the office concerned (Note: based on the Kōnin Shiki as quoted in the Honchō Gatsuryō, and the Engishiki). The Engi regulations followed this and additionally added one official of the Sixth Rank or below from the Department of Deities (Jingikan) (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶The Wind Deity Festival (Kaze-no-Kami-no-Matsuri) honors the wind deity and the Hirose deity. It bears this name because it is held in the hope that no ill winds will blow and the grain will ripen abundantly (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige and the Engishiki).

¶Because Emperor Sujin was troubled by the damage of violent winds, he followed the gods' instruction and enshrined the two deities Ame-no-Mihashira and Kuni-no-Mihashira at Tatsuta, praying that the calamity would cease. The Wind Deity Festival begins from this (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶From the third year of Emperor Temmu onward, it probably became a regular annual observance (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki). Its festival days, the provisioning of the envoys, and so on are all the same as for the Ōimi Festival (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki, the Ryō no Gige, the Kōnin Shiki as quoted in the Honchō Gatsuryō, and the Engishiki).

¶The Flower-Quelling Festival (Hana-shizume-no-Matsuri) honors the two deities Ōmiwa and Sai: in spring, when the flowers scatter, the plague deities cause disease to spread, and so these deities are worshipped to calm and drive away the pestilential influence. This is called "flower-quelling" (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige).

¶In the reign of Emperor Sujin, a plague raged, and the people died young one after another. The Emperor was alarmed, followed the gods' instruction, and worshipped Ōmononushi-no-Kami. Thereupon the pestilential influence subsided and the realm was at peace (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki). The Flower-Quelling Festival probably begins from this. After the Taihō era it was fixed for the late spring season and was conducted by the priests (hafuri) (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige and the Engishiki). In later ages this festival lapsed (Note: based on the Seikyūki, the Hokuzan Shō, and the Gōke Shidai).

¶The Saikusa Festival (Saikusa-no-Matsuri) honors the Isagawa deity. It has this name because the sake jars are decorated with saikusa flowers (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige). After the Taihō era it was fixed for the early summer season and was conducted by the priests and others (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige and the Engishiki). In later ages this festival lapsed (Note: based on the Seikyūki, the Hokuzan Shō, and the Gōke Shidai).

¶The Ainame Festival (Ainame-no-Matsuri) is held when the Emperor offers the new harvest (niiname) to the various deities of the realm: first the new rice and new sake are presented, and the renowned deities (myōjin) of the capital and its surroundings and of the home provinces are feasted. This is called "ainame" (Note: compiled with reference to the Ryō no Gige, the Engishiki, and the Chūyūki). It probably began in the fourth year of Emperor Temmu (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki).

¶Under the Taihō regulations, the first Rabbit (U) day of the first month of winter was used, and the deities worshipped included Ōyamato, Unatari, Utari, Sumiyoshi, Ōmiwa, Murawa, Anashi, Makimuku, Ike, Onji, Ō, Katsuragi-no-Kamo, Kii-no-Kuni-no-Kakasu, Hinokuma, Itakiso, and Narukami; the priests (kannushi) of each received the official offerings (kanpei) and conducted the rites (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige and the Ryō no Shūge).

¶Under the Engi regulations, the renowned deities taking part in the festival numbered sixty-seven seats in the capital and the Kinai, and four in Kii. Their offerings were all entrusted to the priests and distributed (Note: based on the Engishiki). In later ages this festival lapsed (Note: based on the Kuji Kongen).

¶The Chinkon Festival (Chinkon-sai) adds Ōnaobi-no-Kami to the eight deities worshipped by the Department of Deities (Note: based on the Engishiki; the Nihon Shoki gives Ōnaobi as Ōnaohi), and celebrates the auspicious treasures (mizu-no-takara) for the Emperor and Empress, prays for long life, and summons the wandering soul to settle it in the center of the body; hence it is called "chinkon" (soul-pacifying) (Note: based on the Sendai Kuji Hongi and the Ryō no Gige). It is also called "shōkon" (soul-summoning) (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki).

¶In ancient times, when Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto descended to earth, the heavenly deities gave him ten auspicious treasures (Note: the auspicious treasures are the Okitsu Mirror, the Hetsu Mirror, the Eight-Fist Sword, the Ikutama, the Makarukaeshi-no-Tama, the Tarutama, the Chikaeshi-no-Tama, the snake scarf, the bee scarf, and the scarf of various things, one of each, ten kinds in all). He taught: "If a person is stricken with illness, raise these auspicious treasures, count aloud from one to ten, and also shake them while reciting 'Furube, yurayura to furube.' Then even the dead will come back to life." His son Umashimade-no-Mikoto transmitted this method, and when the first Emperor ascended the throne, he presented the auspicious treasures, performed the rites, and pacified the Emperor's spirit. The Chinkon Festival begins from this (Note: based on the Sendai Kuji Hongi).

¶In the distant past, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, ancestor of the Sarume lords, sought to appease the wrath of the heavenly ancestor: holding a spear hung with bells (nurite) and stamping on an overturned tub, she performed a skillful comic dance and softened the god's heart. This too is nothing other than the purpose of the Chinkon. For this reason the Sarume clan also served for generations as shrine maidens (mikannagi) and attended this festival (Note: based on the Kogo Shūi).

¶Emperor Sujin stored the auspicious treasures at the Isonokami Shrine (Note: based on the Sendai Kuji Hongi), and afterward they were moved into the palace from time to time for the rites to be performed (Note: based on the Jōgan Gishiki Taii). In the thirteenth year of Emperor Temmu, the festival was held on the Hinoe-Tora day of the eleventh month (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki). After the Taihō era the Tiger (Tora) day of the first month of winter continued to be used (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige). Since the Mononobe clan lost that office, the Director of the Department of Deities (Jingi-haku) was made to preside over this festival (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki and the Jōgan Gishiki Taii), and the post of shrine maiden was no longer entrusted to the Sarume clan. In the Daidō era, Inbe no Hironari petitioned that the Sarume office be restored (Note: based on the Kogo Shūi; also, the Ruijū Kokushi records that in the fourth year of Kōnin (813) a vacancy among the Sarume was filled, so it was probably restored at that time).

¶In the fourteenth year of Kōnin (823), it was ordered: "The day and hour of the festival shall be fixed; preparations for all matters shall be completed at the first point of the Rooster (Tori) hour, and at the second point those of the rank of consultant (sangi) or above shall take their seats and proceed with the rites" (Note: based on the Nenjū Gyōji Hishō).

¶In the Jōgan era, the ceremonial was revised and fixed once more. On the festival day, the office concerned sets up the seats of the deities in the hall of the Ministry of the Imperial Household; the Minister and those below him sit south of the West Hall, with the seat of the Controller (Ben-no-daibu) a little to the west of that, south of it the seats of the Secretaries (Geki and Shi), south of that the seats of the Council of State and of the left and right clerks (shishō), and slightly east of due south the seat of the Kanshō attendants. In the first bay on the north side of the East Hall are placed the seats of the Geki, the Shi, and the Secretary (jō) and Clerk (sakan) of the Ministry of Ceremonial; in the second bay the seats of the Council of State and the left and right clerks and the clerks of the Ministry of Ceremonial; in the third bay the seats of the Kanshō attendants and the ministry attendants. At the second point of the Rooster hour, the Minister and those below him take their seats in the West Hall, and the Director of the Department of Deities and those below him, wearing robes dyed with bush-clover patterns (harizuri), lead the koto players, the shrine maidens, the Kamutomo (shrine attendants), and the Urabe (diviners), carry in the offerings to the gods, divide left and right, and enter and stand in the courtyard. The Kamutomo ascend by the east stairs and arrange the divine treasures in the hall (Note: the divine treasures are probably the so-called ten auspicious treasures). Next they ascend carrying the sacred tables, followed by the shrine maidens. Next the Kamutomo ascend carrying the koto and place them in the hall. The officials of the Department of Deities of the Fifth Rank and above ascend by the west stairs, and those of the Sixth Rank and below by the west side stairs, and take their seats. Next the Daizenshiki (Palace Table Office) and the Mikinotsukasa (Sake Office) present the eight-substance offerings (yashiro-mono), and the Nuidonoryō (Sewing Office) leads the Sarume up by the east side stairs to their seats. Next a court lady (Naishi) comes out from the inner palace carrying the box of the Emperor's robes, ascends by the east stairs, and takes her seat. The Ministry of Civil Affairs (Jibushō) leads the singers of the Bureau of Court Music up by the west side stairs to their seats. When this is finished, the Minister comes out of the West Hall, ascends by the west side stairs and takes his seat, has an attendant summon the Secretary of the Ministry of Ceremonial, and the Secretary enters and takes his appointed place. The Minister says, "Tone (court officials), let the Secretary return to his place," and when this has been received, the cry "Tone, take your places" is raised, whereupon those of the Fifth Rank and above enter and take their places. The Geki and Shi lead the clerks, the Kanshō attendants, and others out of the West Hall to stand beneath the screen, and, waiting for the Ministry of Ceremonial officials to enter, take their seats in the East Hall. When this is finished, the Minister summons the officials of the Ministry of the Treasury (Ōkurashō). The Secretary steps forward and takes his appointed place, and the Minister says, "We bestow the cotton (yū) to be used for the wreaths"; the Secretary replies, "Understood," and, leading the Clerk, the clerks, and the Kurabe (treasury attendants), fills baskets with cotton and distributes it to the officials of the Department of Deities. Next the Secretary gives it to the Minister, and the Clerk to those of the Fifth Rank and above. Next the clerks give it to those from the Assistant Director (hangan) down to the Recorder (sakan), and the Kurabe to those below the clerks. When this is finished, the Director of the Department of Deities summons the koto players and flute players, and all enter and take their seats. The Director orders the flute and koto to be played; first one piece is played on the flute, and then the koto is tuned. When this is finished, the koto player plucks the strings and sings a song twice together with the Kamutomo. Next the court-music singers raise their voices and likewise sing it twice. The Kamutomo keep time, and a shrine maiden performs a dance; at each dance the Kannagibe (ritual attendants) praise it three times (Note: the words of praise are "Ana tōto"). The Recorder of the Ministry of the Treasury places two sheets of Aki cotton (akiyū) in a box and sets it before the Director. The shrine maiden stands on the overturned tub, takes a spear in her hand and strikes the tub with it, dividing the strikes into groups of ten. The Director ties a wreath of cotton. At this time the Chamberlain (Kurōdo) opens the box of the Emperor's robes and shakes it (Note: from "at this time" onward follows the Kōnin Shiki as quoted in the Ononomiya Nenjū Gyōji and the Seiryō-ki as quoted in the Seiji Yakuryaku. Also, according to the Satsukai-ki, on the festival day a mountain-shelf (yamadana) is built, and the Urabe place the tub to the west of it; the tub is shaped like a flat chest (hirabitsu), about three or four sun high and about two shaku wide. The shrine maiden's girl attendants wear their hair bound up, dressed in blue open-sided robes (ketteki no hō) and outer trousers (uwa-no-hakama), with sashes to which are attached paper painted in ink with rocks, together with a bell and a garment, and a sakaki branch added. It is not known whether this practice is truly ancient. It is appended here for reference). Then the shrine maiden and the other shrine maidens and the Sarume dance in turn. Next the Assistant Secretary of the Imperial Household (Kunai-no-jō), the chamberlains (jijū), the Uchitoneri, and the Ōtoneri each stand and dance, and when they finish the dance they return to their places and are granted a banquet. When the Department of Deities and the others have finished eating, they clap three times and pass the sake around three rounds. They clap once more and then withdraw. The festivals for the Empress (Chūgū) and the Crown Prince (Tōgū) are similar, but for the Crown Prince the Snake (Mi) day is used (Note: based on the Jōgan Gishiki).

¶The Engi regulations followed this, but the ceremony of arranging the divine treasures has not been transmitted. As for the divine food offerings, on the festival day the shrine maidens pound spring rice in the purification precinct (saiin) of the Department of Deities, sift it through a coarse sieve, cook it in a Korean-style cauldron (karakamado), put it in rush vessels (inoke), place it in a chest, set it on a table, and have the Kamutomo present it. There is also the Mitamashizume-no-Iwaitobe Festival, which the Nakatomi clan holds in the last month of winter. The Department of Deities, the purification precinct, the Empress, and the Crown Prince also hold it (Note: based on the Engishiki). Its purport is probably no different from that of the Chinkon Festival.

¶The Fire-Quelling Festival (Hoshizume-no-Matsuri) goes back to ancient times, when Izanami-no-Mikoto, having given birth to the fire deity Kagutsuchi-no-Kami, was injured in her body and, as she was dying, laid down the means of quelling fire (Note: from "goes back to" onward is compiled with reference to the Nihongi Sanso and the Shinsen Kamei-ki). Its purport is set out in detail in the ritual prayer (norito) (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶Under the Taihō regulations, in the last month of summer and of winter, the Urabe performed it at the four corners of the capital (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige). Its ritual prayer says:

¶(Note: the ritual prayer is given as in the original text) "By the august words of the Imperial Kamurogi and Kamuromi, who dwell in the High Plain of Heaven, when the Sovereign Grandchild was entrusted with the realm, that he might rule the Land of Fertile Reeds and Abundant Rice Ears in peace as a tranquil land, I speak with the great solemn heavenly ritual words that were entrusted at that time.

¶The deities Izanagi and Izanami, the two pillars, husband and wife, joined in marriage and gave birth to the many countries of the land and the many islands, and gave birth to the eight million deities; and then, when she bore Homusubi, the fire deity, her womb was burned, and she hid herself in a rock cave. Saying 'Do not look at me for seven nights and seven days,' she called him 'my beloved husband.' But before the seven days were up, finding her hiding strange, he looked at her, and as she had given birth to fire her womb had been burned. At that time, she, who had said 'Do not look at me,' said, 'You have exposed me and looked upon me.' She said that 'my beloved husband shall rule the upper land, and I shall rule the lower land,' and hiding in the rock cave, she came to Yomotsu Hirasaka, and thought, 'In the upper land that my husband rules, I have left behind a child of evil heart.'

¶Returning, he gave birth again. The water deity, the gourd, the river-greens, and Haniyama-hime: these four kinds of things he gave birth to, and instructed and taught that the violence of this evil-hearted child should be quelled with the water deity, the gourd, Haniyama-hime, and the river-greens. Therefore, when the words of praise have been completed, that the heart of the Sovereign Grandchild's court may not be hasty and violent, the offerings presented are the five colors of cloth, bright cloth, shining cloth, soft cloth, and coarse cloth; of the creatures dwelling in the blue sea-plain, those with broad fins and those with narrow fins, down to the seaweeds of the offing and of the shore; the sake is heaped high around the rims of the jars and the jars are filled to their bellies and set in rows; and down to the soft rice and the coarse rice, they are piled high like the mountains of a hillside; and I speak, having completed the words of praise with the great ritual words of heaven."

¶The Michiae Festival (Michiae-no-Matsuri) honors three deities: Yachimata-hiko, Yachimata-hime, and Kunado (Note: based on the Engishiki). It is held in the hope that evil spirits (onimono) coming in from outside will not enter the capital, by going out to meet and entertain them on the roads in advance and so stopping them. This is why it has this name (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige and the Ryō no Shūge).

¶In ancient times, Izanagi-no-Mikoto, grieving over the death of Izanami-no-Mikoto, pursued her all the way to the land of Yomi, but on seeing her ugly, defiled form he fled. Izanami resented this and sent the hags of Yomi (Yomotsu-shikome) after him. Izanagi threw down grapes and bamboo shoots and the like, and while they ate these he escaped and returned. Then he had Funado-no-Kami and Chimata-no-Kami block the road by which they would come (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki; Funado-no-Kami is Kunado-no-Kami himself, and Chimata-no-Kami presumably refers to the two deities Yachimata-hiko and Yachimata-hime). The Michiae Festival has its origin in this episode (Note: based on the Nihongi Sanso).

¶Under the Taihō regulations, in the last month of summer and of winter, the Urabe and others performed it at the four corners of the capital (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige). The Left and Right Capital Offices (Kyōshiki) all took part in this festival as well (Note: based on the Ryō no Shūge). When a plague broke out, the provinces also held this festival.

¶In the eighth month of the seventh year of Tenpyō (735), because many had died of plague in Dazaifu, an imperial order had offerings presented to the deities within its jurisdiction and prayers made for the people. The governors (kami) or vice-governors (suke) of the provinces from Nagato Province westward were made to purify themselves and devote themselves to conducting the Michiae Festival (Note: based on the Shoku Nihongi).

¶On occasion there were also extraordinary Plague Deity Festivals (Ekijin-no-Matsuri) at the four corners of the capital and at ten places on the borders of the Kinai (Note: based on the Engishiki; according to the original note, the ten places are: for Yamashiro Province, the borders with the six provinces of Ōmi, Tanba, Settsu, Kawachi, Yamato, and Iga; for Yamato Province, the borders with Iga and Kii; for Izumi Province, the border with Kii Province; and for Settsu Province, the border with Harima Province). In the first year of Hōki (770), plague deities were worshipped at the four corners of the capital and at the ten border places of the Kinai (Note: based on the Shoku Nihongi). These two festivals appear in the records for the first time at this point.

¶The Ōtono Festival (Ōtono-no-Matsuri) (Note: the festival is also called "hokai," meaning celebration, and its purport is slightly different from that of the other festivals) honors Yafune-kukuchi-no-Mikoto, Yafune-toyoukehime-no-Mikoto, and Ōmiyame-no-Mikoto. Kukuchi-no-Mikoto is the spirit of trees, and Toyoukehime-no-Mikoto is the spirit of rice. It is a prayer that no calamity or disturbance may befall the palace halls, and hence its name (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶In ancient times, when the grandson of the heavenly ancestor was in the Heavenly Rock Cave, Ame-no-Futodama-no-Mikoto led the deities of the various guilds, had the two deities Taoki-hohoi and Hikosashiri build a splendid hall, and had the various deities make mirrors, jewels, and offerings; they prayed to the heavenly ancestor and begged him to move into the new hall. Ame-no-Futodama, together with Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto, stretched the sun-rope across the top of the hall, and had the deity Ōmiyame attend before him. The Ōtono Festival probably begins from this.

¶When the first Emperor ascended the throne at the Kashihara Palace, Ame-no-Tomi-no-Mikoto, following the ancient rites of the age of the gods, had the descendants of the two deities Taoki-hohoi and Hikosashiri build the main hall, and had the descendants of the various deities prepare and furnish the offerings, and celebrated and prayed over the hall. The Emperor then entered the main hall and ruled the lands of the four quarters. From this time on, the Ōtono Festival remained for a long time the hereditary office of the Inbe clan, with the Nakatomi clan assisting in the service. By the Hōki era, the Nakatomi clan had gained power and arbitrarily altered the ancient form, making it so that the Nakatomi led the Inbe in attending. In the Daidō era, Inbe no Hironari submitted a memorial arguing exhaustively that this was wrong (Note: based on the Kogo Shūi). Afterward the old form was restored.

¶Under the Jōgan regulations, it was held before and after the Daijōsai (Great Thanksgiving Festival), the Jinkonjiki, and the Niinamesai (Harvest Festival), except that at the earlier festival no report was made to the Emperor and no gifts of rewards were bestowed (Note: compiled with reference to the Jōgan Gishiki and the Engishiki). In the ceremony, the Department of Deities places four boxes (Note: one box holds rice, one holds cut cotton, one holds rice, and one holds a sake jar) on two eight-legged tables, and has four Kamutomo carry them. The Nakatomi, Inbe, officials, Miyaji (court ritualists), clerks, Kamutomo, and others wear wreaths and sashes of cotton and advance in two files, left and right. The shrine maidens line up behind the tables and place the tables on the veranda (sunoko) outside the Enseimon Gate. An Ōtoneri knocks on the gate and announces the visit. The gatekeeper (Ishi) reports, "Official so-and-so of the Imperial Household says that he is announcing a visit in order to report on the Ōtono Festival," and an imperial command comes: "Let him speak." The gatekeeper relays this and announces: "The Ministry of the Imperial Household reports on the Department of Deities' attendance at the Ōtono Festival." By imperial command they are summoned. The Ministry of the Imperial Household answers "Yes" and calls them in, and the Department of Deities likewise answers "Yes." The Nakatomi, wearing a wreath of cotton, and the Inbe, wearing a cotton headdress with a sash added, both stand before the tables and proceed straight to the Jijūden (Hall of Longevity). Before this, the shrine maidens and others enter from the Sen'yōmon Gate and wait in the inner palace; they enter with the tables, reach the veranda on the east side of the hall, and take up the boxes. The Nakatomi, Inbe, shrine maidens, and others all enter the hall. One of the shrine maidens goes to the Shishinden (Hall for State Ceremonies), and one goes to the Shōmeimon Gate, and both scatter rice. The Inbe take jewels and hang them at the four corners of the hall. The shrine maidens scatter rice, sake, and cut cotton and withdraw. The Nakatomi wait to the south of the Jijūden, and the Inbe, facing southwest, recite the ritual prayer in a low voice. The ritual prayer says:

¶"By the Imperial Kamurogi and Kamuromi, kin of the sovereign, who dwell in the High Plain of Heaven, the Sovereign Grandchild was seated on the heavenly high throne, and had the sword and mirror, the heavenly regalia, held up and presented to him, and I speak words of blessing" (Note: "kotohogu," to speak words of blessing, is called "kotohoki" in the old language, and is what we now call words of celebration).

¶"The Sovereign Grandchild, the precious child of the sovereign, seated on this heavenly high throne, was entrusted to rule in peace as a tranquil land the Great Eight Islands, the Land of Fertile Reeds and Abundant Rice Ears, through the heavenly succession of the sun for a long autumn of a thousand autumns and ten thousand autumns (Note: "shirosu," to rule, is "shiroshimesu" in the old language); and with the heavenly measure, he silenced even the rock roots, the tree stumps, and the hedge-leaves of the grasses that had spoken, and descended from heaven to the realm under heaven that he governs. Now the hall of the Sovereign Grandchild, who rules the heavenly succession of the sun, was built from trees that stood in the great and small gorges of the inner mountains, felled with the Inbe's sacred axe, their roots and tips offered to the mountain deity and the middle parts carried out; the sacred pillars were set up with the sacred spade, and the fresh and splendid hall (Note: "tono," hall, is "araka" in the old language), made and served as the heavenly shade and the sun's shade of the Sovereign Grandchild: to you, Yafune-no-Mikoto, with the heavenly wondrous words of protection (Note: "kushi iwai-goto" in the old language), I speak the words of blessing and pacification.

¶On this ground of the great palace where he rules, to the depths of the foundation rocks and the lower rope-roots (Note: in the old language, things like kudzu ropes are called tsuna-ne), may there be no harm from crawling creatures; in the High Plain of Heaven, to where the blue clouds trail, may there be no harm from the flying birds from which heavenly blood drips; may the pillars, crossbeams, and beams that have been dug in firmly, and the doors and windows, not creak (Note: "kishimu" is "kikahi" in the old language), shift, or sound; may the vine bindings of the offerings that have been tied on not slacken; may the thatch that has been laid not rustle (Note: "sawagu" is "sosoki" in the old language); may the sun on the august bed be clear and bright, and may there be no flustered, noisy, or fearsome behavior of the night-watching women; and I speak the names of the deities who guard and protect in peace and tranquility.

¶I speak the names Yafune-kukuchi-no-Mikoto and Yafune-toyoukehime-no-Mikoto (Note: Toyoukehime-no-Mikoto is the spirit of rice, commonly called Ukanomitama. The present-day custom in birthing huts of placing bundled wood and rice at the doorway and scattering rice inside the house is of this kind), praising their names so that they will guard the reign of the Sovereign Grandchild as firm rock and eternal rock, in a reign of fifty oaks, a reign of fullness, and as a reign of long rice fields, in blessing; to the fresh and splendid five-hundred-fold string of jewels of Yasakani's breath, made and served by the Imitamatsukuri, who purified themselves, kept the abstinence, and made them in purity, attaching bright cloth offerings and shining cloth offerings (Note: "wagi," soft offerings, is "nikite" in the old language); and may Kannaobi-no-Mikoto and Ōnaobi-no-Mikoto, if there are any omissions or lapses in the words of blessing and pacification that Inbe no Sukune So-and-so speaks, with a stout sash slung over his weak shoulders, hear them again and see them again and correct them, and rule in peace and tranquility, so I speak.

¶Speaking the words separately, I say: that the name Ōmiyame-no-Mikoto is spoken because she dwells and guards within the same hall as the Sovereign Grandchild, correcting and softening (Note: "yawasu" is "yawashi" in the old language) the unruly clamoring of the deities selected and arrayed for the people who enter and depart, and presents the Sovereign Grandchild's morning and evening meals. For the companions who wear scarves (hire) and the companions who wear sashes, may they not stumble with hands or feet (Note: "tsumazuku" is "magahi" in the old language), and may the princes, the royal nobles, the ministers, and the hundred officials not stray from the road, and without crooked hearts or defiled hearts, devote themselves to service at the palace, and if there are faults or errors, may she see them again and hear them again and make them serve in peace and tranquility; thus I say, praising the name Ōmiyame-no-Mikoto" (Note: from the ritual prayer onward follows the Engishiki).

¶When this is finished, jewels are hung at the four corners of the bathing hall (Yokuden) and the privy hall (Kawayaden); the shrine maidens scatter rice and sake as at the beginning and withdraw through the In'meimon Gate. The Miyaji, leading the Kamutomo, go to the kitchen hall (Kashigiden), hang cotton, and finish scattering rice and sake, and then receive gifts of reward at the Department of Deities (Note: based on the Jōgan Gishiki). The Engi regulations followed this. After the festival, the Miyaji conduct the festivals of the sacred fire (imibi) and the courtyard fire (niwabi) at the Naizenshi (Palace Kitchen Office) (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶From ancient times the Tamatsukuri clan of Izumo presented the prayer-jewels (mihogi-no-tama) and supplied them to the rites. The Engi regulations did not change this (Note: compiled with reference to the Kogo Shūi, the Jōgan Gishiki, and the Engishiki). In later ages earthen coins were used in place of jewels, and only a faint trace of the old system remained (Note: based on the Gōke Shidai).

¶The Gate Festival (Mikado-no-Matsuri) honors the two deities Toyoiwamado-no-Kami and Kushiiwamado-no-Kami, and prays that they will pacify and guard the palace gates and ward off disturbance and calamity (Note: based on the Engishiki). In ancient times, when the heavenly ancestor came out to his new hall, Ame-no-Futodama-no-Mikoto and others had the two deities Toyoiwamado and Kushiiwamado guard the gates of the hall. When the first Emperor established his capital, Ame-no-Tomi-no-Mikoto led the various Inbe to worship the palace gates, and the Gate Festival too remained for a long time an office presided over by the Inbe clan. But when the main line of the Inbe clan fell into great decline, this ceremony also changed (Note: based on the Kogo Shūi). Under the Engi regulations, the Gate Shrine Maidens (Mikado-no-Mikannagi) conducted this festival (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶The Great Purification (Ōharae) has the officials and people of the realm each provide atonement offerings and perform purification (misogi), so that the sins and errors they have committed are dissolved and removed and they are made new. That is why it is called the Great Purification (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki, the Kojiki, the Ryō no Gige, and the Engishiki).

¶In ancient times, Izanagi-no-Mikoto went to the land of Yomi and was touched by its defilement, so he threw away the clothes he had been wearing and removed it by bathing in seawater. When Susanoo-no-Mikoto committed offenses in heaven, the gods imposed on him many items called the "thousand tables of offerings" (chikura-okido) to atone for his sins, and had Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto recite the great ritual words of purification (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki, the Kojiki, and the Kogo Shūi). The Great Purification and atonement offerings both begin from this story (Note: based on the Shaku Nihongi and the Nihongi Sanso).

¶After the first Emperor pacified the realm, he had Ame-no-Taneko-no-Mikoto dissolve and remove the heavenly sins and earthly sins (Note: based on the Kogo Shūi). Thereafter the Nakatomi clan, descendants of Ame-no-Taneko-no-Mikoto, presided over the recitation of the words of purification for generations (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige and the Jōgan Gishiki). For this reason it is called the Nakatomi Purification Words (Nakatomi-no-Harae-kotoba) (Note: based on the Kogo Shūi; the Chōya Gunsai treats the purification words as a festival text). In general, there are two kinds of purification: the Great Purification of the provinces and the Great Purification of the hundred officials (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki, the Kojiki, and the Ryō no Gige).

¶When Emperor Chūai died, the Empress, thinking that there was a divine curse, gathered the great offerings (ōnusa) of the country, sought out the heavenly sins and earthly sins, and held a Great Purification for the provinces (Note: based on the Kojiki; see also the Engishiki). The Great Purification of the provinces begins from this.

¶In the eighth month of the fourth year of Emperor Temmu, an edict was issued to the four quarters to hold a great purification (ōharae), and had the provincial governors (kuni no miyatsuko) and district magistrates (gunji) provide purification offerings (harae-tsumono). In the spring of the sixth year, when the Emperor intended to hold a great ritual for the deities of heaven and earth, he had purification held throughout the realm. In the seventh month of the ninth year and the seventh month of the first year of Akamiyori (Shuchō), he again had a great purification held throughout the realm (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki).

¶Under the Taihō regulations, the Great Purification of the hundred officials was held on the last day of the last month of summer and of winter, with the Nakatomi presenting the purification hemp (harae-no-nusa). The Eastern and Western Fumibe first offered the purification swords (harae-no-tachi) and read the purification words in Chinese. When this was finished, all the men and women among the hundred officials assembled, the Nakatomi recited the purification words, and the Urabe performed the dissolving. The Great Purification of the provinces was held on an extraordinary basis, having the district magistrates and provincial governors provide purification offerings, but it was somewhat simplified compared with the earlier system (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige; also, the Shoku Nihongi says that under the regulation of the fifth year of Yōrō (721), civil and military officials were for the first time made to bring their wives and sisters and assemble at the purification place, which is entirely the same as the regulation of the codes, and is doubtful. Perhaps it was actually at this time that the assembly of men and women began, and the text of the codes was added afterward. It is appended here for reference).

¶In the third year of Jinki (726), it was ordered: "Where the Yamato-no-Fumi no Imiki and others are appointed as controllers (benkan) or clerks (shishō) or above, they are to be made to present the purification swords" (Note: based on the Shoku Nihongi and the Seikyūki).

¶In the sixth year of Enryaku (787), it was proclaimed: "From now on, when the Eastern and Western Fumi no Imiki are appointed to the rank of secretary (sakan) or above in the various offices, they are to be made to present the purification swords" (Note: based on the Ryō no Shūge and the Seikyūki). This became a long-standing precedent. However, by the Engi era, the practice of the Nakatomi reciting the ritual prayer was changed, and the Urabe were made to recite it in their place (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶In the fourteenth year of Kōnin (823), it was ordered: "As for the hours of the Great Purification, the three offices of the Imperial Household, the Department of Deities, and the Sewing Office are to wait outside the Enseimon Gate at the fourth point of the Sheep (Hitsuji) hour (the second point in the twelfth month); at the first point of the Monkey (Saru) hour (the first point of the Sheep hour in the twelfth month) they are to knock on the gate and enter; and at the fourth point (the second point in the twelfth month) the purification is to begin" (Note: based on the Nenjū Gyōji Hishō).

¶Under the Jōgan regulations, before the Great Purification there was a ceremony of the Imperial Atonement Offerings (Miagamono), for which the Department of Deities prepared the materials in advance. Iron effigies, wooden effigies, models of palanquins, sticks holding offering cloth (heihaku), gold-fitted swords (tachi), and so on were each prepared in fixed numbers. On that day, the Urabe each put on ritual robes (akari-goromo); one took up the sacred hemp (minusa), two took the robes of the coarse age (aroyo no miso), two took the robes of the soft age (nigiyo no miso), and two took jars. The Miyaji, clerks, Kamutomo, and others divided left and right and led the way. The Nakatomi officials followed them, and the sacred hemp followed next. The Eastern and Western Fumibe, each carrying a sword, followed after. The Urabe who held the coarse-age and soft-age robes wore wreaths of cotton and followed. The Assistant Minister of the Imperial Household (Kunai-no-suke) arranged the sacred hemp and other items and waited outside the Enseimon Gate. An Ōtoneri knocked on the gate. When the gatekeeper asked his name, he answered, "The Assistant Minister so-and-so of the Ministry of the Imperial Household is waiting at the august gate." This was relayed and reported, and the Assistant Minister entered, took his appointed place, and reported: "So-and-so of the Department of Deities is waiting at the august gate in order to present the sacred hemp." Withdrawing, he called the Nakatomi, who answered "Yes," led the Fumibe and the Urabe of the four provinces in, and waited in the area south of the Giyōden. The Sewing Office had the court attendants (nyoju) carry the coarse-age and soft-age robes and enter; a court lady (Naishi) received them from the Sewing Bureau (Nuinotsukasa), had them passed on through a Chamberlain, and presented them to the Emperor. When this was finished, the Sewing Office withdrew. Next the Nakatomi, holding the sacred hemp aloft, advanced to his appointed place. When the imperial command came, "Come forward," he answered "Yes" and advanced as far as the foot of the stairs. A Nakatomi court lady received it and passed it on, and when this was finished she handed it to the Nakatomi. The Nakatomi gave it to an Urabe and sent him toward the purification place. The Assistant Minister entered again and reported: "So-and-so of the Department of Deities is waiting, leading the Eastern and Western Fumibe and the Urabe of the four provinces, in order to present the atonement offerings." Withdrawing, he called the Nakatomi, who answered "Yes." The Eastern Fumibe, holding a sword aloft, entered and took his appointed place. When the imperial command came, "Come forward," he answered "Yes" and advanced as far as the foot of the stairs. It was passed on to and received by a Nakatomi court lady, who presented it to the Emperor, and when this was finished he withdrew. Next the Western Fumibe advanced and withdrew in the same way. Next the Nakatomi, leading the Miyaji and the Urabe who held the coarse-age robe, came to the foot of the stairs and set it on a mat. The Miyaji opened it and handed it to the Nakatomi. The Nakatomi handed it to a Nakatomi court lady, and the Emperor's body was taken and measured with it about five times. When this was finished, the Miyaji received it and blessed it. When that was finished, he handed it to the Urabe who was to receive it afterward. The Miyaji took the jar and handed it to the Nakatomi, who handed it to a Nakatomi court lady and presented it to the Emperor. When that was finished, it was handed back to the Nakatomi, and then passed on to the Miyaji. The Miyaji received it and blessed it. When that was finished, he handed it to the Urabe who was to receive it afterward, and when this was done they withdrew and performed the dissolving upstream at the river. The advance and withdrawal for presenting the soft-age robe were the same as before. The coarse-age robe was bestowed on the Urabe and the soft-age robe on the Miyaji, and when this was finished all withdrew. The presenting of the sacred hemp and atonement offerings by the Empress and the Crown Prince followed this. At the fourth quarter-hour of the Horse (Uma) hour, the ceremony of the Great Purification was held. The officials of the Department of Deities, the Imperial Household, the Sewing Office, and others waited outside the Enseimon Gate, and the hundred officials assembled at the purification place. Before this, the Department of Deities had arranged the items for purification on the south side of the road before the Suzakumon Gate and placed horses south of them facing north. The office concerned set up seats at the Suzakumon Gate and at the east and west guard halls (jōsha), and the Minister and those of the Fifth Rank and above stood on the east side of the platform facing west, with the north as the seat of honor. The first bay east of the south stairs was the stair for those of the Fourth Rank and below, and the second bay was the stair for those of the rank of consultant and above, and the court ladies likewise sat on the west side of the platform, separated by a dappled curtain (madara-man). The Geki and the official clerks (kanshi) faced west at the east guard hall of the three ministries of Nakatsukasa, Ceremonial, and Military, with the north as the seat of honor. The Board of Censors (Danjō) faced east at the west guard hall with the north as the seat of honor. The seat for reading the ritual prayer faced west on the south side of the road, with a mat (shikifu) placed before the seat. At the first quarter-hour of the Sheep (Hitsuji) hour, the Geki and those below took their seats, the other offices gathered at the east end of the east guard hall, and the court ladies likewise stood at the east end of the same hall. At that time, the ministry attendants (shōshō) of the Ministries of Ceremonial and Military rose, took their seats, and proclaimed the summoning of the Tone (court officials); the Dazōjō of the Board of Censors gave the order and summoned the Daishō. The Daishō answered "Yes," came to the front of the west guard hall, and stood facing north. The Dazōjō said, "Set out the tablets," and the Daishō answered "Yes," carried the tablets forward and set them down. Next the ministry attendants of the three ministries likewise advanced and set down their tablets, and when this was finished they withdrew and stood south of the hall. The ministry attendants of the Ministries of Ceremonial and Military went out again and summoned the various offices and guards. When that was finished, the Secretary of the Ministry of Ceremonial ordered the Clerk to call the ministry attendants. The attendants answered "Yes." The Ministry of Military followed, and then Nakatsukasa, in the same way. When that was finished, the ministry attendants of the three ministries all went to the tablets. The Secretary of the Ministry of Ceremonial ordered, "Have the various offices submit the slips giving the number of Tone," and the ministry attendant of the Ministry of Ceremonial answered "Yes." The Ministry of Military followed, and then Nakatsukasa, in the same way. When that was finished, all hurried out. The ministry attendant of the Ministry of Ceremonial led the civil officials to the tablet of that ministry. The senior official announced, "Present the slips of the number of Tone," and the Secretary said, "Present them," and all the offices answered "Yes." The last person took up the stacked slips, placed them before the Clerk, and returned to his place. The Clerk read out the number of slips and said, "The slips of the number of Tone submitted by the various offices come to so many," and the Secretary ordered, "Good," and all the offices answered "Yes" and hurried out. The Ministry of Military followed, and then Nakatsukasa, in the same way. The three ministries checked the inventories and thereafter waited at the sacred hemp. When it had arrived, the purification rice was inserted. At this time, one Controller (Ben-no-daibu) and one Assistant Minister from each of the three ministries, and the official clerks and the Secretaries and Clerks of the three ministries, hurried to stand in the courtyard. The Controller announced, "Present the number of Tone assembled at the purification place," and next the Clerk of the Ministry of Ceremonial read the inventory, followed by the Ministry of Military and then Nakatsukasa in the same way. When this was finished, the Minister ordered, "Perform the purification following precedent," and the Controller and those below all answered "Yes." When that was finished, each returned to his place. The Ministries of Ceremonial and Military called the ministry attendants, and the attendants each went to their tablets. The Secretary ordered, "Extend the Tone," and the attendants answered "Yes" and returned to their places. When he said, "Tone, assemble," the Geki and those below descended and stood at the south end of the east hall, the Secretaries and Clerks of the Ministries of Ceremonial and Military led the Tone of the civil and military officials and set them in order, and the Dazōjō descended and stood at the south end of the west hall. At this time a court lady (Naishi) came carrying the atonement offerings and took her place. The Department of Deities distributed the cut hemp (kirinusa). When that was finished, the Nakatomi advanced to his seat and read the ritual prayer. At the end of each section he read, all the Tone answered "Yes." The ritual prayer says:

¶"Assembled and attending princes, royal nobles, ministers, and hundred officials, all of you listen, I say. For the various sins committed by those who serve in the Emperor's court: the companions who wear scarves, the companions who wear sashes, the companions who bear quivers, the companions who wear swords, beginning with the eighty companions of the companions, and by the people who serve in the various offices, in the Great Purification of the last day of the sixth month of this year, may they be purified and cleansed; all of you listen, I say."

¶"By the august words of the Imperial Kamurogi and Kamuromi, who dwell in the High Plain of Heaven, the eight million deities were gathered in a divine assembly and deliberated in divine council, and it was entrusted that my Sovereign Grandchild should rule the Land of Fertile Reeds and Abundant Rice Ears in peace as a tranquil land. In the land thus entrusted, the violent deities were questioned with divine questioning and swept away with divine sweeping, and he silenced even the rock roots, the tree stumps, and the hedge-leaves of the grasses that had spoken; releasing the heavenly rock-seat and parting the eightfold heavenly clouds with a mighty thousandfold parting, he descended from heaven as entrusted. The lands of the four quarters thus entrusted, and the land of Ōyamato Hidaka-mi, he established as a tranquil land; he set up the palace pillars thick on the lower rock roots, raised the cross-rafters high toward the High Plain of Heaven, and, serving in the fresh and splendid hall of the Sovereign Grandchild, hidden in the heavenly shade and the sun's shade, he will rule in peace as a tranquil land. And in the midst of the land there will come forth:

¶the various sins committed by the heavenly increasing people: as heavenly sins, the breaking of ridges, the filling of ditches, the removal of water pipes, repeated sowing, skewering, flaying alive, flaying backward, and defecation, and so on; so many sins as these are distinguished by law as heavenly sins.

¶The earthly sins are cutting living flesh, cutting dead flesh, white-skin disease, kokumi (Note: bodily contraction), the sin of violating one's own mother, the sin of violating one's own child, the sin of violating mother and child, the sin of violating child and mother, the sin of violating animals, calamities from crawling insects, calamities from the gods on high, calamities from birds on high, the sin of killing animals, and the sin of practicing sorcery; so many sins as these will come forth.

¶When they thus come forth, with the heavenly palace-rites the Ōnakatomi cuts the heavenly metal-tree at the root and trims its tip, places it fully on a thousand seats of offering, cuts the heavenly sedge-hemp at the root and cuts its tip, splits it into eight needle-fine strands, and recites the great ritual words of the heavenly rites.

¶If he thus recites, the heavenly deities will push open the heavenly rock gate, part the eightfold heavenly clouds with a mighty thousandfold parting, and hear. The earthly deities will climb to the tops of the high mountains and the tops of the low mountains, push aside the mists of the high mountains and the mists of the low mountains, and hear. When they have thus heard, beginning with the court of the Sovereign Grandchild, in all the lands of the four quarters under heaven there will be no sin called sin: as the wind of Shinato blows apart the eightfold heavenly clouds, as the morning wind and evening wind blow away the morning mist and evening mist, as a great ship moored at the great harbor is loosed from bow and loosed from stern and pushed out into the great ocean, as the thick tree-roots yonder are cut away with a sharp sickle of burnt-edge steel, so no sin will remain; and it will be purified and cleansed, so that the deity named Seoritsuhime, who dwells in the rapids of the swift river that cascades down in torrents from the tops of the high mountains and the tops of the low mountains, will carry it out into the great ocean (Note: the character for "tsu" is supplied from the Chōya Gunsai). When she has thus carried it out, the deity named Hayaakitsuhime, who dwells at the meeting of the eight hundred tides of the eight hundred roads of the briny sea, will swallow it in a gulp. When she has thus swallowed it, the deity named Ibukidonushi, who dwells at Ibukido, will blow it away to the Land of Roots and the Land of the Depths. When he has thus blown it away, the deity named Hayasasurahime, who dwells in the Land of Roots and the Land of the Depths, will carry it off and wander with it and make it vanish. When it has thus vanished, beginning with the people of the offices who serve in the Emperor's court, in all the four quarters under heaven, from this day onward, there will be no sin called sin.

¶With the things that prick their ears and listen in the High Plain of Heaven, and with the horses led forward, in the Great Purification of the sunset of the last day of the sixth month of this year, may they be purified and cleansed; all of you listen, I say. You Urabe of the four provinces, carry it out to the bank of the great river and purify it away, I say" (Note: from the ritual prayer onward follows the Engishiki).

¶When the purification is finished, the Department of Deities circulates the great hemp (ōnusa) before the seats of the senior ministers (shōkei) and those below, and next performs the cleansing with cut hemp on those of the Fifth Rank and above, after which they withdraw (Note: based on the Jōgan Gishiki; see also the Seikyūki, the Hokuzan Shō, and the Gōke Shidai. Also, considering the Jōgan Gishiki, the Gōke Shidai, the Kokin Wakashū, and so on together, hemp that is cut and distributed to people is called kirinusa, and hemp made into purification offerings is called ōnusa).

¶The Nakatomi's cutting of the sedge-hemp (sugaso) in performing the rite has been handed down as custom. In later ages a ring was made of sedge, and it was called a sugenuki. Something made of cogon grass (chigaya) was called a chinowa and was used in purification and ablution (Note: based on the Engishiki, the Gōke Shidai, the Gyokuyō, the Enta Ryaku, and the Fubokuwakashō). By this time the doctrines of the Yin-Yang practitioners (onmyōke) had gradually spread, and the old customs had greatly declined (Note: based on the Gōke Shidai).

¶In the sixth month of the fifth year of Tengen (982), the Great Purification was held, but not a single court noble attended, and the court lady (Naishi) pleaded business and also did not come. So Fujiwara no Koreshige, Junior Controller of the Right (Ushōben), was made to stand in for the senior minister, and a female clerk (nyoshi) in place of the court lady, to carry out the rite (Note: based on the Shōyūki; Koreshige's family name follows the Sonpi Bunmyaku). After this, the Minister no longer attended the Great Purification in person (Note: based on the Hokuzan Shō and the Gōke Shidai).

¶An extraordinary Great Purification was held when a Daijōsai was about to be performed: first it was made to be held throughout the realm, next in the capital and the nearby home provinces, and next by the hundred officials, as in the ordinary two-season ceremony. After the festival was over, the hundred officials performed it again in the same way (Note: based on the Jōgan Gishiki and the Engishiki).

¶When the High Priestess (Saiō) set out for Ise, too, it was first made to be held throughout the realm and then by the hundred officials. This too followed the two-season ceremony (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶In addition, at the time of presenting offerings to the Ise Shrines and of the departure of the envoys for the Great Divine Treasures (Daijinpō-shi), and also when there was the defilement of death or a fire and so on, it was held in every case in front of the Suzakumon Gate or the Kenreimon Gate (Note: based on the Sandai Jitsuroku and the Nihon Kiryaku). Also, on the last day of each month there is the ceremony of the sacred hemp and imperial atonement offerings, but the sixth and twelfth months are not included in this practice (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶As for the Imperial Atonement Offerings (Miagamono), under the Kōnin regulations the shrine maidens conducted them, using gold and silver effigies, models of palanquins, and the like. The Empress and the Crown Prince followed this (Note: based on the Kōnin Shiki as quoted in the Honchō Gatsuryō, and the Engishiki). Under the Engi regulations, the Nakatomi, leading the Urabe, performed the service, using iron effigies and the like as the materials. The Empress and the Crown Prince followed this (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶The Imperial Atonement Festival (Miagamono-no-Matsuri) is probably a prayer to atone for and pray for the Emperor's long life, and for that reason it is called the Imperial Atonement Festival. Emperor Seimu once fell ill, and the amount of his meals decreased day by day. An imperial command was therefore issued to Onagata-no-Mikoto, ancestor of the Tame no Muraji, to prepare and present the imperial food (mike), whereupon the Emperor's appetite returned. Thereupon Onagata-no-Mikoto was ordered to take charge of the atonement offerings through the governance of the great cooking (Ōi no Matsurigoto). At this time, it is said, the provincial governors of the four quarters also presented atonement persons (aganai no hito), and the Imperial Atonement Festival is probably based on this (Note: based on the Tame Clan Honkeichō as quoted in the Seiji Yakuryaku).

¶In the sixth month of the fifth year of Kōnin (814), because the Emperor's person was unwell, the Imperial Atonement Festival was held (Note: based on the Nenjū Gyōji Hishō and the Kuji Kongen). In the eleventh year (820) it was fixed in the regulations that every year, from the first to the eighth day of the sixth and twelfth months, the shrine maidens would conduct it every day. The Empress and the Crown Prince followed this, but for the Crown Prince the number of days was halved (Note: based on the Kōnin Shiki as quoted in the Honchō Gatsuryō, and the Engishiki). The Engi regulations followed this (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶The Urabe-no-Niwa Deity Festival (Uraniwa-no-Kami-no-Matsuri) is held on days before and after the Imperial Body Divination (Otai-no-Mi-ura), which is performed every year at the end of summer and the end of winter (Note: based on the Kōnin Shiki as quoted in the Nenjū Gyōji Hishō, and the Engishiki). The two deities worshipped are called Kujimachi-no-Mikoto and Futonorito-no-Mikoto (Note: based on the Kōnin Shiki as quoted in the Honchō Gatsuryō, the Engishiki, the Shinsen Kamei-ki, the Gōke Shidai, and the Kojidan). Futonorito-no-Mikoto is another name of Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto (Note: see the Engishiki and the Jinmyōchō Tōchū).

¶The twice-yearly divinations of summer and winter began in the reign of Emperor Kōtoku (Note: based on the Kogo Shūi). In general, the art of divination arose in ancient times and is called futomani. It means hearing the command of the gods and deciding good and ill fortune (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki). Because the two deities Kujimachi and Ame-no-Koyane actually transmitted its method, they are worshipped as the Urabe-no-Niwa deities (Note: based on the Shinsen Kamei-ki and the Engishiki). The descendants of Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto received their ancestor's profession for generations, were appointed to the post of Urabe, and belonged to the Department of Deities (Note: compiled with reference to the Ryō no Gige, the Sandai Jitsuroku, the Shinsen Shōjiroku, and the Shinsen Kamei-ki).

¶As for the method of divination, it at first used the bones of deer, and later the method of tortoise-shell divination (kiboku) was transmitted, and the method of deer divination (shikaura) gradually fell into disuse (Note: based on the Kojiki and the Nihongi Shiki. Also, according to the Chinese Wei Zhi account of the Wa, in their customs, when undertaking an affair or setting out, if there was something to be said, they would at once burn bones and divine, judging good and ill fortune. First the matter to be divined was announced, and the words were like those of the tortoise-shell method. Observing the cracks of the fire to divine the omens would refer to deer divination. However, the Sujin chapter of the Nihon Shoki mentions the use of a divine tortoise, which is probably the embellishment of the official historians. According to the shrine tradition of the Ikazuchi-no-Mikoto Shrine on Tsushima, "when Empress Jingū attacked the Three Han, Nakatomi-no-Ikazuchi-no-Mikoto first obtained the tradition of tortoise-shell divination"; by this, formal tortoise-shell divination had already been transmitted at that time. This is appended together for reference). However, the method of burning the tortoise and observing the omens still preserves old traditions, in which a pattern was drawn and divided lengthwise and crosswise into the shape of the character for "rice field" (Note: based on the Ryō no Gige, the Shaku Nihongi, and the Kiboku Shidai). The lower part is called To, corresponding to the north, yin, and governing earth. The upper part is called Takara, corresponding to the south, yang, and governing heaven. The left is called Kami, corresponding to the east, the outer, and governing the gods. The right is called Yori, corresponding to the west, the inner, and governing people. The center is called Tame, corresponding to the center and governing soil. Later, according to what each governed, the omens of earth, heaven, gods, and people were recorded anew, making five omens in all. Earth and heaven each have twenty-nine hexagram-lines (ke), the gods and people each thirty-eight, and an omen has three, making one hundred thirty-seven in all. They are burned with hahaka wood, first earth and heaven, proceeding from bottom to top. Next Kami and Yori are burned, and the shapes of the cracks made by the fire are observed to consider good and ill fortune (Note: based on the Shinsen Kamei-ki; see also the Kiboku Shidai).

¶As for divining the Emperor's body, at the end of summer it covers the seventh through the twelfth months, and at the end of winter the first through the sixth months, and in both cases it divines the well-being of the various deities of the realm. If there is a curse, a purification is imposed on the officiant of that shrine (Note: based on the Chōya Gunsai and the Miyaji Hiji Kuden). This ceremony began in the Kōnin era and was fixed in the Jōgan era (Note: based on the Kōnin Shiki as quoted in the Honchō Gatsuryō, and the Jōgan Gishiki). The Department of Deities reports in advance to the Council of State, and the Council of State announces it to the various offices. If there is any encroachment on land, it is written up in detail and sent over, and the Urabe-no-Niwa Deity Festival is held. When that is finished, two Nakatomi officials, one Miyaji, and eight Urabe each receive ritual robes, purify themselves, and divine quietly. The materials used are one tortoise shell, twenty bamboo sticks, four earthenware bowls, two small axes, four metal borers (kanahori), and four small knives (tōsu). It begins on the first day and ends on the ninth. They also worship the Urabe-no-Niwa deities, and on the following day the written results of the divination are reported. At dawn that day, the Tonomori-ryō (Palace Maintenance Office) stretches curtains on the east and west of the palace courtyard, and the Kamon-ryō (Mat Office) sets up one stool for the Minister on the hall (Note: about two jō southeast of the imperial seat, facing west). One slatted mat is spread before the place markers. The Director of the Department of Deities and those below, and the Assistant Minister of the Imperial Household, take the written report (Note: placed in a lacquered box on a table), and wait outside the Enseimon Gate. At this point the Assistant Director (suke) or Secretary (jō) of the Department of Deities advances the table before the Minister, and the Minister ascends to the hall. An Ōtoneri knocks on the gate, and when the gatekeeper asks, "Who is it?" he answers, "Official so-and-so of the Imperial Household is waiting at the august gate in order to report on the imperial divination." The gatekeeper goes to his appointed place and reports, and an imperial command comes, "Let him report," which is relayed and announced. The Ōtoneri answers "Yes." The Assistant Minister of the Imperial Household takes his appointed place and reports, "I report on the Imperial Body Divination. So-and-so of the Department of Deities is waiting," and an imperial command comes, "Call him in." He answers "Yes" and withdraws and calls the Director. The Director answers "Yes," enters carrying the table together with the Assistant Director, sets it on the slatted mat in the courtyard, and they stand together. An imperial command comes, "Come forward," and the Director answers "Yes" and places the table on the veranda of the hall. The Nakatomi officials remain in place at their appointed positions and the others withdraw. A court lady (Naishi) shows it to the Emperor. When an imperial command comes, "Come forward," the Nakatomi answers "Yes," ascends to the veranda of the hall, opens the report, and reports in a low voice. When an imperial command comes, "Let it be as reported," the Minister answers "Yes," and the Nakatomi also answers "Yes" and withdraws. Next the Minister withdraws, and two gatekeepers enter from the left side gate, ascend to the hall, remove the table, and withdraw. The Department of Deities carries out the table (Note: based on the Jōgan Gishiki; see also the Engishiki). The Engi regulations followed this.

¶As for the materials for the imperial divination, the hahaka wood is made to be contributed by the shrines holding fief households (fuko) in Yamato Province, and the tortoise shells by Kii, Awa, and Tosa. For the divination bamboo (uradake), bamboo growing on vacant ground within the palace is used (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶In the year Emperor Go-Toba acceded, because no one contributed tortoise shells, the imperial divination was not held (Note: based on the Hyakurenshō). The same was true in the third year of Bunji (1187), but the court was unable to inquire into it (Note: based on the Gyokuyō).

¶The Myōjin Festival (Myōjin-sai) is a festival at which the renowned deities (myōjin) of the realm are worshipped on an extraordinary basis whenever there is an affair at court, and hence the name (Note: based on the Shoku Nihongi, the Nihon Kiryaku, and the Engishiki).

¶In the second year of Tenpyō (730), envoys were sent to offer gifts from the state of Bohai (Parhae) to the renowned deities of the provinces. The term myōjin first appears here (Note: based on the Shoku Nihongi).

¶Under the Engi regulations, the heavenly and earthly deities listed as great shrines of renowned deities (myōjin taisha) totaled three hundred five seats. Of these, two hundred eighty-five seats were fixed as taking part in the Myōjin Festival (Note: based on the Engishiki. Also, examining the register of deity names in this work, the total number of renowned deities is three hundred seven, but one text omits the three Munakata seats of Yamato and adds the one Imizu seat of Etchū to make three hundred five, which should be followed. And the regulations for extraordinary festivals are marked with two hundred eighty-five seats of renowned deities, but the main text lists two hundred eighty-eight seats, which is probably because Ōmi and Mutsu both list the two Kawata seats and one Mikami seat twice. According to the register of deity names, the names Kawata and Mikami cannot be found in Mutsu, so there is no doubt of duplication. Only with this does the figure of two hundred eighty-five agree. However, twenty seats in all, namely Amatsu-iwatowake-wakahime of Yamashiro, Katsuragi-no-Mikumari of Yamato, Ōmiwa of Owari, Asama of Kai, Hyōzu of Ōmi, Takemizuwake and Takeminakata-tomi-no-Mikoto-hikogamiwake of Shinano, Uwase of Wakasa, Imizu of Etchū, Mizutani and Miizushi of Tajima, Kumano of Kii, Tamura and Kiyama of Sanuki, Isono, Taki, and Iyo of Iyo, Orihata of Chikuzen, and Usa and the Ōtarashi-hime Shrine of Buzen, are all listed as great shrines of renowned deities but do not take part in this festival. The reason is not clear. It is appended for reference).

¶The Rain-Praying Deity Festival (Kiu-no-Kami-Matsuri) is generally held when there is a drought, and likewise when there is long-continued rain (Note: based on the national histories from the Nihon Shoki onward, and the Engishiki).

¶In the summer of the fourth year of Emperor Temmu, because of a great drought, envoys were sent to the four quarters to present offerings and pray to the various deities of heaven and earth.

¶In the sixth month of the sixth year of Empress Jitō, envoys were sent to the four home provinces to pray for rain (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki). Presenting offerings to pray for rain became more frequent from this time (Note: based on the Nihon Shoki and the Shoku Nihongi).

¶In the ninth month of the sixth year of Hōki (775), because of long rain, a white horse and offerings were presented to the Niukawakami deity and the various deities of the Kinai (Note: based on the Shoku Nihongi). Presenting offerings to stop rain also became customary (Note: based on the Shoku Nihongi and the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶Under the Engi regulations, eighty-five seats of great shrines in the Kinai were designated as rain-praying deities (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶The Yashima Festival (Yashima-no-Matsuri) is held on the accession of a sovereign and honors Ikushima-no-Kami and Tarushima-no-Kami, together with Sumiyoshi-no-Kami, Ōyosami-no-Kami, Watatsumi-no-Kami, Tarumi-no-Kami, and Sumiji-no-Kami, fourteen seats in all. It is probably a prayer that the Emperor's virtuous influence will reach every corner of the realm, and hence it is called the Yashima (Eighty Islands) Festival (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶In the ninth month of the year Emperor Montoku acceded, the Miyaji Urabe no Sukune Osada, the divine koto player (kamikotoshi) Sugō no Ason Suetsugu, the Assistant Handmaid (Naishi-no-suke) Fujiwara no Ason Izumiko, and the shrine maiden Enomoto no Muraji Kiyoko were sent to Settsu to hold the Yashima Festival (Note: based on the Montoku Jitsuroku and the Nihon Kiryaku). The Yashima Festival first appears here.

¶Under the Engi regulations, the shrine maidens, the Ikushima shrine maiden, a Secretary (shi), a divine koto player, Kamutomo, a court lady, a Clerk of the Kura Office (Kura-no-sakan), attendants (toneri), and others were sent to Naniwa Harbor to conduct the festival. The priests and officiants of Sumiyoshi and the officiants of Ōyosami, Tarumi, Watatsumi, and Sumiji also took part. The Empress and the Crown Prince likewise both held this festival (Note: based on the Engishiki).

¶In the sixth month of the third year of Jōhei (933), the Assistant Handmaid Shigeno no Ason Nawako went to Naniwa Harbor and performed the rite (Note: based on the Nihon Kiryaku; Nawako follows the Kōin Jōunroku. Also, the Yashima Festival described in the Gōke Shidai closely resembles a purification (misogi) ceremony in its procedure, and has probably lost its ancient purport. It is appended for reference).

¶The Festival at the Dispatch of Envoys to Foreign Lands (Kenbankoku-shi-no-Matsuri) is held when envoys are sent to foreign countries, at which the deities of heaven and earth are worshipped in a field outside the city (Note: based on the Engishiki). It prays that winds and waves will be calm and the ships will cross the sea safely (Note: based on the Shoku Nihongi and the Engishiki).

¶In the first year of Yōrō (717), the embassy to Tang worshipped the deities south of Mount Gai.

¶In the eighth year of Hōki (777), the envoys worshipped the deities of heaven and earth at the foot of Mount Kasuga, which is of the same purport (Note: based on the Shoku Nihongi).

¶Under the Engi regulations, the provincial governor sweeps and purifies the ground of the festival, the office concerned thatches a shelter with rush matting (toma) and sets up seats, and they each assemble at the festival site. The Department of Deities leads the Kamutomo and others in conducting the festival. The chief envoy himself recites the ritual prayer, and the Kamutomo present the offering cloth. When that is finished, the chief envoy and those below him each present their private offerings. The Kamutomo present these at the seat of the deity. On the day the envoys return home, it is done in the same way. When ships are built, the spirits of the trees and the deity of the mountain are worshipped, and when the ship is about to set sail, the Ship-Setting Festival (Funasue-no-Matsuri) is held. The Department of Deities sends an envoy to the Sumiyoshi Shrine to worship there (Note: based on the Engishiki). It is a prayer that divine spirits will dwell at the bow and stern of the ship and guard and protect the safety of the sea route (Note: based on the Man'yōshū).

¶The Festival on Entry of Foreign Guests into the Capital (Bankaku-nyūkyō-ji-no-Matsuri) is held when guests from foreign lands come to court: first an envoy and a Nakatomi are sent to the areas inside and outside the Kinai to conduct deity festivals along each stretch of the route. Once they have entered the borders of the Kinai, a festival of the deities for seeing off the border is held. When they approach the capital, purification hemp is given to them so that they may be purified, and only afterward are they permitted to enter the capital. Two days before, a Festival of the Barrier Deities (Sae-no-Kami-no-Matsuri) is held at the four corners of the capital. Besides these, the Engi regulations include the Thunderbolt Deity Festival (Hekireki-jin-sai), the Festival for Quelling Hearth Rumblings (Kamanari-shizume-no-Matsuri), the Water Deity Pacification Festival (Suijin-shizume-no-Matsuri), the Imperial Hearth Festival (Mikamado-no-Matsuri), the Imperial Well Festival (Mii-no-Matsuri), the Birth Well Festival (Ubui-no-Matsuri), the Festival for Pacifying the Imperial Residence (Miaraka-shizume-no-Matsuri), the Festival for Pacifying the Earth Lord (Dokō-shizume-no-Matsuri), the Imperial River Water Festival (Mikawa-mizu-no-Matsuri), the Festival for Pacifying a New Palace Site (Shingū-chi-shizume-no-Matsuri), the Imperial Purification (Gokei), the Imperial Atonement at the Rajō Gate (Rajō-miagamono), the Yachimata Festival (Yachimata-no-Matsuri), and the Festival on Imperial Progresses (Gyōkō-ji-no-Matsuri) (Note: this refers to the offerings to the deities along the road, the offerings at the borders, the Ōtono Festival, and the Imperial Well and Hearth Festivals), all of which were held on an extraordinary basis (Note: based on the Engishiki). Their details are complicated, and there is no room to record them fully here.

¶The Rite of Presenting the Great Divine Treasures (Daijinpō-o-Tatematsuru-Gi) is held on the accession of a sovereign, when envoys are sent to the various shrines to present divine treasures and announce that he has come to rule the realm. These envoys are called the Great Divine Treasure Envoys (Daijinpō-shi), and also the once-per-reign Great Divine Treasure Envoys (Ichidai-ichido Daijinpō-shi) (Note: based on the Nihon Kiryaku and the Shōyūki). Under the old system, when an Emperor acceded and was about to hold the Daijōsai, envoys were first sent to present offerings to the deities of heaven and earth, which is the purport of this (Note: based on the Jōgan Gishiki; see also the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶The presenting by Emperor Suzaku of the once-per-reign Great Divine Treasures to Ise and the various shrines at the time of his Daijōsai is the first appearance of the name (Note: based on the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶From Emperor Sanjō onward, holding this ceremony in the year after the Daijōsai became a long-standing precedent (Note: based on the Nihon Kiryaku and the Gōke Shidai).

¶The places to which Emperor Go-Ichijō presented divine treasures numbered fifty-nine in all. There were eleven places in all: the two shrines of Ise and the three places of Usa (Note: the three places follow the Shōyūki; in this work two places are given, which is an error), the two places of Iwashimizu, Kamo Upper and Lower, Hinokuma, and Kunikakasu. In addition there were forty-eight places: Sonokarakami, Inari, Matsunoo, Hirano, Ōharano, and the seven circuits together with the Kinai (Note: Kasuga, Ōyamato, Ōmiwa, Isonokami, and Isagawa of Yamato; Onji and Hiraoka of Kawachi; and Sumiyoshi, Ōyosami, Ikuta, and Nagata of Settsu) (Note: in the Tōkaidō, Tado of Ise, Atsuta of Owari, Asama of Suruga, Mishima of Izu, Katori of Shimōsa, and Kashima of Hitachi; in the Tōsandō, Hie of Ōmi, Fuwa of Mino, Suwa of Shinano, Nukisaki of Kōzuke, Futara of Shimotsuke, Shiogama of Mutsu, and Ōmonoimi of Dewa; in the Hokurikudō, Wakasa and Wakasahiko of Wakasa, Hakusan of Kaga, Kehi of Echizen, and Keta of Noto; in the San'indō, Izumo, Kumano, and Kizuki; in the San'yōdō, Iwa of Harima, Nakayama of Mimasaka, Kibitsuhiko of Bitchū, and Itsu and Itsukushima of Aki; in the Nankaidō, Ōyamatsumi of Iyo; in the Saikaidō, Usa, Kashii, and Iwashimizu-hime, together with Munakata and Sumiyoshi of Chikuzen, Kōra of Chikugo, and Aso of Higo).

¶As for the divine treasures, for the eleven places from Ise on they were gold and silver offering cloth, a brocade canopy (Note: with gilt-bronze bells attached at the four corners), jewel-decorated girdle ornaments, a large mirror, gilt-bronze bells, a hemp tub in flat inlay (hyōmon), a thread-spool post in flat inlay, a spear, an ornamental sword, and a red-lacquered bow and arrows. To Usa, imperial robes were additionally added. For the other forty-eight places they were silk, brocade, thread, a canopy of purple twill, a sword, a bow, arrows, a spear, a mirror, a hemp tub, and a thread-spool post (Note: based on the Sakeiki). In general, for the presentation of offerings, the office concerned first considered the day for sending out the envoys and the date and hour of the Great Purification, and then fixed the offering envoys. Ise followed the ordinary practice; for Usa and for the palace and the capital, court nobles with palace access (tenjōbito) were used; for the Kinai, one master (daibu) from each province; and for the seven circuits, one miscellaneous attendant (zōshiki) of the Chamberlains' Office (Kurōdo-dokoro) for each circuit. When the time came, the hundred officials held the Great Purification. The Emperor bathed, came out to the Ishibai Platform (lime-plaster platform), viewed the divine treasures, and worshipped the Grand Shrine, performing a two-stage double bow (Note: compiled with reference to the Hokuzan Shō, the Gōke Shidai, the Gyokuyō, and the Heihanki). The envoys received the divine treasures and the imperial proclamation (senmyō) and set out.

¶From Emperor Horikawa onward, it is said that because of a shortage of funds, it often became impossible to carry it out in the old form (Note: based on the Tsunenobu-kyō-ki, the Sankaiki, and the Heiko-ki).

¶The Offering of Prayers for Grain Harvests (Kinengoku-hōhei) is held every year in the second and seventh months, when a lucky day is chosen to present offerings to the various shrines and pray for an abundant ripening of the grain, and hence it has this name (Note: based on the Kenmu Nenjū Gyōji and the Kuji Kongen).

¶In the fourth month of the second year of Engi (902), offerings were presented to pray for a good grain harvest. The Offering of Prayers for Grain Harvests begins here (Note: based on the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶The number of shrines receiving offerings gradually increased with the passing of time. Around the Shōtai and Kōhō eras, it was fixed at sixteen shrines: Ise, Iwashimizu, Kamo, Matsunoo, Hirano, Inari, Kasuga, Ōharano, Ōmiwa, Ōyamato, Isonokami, Hirose, Tatsuta, Sumiyoshi, Niu, and Kibune (Note: based on the Nihon Kiryaku and the Shosha Kongenki).

¶In the Shōryaku era, Umenomiya, Yoshida, Hirota, and Kitano were added (Note: Umenomiya, Yoshida, Hirota, and Kitano are placed below Sumiyoshi and above Niu).

¶In the second year of Chōtoku (996), Gion was added (Note: it is placed below Hirota and above Kitano).

¶In the third year of Chōryaku (1039), Hie was further added (Note: it is placed below Sumiyoshi and above Umenomiya), and it was finally fixed at twenty-two shrines (Note: according to the Hyakurenshō, in the first year of Eihō (1081) Hie was permanently added to the twenty-two shrines, which is a different account. It is appended for reference). They were also divided into three grades: Ise, Iwashimizu, Kamo, Matsunoo, Hirano, Inari, and Kasuga were called the Upper Seven Shrines; Ōharano, Ōmiwa, Isonokami, Ōyamato, Hirose, Tatsuta, and Sumiyoshi the Middle Seven Shrines; and Hie, Umenomiya, Yoshida, Hirota, Gion, Kitano, Niu, and Kibune the Lower Eight Shrines (Note: based on the Shosha Kongenki, the Shoshinki, and the Nijūnisha Chūshiki). Because this was later followed, it also came to be called the Offering to the Twenty-Two Shrines (Note: based on the Hyakurenshō and the Yasutomi-ki).

¶In general, for the presentation of offerings, two days of lesser abstinence (sansai) and one day of strict abstinence (chisai) are observed (Note: based on the Gōke Shidai). The Emperor comes out to the Daigokuden (Great Hall of State) and dispatches the offering envoys. When that is finished, he comes out to the Koanden (Small Hall of Peace) to perform worship, making a two-stage double bow (Note: based on the Shōyūki; also, according to the Gōke Shidai and the Chūyūki, when there is no imperial progress, the senior minister performs it facing the Hasshōin (Eight Ministries Compound), and the Emperor worships at the Southern Hall (Naden)). As for the offering envoys, for Ise one each from among the princes, the Nakatomi, and the Inbe; for Iwashimizu and Inari, one each from those of the Fourth Rank, but for Iwashimizu a member of the Minamoto clan is used. For Niu and Kibune, one each from the Sixth Rank of the Department of Deities. For all others, one each from the Fifth Rank, but for Umenomiya a member of the Tachibana clan, for Yoshida the Fujiwara clan, and for Kitano the Sugawara clan are used. In writing the imperial proclamation, light-blue (hanada) paper is used for Ise, crimson paper for Kamo, and yellow paper for all others (Note: based on the Gōke Shidai; see also the Chōya Gunsai).