チフィジン 首里・那覇方言データベース is the title worn by the highest priestess of the Ryukyuan religion. Although the title is mentioned in sources dealing with periods older than the Ryūkyū Kingdom, the current characteristics of the function have been fixed during the great religious reform at the beginning of the second Shō dynasty.
Kikoe-ōgimi is the (the “sister-goddess” of the person with the highest status in the Ryūkyū Kingdom: the king. She protects by her spiritual power non only the king but also the whole kingdom. The function is assumed by a woman close to the king (sister, queen, daughter) or a member of a minor branch of the royal family.
Kikoe-ōgimi is at the top of the hierarchy of the noro priestesses of the whole kingdom and owns direct authority on them, although the king appoints them. She is responsible for the ceremonies held at the most sacred site of Okinawa Island, Sēfa Utaki as well as the ones given in the ten utakis inside Shuri Castle.
Kikoe-ōgimi is the incarnation of three deities who express themselves through her: "Shimasenko", "Akeshino" and "Tedashiro".
History Etymology and origins
Although the origin of the name is obscure, a theory is that would be a laudative prefix meaning “the very famous” and would mean “god”. The noros who take care of the rituals in the different villages of the kingdom are also called . The emphasis , literally meaning “the great god” would be due to the high status of the person. The texts mentioning her use the term , -ganashi being an honorific suffix.
The first mention of the name of "Kikoe-ōgimi" is found in the Nagahama Family genealogy, generally considered as the oldest conserved genealogy of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. It mentions a woman designed by the title of Kikoe-ōgimi, “venerable eldest daughter of King Eisō (r. 1260-1299), former king of Chūzan and King of Hokuzan”. Very little is known about the rites and the religion of this period of Ryūkyūan history, but it seems it was at first a title that was common to all priestesses who served as onarigami for a king.
The second Shō dynasty Religious reform King Shō Shin (r. 1477-1526) starts a political and religious reform including a centralisation of the political administration and a unification of the religion. It is during this reform that the hierarchical network of the noros is created in order to organise the many priestesses of the kingdom and that the kikoe-ōgimi priestess, until then the king’s onarigami who presided to the royal family’s religious ceremonies, is put at the head of this hierarchy.
Until then the most powerful priestesses of the kingdom had been the and the priestesses, who would then come second after the kikoe-ōgimi priestess.
On the dedicatory stele of Tamaudun, dated 1501, that lists the persons authorized to be buried in the mausoleum, Shō Shin’s sister is mentioned as .
Characteristics of the function Kikoe-ōgimi is first the protective divinity of the king: her prayers are made to bring him long life, health and prosperity. She also provides prosperity in the crops of the kingdom and safety for the sea travels. She takes part to many ceremonies, daily ones in her residence or in the castle of Shuri, but also pilgrimages in diverse sacred locations of the kingdom, that can occur one or twice a year, or less frequently.
Several divine names are attributed to Kikoe-ōgimi: "Shimasenko", "Akeshino" and "Tedashiro", who are the three deities expressing themselves through her. The divine name of "Shimasenko Akeshino" is also the one that was used by the very respected Jichaku Noro. The third divine name of "Tedashiro" (lit. "the sun’s spiritual receptacle") had been until then the one of Baten Noro, who gives it up for Kikoe-ōgimi. It might correspond to a wish to conserve the existing religious concepts into the newly created structure.
After her investiture, Kikoe-ōgimi receives the fief of Chinen Magiri and other lands in the kingdom, that corresponded to an annual revenue in taxes between 200 and 500 kokus.
In 1509, when king Shō Shin creates rules concerning the type of hair ornaments authorized for each nobility rank, the law mentions that Kikoe-ōgimi wears “a large golden jīfā with dragons and flowers”.
The Kyūyō states that in 1677, king Shō Tei decided that only queens could be promoted to the rank of kikoe-ōgimi, but this reform was never applied and the function was still given to daughters and sisters of kings afterwards.
In 1732, king Shō Kei appoints a surgeon who stays constantly at Kikoe-ōgimi’s residence in order to take care of the health of the members of her household.
The kikoe-ōgimis of the second Shō dynasty
, the sister of king Shō Shin, has been the first kikoe-ōgimi at the head of the new religious structure decided by the king. After the dead of Shō En, the first king of the second Shō dynasty, the power goes to his younger brother, Shō Sen'i, but Utuchitunumuigani, who already was kikoe-ōgimi as the daughter of the previous king, reveals that the gods are against this succession, and rather want Shō Shin, Shō En's son, on the throne. Shō Sen'i abdicates in favour of his nephew, showing how strong the political power of the ryūkyūan religion was.
Fifteen generations of kikoe-ōgimi follow until the fall of the kingdom in 1879. The Shō family is then sent in exile to Tōkyō. After the annexation of the kingdom by Japan, several local priestesses claim the title of kikoe-ōgimi, although the women of the Shō family exiled in Tōkyō go on with their religious duties. In 1924, Princess Amuro manages to obtain authorisation to come, alone, to Okinawa, where she unofficially visits Sēfa Utaki for her investiture ceremony. The ceremony is shortened to one day, and none of the noros are allowed to assist her. This is the latest of the Kikoe-ōgimi’s investiture ceremonies.
At the beginning of the 2000s, due to the confusion created by the multiplication of self-proclaimed kikoe-ōgimis, Hiroshi Shō, then head of the Shō family still in exile in Tōkyō, appoints officially his sister Keiko Nozu (1947-2019) as the new Kikoe-ōgimi. He also appoints posthumously his aunt, Fumiko Ii, who had occupied the function before Keiko, until her death in 2004. Keiko Nozu is the first kikoe-ōgimi to regularly come back to Okinawa to perform the ceremonies there. The current kikoe-ōgimi is Maki Shō, daughter of Mamoru Shō, current head of the Shō family still in exile in Tōkyō.
List of the kikoe-ōgimis of the second Shō dynasty Twenty-one women of the Shō family have succeeded one another in the function of Kikoe-ōgimi since the reign of Shō Shin.
Number Divine name Title or personal name Birth Death Ascension Notes 1 ? ? during the reign of Shō Shin daughter of Shō En, sister of Shō Shin 2 梅南 ? 1577 during the reign of Shō Gen daughter of 3 梅岳 ? 1605 1577 queen of Shō Gen, grand-daughter of Urasoe Uēkata 4 月嶺 1584 1653 1605 daughter of Shō Ei, wife of (Oroku Udun) 5 円心 1617 1677 1653 daughter of prince (Kin Udun), wife of prince (Kunigami Udun) 6 月心 1645 1703 1677 queen of Shō Tei, daughter of (Sakuma Dunchi) 7 義雲 1664 1723 1703 wife of crown prince Shō Jun and mother of Shō Eki, daughter of 8 坤宏 1680 1765 1723 queen of Shō Eki and mother of Shō Kei, daughter of (Inoha Dunchi) 9 仁室 1705 1779 1766 queen of Shō Kei and mother of Shō Boku, daughter of (Oroku Dunchi) 10 寛室 1719 1784 1780 daughter of Shō Kei, wife of (Gushichan Dunchi) 11 順成 1721 1789 1784 daughter of Shō Kei, wife of (Ie Udun) 12 徳澤 1762 1795 1789 queen of Shō Tetsu, daughter of 13 法雲 1765 1834 1789 Eldest daughter of Shō Boku, wife of (Jana Dunchi) 14 仙徳 1785 1869 1834 queen of Shō On, daughter of (Urasoe Dunchi) 15 1817 ? 1870 daughter of Shō Kō, wife of (Tamagusuku Udun) 16 1825 1909 Meiji Era daughter of Shō Kō, wife of (Ōgimi Udun) 17 1874 1944 Taishō Era daughter of Shō Tai, wife of 18 1887 1967 1944 daughter of Shō Ten, wife of (Nakijin Udun) 19 1917 2004 ? daughter of Shō Shō. essayist. 20 1947 2019 2013 daughter of Hiroshi Shō. Businesswoman 21 1984 alive 2019 adoptive daughter of Mamoru Shō. Shinto priestess
Ceremonies Investiture The investiture of Kikoe-ōgimi is called (lit. "the new descent"). The details are mainly known thanks to a report of the investiture ceremony of the fourteenth kikoe-ōgimi, queen of Shō On, the .
The preparations for the ceremony take about six months, including the renovation of the roads and the construction of several temporary residences on the way of the procession that take the future kikoe-ōgimi from Shuri to Sēfa Utaki. The wood for the residences is obtained from the northern forests and is prepared and transported according to the ritual. Sand from the sacred island of Kudaka is transported to Sēfa Utaki and spread on the ground at the location of the ceremony.
The future kikoe-ōgimi leaves her residence with her followers early in the morning and goes to Shuri Castle. After several ceremonies inside Shuri Castle and in , the future kikoe-ōgimi goes to Yonabaru, mounted on a white horse, surrounded by the songs (kuēna) of the noros and priestesses following her.
In Yonabaru, she is welcomed by and her followers, all wearing white clothes. The future kikoe-ōgimi goes to the Udun'yama sacred site where she receives the (her forehead is rubbed with sacred water), and then to the sacred spring where she purifies herself. The noros and the other priestesses sing and dance in front of the temporary residence that has been built for the investiture. In the afternoon, they leave Yonabaru, led by Ufuzato-Haebaru Noro and form a procession to go to Sēfa Utaki.
The and her followers welcome them at the boundary between the magiris of Sashiki and Chinen. The future kikoe-ōgimi demounts and climbs in a litter. The procession arrives to Sēfa Utaki in the evening. After a rest in the temporary residence that has been built in front of Sēfa Utaki, the ceremony takes place at night. The arrives in the night, on a white horse, and is welcomed by the Chinen-Tamagusuku Noro and her followers.
The processions counts about seventy noros and priestesses, who escort the future kikoe-ōgimi from the temporary residence to the sacred site while singing. The procession visits the and sacred sites before they go back to Ufu-gūi. The investiture ceremony itself is held at Ufu-gūi, it is presided by Kudakajima-Kudaka Noro, assisted of Chinen-Tamagusuku Noro. The future kikoe-ōgimi is seated on a throne and the noros sit in circke around her. The set a crown on her head while the other priestesses sing and dance around. Before dawn, the future kikoe-ōgimi returns to the temporary residence, where a golden folding screen has been set, hiding a bed and a golden pillow. This is where the gods come down and incarnate themselves in her in a ritual of celestial wedding.
At dawn, all the noros and Kikoe-ōgimi welcome the sunrise. By noon, the procession visits , sacred springs and , before they go back to Shuri in the evening. Once the uārauri ceremony is over, the new kikoe-ōgimi is considered equal to the gods. After this investiture, she will keep her function till her death.
Agari-umāi Pilgrimage
Kikoe-ōgimi, together with the king, made the pilgrimage once a year during the fourth month of the lunar calendar, during which she visited fourteen sacred places in relation with the goddess Amamikiyo between Shuri Castle and Sēfa Utaki. She left Shuri after devotions at and visited the sacred site and the sacred spring in Yonabaru, as well as the and sacred sites in Sashiki, before she went to Chinen Magiri where she prayed at the sacred spring before she entered Sēfa Utaki. There, she held rituals in six different sacred locations (ibi), praying for the kingdom's prosperity and safety, for good crops and safe sea trips.
After the ceremonies at Sēfa Utaki, she went to , to the sacred spring, to the sacred sources, to , to , to and finally to .
Kudaka Island Pilgrimage