Japanese Court rituals are rituals performed by the Emperor of Japan for the purpose of praying for the nation and its people's peace and prosperity. Rituals are held at the Tokyo Imperial Palace and the Three Palace Sanctuaries and include the 'Grand Service' in which the emperor himself performs the rituals and delivers the imperial proclamation, and the Minor Service in which the chief priests (shosokuji) and others perform the rituals and the emperor pays homage. The other is the Minor Festival in which the chief priests (shosoten-ji) conduct the ceremony and the emperor pays his respects.
History
Heian period
Since the establishment of the Ritsuryo system, the formalization of rituals has progressed, and is summarized in the Engishiki. This is a list of various rituals, and does not take the form of a list of court rituals alone.
Disasters such as disease, epidemic, earthquake, fire, and other natural disasters were thought to be caused by god's possession, and were compared to Oni or feared as a god of plague.
The divinities officer was in charge of the divinities rituals and was not under the jurisdiction of the Onmyodo dormitory. Various rituals are said to have been held, including the Plague God Festival, Chinka Festival, Wind God Festival, Great Purification, Miyagi Four Corners Plague God Festival, Fire Prevention Festival, and Hotarubetsu Festival.、Onmyodo-do was developed in sorcery style based on the aristocratic society of the Heian period, and included Onmyodo elements in the Shinto rituals of the Ritsuryo system.
The four corners of the capital were bounded (sacred and secular areas), and rituals were held at the four corners of the capital and the four corners of the Miyagi Castle to pray for the safety and peace of the world. The Onmyōji persecution by Toyotomi Hideyoshi began, driving Onmyōji who made their living as prayers and divinations to the provinces, and they quickly lost power, and people calling themselves Onmyōji, which was far greater than the number of official Onmyōji in Onmyō. Rituals at the palace took on a more Shinto coloring. ryō at the time, flowed throughout the country. During the Sengoku era Persecution, even the Tsuchimikado family lost many of their Onmyōdō traditions and ritual implements. The Altar of the Taizanfukunsai, the most important "Great Law" of Onmyōdō, was also lost, and the ritual instruments were borrowed from the Yoshida Shrine in Kyoto for the ground-breaking ceremony of the Imperial Palace. This had a significant impact on the Rituals at the palace took on a more Shinto coloring.。On the other hand, Onmyodo path was authorized by the Tokugawa shogunate, and was converted to Shinto by Yasufuku Tsuchimikado as Tensha Shinto under the influence of Taruka Shinto.
Before modern times As Emperor Juntoku of the Kamakura period stated in "Shinto ritual " in "Shinto ritual", the emperor has given "Shinto ritual" the highest priority since Hagoku. Four-way worship is an event that has been handed down to successive emperors since before the Edo period.
In the middle and late Edo period there was a growing theory of sonnō based on Mitogaku, and the revival of rituals such as the Niiname -no-Matsuri became popular.
From the Meiji era to the prewar period Many of the rituals held today were reorganized during the Meiji Restoration, inheriting the Taiho Code, the Sadakan Ceremony, and the Engi Ceremony.
Along with the deification of the emperor as the " current god " and the separation of Shinto and Buddhism, the rituals that had been cut off were reconstructed and new rituals were created. In 1871 ( Meiji 4), a Daijo-kan's decree stating that "a shrine is a national ritual" was issued, and in 1908, the imperial ritual decree stipulating the court ritual was enacted as one of the imperial decree.
Rice cultivation is carried out in the rice fields in Miyagi, and after Emperor ShowaHe began to plant rice.溥傑自伝は、満州国皇帝溥儀と昭和天皇の会話の後から天皇が親ら田に入るようになったとしている。 The harvested rice is used as an offering during rituals.
Postwar After the defeat of Japan in 1945 and under the postwar rule of the Allied Command, the Imperial Household Agency. The former Imperial Household Law, which had been separated from the national government, was abolished when the Constitution of Japan came into effect, and the fully revised Imperial Household Law became a general law.
In conjunction with this, the prewar Imperial Household Ordinances, such as the Imperial Rituals Ordinance, were all abolished at one time, but the Imperial Household Agency issued an internal circular confirming that "matters for which no new explicit provisions have been made shall be implemented in accordance with the former Imperial Household Ordinances.
Position under the Constitution of Japan There is no explicit provision for court rituals in the Constitution of Japan or its subordinate laws, and current court rituals are conducted in accordance with the Imperial Household Rituals Ordinance. The budget for this is also handled by the Imperial Household's internal expenses. For this reason, some constitutional scholars have interpreted postwar court rituals as "ceremonies performed privately by the emperor.
The official website of the Imperial Household Agency explains the court ritual in the section "Public affairs of the Imperial Household Agency"宮中祭祀 宮内庁ホームページ 皇室のご公務。
In addition the prime minister and other heads of the three branches of government have been confirmed to attend some rituals, mainly the Grand Festival. Eisaku Sato attended most of the Spring Imperial Rei Festival and Spring Temple Festival, Autumn Imperial Rei Festival and Autumn Temple Festival, and the Shinmae Festival during his tenure as prime minister, and he also attended the NHK Special "The True Face of the Symbolic Emperors" (broadcast on 10 April 2009, a program commemorating the 50th anniversary of the marriage of the Emperor and Empress), showed footage of the then Prime Minister Taro Aso and other heads of the three powers attending the Spring Imperial Service and Spring Temple Service.
Since the establishment of the court ritual as an institution, Emperor Meiji and Emperor Taisho were not very enthusiastic, and the chamberlains were the main worshipers. On the other hand, Empress Teimei, Emperor Showa, and Empress Kojun were very enthusiastic.
It can be seen from the diary that Sukemasa Irie, who was a samurai servant in the latter half of his reign, promoted the simplification of rituals due to the aging of Emperor Showa in the 1965s and 1950s. Until 1986, he continued the parent festival of Niiname-no-Matsuri.
The 125th Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were also extremely enthusiastic about the ritual, and except for the darkness (in mourning) and illness, they worshiped most of the court rituals without making a substitute.
Regarding rituals, in addition to calling Kiyosai and Heian shōzoku in advance, it is necessary to sit upright for a long time, and when the ritual approaches, Emperor Showa consciously sits upright for a long time, such as watching TV in the seiza. It is said that he was keeping that in mind. It was said that Akihito was practicing seiza as well as Emperor Showa when the time of the Niiname-no-Matsuri approached, but after 2009 (Heisei 21), 20 years after his reign, consideration for the health of elderly Akihito. To reduce the burden, simplification and adjustment of rituals were planned and implemented.
Rituals Those in bold are the major festivals.
1 January – Shihohai (四方拝, worship in the four directions), Saitansai (歳旦祭, New Year's Day festival) 3 January – Festival of the Origin of the Imperial Line (元始祭 Genshisai) 4 January – Soujihajime (奏事始, Issuing the order for the beginning of the Shinto ritual year at Jingū) 7 January – Emperor Showa Festival 30 January – Emperor Komei Festival 17 February – Kinensai (祈年祭, February festivity for ancestors and the winter harvest) 23 February – Tencho Festival Vernal Equinox Day – Spring Kōreisai, Spring Shindensai 3 April – Jinmu-tennosai, Kōreiden Mikagura 16 June – Empress Kōjun annual festival (Kōjun Kōgoreisai) 30 June – Yoori, Great Purification Ceremony 30 July – Emperor Meiji annual festival Autumnal Equinox Day – Autumn Koreisai, Autumn Shindensai 17 October – Kanname-sai 23 November – Niinamesai (Thanksgiving Festival of the Fall Harvest) Mid-December – Kashikodokoro Mikagura (Feast of the Shrine of the Goddess of Mercy/Winter Solstice Festival) 25 December – Taisho-tenno-sai (Emperor Taisho's Festival) 31 December – Yoori, Year-end Grand Purification
Difference from the previous Imperial ritual order 11 February – Abolition of Kigensetsusai. However, even after the abolition, the same rituals are still held as "extraordinary worship" (臨時御拝). The name was changed from Tencho-setsu festival to Tencho-sai. The Shihohai, Sojihajime, Koreiden Mikagura, Yoori, and great purification are neither major nor minor festivals.
Dress Attendants are required to wear Morning coat and Afternoon dress in western style, and white-necked montsuki or similar in Japanese style. During the winter, cloaks may be worn.
Ritual ceremonies of the imperial family
Ritual Ceremonies of the Imperial Palace describes various Rituals related to the Emperor (the Emperor and the Imperial Family). Of these, ceremonies related to the Emperor can be divided into two categories: national acts as stipulated in Article 7 of the Japanese Constitution, and official acts that do not fall under this category. These ritual performances also are strikingly similar to Hindu personal sacraments, called Samskara, they involve a bathing ceremony, naming ceremony, first outing and the wedding ceremony.
Pregnancy-Birth
A ceremony held on the day of the dog of the sexagenary cycle in the ninth month of pregnancy for female members of the Imperial Family who have conceived a child to pray for a safe delivery. In the case of Empress Masako, the Emperor presented her with a red and white silk sash (生平絹の帯 kinohiraginu no obi), which was then delivered to the expectant female royal family member by a palace official sent by the sash's parent, followed by a Gochaku Shinken no Gi. The sash is then taken to the Three Palace Sanctuaries by the head priest for substitute worship on behalf of the couple. The obi is offered to the temple at the end of each of the three halls, and a norito is said. This series of ceremonies is called Kashikodokoro Koureiden Shinden ni Chakutai Hokoku no Gi (賢所皇霊殿神殿に着帯奉告の儀). After the ceremony, the sash is delivered again by the attendant, and the crown prince in his morning clothes ties the sash on the princess, who is dressed in uchigi (court dress robe) and hakama, with the help of the lady-in-waiting. In addition, in the fifth month of pregnancy, naionchakutai (内御着帯) is performed, however it is not a formal ceremony. In the case of the Crown Princess, she wears a very light indigo uchigi and a bright scarlet hakama, and the Chief of the Household of the Crown Prince (東宮大夫 Tōgū daifu) carries the Obi presented by the Empress into the room. The Crown Prince, dressed in a morning gown and led by the head lady-in-waiting, enters, and the couple sits in chairs facing each other. The head lady-in-waiting places the obi over the princess's hakama and makes a loose bow knot in front, which the princess herself ties. After the couple leaves and the ceremony is complete, a member of the Tōgū staff dressed in formal attire says a few words of congratulations, and then the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Agency delivers a congratulatory address (御祝詞 onshukushi). The couple will have a celebratory lunch (御祝御膳) at the Imperial Palace in the afternoon and report to the Emperor and Empress.
Gifted Sword Ceremony