Calendar
Detailed information is supplied for the rites in blue.
December
- 16th
- Gochinza-kinen-sai (Shrine Foundation Day) 御鎮座記念祭
- 16th
- Mikagura (Sacred Court Dance and Music) 御神楽
5pm
Mikagura is a performance of classical ceremonial music and dance, and it has a long tradition which dates back to mythological times.
Mikagura is originated in the performance of the Imperial Court, and songs of mikagura were invariably kept secret and handed down from generation to generation without revealing them publicly. Even nowadays, mikagura is rarely performed in public out of deference to its spirituality. Yet, its high artistic quality, and especially its solemnity, are well known.
The style of performance has not changed very much from the time of the ancient “Kami-asobi” event (religious ceremonial in which humans share their joy with kami).
The passing of time in the performance is identified with celestial movement. The prolonged tone of the songs is considered to be an expression of the time of the universe, which makes a characteristic of mikagura performance. While the movements of the universe do not change from ancient times, under the skies full of stars, mikagura goes beyond the earthly time but with the time of the universe like it did in the ancient times.
The passage of time in mikagura is linked to the time of the heavenly bodies. The singing voice with its overstretched syllables expresses a world where time has come to standstill. The special feature of music in mikagura is its linkage to the movement to the passage of those heavenly bodies. The earth is one such body of course but the people who live on the earth are forever in haste. The movements of the stars in the firmament are today what they were in the ancient past. Mikagura responds to the stars in the night sky and transcends time; it realizes in the present an ancient time which was in harmony with the heavenly bodies.※Kami (the Japanese word for Shinto deities or sacred beings)
- 23rd
- Tencho-sai (Emperor's Birthday) 天長祭
- 31st
- Ôharae (Major Purification) 大祓
11am, 1pm, 3pm
Oharae (大祓、major ritual of purification) is held to remove impurities and people’s sins. Harae (祓、purification) is held at the beginning of all Shinto rituals, and it is one of the most important rituals.
The idea of Shinto is that people unconsciously engage with various types of defilement such as uncleanness, matters related to blood in everyday life, and anything related to death. In order to purge these, Oharae is conducted twice a year, the body and spirit are purified and refined. - 31st
- Koshinsatsu-shono-sai (Burning of Returned Amulets) 古神札焼納祭
- 31st
- Joya-sai (Last Night) 除夜祭