{"id":635,"date":"2007-11-14T21:05:43","date_gmt":"2007-11-14T12:05:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2007-11-14\/635"},"modified":"2007-11-14T21:05:43","modified_gmt":"2007-11-14T12:05:43","slug":"rare-shinto-shrine-closing-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2007-11-14\/635","title":{"rendered":"Rare Shinto Shrine-Closing Ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

As I introduced the\nother day<\/a>, a small<\/span> Shinto shrine about a hundred<\/span> yards from my place\nhere in Kyoto shut down because its main benefactor had passed away, so\nthey had a ceremony<\/span> to ask the shrine's spirit(s) to return to whence they\ncame. Apparently, such ceremonies are exceedingly rare.<\/p>\n\n

Some shrines like the nearby Heian Shrine are huge multi-acre affairs,\nbut most are much smaller. There are literally thousands of shrines in\nKyoto, with the median size probably about the size of the one that shut\ndown: about the area of a single<\/span> parking space.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 135mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f\/4.5, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nShinto Priest<\/span>with the altar and offerings in the background\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + 1.7× TC + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f\/4.8, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRitual Offerings<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f\/5, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nRitual Offerings II<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

As part of the ceremony, the name\/age\/gender of local folk were written\non sticks that were then burned. The idea is<\/span> that the smoke goes along with\nthe departing spirit, imparting wishes for good health to those whose names\nare included.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 116mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f\/5, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStart of the Burn<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f\/5, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBurn II<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

While the sticks burned, the priest chanted something that I assumed<\/span> was\na prayer<\/span> of some sort.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 155mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>3200 sec, f\/2.8, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nChanting a Prayer<\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>4000 sec, f\/3.5, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBurn III<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17<\/span>-55 f\/2.8 @ 17mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f\/3.5, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nEntrance Area<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It was difficult to take pictures because the shrine was very small, and\nthe road in front was quite narrow and tended to be filled with people both\nstanding and passing through. In taking<\/span> the wide-angle shot above, my heels\nwere hanging precariously off the edge of the road over the Shirakawa\nriver.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17<\/span>-55 f\/2.8 @ 17mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f\/3.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThe Whole Thing<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The priest is standing under the entrance gates, with the “altar” (I'm\nnot sure what it's really called, but it looks quite similar to the\ntabernacle in a Catholic<\/span> church) a bit<\/span> to the back, and that's it. I don't<\/span>\nknow what will become of the location, but as I said,<\/span> size-wise, it's just\nlarge enough to park one care comfortably.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 110mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>2000 sec, f\/3.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBurn IV<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f\/3.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBurn V<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f\/3.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBurn VI<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Once that was done, the priest actually opened up the altar\/tabernacle\nthing. It apparently<\/span> hadn't been opened in a very<\/span> long time, because\nsomeone needed to fetch a screwdriver<\/span> so he could pry it open.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f\/3.5, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nInside the Shrine<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Beside whatever was expected inside, he also found wasps, so someone ran\nfor some bug spray....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f\/3.5, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNot a Planned<\/span> Part of the Ceremony<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Once that was taken care of, he removed everything from inside, and the\nceremony was over.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 70<\/span>-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f\/3.5, ISO 800 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThe End<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Despite the rather unappealing look of the surroundings in the “The\nWhole Thing” photo above, it's actually a nice<\/span> area. The path the<\/span> shrine is\non parallels a small<\/span> stream, and there are a lot<\/span> of nice things about the\narea (traditional houses, quaint bridges, cherry trees), and as such, it\ngets quite a bit<\/span> of foot traffic. While the ceremony was going on, lots of\npeople would pause as they went by, and if they happened to have a\nquizzical<\/span> look, I'd tell them<\/span> that it was a ceremony<\/span> to close down the\nshrine. Invariably, the first words from their mouth was “oh, that's too\nbad!”<\/p>\n\n

It was only after it was over that I chatted<\/span> with some others there\nabout why the shrine was closing. I knew that<\/span> the man had been ill, but\ndidn't know he had passed away, so that was quite sad. I wanted<\/span> to say\nsomething to his wife who was there, but my Japanese is not at all good\nenough that I could<\/span> be sure not to phrase something inappropriately, so I\njust<\/span> quietly left. Half an hour later, I was at<\/span> Sunday mass, at which time\nI said<\/span> my own little prayer for the man and his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I introduced the other day, a small Shinto shrine about a hundred yards from my place here in Kyoto shut down because its main benefactor had passed away, so they had a ceremony to ask the shrine's spirit(s) to return to whence they came. Apparently, such ceremonies are exceedingly rare.<\/p>

Some shrines like the nearby Heian Shrine are huge multi-acre affairs, but most are much smaller. There are literally thousands of shrines in Kyoto, with the median size probably about the size of the one that shut down: about the area of a single parking space.<\/p>

As part of [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/635\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}