Shintai
Encyclopedia
Prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word. Particularly in the study of languages,a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.Examples of prefixes:...
go- is used, are physical objects worshiped at or near Shinto shrines as repositories in which spirits or kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
reside. Shintai used in Shrine Shinto
Shinto sects and schools
, the folk religion of Japan, developed a diversity of schools and sects, outbranching from the original Ko Shintō since Buddhism was introduced into Japan in the sixth century.-Early period Shinto schools and groups:...
(Jinja Shinto) can be also called .
In spite of what their name may suggest, shintai are not themselves part of kami, but rather just temporary repositories which make them accessible to human beings for worship. Shintai are also of necessity yorishiro
Yorishiro
A in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called kami, thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. Yorishiro are used during ceremonies to call the kami for worship. The word itself literally means approach substitute. Once a yorishiro...
, that is objects by their very nature capable of attracting kami.
The most common shintai are man-made objects like mirrors, swords, jewels (for example comma-shaped stones called magatama
Magatama
Magatama , are curved beads which first appeared in Japan during the Jōmon period.They are often found inhumed in mounded tumulus graves as offerings to deities . They continued to be popular with the ruling elites throughout the Kofun Period of Japan, and are often romanticised as indicative of...
), gohei
Gohei
, or are wooden wands, decorated with two shide used in Shinto rituals.The streamers are usually white, although they can also be gold, silver, or a mixture of several colors...
(wands used during religious rites), and sculptures of kami called , but they can be also natural objects such as stones, mountains, trees and waterfalls. Before the forcible separation of kami and Buddhas of 1868 (shinbutsu bunri
Shinbutsu Bunri
The term in Japanese indicates the forbidding by law of the amalgamation of kami and buddhas made during the Meiji Restoration. It also indicates the effort made by the Japanese government to create a clear division between native kami beliefs and Buddhism on one side, and Buddhist temples and...
) a shintai could even be the statue of a Buddhist god.
Famous shintai include the mirror, part of the Imperial Regalia of Japan
Imperial Regalia of Japan
The , also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of the sword Kusanagi , the mirror Yata no Kagami , and the jewel Yasakani no Magatama...
, Mount Miwa
Mount Miwa
or is a mountain located in the city of Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It has been an important religious and historical mountain in Japan, especially during its early history, and serves as a holy site in Shinto. The entire mountain is considered sacred, and is home to one of the earliest...
, Mount Nantai
Mount Nantai
is a stratovolcano in the Nikkō National Park in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. It stands at 2,486 m high. A prominent landmark, it can be seen on clear days from as far as the Pacific coast, 100 km away....
, the Nachi Falls
Nachi Falls
in Nachikatuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, is one of the best-known waterfalls in Japan. With a drop of at 133 m, it is often erroneously thought to be the country's tallest...
, and the Meoto Iwa
Meoto Iwa
, or the Loved one-and-loved one Rocks, are a couple of small rocky stacks in the sea off Futami, Mie, Japan. They are joined by a shimenawa and are considered sacred by worshippers at the neighbouring Futami Okitama Shrine . According to Shinto, the rocks represent the union of the creator of...
rocks. Many mountains like Mount Miwa
Mount Miwa
or is a mountain located in the city of Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It has been an important religious and historical mountain in Japan, especially during its early history, and serves as a holy site in Shinto. The entire mountain is considered sacred, and is home to one of the earliest...
or the Three Mountains of Kumano (Kumano sanzan) are considered shintai and are therefore called . The most famous shintai of all is doubtless Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji
is the highest mountain in Japan at . An active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707–08, Mount Fuji lies about south-west of Tokyo, and can be seen from there on a clear day. Mount Fuji's exceptionally symmetrical cone is a well-known symbol of Japan and it is frequently depicted in art and...
.
A yokozuna, a wrestler at the top of sumō
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
's power pyramid, is a living shintai. For this reason, his waist is circled by a shimenawa
Shimenawa
Shimenawa are lengths of braided rice straw rope used for ritual purification in the Shinto religion. They can vary in diameter from a few centimetres to several metres, and are often seen festooned with shide...
, a sacred rope which protects sacred objects from evil spirits. A kannushi
Kannushi
A , also called , is the person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine as well as for leading worship of a given kami. The characters for kannushi are sometimes also read jinshu with the same meaning....
, that is, a Shinto priest, can become a living shintai when during religious ceremonies in his body enters a kami
Kami
is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...
.
The founding of a new shrine requires the presence of either a pre-existing, naturally occurring shintai (for example a rock or waterfall housing a local kami), or of an artificial one, which must therefore be procured or made to the purpose. An example of the first case are the Nachi Falls
Nachi Falls
in Nachikatuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, is one of the best-known waterfalls in Japan. With a drop of at 133 m, it is often erroneously thought to be the country's tallest...
, worshiped at Hiryū Shrine near Kumano Nachi Taisha
Kumano Nachi Taisha
is a Shinto shrine part of the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. The Kumano Kodō route connects it to other sites under the same classification, all of which are in Nachikatuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan...
and believed to be inhabited by a kami called Hiryū Gongen
Gongen
During the era of shinbutsu shūgō , in Japan a During the era of shinbutsu shūgō (religious syncretism of kami and buddhas), in Japan a During the era of shinbutsu shūgō (religious syncretism of kami and buddhas), in Japan a ( was believed to be a Japanese kami which was really just the local...
. In the second, the mitama
Mitama
The Japanese word refers to the spirit of a kami or the soul of a dead person. It is composed of two characters, the first of which, , is a simply a honorific. The second, means "spirit". The character pair 神霊, also read mitama, is used exclusively to refer to a kami's spirit...
(spirit) of a kami is divided in half through a process called kanjō
Kanjo
in Shinto terminology indicates a propagation process through which a kami, previously divided through a process called bunrei, is invited to another location and there reenshrined.- Evolution of the kanjō process :...
and one of the halves is then stored in a yorishiro. This is the process which has led to the creation of networks of shrines housing the same kami, as for example the Hachiman shrine
Hachiman Shrine
A is a Shinto shrine dedicated to kami Hachiman. It is the second most numerous type of Shinto shrine after those dedicated to Inari.Originally the name was read Yawata or Yahata, a reading still used in some occasions.-Famous Hachiman shrines:...
, Inari shrine or Kumano shrine
Kumano Shrine
A ' is a type of Shinto shrine which enshrines the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi . There are more than 3000 Kumano shrines in Japan, and each has received its kami from another Kumano shrine through a process of propagation called or...
networks.
Because over the years the shintai is wrapped in more and more layers of precious cloth and stored in more and more boxes without being ever inspected, its exact identity may end up being forgotten.
The first role of a shrine is to house and protect its shintai and the kami which inhabits it. If a shrine has more than one building, the one containing the shintai is called honden
Honden
The , is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined kami, usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue. The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public. In front of its usually stands the haiden, or...
; because it is meant for the exclusive use of the kami, it is always closed to the public and is not used for prayer or religious ceremonies. The shintai leaves the honden only during festivals (matsuri), when it is put in a "divine palanquin" (mikoshi
Mikoshi
A is a divine palanquin . Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when moving to a new shrine...
, a term usually translated in English as portable shrine), and carried around the streets among the faithful. The portable shrine is used to physically protect the shintai and to hide it from sight.