chii.sana (little, small)
den (transmit, communicate, legend, tradition)
tô (relationship, overall, ruling, governing)
dentô (tradition, convention)

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❖ (little traditions)
❖ Everyday ritualistic behaviors of shintô practitioners

bokusen – Divination

omikuji – Personal Fortune

butsudan – Household Buddhist Altar, usually with the ancestors' memorial

sojin – Remembered Ancestors

sorei – Collective Ancestors

sorei haishi – Ancestor Prayer
"I respectfully pray to all the generations of our ancestors, and especially to the spirits of those who helped form this community.

I present these offerings and prayers with humility and reverence.

I beseech you to accept these offerings that I present with heart-felt gratitude for the multitude of blessings that have been bestowed on us.

Humbly, I ask that you impart your venerable teachings for living with sincerity.

Encourage us in our efforts to live righteously, to unite the hearts of community and family members, to live in harmony with respect and service to others.

Humbly... reverently I speak these words."

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❖ (See sorei haishi shaku)
❖ (See shaku)

fujô – Pollution and Impurity
Impurity obscures our ability to sense the kami within and without. Like dirt on a window, it makes hard for us to see what lays beyond. It's best to avoid being polluted in the first place, but fortunately, if you can't, pollution is not permanent – it can be removed.

kagare – Pollution From the Environment
Purity can be regained by engaging in harai, either by yourself, or at the hands of a purified individual, spiritual leader, or priest.

ketsu-e – Contact With Blood

san-e – Contact With Childbirth

shi-e – Contact With Death

shoku-e – Contagion of kegare

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Kegare is contagious; it can passed up to three times from the original contact.

tsumi – Pollution Arising From Our Actions
Actions that disturb the harmony and peace of the family and the community are a source of pollution. To regain purity in these cases, it is necessary to restore the harmony and peace, and to make restitution to any you may have injured.

fu (wind, air, style, manner)
ro (spine, backbone)
furo (bath, bathtub, bathroom, bathhouse)
shiki (spread, pave, sit)

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❖ Wrapping cloth, cloth wrapper

fu (wind, air, style, manner)
ro (spine, backbone)
furo (bath, bathtub, bathroom, bathhouse)
shiki (spread, pave, sit)
furoshiki (wrapping cloth, cloth wrapper)
zutsu.mi | tsutsu.mi (bundle, package, parcel, bale)

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❖ Something wrapped in a furoshiki

koma (dainty, get thin, taper, slender, narrow)
musu.bi (tie, bind, join, do up hair, fasten)

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ko (little, small)
ma (interval, space)
koma (small room)
musu.bi (tie, bind, join, do up hair, fasten)

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❖ Reef knot, flat knot, square knot
❖ Knot used to tie furoshiki
❖ Also pronounced ma-musubi

jikan – Time Related Terms

josûshi – Counters

kamidana – Household kami Altar
A basic kamidana consists of: an enclosure to hold the ofuda, two vases for sakaki, four vessels to hold o-shio, o-kome, o-mizu, and o-miki; and vessel for any special shinsen. It is usually placed on a high shelf in the main gathering room. While there are traditional ofuda enclosures, vases, and shinki vessels, a folk version will use what is available locally. If sakaki is unavailable, use a branch of a locally grown evergreen. Optional, but nice to have items for the kamidana are: ishidôrô, kagami, kagaribi, kôgu, masakaki, ozen, sanbô, shimenawa and shide. A shimenawa is normally made of rice straw, but a rope made of wheat straw, sisal, hemp, or suitable local fiber plant can be substituted. Also, the rice and sake offering can be replaced with an appropriate local grain and alcoholic beverage.

To setup a kamidana, first clean and purify the house. Then place the kamidana on the North or West wall in a location that is well-lighted, quiet and high. If there is a floor above it, write the kanji for kumoi on a piece of paper and attach it above the kamidana. A shimenawa with shide can be hung above the kamidana.

Prayers are usually addressed to kami daily, and offerings are usually made on a regular basis – daily, or every two or three days. It is expected that shinsen will be consumed, by the family, after they have been offered to kami.

hairei – Formal Manner to Worship kami

hakushu – Clapping

o (honorable)
ji (word, expression)
gi (ceremony)
ojigi (bowing)

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❖ Depth of bow indicates degree of respect

kamidana haishi – kamidana Prayer
"On this shelf dwell esteemed kami.

Humbly I approach in prayer; I come in humility and with great respect.
To my guardian kami and to the countless myriads of kami I speak with a reverent heart.

I beseech the kami to accept these offerings that I present with heart-felt gratitude for the blessings that have been bestowed on me.

To these kami I humbly offer my prayers.

To all the kami, I pray that you bestow these blessings:
Grant me perseverance and that my heart be genuine, childlike and true,
Grant that I stay on the path of sincerity and truth,
Grant that I be strong and diligent,
Grant good health to my family,
Give them strength in spirit, mind, and body.

Humbly... reverently I speak these words."

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❖ (See kamidana haishi shaku)
❖ (See shaku)

ofuda – Talisman Usually Issued by shintô Shrine

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❖ (See Sample ofuda)

shide – Zigzag Folded Paper or Cloth Offerings

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❖ (See shide Pattern)

shinsen – Offerings to kami
The four basic shinsen are: o-kome, o-shio, o-mizu, and o-miki.

tama (jewel, ball)
gushi | kushi (skewer, spit)
tamagushi (branch of a sacred tree, esp. sakaki, with paper or cotton strips attached - used as a shintô offering)
hô (offer, present, dedicate, observance)
ten (decision)
hôten (humbly presenting something)

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❖ Offering a sakaki branch with shide attached to kami

tama (jewel, ball)
gushi | kushi (skewer, spit)
tamagushi (branch of a sacred tree, esp. sakaki, with paper or cotton strips attached - used as a Shinto offering)
ryô (fee, materials)

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❖ Cash offering made on the occasion of one's visit to a shrine
❖ Money offering dedicated to kami
❖ Fees for offering a sakaki branch to kami

tamagushi – sakaki with shide
❖ Presenting tamagushi to kami:

1. Hold tamagushi in both hands, parallel to your front, with left hand underneath the leafy end and right hand on top of the cut end
2. Proceed to an
3. ichirei before placing tamagushi
4. Turn the cut end clockwise towards you
5. Slide the left hand towards the cut end and then slide the right hand underneath the leafy end
6. Turn tamagushi 180 degrees clockwise
7. Place on an so cut end is towards kami
8. nirei
9. nihakushu
10. Make one final ichirei

keigo – Terms of Respect

kiyome – Cleanliness and Purity

harae – Exorcism and Purification

haraegushi – Ritual Purification Wand
❖ To use haraegushi:

1. Hold the haraegushi upright with two hands in front of you (chûbu)
2. Swing from right to left and shake the top over your left shoulder
(anata no hidarikata no ue ni jôbu wo furu)
"harae tamae…"
3. Swing from left to right and shake the top over your right shoulder
(anata no migikata no ue ni jôbu wo furu)
"kiyome tamae…"
4. Swing from right to left and shake the top over your left shoulder
(anata no hidarikata no ue ni jôbu wo furu)
"mamori tamae"
5. Swing from left to right and shake the top over your right shoulder
(anata no migikata no ue ni jôbu wo furu)
"sakihae tamae…"
6. Return to upright in front of you (chûbu)

❖ (literally: exorcism please… purification please… protection please… good luck and prosperity please)
❖ Frequently shortened to: harae tamae… kiyome tamae… mamori tamae
❖ (See haragushi haishi shaku)

tamagushi – sakaki with shide
❖ tamagushi can also be used as a purification wand

hitogata – Human Shaped Paper Cutout Used for Purification
❖ To use hitigata:

1. Write name and birth-date on hitogata
2. Put right thumb-print on hitogata
3. Pass hitogata over one's body
4. Breath on hitogata to purify oneself and remove kegare/tsumi
5. Go down to river / pond / lake
6. Purification with haraegushi
7. Throw hitogata into river / pond / lake while saying,
"harae tamae kiyome tamae rokkonshôjô"

❖ (literally: exorcism please, purification please, six roots pure)
❖ (See hitogata pattern)
❖ (See hitogata haishi shaku)

misogi – Self-purification with Water

mi (somebody, person)
sogi | jô (rinse, wash)
hai (bowing one's head in respect or worship, worship)
shi (words, writing, lyrics)
haishi (prayer)

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❖ misogi ritual/prayer
❖ For those who lack ready access to a waterfall, river, lake, or sea
❖ Can be done daily in a shower

1. Turn water to as cold as you can tolerate
2. With water running over your head
3. nirei
4. nihakushu
"mizu-no-kami* purify the tsumi I have done"
5. chûbu (center, middle, heart)
Sway so water runs over – hidari (left) / migi (right) / hidari
chûbu
Sway so water runs over – ushiro (back) / mae (front) / ushiro
chûbu
ue (look up) / kuchi (fill mouth) / shita (look down & clear mouth)
chûbu
"mizu-no-kami* purify the kegare I have touched"
6. chûbu
Sway so water runs over – hidari (left) / migi (right) / hidari
chûbu
Sway so water runs over – ushiro (back) / mae (front) / ushiro
chûbu
ue (look up) / kuchi (fill mouth) / shita (look down & clear mouth)
chûbu
"mizu-no-kami* purify the kegare I have touched"
7. ichirei
"mizu-no-kami* dômo arigatô gozaimasu"

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* Or suijin

temizuya – An Abbreviated Form of misogi
❖ Purifying mind and body with water
❖ At a shrine
❖ In a spring, river, pond / lake, sea / ocean
❖ In a sink
❖ With or without a dipper
❖ To perform in a sink turn water to as cold as you can tolerate

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1. hidari te (run water over left hand)
2. migi te (run water over right hand)
3. hidari te (run water into cupped left hand)
4. kuchi (fill mouth & clear mouth)
5. hidari te (run water over left hand)
6. hishaku (run water over handle if using a dipper)

ku (nine)
ji (character, letter)
in (stamp, seal, mark, symbol, emblem)
kuji-in (nine character seal)

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❖ Refers to the inkei associated with the nine characters

ku (nine)
ji (character, letter)
kiri (cut, cutoff, be sharp)
kuji-kiri (nine character cuts)

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❖ Exorcism-purification spell

migi kara hidari ni kitte (cut from right to left)
"rim"
ue kara shita ni kitte (cut from up to down)
"pyô"
migi kara hidari ni kitte
"tô"
ue kara shita ni kitte
"sha"
migi kara hidari ni kitte
"kai"
ue kara shita ni kitte
"jin"
migi kara hidari ni kitte
"retsu"
ue kara shita ni kitte
"zai"
migi kara hidari ni kitte
"zen"

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❖ (See Nine-Cuts Pattern)

reihô – Manners

sai (ritual, offer prayers, celebrate, deify, enshrine, worship)
shiki (style, ceremony, rite, function, method, system)
saishiki (rituals, rites)

himachi – Waiting For the Sun

shihôhai – Showing Reverence to Nature

tsukimachi – Waiting For the Moon

shu – Protective Items

omamori – Personal Protective Charms
❖ (See Sample Charms)