What we today call Shinto has been at the heart of Japanese culture for
almost as long as there has been a political entity distinguishing
itself as Japan. A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine describes the
ritual cycle at Suwa Shrine, Nagasaki's major Shinto shrine.
Conversations with priests, other shrine personnel, and people attending
shrine functions supplement John K. Nelson's observations of over fifty
shrine rituals and festivals. He elicits their views on the meaning and
personal relevance of the religious events and the place of Shinto and
Suwa Shrine in Japanese society, culture, and politics. Nelson focuses
on the very human side of an ancient institution and provides a detailed
look at beliefs and practices that, although grounded in natural cycles,
are nonetheless meaningful in late-twentieth-century Japanese society.
Nelson explains the history of Suwa Shrine, basic Shinto concepts, and
the Shinto worldview, including a discussion of the Kami, supernatural
forces that pervade the universe. He explores the meaning of ritual in
Japanese culture and society and examines the symbols, gestures, dances,
and meanings of a typical shrine ceremony. He then describes the cycle
of activities at the shrine during a calendar year: the seasonal rituals
and festivals and the petitionary, propitiary, and rite-of-passage
ceremonies performed for individuals and specific groups. Among them are
the Dolls' Day festival, in which young women participate in a
procession and worship service wearing Heian period costumes; the autumn
Okunchi festival, which attracts participants from all over Japan and
even brings emigrants home for a visit; the ritual invoking the blessing
of the Kami for young children; and the ritual sanctifying the earth
before a building is constructed. The author also describes the many
roles women play in Shinto and includes an interview with a female
priest.
Shinto has always been attentive to the protection of communities from
unpredictable human and divine forces and has imbued its ritual
practices with techniques and strategies to aid human life. By observing
the Nagasaki shrine's traditions and rituals, the people who make it
work, and their interactions with the community at large, the author
shows that cosmologies from the past are still very much a part of the
cultural codes utilized by the nation and its people to meet the
challenges of today.
