Cosimo Galluzzi
Mike Driver
JBB: An Artblog!
Misplaced Lens Cap
if i look back, i am lost
Kiana Khansmith
$LAYYYTER
Today's Document
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
Not today Justin
titsay
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
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macklin celebrini has autism
@theartofmadeline
ojovivo
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
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Andulka
occasionally subtle
seen from Germany
seen from Malaysia
seen from Netherlands
seen from Türkiye
seen from Mexico
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from Romania
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Jordan
seen from Hungary
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seen from Dominican Republic
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@kitsunetsukai
Some other news….my new offering set came in the mail from Tsubaki America Jinja! It goes to Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto-sama, Amaterasu Omikami-sama, and Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto-sama.
The ones I had before go to Yatagarasu-sama and Futsunushi-no-Kami-sama.
Here is a helpful guide that came with the set on how to make offerings! I thought it would be good to share :)
Up at 3am, sobbing and literally begging Inari-sama to present me with a job opportunity after six months of zero luck.
4am: Old friend and coworker I haven’t talked to in forever who just happened to be online already lining up at least three opportunities and is doing the networking and vetting for me.
Got a job. Perfect fit. Perfect everything. Above and beyond expectations. At exactly the right time. Not the time I wanted, but the time I needed.
Inari is good.
The past is gone, and cannot harm you anymore. And while the future is fast coming for you, it always flinches first and settles in as the gentle present.
Cecil Baldwin, Welcome to Night Vale Ep. 12, “The Candidate”
…This is one of the most comforting things I’ve ever heard.
(via r-lupins)
you are allowed to grieve the years you lost to mental illness. you’re allowed to be mad that it happened to you. you’re allowed to pine after the person you might have been had it been different. but don’t let that get in the way of your growing into your new self and following a wholly new path for your life.
Fox God at Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto, Japan
Mt. Inari, April 2014
As long as I have You, I can do anything…..
Up at 3am, sobbing and literally begging Inari-sama to present me with a job opportunity after six months of zero luck.
4am: Old friend and coworker I haven’t talked to in forever who just happened to be online already lining up at least three opportunities and is doing the networking and vetting for me.
#inari you take wish fulfillment to the next level #seriously
#also this is an opportunity i was sort of presented with six months ago #but wasn't ready to take #so i think Inari was kinda like FINALLY OMG
#scared but trying to be trusting #sort of like that moment on a roller coaster right before the big drop
Today I was interviewed on Green Shinto!
Inari-sama please watch over Saru-kun as he starts his new treatment process. Please let him be healed and continue to grow healthier and happier every day. I wish strength and fulfillment and contentment for him.
ありがとう
Inari: The Source of Life (Part II)
The concept of Inari as a “kami of three” is called Inari sanza. This was the original understanding of Inari Ōkami, as Uganomitama-no-ōkami,Sarutahiko-no-ōkami, and Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto. Today, Fushimi Inari Taisha, the head shrine of Inari Ōkami, continues to revere the three peaks of Mount Inari as the points where these three kami descended. In Part I, we looked at these three kami in order to gain insight into the nature of Inari.
The concept of Inari as a “kami of five” is called Inari goza. This is Fushimi Inari Taisha’s understanding of Inari Ōkami today — the original three kami are retained, with Tanaka no Ōkami and Shi no Ōkami added.
However, here in Part II, we are going to gain insight not by “zooming in” and looking at which kami are considered part of Inari, but by zooming out. We will look at where and how Inari fits in to the universe/Ōkamisama at large…
In addition to the approaches above, Inari Ōkami is also often identified with a kami named Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto (see, for instance, the translated text of the Inari Himon norito, available in this group under “Files”). Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto appears in the beginning of both the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) and Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), the two main mythological creation stories of Shintō. Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto is shown in different — but actually very similar — manners in the two creation stories. We will look at both…
INARI AS KUNITOKOTACHI-NO-KAMI (KOJIKI)
In the Kojiki, Kunitokotachi-no-kami (as the kami is known in the Kojiki) is the sixth kami to appear in the world. It was born from “something like a reed that arose from the soil”. Motohisa Yamakage, 79th Grand Master of the Yamakage school of Shinto, writes in Shinto no Shinpi: Essence of Shinto that Kunitokotachi-no-kami represents the kushimitama aspect of the seven original creator kami… One could say that Kunitokotachi-no-kami is the kushimitama of the universe.
(Here I should note that in the Kojiki, Kunitokotachi-no-kami also becomes united with the earth, and hence can also be regarded as the primordial kami of the kunitsu-kami (earthly kami). It is for this reason that Kunitokotachi-no-kami is also often identified with Sarutahiko-Ōkami, who is regarded as the leader of the kunitsu-kami. You will recall that Sarutahiko-Ōkami is closely identified as a major part of Inari Ōkami, who is in turn identified with Kunitokotachi-no-kami… these three kami are all very strongly related…)
What does this mean? In Shintō, there is a concept called ichirei shikon, literally, “one spirit, four souls”. This concept holds that every spirit can be understood as being made up of four individual, but complementary, souls. These souls and their basic function, as published by Kokugakuin University (the largest Shinto seminary) in their English-languageEncyclopedia of Shinto, are as follows:
Nigimitama: The tranquil
Aramitama: The turbulent
Sachimitama: The propitious (success-giving)
Kushimitama: The wondrous, miraculous, or salubrious (health-giving)
Every spirit — those of people, kami, and even the entire universe itself — can be understood as divisible into these four parts. (For instance, several kami at Ise Jingu, including Amaterasu Ōmikami, have a separate shrine for their aramitama).
Yamakage writes that the kushimitama of the universe — that is, Kunitokotachi-no-kami — is “The original power stimulating creativity and birth; transforming ideas into actual form.” In order to give this more tangible meaning, Yamakage continues by giving examples of kushimitama:
The kushimitama of a tree is the “vitality of the tree’s growth, and the work of expressing the character of the tree”.
The kushimitama of a human being “governs human life. This is the force for generating and transforming human beings”
The kushimitama of a human being’s bodily functions is “The operation of life energy, which incorporates and integrates external stimuli and mental events, renovating and transforming.”
The kushimitama of a human being’s emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects is “the desire to seek mystery, desire for creative contemplation, the ability of intuition and apperception.”
Yamakage also elaborates on the effects of one’s self having a weak kushimitama:
There is a loss of willpower … a weak kushimitama is often reflected in a facial expression that lacks energy, a demeanor characterized by lack of emotion and aridity or meanness of spirit.
Yamakage then explains that rectifying such a deficiency involves “the development of the mind, through intense concentration, and the cultivation of a mentality of gratitude, openness, and generosity of spirit”.
Therefore, Inari Ōkami, as Kunitokotachi-no-kami in the Kojiki, can be understood as being the equivalent to the entire universe as what the above things are to a tree or human being. To summarize, Inari Ōkami, as Kunitokotachi-no-kami, can be understood as the universal energy of:
Vitality
Growth
Expression of character
Governance of life, generation, and transformation
Mystery, creativity, and intuition
INARI AS KUNITOKOTACHI-NO-MIKOTO (NIHON SHOKI)
In the Nihon Shoki, Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto (as the kami is known in it) has an even greater air of creation and life: Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto is, in fact, the very first kami to appear in the universe.
Now we can understand the very first line of the Inari Himon norito, which reads: “Inari is the sole kami”. What is meant here is not that there are no other kami, or that all other kami are “false”. Instead, what this means is that Inari, as Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto, is the primordial kami, and as such, all kami can be regarded as having some essence or attribution to this kami.
This is further explained on a webpage for one of the many Inari kō (lay worship groups affiliated with shrines):
Inari is Uga-mitama-no-mikoto, but also appears as Toyu-ke-no-miya. The basis of Toyu-ke-no-miya is the kami that is said to be the creator in the Nihon Shoki, Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto. Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto is described as the sole kami in the Nihon shoki … If one is part of an Inari group (inari kō), then one’s only kami is Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto.
Again, it is not meant to be taken literally that Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto is the only kami, nor the only one worthy of reverence. Rather, it is meant that all kami can be attributed as part of Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto, under the understanding from the Nihon Shoki that Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto is the primordial kami.
WRAPPING UP…
Although it may at first appear contradictory that Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto appears as the sixth kami in the Kojiki and the first kami in the Nihon Shoki, we find in truth that it is not. In both cases, Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto is a “kami of source of life” — in the Kojiki, as the kushimitama of the universe, and in the Nihon Shoki, as the primordial, original kami. It is, therefore, equally true when we associate Inari Ōkami “up” with Kunitokotachi-no-mikoto, in addition to “down” as a composite kami, that Inari is the “Kami of Source of Life”.
REFERENCES
Aston, William George. “Nihongi, Part 1.” Nihongi, Part 1.http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/nihon0.htm (accessed May 10, 2014).
Chamberlain, Basil Hall. “The Kojiki.” Index. http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/index.htm (accessed May 10, 2014).
International Association for Inari Faith. “Inari Himon.” .https://www.facebook.com/groups/inarifaith/1399561140318602/(accessed May 10, 2014).
Kokugakuin University. “Ichirei shikon.” Encyclopedia of Shinto.http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=1181(accessed May 10, 2014).
Yamakage, Motohisa, and Paul de Leeuw. The essence of Shinto: Japan’s spiritual heart. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2006.
"国常立尊と稲荷神." 国常立尊と稲荷神. http://inariyama.com/byaltuko/page028.html (accessed May 10, 2014).
Kitsune
Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; in English, kitsune refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others—as foxes in folklore often do—other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.
Foxes and human beings lived close together in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serve as its messengers. This role has reinforced the fox’s supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has—they may have as many as nine—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity. Kami are the spirits or phenomena that are worshipped in the religion of Shinto. Inari Okami is the Japanese kami of foxes.
One of my favorite places in Japan: Fushimi Inari Grand Shrine
http://wanderlust-japan.com/kyoto-fushimi-inari/
Shinto: Ema
Great info post on ema. Three pics up from the bottom is an ema from the shrine at what used to be Sendai Castle. (has a picture of the famous Sendai tanabata decorations). Enoy, and props to the OP!) sakikikuhoshino:
Ema ( 絵馬, lit. 'horse picture') are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshippers write their prayers or wishes. The ema are then left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami receive them.
They bear various pictures, often of animals or other Shinto imagery, and many have the word gan’i ( 願意, lit. ‘heart’s request’), meaning "wish", written along the side.
Ema are sold for various wishes. Common reasons for buying a plaque are for success in work or on exams, marital bliss, to have children, and health. Some shrines specialize in certain types of these plaques, and the larger shrines may offer more than one. Sales of ema help support the shrine financially.
This is a Shinto custom and thus can be found at shrines all over Japan. As Buddhism and Shinto have mixed up a lot, it is not unique to shrines and they can be found in temples, too.
History
White horse at Kamigamo Jinja, one of the few shrines still to keep a live horse.
In Japan, white horses were once offered to shrines as gifts for the kami.
Horses were special because they were restricted to the élite. For ordinary people horseriders were looked up to.
It was the horse riding élite who after death were honoured as tutelary kami, and the horse was seen as a sacred mount which transported them from one realm to the other.
The practice that evolved in Japan was to offer horses as gifts. ”Horses were viewed as agents for bearing the kami since ancient times,” says the Kokugakuin encyclopedia, “and it was customary to present a horse to the kami as an expression of gratitude when making a vow or entreaty at a shrine.”
Horse statue at Izumo Taisha.
However, horses were expensive and thus people who couldn’t afford it used horse figures made of wood, clay or paper instead. Finally the wooden wishing plaques with a picture of a horse on them were born.
The idea may have originated from depictions of the animals in the Chinese zodiac, introduced from the continent. Already by the Nara period ( 710 - 794 ) wooden plaques with horse pictures were being donated to shrines. As sacred art, the paintings were done by leading artists (in a later age Hokusai was to paint them).
By the Muromachi period ( 1337 - 1573 ), subjects other than horses were being depicted, though the practice was still restricted to the élite.
Later during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573 - 1603 ) there were even “ema halls” (絵馬堂) where various artists displayed their ema design work.
It was only in Edo times ( 1603 - 1867 ) that small wooden votive plaques became widespread. People wrote their names on the back, sometimes adding wishes of their own.
Originally the wooden tablets were used as prayers against disease and for good crops, but gradually the scope widened. They were hand painted by local people, who created their own designs. Though the practice flourished in Meiji times ( 1868 - 1912 ) , there came a downturn by the mid-twentieth century as modernisation swept aside the old ways.
After World War 2, adapting silk screen technology, it became possible to mass-produce ema. With the reduction in price came a revival of popularity. Now you cannot fail to find them in abundance at any large shrine.
From white horses, the subject matter spread to myth and local folklore. Shrines came up with their own original creations, as in the example from Fushimi Inari where you fill in the fox’s face.
Actuality
Nowadays there are all sorts of pictures displayed. Very common is the current year’s zodiac. Very often it’s the picture of a kami that’s connected to the shrine.
However, in recent days basically everything is possible (various anime and even Rilakkuma ones aimed to little kids).
When it is exam season, you’ll find mostly “goukaku” ( 合格, 'exam passing' ) wooden wishing plates. Students all over their country wish that they’ll pass their tests.
Anyone can purchase the plaques.
Usually they cost around ¥500 - ¥1000.
You purchase them at the small booth where you can also get a seal in your seal book or lucky charms. If nobody is around you just put the money in a box and take one of the plaques.
It’s not difficult to fill out an “ema”. There are no strict rules. Sometimes you’re supposed to write your wish on the front, overwriting the picture and write your name and address on the back. For others you don’t touch the picture side, but write your wish on the back.
In big cities such as Tokyo you’ll find a lot of foreign languages on those plaques. A good place to check them out is Meiji Shrine.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ema_(Shinto)
http://zoomingjapan.com/wiki/ema/2/
http://www.greenshinto.com/wp/2011/12/05/ema-horse-picture-votive-tablets/
Finally put up my curtain (noren?) I’m not sure on the Japanese term for it! Also that is camomile tea, not alcohol! This shrine is on my bookshelf, the highest point in our room, looking over us as we are in the living room
Also yes that is a Zorua. Zorua reminds me of Inari’s playful and mischievous side
How to make Inarizushi!
Hi everyone! With the two more hatsuuma’s left for this year fast approaching, I thought it would be a great opportunity to write up a how-to tutorial on making Inarizushi, one of the most popular (and delicious!) Hatsuuma activities. I am writing this at a very basic level, and assuming that you don’t have a rice cooker. No kitchen/cooking experience is needed! Without further ado, here we go!
Ingredients you will need
Water
1 cup of uncooked Japanese rice — I use Koda Farms' Kokuho Rose rice, which is a premium Japanese-style rice grown in California. (Where to purchase) However, any Japanese/sushi-style rice will do. Note: Some sources will suggest that you wash the rice… there are different opinions on whether you should do this. Personally, I do not wash any rice. Anyhow, the Kokuho Rose rice that I use is labelled “Washing not necessary”.
12 Aburaage pouches — These are the fried tofu pockets. You can find this in Japanese specialty grocery stores, and probably most general Asian markets as well. They are kept refrigerated. I use Shirakiku Ajitsuke Inari Age (in bagged form, with 12 pouches in the bag).
Equipment you will need
Stovetop
3 quart (or larger) saucepan with lid - This is a “pot” with a long handle that sticks out on one side.
Wooden or plastic mixing spoon
2 quart (or larger) mixing bowl
Measuring cup
Scissors
A clean food preparation surface — Such as a cutting board
Step-by-step
Put your saucepan on the stovetop. Be safe! Make sure the handle of the saucepan is pointed toward the center of the stovetop, and never sticking out towards you. This is especially important if you have children or pets.
Using your measuring cup, pour three cups of water into the sauce pan. Do not put the lid on the saucepan yet!
Put the stovetop on HIGH.
Pour 1 cup of uncooked rice into your measuring cup.
Wait until the water in the saucepan is boiling. You can tell it is boiling when it is making a lot of noise and there are big, fast bubbles at the surface of the water:
Pour the rice from the measuring cup into the boiling water. After you have poured the rice, the water will seem to “stop” boiling… this is normal.
Right away, turn the stovetop down to the “simmer” (or “sim”) level. If your stove does not have that setting, use the lowest setting (other than off, of course!)
Use your mixing spoon to mix the rice into the boiling water a little.
Put the lid on the saucepan. I suggest moving the lid just a tiny bit off kilter, so that excess steam can escape. If you prefer to not do this, you many find that the pot begins to fill with large bubbles during the cooking. If this happens, then just move the lid over a tiny bit as suggested. :-P
Wait 20 minutes.
Turn the stovetop OFF, but let the saucepan continue to sit with the lid on.
Wait 5 minutes. While you are waiting, open the outer plastic packaging of the aburaage. Inside you should find two things — the aburaage itself enclosed in another plastic package, and a bag of sushi vinegar powder. Don’t open the inner plastic package! Put that back in the refrigerator, as we won’t be needing it until a little later. We will need the baggie of vinegar powder first. You may need scissors to open it.
Open the lid, and use your mixing spoon to move the rice into the mixing bowl.
Pour the vinegar powder into the rice.
Thoroughly mix the rice using your mixing spoon, while simultaneously either fanning or blowing on the rice (the latter is suggested only if you alone are eating it!). We want the rice to cool as we stir and mix the vinegar throughout the rice.
Congratulations! You now have approximately three cups of cooked, flavored sushi rice. Set this next to the food preparation surface (e.g. cutting board). Next, pour 4 cups or so of water into the saucepan. Boil the water just like we did above (put the stovetop on HIGH)… waiting until when lots of bubbles are at the surface…
Drop the aburaage — unopened, still in the inner plastic package — into the boiling water. It will float — this is okay. Do not put on the lid. Keep the stovetop on HIGH.
Wait 5 minutes.
Turn the stovetop to OFF.
Wait 5 minutes, to allow the aburaage bag to cool a little bit.
Using your mixing spoon or tongs, remove the bag from the water in the saucepan, and place it next to the food preparation surface.
Stand the bag upright, maybe against the mixing bowl. The bag is full of Inari juice (I just made that phrase up btw). Inari juice is wonderful but also quite sticky… so we want to make sure it is in the bottom of the bag (and stays there) before we open the bag at the top.
Using your scissors, cut across the top of the bag.
Carefully reach your fingers in and touch the aburaage to see if it is cool enough to handle yet. Note that the aburaage will still be hotter than the bag, so be careful!
Pull the first stack of aburaage out of the bag and onto the prep surface. With mine, each stack is four pouches (see below).
Separate the first pouch from the stack. Carefully open the open side of the pouch (the open side is the side that does -not- have the rounded corners). Once open, I suggest probing a finger into the pocket all the way into the two bottom corners, ensuring that the pouch is fully open before putting in rice.
Put rice from your bowl into the pouch. I use my fingers, but you could also use a spoon.
Close the pouch back by pushing the open end back together. If you overfilled the pouch, it will be difficult to close it back. Closing it is basically for aesthetic purposes… but since we are offering it to Inari-sama, we want to make it look good ^v^
Repeat for the rest of the pouches.
Place your Inarizushi on a plate, and offer to Inari-sama! If you have an altar, that is a great place to put it. If not, anywhere special to you will do. At this point, you may make a prayer thanking him/her for the harvest and the rice, as well as any other blessings you have received. A sincere heart is the most important. Commune with Inari and think about what Inari and her faith means to you. Make your requests and apologies if you have any… if you are new to the Inari faith, asking her to help guide you and to get to know her is a great start!
Finally, once you feel your offering has been accepted and she is ready, you may eat! You may wish to say the simple, one-word prayer, Itadakimasu (the “u” is silent) before eating. :D
