Ceremonies are done in order to encourage the to stay in the divine asylum. Priests Kami and priestesses are specialist in holding connection between and people. They may be Kami assisted by a young unmarried woman dress in white kimono. Followers of the miko, Kannagara may also make daily offering in their own home. In this case, there is usually a shrine on the high shelf of the house and the offerings are water, rice, and salt. Another ceremony of the Shinto is Japanese festivals. Seasonal festivals are organized to remind the Japanese people that they are the descendants of the During the festival, the local shrine usually celebrates with a big Kami. parade around the town. There will be a group of people carrying a portable shrine which the is believed to move to. This is to show the the places outside of the shrine. Offerings Kami Kami of rice, fish, and vegetables as well as music and praise are given to the during the parade. Kami At the end of the parade, the priest blesses everybody present with the sacred water flung from the tree branch. One of the biggest festivals is during New Year. It begins at the end of the sasaki December with house cleaning and placing bamboo and pine in front of the door to welcome the On the New Year’s day, people watch the first sun rise then goes to shrine to pray for the Kami. good year. Japanese people also celebrate the coming of age; when one reaches the age of twenty, they are recognized as an adult on January 15th. (Varley 83) Shinto practitioners also believed that impurities are serious problems that dirty our originally pure nature. It may offend the that it brings about famine, drought, and other Kami kinds of natural disaster. The impurities that bring about misfortunes are called It can arise tsumi. through many means such as negative thoughts toward others, menstruation, and natural catastrophe. Purification is necessary to get rid of A way of self-purification is to pay tsumi. attention to the problems that one has. Once one learned of one’s problem, the will help Kami remove the Another way of self-purification is to be aware of the unity with the nature. tsumi.
Ceremonies are done in order to encourage the Kami to stay in the divine asylum. Priests and priestesses are specialist in holding connection between Kami and people. They may be assisted by miko, a young unmarried woman dress in white kimono. Followers of the Kannagara may also make daily offering in their own home. In this case, there is usually a shrine on the high shelf of the house and the offerings are water, rice, and salt. Another ceremony of the Shinto is Japanese festivals. Seasonal festivals are organized to remind the Japanese people that they are the descendants of the Kami. During the festival, the local shrine usually celebrates with a big parade around the town. There will be a group of people carrying a portable shrine which the Kami is believed to move to. This is to show the Kami the places outside of the shrine. Offerings of rice, fish, and vegetables as well as music and praise are given to the Kami during the parade. At the end of the parade, the priest blesses everybody present with the sacred water flung from the sasaki tree branch. One of the biggest festivals is during New Year. It begins at the end of the December with house cleaning and placing bamboo and pine in front of the door to welcome the Kami. On the New Year’s day, people watch the first sun rise then goes to shrine to pray for the good year. Japanese people also celebrate the coming of age; when one reaches the age of twenty, they are recognized as an adult on January 15th. (Varley 83) Shinto practitioners also believed that impurities are serious problems that dirty our originally pure nature. It may offend the Kami that it brings about famine, drought, and other kinds of natural disaster. The impurities that bring about misfortunes are called tsumi. It can arise through many means such as negative thoughts toward others, menstruation, and natural catastrophe. Purification is necessary to get rid of tsumi. A way of self-purification is to pay attention to the problems that one has. Once one learned of one’s problem, the Kami will help remove the tsumi. Another way of self-purification is to be aware of the unity with the nature.