20 world religions and faith practices 298

The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume 1
The kami, on its way to the place of service, is carried by
young men who are not supposed to provide the kami with a
smooth, fast ride. Instead, they make it in a zigzag,
swaying in all directions and pushing the mikoshi up and
down, often very violently to amuse the kami. Music plays a very
important role in the performance. Everything from the setup of
the instruments to the most subtle sounds and the arrangement
of the music is crucial to encouraging the kami to come down and
dance. The songs are used as magical devices to summon the gods
and as prayers for blessings.
‹‘ƒ‰—”ƒ is the oldest type of theatrical dance as performed by
women in Shintō shrines and during folk festivals. The a ncient m iko
were Shamanesses but are now considered priestesses in the service
of the Shintō shrines. Miko kagura originally was a shamanic trance
dance, but later, it became an art and was interpreted as a prayer
dance. It is performed in many of the larger Shintō shrines and is
characterized by slow, elegant, circular movements, by emphasis on the
four directions and by the central use of fan and bells.

Marriage
Š‹œ‡Ǧ‡‘  (Marital Rites in the Presence of the Gods) is a term

that broadly includes all nuptial rites conducted “before a kami,” but in
common usage today refers to wedding ceremonies performed at
shrines or wedding halls by Shintō priests. In the late sixteenth century,
there was a conscious association between marital observances and the
gods; the schools of manners for the warrior class maintained set
procedures for such rites, and these came to influence the customs of
the common people in the towns and cities. The marriage of the
Crown Prince (later the Emperor Taishō) in 1900 prompted the

spread of shinzen-kekkon style marriage ceremony. For that event, the

˜‡•–‹‰ƒ–‹˜‡ —”‡ƒ— ‘ˆ –Š‡
’‡”‹ƒŽ ‘—•‡Š‘Ž† ›•–‡ set
about researching and establishing a formal liturgy in August of
1899. That liturgy was codified in the April 1900
’‡”‹ƒŽ
‘—•‡Š‘Ž†ƒ””‹ƒ‰‡ †‹…–  and executed at the Crown Prince’s
wedding ceremony that May. After undergoing further revision at
that shrine, the emergent liturgy spread and became the norm.
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