MIE, Sep 19 (News On Japan) –
The Ise Grand Shrine in Mie Prefecture held the Ofunashiro Festival on September seventeenth, a ritual in preparation for the 2033 Shikinen Sengu, the periodic rebuilding of its sanctuary. The ceremony includes felling sacred timber used to make the vessel often called the Ofunashiro, which holds the sacred container known as the Mihishiro for enshrining the deity.
The Ofunashiro, formed like a ship, is considered a holy object inside the Shinto custom. On the morning of the ritual, clergymen gathered at a ceremonial web site deep within the Naiku’s forest. They supplied prayers for security in the course of the felling and for the profitable completion of a worthy Ofunashiro. Shrine carpenters, often called Kodakumi, then carried out the tree-felling ritual, formally starting the preparation of supplies for the renewal ceremony.
Source: Kyodo