Imibi Festival - Imibi Festival

...In the Heian period, the Imperial Court had a ceremony called the Ibi-gozen, in which rice cooked over an Ibi-go was offered to the Emperor by the Naizen-no-tsukasa in the early morning on the first day of the sixth, eleventh, or December month. This was a ceremony for the Emperor to purify himself before the Jinkonjiki and Niiname-sai festivals. Among the general public, there are places where ceremonies are held on New Year's Eve, such as the Sai-kasai and San-kasai, in which pure fire made by a bonfire is used in front of the gods. At the Okera-mairi pilgrimage to Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, pilgrims take the fire and use it as a fire for New Year's Day when they return home....

*Some of the terminology used in reference to the "Saihisai" festival is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…また平安時代に朝廷では忌火御膳といって忌火で炊いた飯が内膳司から6,11,12月朔日の早朝に天皇に献じられる儀式があったが，これは神今食（じんこんじき）や新嘗祭を前にして天皇が潔斎に入るための式であった。民間では，大晦日に斎火祭，鑽火祭などといって神前で火鑽できった清い火で祭典を行う所がある。京都八坂神社の白朮（おけら）参りではその火を参詣者がもらって帰り元旦の火にする。…

※「斎火祭」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報