Groundbreaking ceremony - Jichinsai

This is a festival held before construction or civil engineering work begins, to celebrate the god of the land and pray for the safe completion of the work. It is also called the Ji Festival, and the owner of the house, the carpenter, relatives, etc. gather and have a priest pray for them. In Okayama Prefecture, when a new house or building is constructed, a priest, a priest, and a private prayer leader are invited to perform a ground-breaking ceremony and purify the site. It is said that if you pray at Izumo Taisha Shrine, take sand from the Taisha Shrine and spread it on the site, there will be no obstacles. In Tsunekami, Mikata County, Fukui Prefecture, they hold a Ji Festival, and when starting a new construction, they purify the land with salt, set up a sacred offering with the four directions written on it, and have the abbot pray to it. This is also called the Tsuchi Festival. In houses that had burned, the soil was dug up and replaced with clean mountain soil. On Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, a festival called a land festival was held, in which bamboo tubes containing kawarake and spells written by the priest were buried in the four corners and center of the property, an altar was set up in the center, offering things from the mountains and the sea, sacred sake, and salt, and a purification ritual was held by setting up a sacred wand to ward off evil spirits.

[Oto Tokihiko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

建築・土木の工事に着手する前、土地の神を祝ってその工事の無事に済むことを祈る祭りをいう。地(じ)祭りともいって、家主、大工、親戚(しんせき)などが集まり、神職に祈ってもらう。岡山県では新たに屋敷をつくったり、新築をするときは神官、法印、民間の祈祷師(きとうし)を招いて地鎮祭を行ってお祓(はら)いをする。ここでは出雲(いずも)大社で祈念し、大社屋敷の砂をもらってきて敷地に撒(ま)いておくと障(さわ)りがないといわれている。福井県三方(みかた)郡常神(つねかみ)では地祭りといって、新築にとりかかるとき土地を塩で清め、東西南北と書いた幣(へい)を立て、方丈(ほうじょう)さんに拝んでもらうという。これを土(つち)祭りともいっている。火災にあった家では土を掘り取って清い山の土と入れ替えることも行われた。新潟県佐渡島では地祭りといって、敷地の四隅(よすみ)と中央にカワラケと神主の書いた呪文(じゅもん)を入れた竹筒を埋め、中央に祭壇を設け、山の物、海の物、神酒、塩を供えて祈祷し、金神除(こんじんよ)けとして幣束(へいそく)を立ててお祓いをする。

［大藤時彦］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例