Society - Shashoku

An ancient Chinese national ritual. Compared to the festivals of heaven (jiao) and ancestors (soubyo), the Sheji was revered as a festival of land and agriculture. The term Sheji came about because the grain god Houji was enshrined in the shrine, which was the god of land. Shrine rituals were written as "Tu" in the Yin dynasty, and were originally festivals for each tribal group, but later became rituals for rural communities, and shrines were also used as units of commoner groups (yu) (shusha). On the other hand, according to the ritual system, shrines were worshiped by the emperor, feudal lords, aristocrats, and ordinary people, and in particular, shrines located in the capitals of feudal lords were also places where people of the country gathered, where agricultural ceremonies such as praying for rain were held, as well as national and military ceremonies and trials. These shrines were called kokusha, and became symbols of the feudal lords' rule over the people. The idea that the state is the nation originated from this. After the Warring States period, the idea of ​​heaven, earth, and man was formed, and the state was worshiped as the earth god, and from the Han dynasty onwards it became the most important ritual performed by the emperor. In response to this, private shrines were prohibited as private shrines, but they continued to be held as village festivals.

[Akira Utsugi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国古来の国家的祭祀(さいし)。天の祭り（郊）、祖先の祭り（宗廟(そうびょう)）に対し、社稷は土地、農業の祭りとして尊ばれてきた。土地神である社に、穀物神の后稷(こうしょく)が配祀されたことから社稷の語が生じた。社の祭祀は殷(いん)代には「土」と記されており、本来は各部族集団の祭りであったらしいが、のちには農村共同体の祭祀となり、社は庶民集団（邑(ゆう)）の単位としても用いられた（書社）。一方、礼の制度によると、社は天子、諸侯、貴族や民間でも祭られるようになっており、とくに諸侯の国都に置かれた社は国人の集合場所でもあり、ここで祈雨などの農業儀礼のほか、国政や軍事の儀式、あるいは裁判なども行われたという。この社は国社とよばれ、諸侯の人民支配のシンボルとなっていった。社稷＝国家とする考えはここから生じたものである。戦国時代以降、天地人の思想が形成され、社稷は地神として祭られ、漢代からは長く天子の行うもっとも重要な祭祀となった。これに対し民間の社は私社として禁止されたが、しかし、村落の祭りとしてあとまで続けられた。

［宇都木章］

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