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Japanese: ほかい

"Hokai" originally meant blessing the gods. It was thought that blessing the gods would bring happiness to this world. By extension, it also came to refer to celebrations at festivals and drinking parties, and from ancient times words such as "Oto no Hokai" (Great Hall Festival) and "Sakahokai no Uta" (Songs of Drinking). On the other hand, people who went from gate to gate offering congratulatory speeches and received rice and other goods as reward were also called "hokaibito." Volume 16 of the "Manyoshu" contains "Beggar's Song," a song in celebration of the emperor, but it is inferred that congratulatory speeches to gods and spirits took the form of congratulatory words offered by people of lower status to people of higher status.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

〈ほかい〉は，元来は神を祝福することを意味した。神を祝福することはこの世に幸福を招くことになる，と考えられたのである。転じて，祭りや酒宴のときの祝いごとをも指すようになり，古くより大殿祭（おおとのほかい），酒楽（さかほかい）之歌などの語が見える。他方，門ごとに祝言（しゆうげん）を述べて歩き，報酬として米や物を得る人々も〈ほかいびと〉といわれた。《万葉集》巻十六には乞食者詠（ほかいひとのうた）があって，これは天皇を寿（ことほ）ぐ歌だが，神や精霊に対する祝言は身分の低い者が身分の高い者に対して行う寿詞（よごと）奏上の形式をとったものと推測させる。

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

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