Matsuri (English spelling) feast; festival

Japanese: 祭り - まつり（英語表記）feast; festival

A religious event that welcomes the gods, makes offerings to them, and deepens the bond between gods and humans. Japanese festivals are centered on rice-growing ceremonies, and mainly consist of a spring prayer festival held before the start of farming for the year, and an autumn thanksgiving festival to send the rice field god back to the mountains after the harvest. However, there are also rituals based on the belief in the divine spirit (goryoushinkou) to pray for the elimination of epidemics, which are mainly held in the summer. In addition, events to worship ancestral spirits were held in the New Year and Obon in the past, but later became limited to Obon. The basic forms that make up festivals are generally as follows: (1) Monoimi (purification to welcome the divine spirits). (2) Kamioroshi (descending the gods): The place of the festival is marked with flags, banners, and pillars to welcome the gods. (3) Kami-jin koshoku (eating together gods and humans), also called naorai (reciting a meal together), which is said to strengthen the bond between gods and humans and bring them blessings. (4) Mikoshi Togyo (portable shrine procession) The purpose of the festival is to fill the area where the festival is held with strong divinity, thereby driving away evil spirits. Sometimes, instead of a portable shrine, a large offering attached to the back of a horse, a Sakaki with a netsuke, or a lion's head is used. All rituals of the peoples of the world are performed in groups to pray to spiritual beings for health, safety, and prosperity, and are generally performed in groups, where the distinction between "I" and "you" becomes blurred and a sense of unity as "we" is strengthened. The rituals are also extraordinary, and role reversals are performed, such as the king becoming a beggar and women becoming men. In this connection, festivals have a theatrical element in which certain roles are played. It has been revealed that ancient Greek drama originated from religious rituals.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

神を迎え供献侍座して神と人とのつながりを深める宗教行事。日本の祭りは稲作儀礼を中心とし，その年の農耕を始めるに先立って行われる春の祈年祭，収穫を終えて田の神を再び山に送る秋の感謝祭が主となるが，悪疫退散を祈願する御霊信仰 (ごりょうしんこう) 的な祭祀もあり，これは主として夏季に行われる。また祖霊を祀る行事は，古くは正月と盆に行われたが，のち次第に盆に限られるようになった。祭りを構成する基本的型式には，一般的に次のようなものがある。 (1) 物忌　神霊を迎えるための浄め。 (2) 神降ろし　旗，幟，柱などで祭りの場所を標示して神を迎える。 (3) 神人共食　直会 (なおらい) ともいわれ，これにより神と人とのつながりが強められ，その恩恵がもたらされるとする。 (4) 神輿渡御 (みこしとぎょ) 　祭りが行われる地域内に強い神性を充満させ，これによって悪霊を払う意味をもつ。ときには神輿ではなく，馬の背につけた大幣あるいは根付きのさかきや獅子頭であることもある。世界の諸民族のどのような祭儀も，霊的存在に祈願して，健康，安全，繁栄を求めるものであり，一般に集団によって行われ，そこでは「われ」と「なんじ」の区別が薄くなり，「われわれ」という一体感が強められる。祭儀はまた非日常的なもので，王が乞食に，女性が男性になるような役割の転倒が行われる。これに関連して，祭りにはある役割を演じる演劇的要素がある。古代ギリシアの演劇は宗教的な祭儀に由来することが明らかにされている。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Jasminum sambac; Arabian jasmine

>>: The Tale of Matsuura Palace