| Transcript |
- not pass. Made of rice straw, the rope has strips of white paper or cloth (gohei) hanging from it which, it is believed, represent the hands of the Emperor reaching out for a good harvest in the country.
In early Shinto, prayers and expressions of gratitude were conducted in the open and addressed directly to nature; there was no need for shrines. Objects like mountains, rivers, rocks and trees�as well as rain and water, which were so important to human life�were considered divine. However, as Japanese culture became more sophisticated, the belief developed that the sacred essence or power of the kami could be captured and contained; leading, perhaps to the construction of Shinto shrines whereby the kami could be symbolically housed and the shrine endowed with its awesome spiritual energy. This concept also may have reinforced the later creation of Shinto
Grain Mortar and Pestle
Wood
Meiji period, dated 1869 ht. 48 cm
Gift of the Ikuta Jingya Shrine, Kobe, Japan
AGGV
11
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