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Inau
Inau or Inaw ( Ainu: イナウ or イナゥ) is an Ainu term for a ritual wood-shaving stick used in Ainu prayers to the spiritual world. They were used in most Ainu religious rituals, and were also frequently made to request assistance for hunting and childbirth. Some can be used multiple times, while others are destroyed immediately after one use. Their size and the direction in which they are shaved depends on which kamuy it is offered to and what is being requested. Etymology The word ''inau'' appears to be a loanword from other languages in the region, probably the Orok language of Sakhalin (''cf.'' Orok ''illau'' < *''ilawun''). It is most likely ultimately related to ''ila-''/(ila-mbi) "to blossom" and ''ilha''/ "flower." The |
Saihai
A was a baton carried by samurai commanders in feudal Japan, now used by Kannushi in formal settings. The saihai or sai-hai was a sign of rank and a signal device. Appearance and use A saihai usually consisted of a lacquered wood stick with metal ends. The butt had a hole for a cord for the saihai to be hung from the armor of the samurai when not being used. The head of the saihai had a hole with a cord attached to a tassel of strips of lacquered paper, leather, cloth or yak hair. The saihai first came into use during the 1570s and the 1590s between the Genki and Tensho year periods. Large troop movements and improved and varied tactics required commanders in the rear to be able to signal their troops during a battle.Russo-Japanese war, Volume 3 A.T.Mahan Publisher Kinkodo pub. co., 1905 p.911 Gallery File:Saihai.JPG, Edo period commanders baton "saihai" with a yak hair tassle File:Saihai 1.JPG, Japanese (samurai) commanders signal baton "saihai" with leather tassels File:S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ōnusa
An or simply or is a wooden wand traditionally used in Shinto purification rituals. are decorated with a number of (paper streamers). When the are attached to a hexagonal or octagonal staff, the wand is also known as a . The word Taima also refers to cannabis in the Japanese language. Nusa is an old word for cannabis. The is a type of ōnusa. although they are often used in different ways than normal Onusa, usually kept in envelopes. The most common type of Nusa today consists of a sakaki branch or a white wooden stick with a shide or Nusa ramie attached to the end. In Board of Ceremonies' "Jinja Matsuri Shiki" (1875), a branch of sakaki is used for the Nusa, and in Yatsuka Seinan's "Jinja Yushoku Kijitsu" (1951), Nusa is described as a sakaki branch with only ramie or, in addition, shidare attached, while konusa is made of wooden sticks, thin wood or bamboo. At Ise Jingu Shrine, mikisakaki, a sakaki branch with its leaves and branches still attached, is also use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ainu People
The Ainu are an Indigenous peoples, indigenous ethnic group who reside in northern Japan and southeastern Russia, including Hokkaido and the Tōhoku region of Honshu, as well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Khabarovsk Krai. They have occupied these areas, known to them as "Ainu Mosir" (), since before the arrival of the modern Yamato people, Yamato and Treaty of Aigun, Russians. These regions are often referred to as and its inhabitants as in historical Japanese texts. Along with the Yamato and Ryukyuan people, Ryukyu ethnic groups, the Ainu people are one of the primary historic ethnic groups of Japan. Official surveys of the known Ainu population in Hokkaido received 11,450 responses in 2023, and the Ainu population in Russia was estimated at 300 in 2021. Unofficial estimates in 2002 placed the total population in Japan at 200,000 or higher, as the near-total Cultural assimilation, assimilatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ikupasuy
Ikupasuy are wooden, carved ceremonial sticks used by Ainu men when making offerings to spirits. Background The central section of an ikupasuy is decorated, featuring animals, floral motives as well as abstract designs. The ends of an ikupasuy bear designs that represent the patriarchal lineage of the owner. The Ainu believe that the designs on the ends of the ikupasuy help the spirits in identifying the person who made the offering. The underside of the ikupasuy may on some occasions be carved with various symbols called shiroshi. A common shiroshi is symbol representing the killer whale. The pointed end of the ikupasuy is known as the 'tongue'. The libation process is performed when the ikupasuy's ‘tongue' placed into a lacquerware cup or saucer, containing millet beer or sake. Drops of the liquid then fall upon the venerated object. The Ainu limited their representation of animals to the ikupasuy. Ainu men occasionally used the ikupasuy as a mean to lift their moustaches, l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chichilaki
The chichilaki ( ka, ჩიჩილაკი) is a Georgian traditional Christmas tree made from dried hazelnut or walnut branches that are shaved to form a small “tree”. These pale-colored ornaments differ in height from 20 cm (8 in) to 3 meters (10 feet). Chichilakis are most common in the Guria and Samegrelo regions near the Black Sea, but they can also be found in some stores around the capital of Tbilisi. Chichilaki is currently proposed by the President of Georgia to be inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Georgian tradition The traditional making of chichilakis is an important part of the Georgian Orthodox Christmas, which is observed on 7 January. The Georgians believe that the shaved tree resembles the famous beard of St. Basil the Great, who is thought to visit people during Christmas similar to the Santa Claus tradition. It is also believed that the chichilakis represent the tree of life, a symbol of hope f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ainu Culture
Ainu culture refers to the traditions of the Ainu people, dating back to around the 13th century (late Kamakura period) to the present. Today, most Ainu people live a life superficially similar to that of Yamato people, mainstream Japanese people, partly due to cultural assimilation. However, while some people conceal or downplay their Ainu identity, Ainu culture is still practiced among many groups. The Ainu way of life is called in the Ainu languages, Ainu language (literally + "customs, manners"1905, ''An Ainu-English-Japanese Dictionary'', John Batchelor, Tokyo: Methodist Publishing House. ''Puri'' entry viewable onlinhere). The unique Ainu patterns and oral literature () have been selected as features of Hokkaidō Heritage, Hokkaido Heritage. Overview The term "Ainu culture" has two meanings. One is an Cultural anthropology, anthropological perspective, referring to the cultural forms held by the Ainu people as an ethnic group, which includes both the culture held or c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gohei
, , or are wooden wands, decorated with two (zigzagging paper streamers) used in Shinto rituals. It may be considered an Ōnusa with only two Shide. The streamers are usually white, although they can also be gold, silver, jade, or a mixture of several colors, and are often attached as decorations to straw ropes () used to mark sacred precincts. The shrine priest or attendants () use the to bless or sanctify a person or object in various Shinto rituals. The is used for some ceremonies, but its usual purpose is to cleanse a sacred place in temples and to cleanse, bless, or exorcise any object that is thought to have negative energy. In addition to its use in purification rituals, it may be included in an (wooden wand with many ), and serve as the object of veneration () in a Shinto shrine. A type of food called Goheimochi is thought to have been named after the staff. The characters Reimu Hakurei and Sanae Kochiya from Touhou Project wield gohei. See also * Flail * Gl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hu (ritual Baton)
A ( zh, c=, p=hù) is a flat scepter originating from China, where they were originally used as narrow tablets for recording notes and orders. They were historically used by officials throughout East Asia, including Japan, Korea, Ryukyu, and Vietnam. They are known as in Japan, and are worn as part of the ceremonial outfit. They continue to be used in Daoism, Daoist and Shinto ritual contexts in some parts of East Asia. Origin The use of the originated in ancient China, where the ''Classic of Rites'' required a to have a length of two six , and its mid part a width of three (). Originally, the was held by officials in court to record significant orders and instructions by the emperors. From the Jin dynasty (265–420), Jin dynasty onwards, following the increased proliferation of paper, the became a ceremonial instrument. In China, it was customary to hold the with the broad end down and the narrow end up. The was originally used at court for the taking of notes and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunbai
The is a type of Baton (symbol), signal baton and Japanese war fan. Once held by military leaders (such as ) and priests in the past, it is used in the modern day by gyōji, umpires in sumo wrestling. Description , from the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, Sino-Japanese roots meaning "military-apportioned [fan]", were a specialized form of fan used by samurai officers in Japan to communicate commands to their troops. Unlike regular fans, were solid, not folding, and usually made of wood, wood covered with metal, or solid metal. It is also a key accessory of a (referee) in professional sumo. The main use is at the end of a bout, when the decides the victor and points the to either the east or west position (each wrestler is assigned to start from either the east or west position each tournament day). Reflecting this, the 's decision itself is often informally referred to as a "". If this is called into question and the judge (sumo), judges hold a consultation, a decision to uphol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ainu Language
Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu (), is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isolate with no academic consensus of origin. It is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger''. Until the 20th century, the Ainu languages – Hokkaido Ainu and the now-extinct Kuril Ainu and Sakhalin Ainu – were spoken throughout Hokkaido, the southern half of the island of Sakhalin and by small numbers of people in the Kuril Islands. Due to the colonization policy employed by the Japanese government, the number of Hokkaido Ainu speakers decreased through the 20th century, and it is now moribund. A very low number of elderly people still speak the language fluently, though attempts are being made to revive it. Speakers The term "Ainu" comes from the endonym of the Ainu people, ' (), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinto
, also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoists'', although adherents rarely use that term themselves. With no central authority in control of Shinto, there is much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheism, polytheistic and animism, animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the (神). The are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The are worshipped at household shrines, family shrines, and Shinto shrine, ''jinja'' public shrines. The latter are staffed by priests, known as , who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
