is a harvest festival that was celebrated every year in

ancient Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Japanese Paleolithic, Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the fi ...

on February 4. It was held to pray for a good harvest, as reflected in its name. It is sometimes contrasted with

Niiname-no-Matsuri The ''Niiname-sai'' (新嘗祭, also read Shinjō-sai and Niiname-no-Matsuri) is a Japanese harvest ritual. The ritual is celebrated by the Emperor of Japan, who thanks the Shinto deities for a prosperous year and prays for a fruitful new year. ...

or the fall festival. It is now celebrated yearly all across Japan including at

Meiji Jingu is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya, Tokyo, that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken. The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama, south of Kyoto. History Aft ...

, and

Isonokami Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the hills of Furu in Tenri, Nara Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the oldest extant Shinto shrines in Japan and has housed several significant artifacts. Isonokami shrine was highly regarded in the ancient era, an ...

History

Emperor Tenmu was the 40th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. He ascended ...

started the festival in 675 AD. All shrines of the Engishiki Jinmyocho had to perform the ceremony. In ancient times, people held domestic rites called Kinen-sai in the February or April and Niinamesai in November. During these rites, people worshiped their ancestors, the god of food, and the hearth deity. They believed the spirits of their ancestors ( Oyagami) came to them through the rice. Although agricultural in origin, it quickly developed into a general celebration of imperial power.Tribute was offered to the gods, and the ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials, although the emperor did not participate. In the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...

, the festival declined and was celebrated only in the

Department of Divinities The , also known as the Department of Shinto Affairs, Department of Rites, Department of Worship, as well as Council of Divinities, was a Japanese Imperial bureaucracy established in the 8th century, as part of the reforms. It was first establish ...

. The festival was not longer celebrated in the late

Muromachi period The , also known as the , is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate ( or ), which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi ...

due to military conflict. It was revived in a form called ''sairō'' by Shirakawa house, the ruling clan of the

. But this form was abbreviated. Kinen-sai was fully revived in the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

. The Engishiki specified imperial involvement with four festivals, the Kinen-sai, the two

Ōharae-shiki The is one of the Shinto purification rituals known as ''harae'' and is sometimes translated as "Great Purification". It is also known as the . The ''Oharae no Kotoba, Ōharae no Kotoba'' prayer is recited during the ritual. The ritual is per ...

s and

for tribute.

References

{{reflist Festivals in Japan Winter in Japan Japanese Imperial Rituals Shinto festivals February observances