A ''masakaki'' () is an object used in

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 ...

rituals. It is put on both sides of a table where the event takes place. A ''masakaki'' is made with the branches of a

sakaki ''Cleyera japonica'' (sakaki) is a flowering evergreen tree native to warm areas of Japan, Taiwan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, and northern India (Min and Bartholomew 2015). It can reach a height of 10 m. The leaves are 6–10 cm long, smooth, ...

tree. These branches are attached to the top of cloth banners, which come in five colors - green, yellow, red, white, and blue. These five colors stand for the '' wuxing'' (five elements). At funerals, ''masakaki'' with yellow and white banners are used. Special treasures are hung on these branches. On the left side, a sword is hung. On the right side, a

mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

and a ''

magatama are curved, comma-shaped beads that appeared in prehistoric Japan from the Jōmon period, Final Jōmon period through the Kofun period, approximately 1000 BCE to the 6th century CE. The beads, also described as jewels, were made of stone and e ...

'' are hung. The three of them symbolize the

Imperial Regalia of Japan The are the imperial regalia of Japan and consist of the sword , the mirror , and the jewel . They represent the three primary virtues: valour (the sword), wisdom (the mirror), and benevolence (the jewel).

. This configuration is sometimes referred to as a ''masakaki-dai''. A ''masakaki'' offering involves donating two such ''masakaki-dai'' to a shrine or at a '' jichinsai''. They were mentioned in the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' and ''

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

'' as implements used to get

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

to leave the cave. In 2016,

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe (21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020. ...

caused a controversy for making a ''masakaki'' offering to

Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Empire of Japan, Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, First Sino-Japane ...

. It was incorrectly reported as being a small tree by some sources. In early 2023, Fumio Kishida ran into a similar controversy.

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Image of Masasaki

Masakaki

{{shinto shrines Shinto religious objects

See also

References

External links