Observing traffic lights and basic road safety would seem to be the best option when it comes to avoiding accidents, but if nothing else, a Shinto blessing in the middle of a crossing is way better when it comes to urban visuals.
Photographs from a small group of islands
Observing traffic lights and basic road safety would seem to be the best option when it comes to avoiding accidents, but if nothing else, a Shinto blessing in the middle of a crossing is way better when it comes to urban visuals.
Coli says
I think they need to do so in shibuya! Especially after seeing the news of people driving cars through that crossing…. quite an interesting scene you’ve captured here:) how long did this entire blessing last?
Lee says
Yeah, I saw that. Maybe they had, and that’s why no-one was hurt!
Not so long. They were making their way down the street, so just part of the procession.
Denton says
Cool shot. Quite different from your usual posts but I like it! 🙂
Lee says
Cheers. Yes, something very different. Thought it would make a change, so good to know it was a welcome one!
Patrick Heenan says
Great photo, as usual, but they’re not Shinto priests, they’re Yamabushi. I’m surprised no one else has pointed that out.
Lee says
Cheers.
I wondered about this too. I realised they were Yamabushi the minute I saw and heard the horns – that’s why I deliberately left out the word priests. But the ceremony, and in particular the use of an onusa, seemed to suggest it was Shinto-based. Hence I went with that description.
If you have any idea why they’d be using an item connected to Shintoism I’d be very interested to hear. My knowledge in this area is limited to say the least, so always keen to learn more.
Patrick Heenan says
Yes, they use onusa, but I don’t think that makes them or the ceremony Shinto. After all, they use a lot of implements and rituals from Buddhism too, but a lot of mainstream Buddhists don’t accept them as Buddhists either. For what it’s worth, the few yamabushi I ever had a chance to talk to when I lived in Japan (1981-85 and 1991-93) were all very definite about belonging to one or other Buddhist sect (usually Tendai or Shingon), and they all seemed to regard Shinto as somehow newer and less authentic than the folk beliefs that are preserved in their own Shugendo sect. Then again, if I remember correctly (it’s years since I read it), Carmen Blacker argues in her book The Catalpa Bow – which is still, I think, the only study of the yamabushi in English – that Shugendo is a distinct religion that draws on Buddhism and Shinto, and Taoism too, but comes out of a folk “substratum” that predates the arrival of Buddhism and Taoism and the formulation of Shinto. I’d have called the photo “Yamabushi blessing a Tokyo crossing”, focusing on their distinctive costume and manner, but avoiding the thorny issue of assigning them to any one religion.
Apologies for rambling on a bit. I admit that I’m nitpicking (I’m a copyeditor, so it’s an occupational hazard). The main thing is that, as I said before, it *is* a great photo.
Lee says
No apology needed at all. Quite the opposite in fact. Input and corrections are always very welcome. A good chance for me to learn. Like I said, my knowledge on such matters is lacking, but happy to say it’s not lacking quite as much now.
So thanks for taking the time to explain, and of course for the kind words.