Kanjō

in Shintoist terminology indicates a propagation process through which a kami, previosly divided through a process called "bunrei", is invited to another location and there reenshrined.

Evolution of the "kanjō" process

"Kanjō" was originally a Buddhist term and later entered the Shinto vocabularySmyers (1999:235)] . A "kanjō" was the request of the Buddha's sermon with a sincere heart, and later came to mean the urging of a buddha o bodhisattva to remain in this world to preach and save other human beings. It then evolved further to mean the act (and the actual words) of calling of buddhas or bodhisattvas to descend to the altar during a Buddhist service. In Japan, the word gradually assumed the present meaning of enshrinement of a "buddha" or "kami" in a building for the first time.

The "kanjō" process

Before it can be transferred to its new location the "kami" must be divided. The division sub-process and the divided spirit itself are called nihongo|"bunrei"|分霊 (or nihongo|"go-bunrei"|御分霊) or nihongo|"wakemitama"|分霊.　The process of propagation, described by the priests as akin to the lighting of a candle from another already lit, leaves the original "kami" intact in its original place and therefore doesn't alter any of its properties. The "wakemitama" has all the qualities of the original and is therefore "alive" and permanent. The process is used often, for example during Shinto festivals ("Matsuri") to animate temporary shrines called nihongo|mikisho|神酒所 and their mikoshiSonoda (1975:12)] .

Inari kanjō

The "kami" Inari has been subjected to the "kanjō" process more often than any other kamiSmyers (1999: 156-160)] , and is therefore a good example of its use.

The transfer does not necessarily take place from a shrine to another: the new location can be a privately-owned object or an individual house. The case is recorded of Inari being re-enshrined in a fox hole [The fox is Inari's symbol.] In fact, the first recorded Inari "kanjō", in 842, involved the "kami"'s transfer to Ono no Takamura scepter. The "kami" was then transported to Mutsu no Kuni (Aomori) by its owner. Some years later he returned to Kyoto, and Aomori's people asked him to leave the spirit behind, which he did in what would become Takekoma Inari.

In 1194, Emperor Gotoba decided that only Fushimi Inari Shrine could perform any of the parts of the Inari "kanjō", however abuses were such that the shrine started providing an authenticity certificate with each divided spirit. The process was briefly outlawed nationwide during the Meiji era, but was brought back by popular demand and nowadays most large Inari shrines will perform it for a fee, sometimes decided by the shrine, sometimes left to the discretion of the worshiper. As of 1990, Fushimi Inari Shrine had performed it 80 thousand times for privates . The faithful are often given the possibility to give a personal name to their personal "kami". At Toyokawa Inari the worshiper can buy a statue and then participate in the ceremony, called kaigen, to animate it.

When one of Inari's forms is reenshrined with a different name, it may also be worshiped for a specific function. All the new functions are thereafter assumed to be specialties of the "kami", particularly in case of great success of the reenshrinement, even when they are very far from its original nature, as for instance fishing is in Inari's case.

Notes

References

* cite book
last = Smyers
first = Karen Ann
coauthors =
title = The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship
publisher = University of Hawaii Press
date = 1999
location = Honolulu
language = English
id = ISBN 0-8248-2102-5
* Sonoda, Minoru. [http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/18.pdf The Traditional Festival in Urban Society] , 1975, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies Online Archive, retrieved on July 8, 2008
* Smyers, Karen Ann. [http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/461.pdf “My own Inari”: Personalization of the deity in Inari worship] , 1996. Japanese Journal of Religious Studies Online Archive, retrieved on July 8, 2008
* [http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/search.php?type=1&term=Bunrei&andor=AND Bunrei] , Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on July 8, 2008