August 31st, 2015

I've been doing some more research into Japanese Shintoism, and was specifically looking at information on the Kamidana, or "God shelf". These are small personal shrines for one's home or place of business which are made by traditional craftspeople and blessed by the Shinto priests. A lot more goes into one than I was aware, so I thought I would share the information I found as a bit of an intro.

All Kamidana look a little different, but here is one style for reference.

In the back is the Kamidana itself, designed in the style of a Shinto shrine but in miniature. Depending on the model, the doors usually open and the whole front may be removable. This is necessary so that the Ofuda can be placed inside. The Ofuda is a blessed and consecrated piece of calligraphy which is what enshrines the deity, or (O)Kami-san, in the Kamidana. The Ofuda must be replaced every year to keep the blessing fresh and current.

Another thing to note is that the Kamidana should be placed on the north or west wall so that the doors face south or east. Additionally, it should be set above eye level (generally 6' or higher off the floor), and one should avoid walking under it. If the building has other floors above where the Kamidana is placed, one should put a paper with the Japanese word "Kumo" (雲), meaning "cloud", above it to ritually designate that as sky. This keeps people on the upper floors from walking through Kami-sama's space.

Directly in front of the Kamidana doors is the shinkyo, a special stand set with a kagami, or sacred mirror. The mirror is considered one of the sacred treasures of Japan, as seen in the story of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the cave.

Set around the Kamidana in the image above is a shinki set. Often, the set is seen on an ozen stand in front of the mirror. The shinki set includes porcelain dishes to hold rice and salt, a lidded bowl to hold water, and two taller vases to hold sake (rice wine) or mirin (rice wine vinegar). Any and all of these are given as offerings, although the latter two are often reserved for festivals or other special occasions.

A shinki set may also come with two more vases to hold sakaki tree leaves. The leaves can be procured fresh, although practitioners frequently use artificial leaves, as the fresh variety can be hard to find on a regular basis.

And finally, a shimenawa, or rope made of rice straw, is hung over the Kamidana to mark it as a sacred place. The white origami shide hanging from it represent lightning, and therefore also the power of nature.

There are other accessories, amulets, and etc. one can purchase when practicing Shinto, like the omamori I brought back from Japan last summer, but to my present understanding, these are the basics of setting up the God shelf Kamidana.