"Jichinsai" is Finished...August 11 / 2012

On Saturday Canadian Voice had "Jichinsai" for its new school in Kawanakajima.

“Jichinsai” is a Shinto ceremony to purify a building site.  

We chose to have the “jichinsai” at 11:00 on the 11^th of August. (The 11^th was considered a lucky day on the calendar… “大安”)

We had to prepare a number of things before the ceremony:

1. A large fish ~ (Your choice…いなだ / ます / たい)

2. Rice ~ (三号 = 541 ml)

3. Salt ~ (about 1 handful)

4. Fruit ~ (bananas, oranges, apples)

5. Vegetables (“根菜” ~ root vegetables or “葉物野菜” ~ leafy vegetables)~ (daikon, carrots, spinach, cabbage, etc)

6. A bottle of sake (一生=1.8L)

Before the ceremony the items were all placed on a table which was in the centre of where the new school is going to be.

A priest offered Shinto prayers to protect the builders and to ensure a safe completion of the building.

The ceremony took about 30 minutes。

Ayako's mother also came to watch the ceremony. 

Thank you to everyone who took part and helped in the ceremony.