Shimenawa-Kazari / One of the Japanese New Year ornament / Importance in entrance
Saturday, December 24, 2016
This is a good Shimenawa-Kazari,Japanese new year's ornament.
But please add thorn plants in the ornament if you can.
We put Shimenawa-Kazari on the entrance door around new year season.
(After winter solstice - January 7)
Bad spirits hate Shimenawa-Kazari especially red things and thorn plants and they never invade your home or apartment room.
Citrus and rice straw absorb evils like a vacuum machine.
On the other hand,sacred nature gods love and visit the ornament especially on thorn plants.
Japanese people order Simenawa-kazari on internet shop before the New year's eve.
Or you will find Shimenawa-Kazari at every super market in Japan.
Citrus,red color things,rice straw,and thorn plants are important 4 points.
Citrus means the Sun.Artificial plastic orange ball is also OK.
Shimenawa-Kazari's citrus and rice straw absorbs evils very well.
So,do not touch your Shimenawa-Kazari.
When you remove it from the entrance door,use work-gloves.
We burn Shimenawa-Kazari at Shinto shrine after use.
Do not burn it in your garden.
Do not display used Shimenawa-Kazari in your house.
Because it is already very dirty.
Use-dispose-new...this process is important.
Eternal circulation is one of the most important concept in Shinto.
Japan is a country of full of trees and water.It is a circulation.
I made Shimenawa-Kazari by myself.
I bought a bunch of branches at Trader Joe's (Holiday greens bunch $4.99)
because I was not able to find rice straw in NY.
Rice straw is very ideal but it is not necessary to get it in US.
Generally,Shimenawa-Kazari and Kadomatsu are for entrance door.
This culture of entrance ornament with red things and Japanese red gate,Torii of Shinto shrine were derived from Passover(Pesach).
To avoid bad events,ancient Hebrews painted entrance with animal blood.
Red torii also prevents evils.
Evils hate red things in entrance indeed.
So,red or wine red painted door is also good.
Red things in entrance door is effective way to prevents evils,
but Mezuzah is more effective.
Mezuzah is too strong to use.
It is a kind of making a strict contract with the item.
So,you don't have to buy it if you are not a Jewish.
Japanese Shimenawa-Kazari is not a contract.
Everyone can use it for future luck.
Shimenawa-Kazari's rice straw is derived from Japanese sacred rope,Shimenawa.
That big twisted rope is Shimenawa of Shrine.↑
Shimenawa is absolutely sacred item to protect inside.
It means a shape of DNA and copulation of snakes.
In old ancient time,there were no shrine architectures in Japan,
but Japanese people felt some high-sacred points of nature.
There were nature gods.
So,they put ropes in front of each sacred nature points to prevent people's invasion.
Generally speaking,nature gods dislike human's rude attitude for nature
and meaningless visit without respect.
(We have to respect nature not just enjoying.Your attitude is watched by all nature gods.)
Later,shrine architectures were created each high-sacred points.
In Japanese mythology,Shimenawa was used as enclosing rope when Amaterasu come back from a cave.
(Amaterasu = The Sun goddess)
After she came back from the cave,other gods enclosed the cave to try not to hide her again.
There are many styles of Shimenawa-kazari.
But in Mie prefecture's Somin-Shorai style is the best Shimenawa-Kazari.
People display it on the entrance throughout the year.
When citrus goes rotten,they replace it many times and
in end of the year,people buy whole new Shimenawa-Kazari again for next year.
This is also good.
If you want to display Shimenawa-Kazari inside of the house,
please put it inside of a prominent place of the entrance or room inside
from the beginning of purchase.
Don't display used Shimenawa-Kazari for interior.
Or there are many good ornaments.
This is not so sacred but thorn plants is good.
Shimenawa-Kazari is needed to be burned at local Shinto shrine after we used it.
But you can throw Shimenawa-Kazari or rotten orange away as garbage if you can't visit shrine.
I am going to throw mine as garbage because there is no Shinto shrine in NY.
But Kamidana's Ofuda is surely needed to be burned at shrine after use
because Ofuda is Shinto shrine's power itself.(Condensation air of shrine)
We need to return it to shrine for eternal circulation.
Also,you can buy New Year ornaments on internet shops,
but do not buy Ofuda on internet.
You need to visit shrine and buy Ofuda by yourself.
This is a basic rule of Shinto.
Your real visit will connect your Kamidana table and shrines directly by Ofuda.
There are invisible line between each house's Kamidana and shrines.
These network protects whole Japan.
Ofuda is not a ornament.
Don't buy on Internet.