Home Veneration
家庭祭祀
In Japan, it is traditional for people to venerate the kami in their homes. If you wish to do so, you are very welcome to. The Japanese often combine the veneration of the kami with the Buddhist veneration of their ancestors, and there is no problem with honouring the kami alongside other religious practices.
The Kamidana
The kamidana, which means “kami shelf”, is the place where the kami are honoured. It should be in a clean, bright place that everyone in the home can easily visit, and it is best for it to face south or east if the layout of the building makes that possible. Traditionally, the kamidana has been an independent shelf, fixed to the wall a little above eye level, but in modern homes there are many different kinds. It is also possible to enshrine the kami on top of a cabinet or bookcase, but there should not be anything above the kamidana apart from the ceiling.
The Ofuda
The ofuda is the most important thing on the kamidana, because it represents the presence of the kami. Ofuda can only be obtained from jinja, in exchange for an offering.
The custom is to enshrine a Jingū Taima, the ofuda of Ise Jingū as the general protecting kami of Japan, the ofuda of your local jinja, called your ujigami jinja, and the ofuda of jinja to which you feel a special connection. If you live in Japan, you should follow this custom, and your local jinja can provide a Jingū Taima as well as its own ofuda.
If you do not live in Japan, Okuni Jinja can send Jingū Taima and its own ofuda to people living overseas who wish to venerate the kami. If you would like to receive one, but are unable to visit Okuni Jinja in person, please contact the jinja by telephone or email. (If you are contacting the jinja in English, please use email.) We will explain how to make the offering, and after receiving it we will send the ofuda to you.
Ofuda should be venerated for one year, and then returned to the jinja and replaced with a new one. If you are able to return your ofuda in person, please come to the jinja office with the ofuda to tell us what you wish to do. If you are not able to bring it in person, you may send it to the jinja office by mail. It is appropriate to make an offering when returning an ofuda, but there is no fixed amount.
Arranging the Ofuda
The ofuda should stand on the kamidana, and so they need something to support them. Very simple specialised shelves may have a slot into which the bottom of the ofuda fit so that they can lean against the wall without falling down. There are also wooden stands for ofuda, which can be placed on another shelf or on the top of a cabinet. The most traditional style is a miniature sanctuary, with space inside for the ofuda.
There are two standard ways to arrange the ofuda. The first is with all the ofuda lined up front to back in the same space. This is often used when there is not much space for the kamidana, or when the miniature sanctuary only has one space. In this case, the Jingū Taima goes at the front, so that you can see it if the ofuda are in an ofuda stand, with the ujigami jinja ofuda behind it, and other ofuda behind that.
The second is with three ofuda in a line. Larger miniature sanctuaries, with three spaces, are commonly available. In this case, the Jingū Taima goes in the centre, the ujigami jinja ofuda goes to the right as you look at the ofuda, and the other ofuda go on the left, lined up one behind another if there is more than one.
If you are outside Japan and do not have an ujigami jinja, then the ofuda from the jinja that you feel closest to should go in that place.
Expanding your Kamidana
With ofuda and offerings, you have everything necessary for a kamidana. However, there are further common elements that you may add. The absence of these elements is not disrespectful to the kami, and some kamidana may simply not have space for them.
Note that sakaki and shimenawa are raw plant products, and there may be restrictions on importing them to many countries, even if you buy them personally in Japan and take them with you. They are not required on a kamidana, and you can also use artificial or local alternatives.
Sakaki
Sakaki is an evergreen broad-leaf tree native to Japan, and its branches are often used in Shinto ritual. It is common to place bunches of sakaki in vases to either side of the ofuda on a kamidana. Normally, these are changed every two weeks, at the beginning and middle of the month, and in Japan appropriate bundles are sold in most florists around that time.
Outside Japan, sakaki is unlikely to be available. There are two options. One is artificial sakaki, which does not need to be changed. The other is to use an evergreen broad-leaf species that is local to you. Sakaki does not grow naturally in northern Japan, and so jinja in that area often use an alternative species. This is an established part of Shinto practice.
Shimenawa
A shimenawa is a sacred rope, made of rice straw, that marks the boundary of a sacred area. Some people hang one across the top of the kamidana, with the thick end to the right as you look at it. Four folded strips of paper, called “shide”, hang from the shimenawa. The shimenawa is normally changed every year, at new year, and many supermarkets in Japan sell them in that season. Outside Japan, they are harder to get, but they are not essential.
Sacred Mirror
Some people put a sacred mirror on the kamidana, immediately in front of the ofuda, or of the doors to the miniature sanctuary.
Cloud Character
It is disrespectful to put anything higher than the kami, which is why the kamidana must always be the top shelf of a cabinet, or is placed near the ceiling when it is an independent shelf. However, in multi-storey buildings, there may be another floor above the room with the kamidana. In this case, some people fix the Japanese character meaning “clouds” to the ceiling over the kamidana, symbolically indicating that this is the sky. You can make this yourself, but more elaborate versions are available for purchase.
Venerating the Kami
The etiquette for venerating the kami is fundamentally the same as that for doing so at a jinja.
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Take the offerings to the kamidana. Bow slightly and then place them before the kami. (This is easier if they are on a sanbō or oshiki, because you can place everything at once.)
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Bow deeply twice.
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Clap twice.
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Bow deeply once.
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Bow slightly again, and remove the offerings from before the kami.
The ideal is to do this twice every day, once in the morning and once in the evening, but it is also common to do it once a day, or on the first and fifteenth of every month.
Offerings for the Kami
Offerings are normally placed before the kami. The basic set of offerings is white short-grain (Japanese) rice, washed but uncooked, water, and salt. The rice goes on a plate in the centre, nearest to the ofuda, with the salt to the right and slightly further from the ofuda (and so closer to you), and the water to the left, lined up with the salt. If the kamidana is narrow, the three offerings can all be lined up in this order. There are no rules for the plates and jars used for this, although they have to be small enough to fit on the kamidana, but they should not be used for anything other than offerings to the kami. Dedicated sets are available for purchase.
It is very common to add Japanese sake to the offerings. There are normally two small jars of sake, one either side of the rice, with the salt and water furthest out. When there is more space, the sake are to either side of the rice and slightly further from the ofuda, while the salt and rice are further from the ofuda again, but closer to the centre.
There are many different customs in Japan regarding when you put the offerings on the kamidana and when you remove them. Because offerings to the kami should be eaten after you pay your respects, the easiest choice is to put the offerings on the kamidana just before you pay your respects, and to take them down as soon as you finish. However, this is not the only tradition.
Other things may be offered to the kami. It is common to offer seasonal foods, gifts, or unusual foods. If you live outside Japan, it is appropriate to offer local produce in addition to the standard offerings. If you have space on the kamidana, they can be offered at the same time, in a lower position than the standard offerings. On most kamidana, however, you would offer the standard offerings first, then remove them to make the other offerings.
On the kamidana, the ofuda are in the centre at the back (as you look at it). The higher positions are closer to the ofuda, and the right (from your perspective) is higher than the left. Of the standard offerings, the rice is the most important, then sake if it is being offered, then salt, and finally the water. (In English, they are in alphabetical order when listed in decreasing order of importance: rice, sake, salt, water.) Non-standard offerings come after this, and you should judge relative importance based on both cultural and personal significance.
While the vessels with the offerings can be placed directly on the kamidana, it is common to place them on a stand. The traditional form is called a sanbō.