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yorishiro
A in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called ''kami'', thus giving them a physical space to occupy 〔 during religious ceremonies. ''Yorishiro'' are used during ceremonies to call the ''kami'' for worship.〔 The word itself literally means ''approach substitute''.〔 Once a ''yorishiro'' actually houses a ''kami'', it is called a ''shintai''. Ropes called ''shimenawa'' decorated with paper streamers called ''shide'' often surround ''yorishiro'' to make their sacredness manifest. Persons can play the same role as a ''yorishiro'', and in that case are called or .〔Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version〕
The concept and the use of ''yorishiro'' are not exclusive to Japan, but arise spontaneously in animistic cultures.〔Nakamaki (1983:65)〕 In monotheistic religions animals and objects are just works of the world's creator, whereas to animists they are the natural residence of spirits, ''kami'' in the case of Japan.〔
== History ==
''Yorishiro'' and their history are intimately connected with the birth of Shinto shrines. Early Japanese did not have the notion of anthropomorphic deities, and felt the presence of spirits in nature and its phenomena.〔Tamura (2000:21)〕 Mountains, forests, rain, wind, lightning and sometimes animals were thought to be charged with spiritual power, and the material manifestations of this power were worshiped as ''kami'', entities closer in their essence to Polynesian mana than to a Western God.〔 Village councils sought the advice of ''kami'' and developed the ''yorishiro'', tools that attracted ''kami'' acting like a lightning rod.〔 ''Yorishiro'' were conceived to attract the ''kami'' and then give them a physical space to occupy to make them accessible to human beings for ceremonies,〔 which is still their purpose today.〔 Village council sessions were held in a quiet spot in the mountains or in a forest near a great tree, rock or other natural object that served as a ''yorishiro''.〔 These sacred places and their ''yorishiro'' gradually evolved into the shrines of today.〔 The very first buildings at shrines were certainly just huts built to house some ''yorishiro''.〔
A trace of this origin can be found in the term , literally meaning "deity storehouse", which evolved into ''hokora'' (also written with the character 神庫), one of the earliest words for a shrine.〔 Most of the sacred objects we find today in shrines (trees, mirrors, swords, ''magatama'' stones) were originally ''yorishiro'', and only later became ''kami'' themselves by association.〔
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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