[Shorin Version] “Kami-mukae” Sacred volcanos and their eruption. -Takuhi Shrine, Okinoshima-

This product is a pre-order item.
We will start shipping sequentially from June 2024.

Shorin is a place where there are many books. It means a bookstore or a den.
The word "Shorin" contains a wish for many people will hold it in their hands.

The book is sized to fit in the palm of your hand, and the cover is made of handmade washi paper and the pages are made of Torinoko washi paper.
You can enjoy both sides, with one side in Japanese and the other side in English. Also, the illustrations by Ryusei Mizuno are different from the "Special version".

ーーーー
Size: Height 180mm x Width 72mm x thickness 7mm
Cover: Sekishu mulberry paper pasted
Text: Bellows fold binding, 22 pages
Paper: New Torinoko White

〈Features of “Shorin version”〉
・Print different designs on both sides
・Japanese writing on the same image as the "Special version"
・You can enjoy the text in English on one side of
"Shorin version".
ーーーー

[Package contents]
■ [Shorin version] "Kami-mukae" - Oki Island, Takuhi Shrine

■ Leaflet
A leaflet with explanations about "Kami-mukae" and messages from project members.
You can learn more about the background of the production.

[Delivery or Pick up at our office]
Regarding delivery, we have general delivery delivered to your designated address.
Or you can choose to pick it up at Ichirindo office in Kamakura.

If you would like to pick up your order at the office, please select "Pick up in store" on the screen at the time of purchase.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・
<Background of production >
"Shorin" is a place where there are many books. It means a bookstore or a den.
We named it the "Shorin version" with the hope that it would be in the hands of everyone.

The cover is made of Sekishu kozo paperboard, as same as the "Special version".

It is sized to fit in the palm of your hand, you can feel the warmth of washi paper.

You can enjoy the uniqueness and the texture by unfolding it and reading it over and over again,  it is only made of natural materials and sincere craftsmanship.
You can also feel the toughness that is said to last for 1000 years.

The text is as same as the "Special version", and is centered around the "Kagura songs" that have been sung for generations.
From the sunset scene where Kagura begins, the dancers and the people present welcome the gods.
This is the moments spent playing together as one.

The biggest feature of the Shorin version is double-sided.
The atmosphere of the pictures on one side (in Japanese) and the other side (in English) is different.

The one(in Japanese) on the surface is the approach to Takuhi Shrine (it can also be called climbing the Mt. Takuhi). Starting with paintings of plants that grow on the ground, it moves on to a mysterious world created by the subtle shading of ink.
It is meant to be inviting, but the other side(in English) has a slightly coquettish image of dancers and gods jumping.
You can enjoy happy atmosphere.

You would feel the talent of artist Ryusei Mizuno from the contrast of each side.
We would be happy if you enjoy it.

[Takuhi Shrine] (Nishinoshima, Oki Islands, Shimane Prefecture)
It was founded during the Heian period(794-1185), around the time of Emperor Ichijo.
It has a long history and is closely related to the retired Emperor Gotoba.

In addition, Oki Island was a key place for Kitamaebune ships,
Takihi Shrine, located near the summit of Mt. Takuhi (452m above sea level), is worshiped as the god of maritime safety.
It has attracted the faith of people as far away as the Sanriku coast(on the Pacific side of Tohoku region).

Now, this "Kami-mukae" is a regular festival held for the first time in four years on July 23, 2022.
This is a depiction of one night of the dedicated "Oki-Dozen Kagura."
"Kagura" means a place where Gods descend. It is an ellipsis of "Kamikura", God's place. 

On this night as well, when the darkness spreads into the cedar forest, drum sounds echoing in a drowsy shrine, then a special door opened so that the darkness dissolves between Takamagahara and Toyoashihara.

At the shrine, the chief priest prepares to invite the gods, and local elders dedicate Tamagushi-Hoten.
Afterwards, they move to the site of a religious service set up in the shrine office and the Kagura begins.

The first performance is "Kandomai", in which a man with a sakaki tree in his left hand and a fan in his right danced alone without wearing a mask.
The Kagura song says, "This place where the "nusa(staff with plaited paper streamers)"
stand is also Takamagahara, so
come and gather around, gods here and there."
They purge the place and invite gods together by dancing.

Then, around the time when Sarutahiko no Okami welcomes his descendants, the music gradually becomes faster and faster.
The atmosphere of the place changes rapidly with the rhythm of three four time.
In particular, the program "Zuishin" features a white-faced good god and a black-faced evil god.
It is a battle that encourages good and punishes evil, and the movement of the dance is intense, and in the scene where the evil god is dispersed.
Applause and laughter naturally erupted from the venue.

The most distinctive feature of Oki-Dozen Kagura is played on large drums, shime-daiko drums, and hand-held gongs.
It has a unique up-tempo rhythm in three four time.
Go with the bright sound and rhythm and say
"Yahaa, Yahaa, Yahahaa-ha".
As we are surrounded by the repeated music, people gradually lost their sense of self.
People will have a strange feeling, as if they are spending time with gods.

And there is a shrine maiden dance called “Maiko”.
A shrine maiden (miko) dances holding a baby born that year under the age of one.
The dance prays for the new life to grow healthily, creates dense space-time by the power and virtue of gods.

Currently, Oki-Dozen Kagura is organized by volunteers from all over the island as part of the Dozen Kagura Preservation Society.
They have gathered together to hand down the Kagura.
Until around 1965, there were five shrine houses (shake), not organized by a preservation society.
It had been handed down only by a group of professionals who made a living performing Kagura.
Today, only one Ishizuka family remains.

A time when gods and humans dance and play together, welcoming gods from all directions.
It seems really fun, and seems like the spirituality within us is coming out in its true form.

[Kagura]
"Kagura" is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase "Kami no Kura" ("seat of god"), indicating the presence of gods (kami) in the practice. As darkness falls in the cedar grove of Takuhi Shrine, drums and songs praising the gods can be heard. The story starts from here.

People dancing and playing together, with a sense of the divine around them, looks truly joyful and seems to be the true expression of the spirituality within us. The biggest event at the Takuhi Shrine, "Reitaisai" (the Annual Festival), is held every two years. We invite you to enter the world of "Oki Dozen Kagura", which is performed here.

[Takuhi Shrine]
Takuhi Shrine is located halfway up Takuhi-Yama mountain, the highest mountain in Nishinoshima, Oki County, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It was built between the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century. It is believed that the shrine was founded one New Year's Eve when three sparks flew out of the sea and entered between the rocks where the present shrine building is located. Even today, people pray to the god of the Takuhi Shrine to bring them to safety when the sea rages . The god of the Takuhi Shrine is revered as the guardian of maritime safety. This historical shrine was the subject of a waka poem by the 12th-century Emperor Go-Toba. Furthermore, it is also famous for being portrayed in Ukiyo- e paintings by Hiroshige and Hokusai.