Salt, fire and water: means of entering the sacred
Salt, fire and water: means of entering the sacred

Summary/Abstract: Pollution and purification are two concepts often used in relation to traditional Japanese culture and its peculiar rituals. From the elegant wells placed near the entrance to shrines, inviting visitors and believers alike to perform the customary ablutions (sometimes clear instructions are displayed in plain view), to the mounds of salt placed near house gates or restaurant doors, to fierce-looking yamabushi who walk on fire, once we immerse ourselves into the Japanese culture, we are surrounded by symbols that seem to indicate a desire to separate the sacred from the profane and to purify oneself in order to prevent disease, misfortune, or the wrath of gods. However, “purification” is a widely misapprehended concept, particularly in the case of Japanese rituals, and salt, fire and water are used not necessarily to cleanse, but to perform magic acts as well. In an attempt to shed some light on this matter, I shall discuss the significance and the role played by the abovementioned elements in Japanese tradition, focusing on several specific examples. The magical function of salt becomes apparent is the Hari-kuy􀅮 ceremony from Awashima Jinja in Wakayama. Hari-kuy􀅮 (“religious service for needles”) is a ritual conducted annually on February 8th, when rusty or blunt needles from all over the country are collected at the shrine in order to receive a symbolic burial under a big rock, being first covered in salt. The symbolism of fire will be discussed in relationship with five major events: the Yassai-Hossai festival, which takes place at Iwatsuta Jinja in Sakai (Osaka), on December 14th, the Sait􀅮 􀅭gomaku rite performed at Gangoji Temple in Nara on Setsubun Day and also on Mt Koya, the torch dance performed by “demons” at Nagata Jinja, in Kobe, on Setsubun Day, the Fire Festivals from Kyoto and Kumano, as well as the famous Omizutori ceremony in Nara. On all these occasions, fire appears as an extremely potent element, able to both bring something of the sacred into this world and to open the gates to the other. Fire establishes a connection between the known world, inhabited by living humans, and the world of spirits and things past.

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