shinkyoo - mirror of the kami

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shinkyoo 神鏡 Shinkyo - "mirror of the kami", divine mirror
sacred mirror, holy mirror

quote
The Imperial Regalia of Japan (三種の神器, Sanshu no Jingi / Mikusa no Kandakara), also known as the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, consist of

the sword Kusanagi to Tsurugi (草薙劍),
the mirror Yata no Kagami (八咫鏡), and
the jewel Yasakani no Magatama (八尺瓊曲玉).

The regalia represent the three primary virtues: valor (the sword), wisdom (the mirror), and benevolence (the jewel).



Due to the legendary status of these items, their locations are not confirmed, but it is commonly thought that the sword is located at Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya, the jewel is located at Kōkyo (the Imperial Palace) in Tōkyō, and the mirror is located in the Grand Shrine of Ise in Mie prefecture.

The Yata no Kagami represents "wisdom" or "honesty," depending on the source. Its name literally means
"The Eight Hand Mirror," likely a reference to its width. Mirrors in ancient Japan represented truth because they merely reflected what was shown, and were a source of much mystique and reverence (being uncommon items). Japanese folklore is rich in stories of life before mirrors were commonplace.

In the Japanese mythology this mirror and the Yasakani no magatama were hung from a tree to lure out Amaterasu from a cave. They were given, with the sword Kusanagi, to Amaterasu's grandson, Ninigi-no-Mikoto, when he went to pacify Japan. From there the treasures passed into the hands of the Imperial House of Japan.

In the year 1040 (Chōkyū 1, 9th month), the Sacred Mirror was burned in a fire.
Whether that mirror was irrevocably lost or not, the current government claims that there are three Yata no Kagami held at different Shinto shrines: one is in Meiji Jingu in Tokyo, one in Ise Jingu, and one in Atsuta Jingu in Nagoya.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


- - - Throninsignien Japans - Three Sacred Emblems - Three Sacred Treasures
drei Artefakte:
das Schwert Kusanagi no Tsurugi (草薙剣), („Grasschneider-Schwert“)
ein Krummjuwel Yasakani no Magatama (八尺瓊曲玉) und
ein Spiegel, Yata no Kagami (八咫鏡).

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quote
Sanshu no shinki
The general name for the three kinds of treasure said to have been granted to Ninigi by Amaterasu on the occasion of her heavenly grandson's descent to earth (tenson kōrin) and handed on as symbols of the imperial throne:

a jewel (yasakani no magatama),
a mirror (yata no kagami) and
a sword (ame no murakumo no tsurugi or kusanagi no tsurugi).

Nihongi (Chronicles of Japan) referred to them as three kinds of treasure (mikusa no takaramono). They were also called the divine seal (shinji) or the heavenly seal (tenji). The word for jewel (tama) was also written with the character for seal. It has been believed that the emperors have handed on the jewel down the generations to the present day.

Awed by the power of the kami, reproductions of the mirror and sword were made during Emperor Sujin's reign. The originals were sent from the palace and enshrined at the Ise shrines (Ise Jingū). Subsequently, during the reign of the twelfth emperor Keikō, the sword was enshrined at Atsuta in Owari province, in what is today called Atsuta Shrine (Atsuta Jingū).

The reproduction of the mirror (kagami), which is one of the two kinds of imperial regalia kept within the palace, and is said to have narrowly escaped destruction in disasters on several occasions. It is currently enshrined in the Kashikodokoro (also Naishidokoro: see kyūchūsanden, the three shrine buildings within the imperial palace grounds).

Since the sword was lost at sea with child emperor Antoku during the final battle of the war between the Minamoto and Taira warrior houses, the sword of Hi no omashi was used for a time in its place. Later the sword enshrined at Ise was designated as the sacred sword. Together with the seal jewel received from heaven, it continues to be revered by the emperor.
source : Fukui Yoshihiko, Kokugakuin


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quote
Kagami - Also written 鑑 - Mirror.
A device that reflects an image using the reflective properties of its surface. Mirrors may be made of copper, silver, iron, jewels, or glass, and can be found in many different styles, including round, square, elliptical, "eight-petal hollyhock" (hakkōkyō ), "eight-arch" (hachiryō), and handled. Mirrors have been put to a variety of uses in a variety of ways, depending on the era and purpose.

Together with swords and jewels, mirrors have been seen as having profound religious significance and have been used in ritual since ancient times, given their mysterious ability to reflect all things.

As demonstrated by the inclusion of the "Eight-Span Mirror" (yata no kagami) among the Three Regalia (sanshu no jingi), mirrors were used within ancient ritual as mitamashiro (objects in which the kami would reside), and thus also revered as objects of worship (shintai) within shrines.

As the combinatory religion of kami and buddhas (shinbutsu shūgō) gained momentum in the late Heian (Fujiwara) period, the practice of etching fine line-drawings of kami or their associated Buddhist figures on mirrors developed. These images were known as mishōtai. Such images were placed in shrines as objects of worship, and dedicated to shrines by worshipers (sankeisha) during rites dedicated to the establishment of personal "affiliations" (kechien) with the deities concerned.

Needless to say, mirrors were also dedicated to shrines as shrine treasures, as well as being thrown in bodies of water as part of rites of divination in cults devoted to water kami (suijin) and as implements in ground-breaking ceremonies.
source : Okada Yoshiyuki, Kokugakuin


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Hidden world map discovered
on back of Shinto shrine's 19th-century mirror
Shinto priests at Kitano Tenmangu shrine here discovered a map of the world engraved on the back of a mirror at a time when Japan was emerging from centuries of isolation.

"The map on the mirror is very detailed,” said Hidenobu Shirae, a priest at the shrine. “It shows how the people at the time were starting to look beyond their own shores to the wider world."


The hanging scroll that bears the rubbing of an engraved map on a 19th-century mirror's backside

The mirror, which dates back to the early Meiji Era (1868-1912), is attached to the front of the shrine's main building, which is designated a national treasure. It measures 108 centimeters in diameter and weighs about 200 kilograms.
The shrine, located in the city's Kamigyo Ward, enshrines Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), a patron deity of learning.

The mirror, located high on the beam just below the roof, has been viewed by many visitors over the years. But the map was unknown and apparently forgotten because of its inaccessibility.
The hidden engraving was discovered after a hanging scroll bearing a rubbing of the map was recently found at the shrine.

After seeing the rubbing, priests there climbed a ladder to look behind the mirror, revealing the engraving.

The map contains Africa, Europe and Australia, but not the Americas.
- continued
- source : TSUYOSHI SATO - May 20, 2015 -

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. The Imperial Sword of the Billowing Clouds .

. Magatama 勾玉　Magatama jewel, curved beads .


. Shrine, Shinto Shrine (jinja　神社) - Introduction .





shinkyoo - This word also refers to the mirror at the altar of a Shinto shrine.


. WKD : kagami 鏡　mirror - Spiegel .


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mishootai, mishōtai 御正体 Mishotai


source :　London Gallery

御正体　--鏡像から懸仏へ from Mishotai to Kakebotoke

- quote -
mishoutai　御正体
A term whose definition falls under three headings.
The first refers to representations of specific Shinto deities, often in the form of their Buddhist counterparts, *honjibutsu 本地仏, which are the Buddhist identities of the Shinto deities themselves.
Mishoutai may refer to a specific icon, as at Kasuga Taisha 春日大社, where the image of the deer with sakaki 榊 (Japanese cleyera) presented in many shika mandara 鹿曼荼羅 (see *Kasuga mandara 春日曼荼羅 ) and
in sculptures is also identified as the Kasuga mishoutai.
- source : JAANUS -



- quote -
Buddhist mirror
The Shinto mirror, symbol of Amaterasu
On my visits to Buddhist temples, I’ve sometimes noticed round mirrors on the altars and wondered whether this was the influence of syncretic shin-butsu (Shinto-Buddhism).
Yogācāra discourse examines how human experience is constructed by mind. One of the theorists, a fifth-century Indian called Vasubandhu, came up with the idea of eight levels of consciousness. The top level shines with the light of a wisdom like a great mirror… hence the expression in Buddhism of The Great Wisdom Mirror, or Great Perfect Mirror Wisdom, which reflects the universe as it really is, free of distortion from ego or ignorance.



The Buddhist deity, Emma, lord of the underworld, who uses a mirror to examine the souls of those who come before him
- source : green shinto Dougill -

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The origin of the votive plaque seems to have been closely related to the custom in which the actual Buddhist image was reflected in a mirror. This custom was initiated by Emperor Monmu (reign 697-707) upon a suggestion in his dream by a priest, although he had planned to build a Buddhist statue.

Here is a mysterious story I heared in a temple in Kamakura:

For special exorcistic rituals of esoteric Buddhism heated oil is poured over a Buddha statue. The statue in question was a secret statue, so the Kakebotoke substitue had to be used. Since the Kakebotoke statue of this temple had just been newly made and was quite pretty, the priest wanted to spare it this fate. He decided to reflect the statue in a mirror and poor the heated oil over the mirror. It seems the Gods accepted this sacrificial offer of a substitute with another substitute and peace returned to the poor soul for which the ritual was performed.

. kakebotoke 懸仏 "Hanging Buddha" .

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- quote -
hookyoo, Hōkyō 宝鏡 Mirror
智恵の眼. Draws forth intelligence to liberate the mind. It also reflects the lesson that life is illusion, for the mirror does not represent reality -- it merely provides a reflection of reality. The mirror is thus a metaphor for the unenlightened mind deluded by mere appearances.
Also see the famous Buddhist parable from China known in Japan as Enkō Sokugetsu 猿猴捉月. Translated as "Catching the Moon’s Reflection," it tells a similar story of the unenlightened mind deluded by appearances.T
he mirror is also one of Three Reglia of the Shintō camp.
- source : Mark Schumacher -



国宝『線刻千手観音等鏡像』
水神社（秋田県大仙市）の御神体

source :　wikipedia


- quote -
寶鏡三昧 Hokyo Sanmai
The Historical Buddha talked about an original state of mind 寶鏡三昧 which neither arises nor perishes and is not subject to any change. This mind clearly reflects all existences without any mistake just as a clear mirror does.
- - The Baojing sanmei, by Dongshan Liangjie 洞山良价. A popular Chan text, which explains the five ranks 五位, stating that the eternal and the transitory are interfused. Its actual title is Baojingsanmeige 寶鏡三昧歌, and it can be found, among other places, in the Record of Dongshan 洞山錄.
- - A samādhi transmitted from the Buddha; refers to the original state of mind which neither arises nor perishes and is not subject to any change. This mind clearly reflects all existences without any mistake just as a clear mirror does.
[Charles Muller]
- source : Digital Dictionary of Buddhism -


. Our discussion on facebook - May 2015 .

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. kagami ema 鏡絵馬 votive tablet as a mirror .
You can paint the part of your face that should improve its beauty.


. ekagami, e-kagami 柄鏡　mirror with a handle .

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. Hookyooji 宝鏡寺 Hokyo-Ji . - Kyoto

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磨なをす鏡も清し雪の花
togi-naosu kagami mo kiyoshi yuki no hana

freshly polished,
the sacred mirror too is clear:
blossoms of snow
Tr.Barnhill

Visiting 熱田神宮 Atsuta Jingu :
. Matsuo Basho 松尾芭蕉 - Archives of the WKD .


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夏まつり神鏡に母うつりゐる
natsu matsuri shinkyoo ni haha utsuri-iru

summer festival -
my mother is reflected
in the divine mirror

Taguchi Toyomi 田口とよみ


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神鏡に成人式の雪降れり
shinkyoo ni seijin-shiki no yuki fureri

in the divine mirror
at the Coming-of-Age ceremony
snow is falling . . .

Eguchi Chikutei 江口竹亭


. WKD : seijin shiki 成人式 coming of age celebration .
second Monday in January


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神鏡に樫の若葉の照り映ゆる
shinkyoo ni kashi no wakaba no teri-hayuru

in the divine mirror
the new leaves of the oak tree
reflect sparkling

Yamada Setsuko 山田節子


. WKD : kashi 樫 all kinds of oak trees .


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八咫鏡梟に皺ありにけり
yata kagami fukuroo ni shiwa ari ni keri

divine mirror -
the owl really has
wrinkles

Kagami Taeko 各務耐子


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