Norito

Norito
Name	Norito
Caption	Shinto priest reciting prayers at Ise Grand Shrine
Type	Liturgical prayer
Origin	Yamato period
Language	Classical Japanese, Old Japanese
Scripture	Kojiki, Nihon Shoki, Engishiki
Primary location	Japan

Norito

Norito are Shinto liturgical prayers used in Shinto ceremonies and rites at shrines such as Ise Grand Shrine, Izumo Taisha, and Kamo Shrine. They appear throughout classical chronicles like the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki and in codifications such as the Engishiki, and were transmitted by priestly lineages connected to institutions including the Department of Divinities and imperial rites of the Yamato court. As formulas for invocation, petition, and purification, they intersect with artifacts and texts preserved in repositories like the Imperial Household Agency archives and collections of the National Diet Library.

Definition and Etymology

The term derives from Old Japanese ritual vocabulary recorded in sources like the Man'yōshū and glossed in commentaries associated with the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Early usage is attested in court manuals produced under the Heian period and later standardized in the Engishiki compiled under the Daijō-kan. The word denotes a formalized spoken formula recited by priests of lineages such as the Kuni-no-miya and families serving shrines like Ise, Izumo, and regional sanctuaries codified by the Ritsuryō system. Philological work by scholars affiliated with institutions like Tokyo University and the University of Kyoto situates the etymology within Old Japanese lexicons preserved in collections held by the National Museum of Japanese History.

Historical Development and Periods

Norito development spans from prehistoric ritual practice associated with the Jōmon period and the Yayoi period through codification in the Nara period and ritual standardization in the Heian period. Textual preservations occur in the Kojiki (early eighth century) and the Nihon Shoki (720), while administrative shaping occurred under the Taihō Code and later the Engishiki (927). During the Kamakura period and Muromachi period, shrine networks like Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine and Itsukushima Shrine maintained norito traditions, while the Meiji Restoration and policies of the Home Ministry reshaped shrine rites within State Shinto overseen by the Bureau of Shrines and Temples. Twentieth-century scholarship by academics at the Tokyo National Museum and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies reevaluated norito in light of comparative studies with Buddhist liturgies preserved in Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji.

Structure and Language

Norito texts exhibit formulaic openings, divine invocation, narrative exempla, petition, and closing benedictions, paralleling formats in ritual corpora such as the Wakan Rōei-shū and liturgical pieces found in the Shōsōin repository. Language reflects Old Japanese grammar and lexicon seen in the Man'yōshū and complex honorific registers used in court poetry like that of Ki no Tsurayuki and Ariwara no Narihira. Syntactic features align with phonological data reconstructed by scholars such as Motoori Norinaga and analyzed in philology at Kyoto University. Variants preserved in shrine archives like Izumo and municipal collections show script forms using kanji and man'yōgana, with textual witnesses housed at the National Archives of Japan and studied by researchers at the Historiographical Institute, University of Tokyo.

Ritual Functions and Uses

Norito serve functions of invocation of kami including Amaterasu, Susanoo, Ōkuninushi, and local tutelary deities, as seen in rituals at Ise Grand Shrine, Izumo Taisha, and village shrines. They are used in rites of purification at Misogi sites, offerings during festivals such as the Aoi Matsuri, Gion Matsuri, and Kanda Matsuri, and in ceremonies for agricultural fertility associated with shrines like Toyokuni Shrine. Priests of lineages trained at seminaries connected to institutions like Kokugakuin University and Ise Grand Shrine Academy recite norito during kanjō consecrations, imperial enthronement rites, and seasonal observances referenced in court calendars managed historically by the Ministry of Ceremonies. They also function in life-cycle rites at shrines performing omiyamairi and in state rituals recorded by chroniclers of the Imperial Household.

Major Examples and Texts

Canonical norito appear in corpora such as the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, with later collections compiled in the Engishiki and shrine-specific compendia like the norito rolls of Ise and Izumo. Famous passages invoke deities found in genealogies of the Nihon Shoki and narrative episodes paralleling tales in the Kojiki. Scholarly editions edited by researchers at Keio University and Osaka University include critical apparatus comparing manuscripts from the Shōsōin and private shrine archives. Comparative liturgical studies reference parallels with Buddhist sutras preserved at Kōfuku-ji and ritual manuals of the Tendai and Shingon schools.

Influence and Modern Revival

In the modern era, norito influenced cultural movements tied to kokugaku scholarship led by figures like Motoori Norinaga and institutions promoting native studies such as Kokugakuin University. The Meiji period's reformation of shrine rites under the Department of Divinities and State Shinto reform impacted practice until postwar separation of religion and state implemented by the Allied Occupation of Japan. Contemporary revival efforts involve clergy trained at seminaries and academics at the International Shinto Studies Association collaborating with shrine communities including Ise Grand Shrine and municipal shrines for festivals like the Takayama Matsuri. Modern recordings and edited volumes produced by publishers associated with University of Tokyo Press and Iwanami Shoten have made norito accessible to researchers and the public, while digital archiving projects at the National Diet Library and the Digital Museum of Japanese Literature preserve manuscripts for comparative study.

Category:Shinto rituals Category:Japanese liturgy Category:Religious texts of Japan