What are those ropes at shrines for? Why are they everywhere?

December 21, 2024

Recently, a fellow learner asked me what the ropes tied around various Shinto-related things, such as 夫婦岩めおといわ (wedded rocks), are for. Here's a peek at the 夫婦岩めおといわ here in Fukuoka that are tied together with such ropes:

Picture from the Crossroad Fukuoka website.

Here's a closer look at the same type of rope, tied around a big tree:

A picture I took at a shrine here in Fukuoka.

These ropes are called 注連縄しめなわ, and they can be used for a few purposes. While I could explain it right now, I think things will make a lot of sense after we go down a bit of a side path before we get to the answer:

神道しんとう (Shintoism)

(There's a ton to talk about here but I'll do my best to keep this concise while not losing too many details ^

神道しんとう (Shitoism) is one of two major religions in Japan (the other being 仏教ぶっきょう [Buddhism]), and it's a bit different than a traditional religion, at least in the sense that many of us learners of Japanese are likely to think of it. Shintoism doesn't have a founder, and has traces going all the way back to the 縄文時代じょうもんじだい (14,000 BCE ~ 300 BCE), though it seems to have fully taken root in the 弥生時代やよいじだい (300 BCE ~ 250 CE).

In Shitoism, there is a 神様かみさま (kami; god) for just about everything. And they exist eternally in another world separate from our own, called 常世とこよ.

But during お祭まつり (festivals) and rituals, the 神様かみさま will 降臨こうりん (appear; descend) to our world. But the 神様かみさま only sends their spirit here, so they need something to "attach" it to, in a sense.

That's where 御神体ごしんたい come in.

御神体ごしんたい are where the spirits of the 神様かみさま "attach" to. The kanji literally mean the "body of the god". Many different things can be a 御神体ごしんたい, but there is a big focus on things in nature with this. Things like giant trees, giant rocks, waterfalls, mountains, and the ocean are all great candidates to be a 御神体ごしんたい. (Fun fact, Mt. Fuji is a 御神体ごしんたい ^^)

All of this is exactly what we see in the above two pictures.

The 夫婦岩めおといわ is a type of 御神体ごしんたい called an 磐座いわくら, which is a rock or boulder where the spirit of the 神様かみさま dwells. And the big tree above could be referred to as a 御神木ごしんぼく, which is a tree 御神体.ごしんたい

Now the bit that brings us back to 注連縄しめなわ:

You can't have a 神様かみさま staying in a place that is filled with 穢けがれ (impurity; corruption). You have to make sure the area is pure.

注連縄しめなわ are one way to do that, by creating a barrier between the normal world and the holy.

注連縄しめなわ

One important use of 注連縄しめなわ is marking an area as a 神域しんいき ([holy] sanctuary), which is where the spirit of a 神様かみさま can dwell. They are also there to ward off evil spirits and disaster.

So yeah. That's why you see them everywhere in and around shrines, or giant rocks and trees. ^^

But 注連縄しめなわ aren't just used in shrines. You can actually decorate your house with these before New Year's:

A 注連縄しめなわ on sale on 楽天市場.

While there are a lot of elements to these decorations, the 注連縄しめなわ (circular in this case) is an important part of it ^^

You're supposed to put these on your front door and/or your house altar, and it's a way to show the 神様かみさま that your house is okay to visit/is free of 穢けがれ. (More about this and other New Year's things in next week's newsletter!)

Another purpose of a 注連縄しめなわ can be to mark something as "off-limits".

This is what it seems to have been used for in the first-ever use of a 注連縄しめなわ. It was placed at the entrance of the 天岩戸あまのいわと (lit. "heaven's rock [cave] door") when 天照大神あまてらすおおかみ (Amaterasu Okami; the Sun Goddess) came out after hiding there and leaving the world in darkness, to ensure that she would never go back again.

Granted, this story is a myth… but I wasn't able to find a first use of a 注連縄しめなわ other than this.

Here's a lesson that touches upon the above story though, if you're curious:

Also, if you found any of the above Japanese to be difficult, no worries! This newsletter had pretty specific things in it. I wouldn't worry about memorizing most of the vocab above (unless you have a burning desire to tell everyone about semi-obscure Shinto facts like I do 🤣), and I hope you found it to be a fun read regardless of difficulty level ^^

You'll learn what you need to be highly proficient with enough presses of this button, anyway! ↓

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Happy studies!

まんま

I just learned this one when linking the new Unit releases below ^^

Check it out:

And here's a whole lesson on it with a bunch of other examples:

If the above Japanese is difficult for you, all you need to do is keep hitting the Study Now button and you'll understand it when you get there. When using a comprehensive study resource like NativShark, it's just a matter of time and consistency. The above is from a lesson in Milestone 29, (Phase 3 Unit 55).

NativShark goodie bag

NativShark Units

4 new Units have been added to Phase Three!

As always, these Units are filled with vocab in unique contexts, any relevant new kanji, and natural conversations called Dialogues at the end, all of which are designed to get you functional in Japanese as efficiently as possible.

These Units also feature the following lessons:

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! I hope you found this one fun ^^

Ty & the NativShark team