Bunrei

Short description: Division of Shinto kami spirit

Bunrei or wakemitama (分霊) is a Shinto technical term that indicates both the process of dividing a Shinto kami to be re-enshrined somewhere else (such as a house's kamidana), and the spirit itself produced by the division.^[1] Shrines conduct bunrei to distribute them to "child" shrines elsewhere.^[2] The spirit of kami does not decrease through this act, and a bunrei functions the same way as the original spirit.^[3] The reason for conducting bunrei is often to make a kami more accessible to worshipers far from the main shrine.

For details, see the article about the similar term Kanjō.

References

↑ Smyers, Karen Ann (1999). The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824820589.
↑ "「分霊」の意味や使い方わかりやすく解説 Weblio辞書". https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E5%88%86%E9%9C%8A.
↑ "これで納得！同じ名前の神社がたくさんある理由～同じ名前の神様がたくさんいるの？～ – 早稲田神社". https://wasedajinja.jp/2018/02/10/post-379/.

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[1] Smyers, Karen Ann (1999). The Fox and the Jewel: Shared and Private Meanings in Contemporary Japanese Inari Worship. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 9780824820589.

[2] "「分霊」の意味や使い方わかりやすく解説 Weblio辞書". https://www.weblio.jp/content/%E5%88%86%E9%9C%8A.

[3] "これで納得！同じ名前の神社がたくさんある理由～同じ名前の神様がたくさんいるの？～ – 早稲田神社". https://wasedajinja.jp/2018/02/10/post-379/.

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Bunrei

Topic: Religion

References