A Japanese writer thus describes the modern form of this ceremony:--
"Within the palace there is a large hall, the kashiko-dokoro, or place of reverence, constructed of milk-white, knotless timbers, exquisitely joined and smooth as mirrors, but absolutely devoid of decoration. At one end stands a large shrine, also of snow-pure wood, with delicately chased mountings of silver gilt. It encloses models of the divine insignia, and a number of long, narrow tablets of pine, on which are inscribed the posthumous titles of all the Emperors since the days of Jimmu. Within the folding doors of the shrine hangs a curtain woven of bamboo threads. At the appointed hour, generally the grey of morning, sakaki boughs are laid beside the shrine and provision of incense is made; after which the officials of the Bureau of Rites and those of the Imperial Household file in and seat themselves on either side of the hall. The doors of the shrine are then opened and offerings of various kinds--vegetables, fish, cloth, and so forth--are carried in and ranged before it, solemn music in Japanese style being performed the while. Thereafter the princes of the blood and all officials of the two highest ranks as well as the peers of the 'musk-chamber' and the 'golden-pheasant chamber' enter, and when they are seated the Emperor himself appears and, proceeding slowly to the shrine, bows his head, takes a branch of sakaki with pendant gohei, and having waved it in token of the purification of sins, ignites a stick of incense[247] and places it upright in the censer, thereafter repeating a ritual (norito). So long as his Majesty is present in the hall, all the officials remain standing. His Majesty then retires, and, on his departure, worship of the same kind, but without any prayer, is performed by a representative of the Prince Imperial," and subsequently by the other members of the Court.
Mitama Shidzumuru no matsuri (ceremony for settling or calming the august spirit).
There was an ancient ceremony called mitama furishiki that is, shaking the august jewels, which is referred to in the Kiujiki. We are there told that when the Sun-Goddess sent down Ninigi to rule the world, she gave him "ten auspicious treasures, namely, one mirror of the offing, one mirror of the shore, one eight-hands-breadth sword, one jewel (tama) of birth, one jewel of return from death, one perfect jewel, one road-returning jewel (that is, a jewel which has the property of making evil things return by the road they came), one serpent-scarf (a scarf which has power when waved to keep away serpents), one bee-scarf, and one scarf of various things," saying: "In case of illness shake these treasures and repeat to them the words, 'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.' If thou doest so the dead will certainly return to life."
The Nihongi states that in a.d. 685 the ceremony of calling on the spirit (mitama) was performed for the Mikado's sake. An ancient gloss identifies this ceremony with that of the mitama furishiki just described. The object of the two ceremonies was, no doubt, the same, but it is to be noted that mitama, which in the one case means jewel or talisman, in the other means spirit--a rare case in the older Shinto records of this word being applied to the human soul. The phrases "calling on the spirit" and "settling the spirit" are of Chinese origin, mitama being in this connexion simply a translation of the Chinese hun (pronounced kon in Japanese). The same ceremony is known in China, and some features of its Japanese form were probably borrowed from that country. Its object, according to a modern writer, was to summon back to and settle in the body the volatile kon. It was performed every year in the eleventh month in the Chapel of the Jingikwan, and also at one time in connexion with the coronation ceremony.
The norito (No. 15 of the Yengishiki) begins with a recital of the Mikado's divine claims to sovereignty. Then the offerings are enumerated. It concludes with a prayer to the eight Gods of the Jingikwan to grant the Mikado a long and prosperous reign, and that he may dwell peacefully in his Palace during the ensuing year. It says nothing of the Mikado's spirit, an expression found only in the heading, which may be supposed to be a later addition.
A performance by the Miko resembling that of Uzume before the Rock-cave of Heaven, and comprising the repetition of the magic words one, two, three, &c., formed part, no doubt the oldest part, of the ceremony. It is now usually called by the Chinese name Chinkonsai.
There is a story of a thief having stolen the clothing presented on this occasion, and also the string which tied the Mikado's mitama, whatever that may mean.
Oho-harahi (Great Purification).[248] --This ceremony includes a preliminary lustration, expiatory offerings, and the recital of a norito or formula--not a prayer, as it is sometimes called--in which the Mikado, by virtue of the authority transmitted to him from the Sun-Goddess, declares to his ministers and people the absolution of their sins and impurities. This formula is often referred to as if it constituted the whole ceremony. It is known as the Nakatomi no Oho-harahi, because in ancient times it was usually read by the Nakatomi as representatives of the Mikado.
The myths which represent Izanagi as flinging down his garments during his flight from Yomi, and washing away in the sea the pollution contracted by his visit there, and describe the expiatory offerings exacted from Susa no wo, presume an acquaintance with the ceremony of which the Oho-harahi norito forms a chief part. The Nihongi informs us, under the legendary date a.d. 200, that after the sudden death of the Mikado Chiuai, his widow and successor Jingō commanded her ministers "to purge offences and to rectify transgressions," while in the parallel passage of the Kojiki[249] details are given of these offences, which, as far as they go, are identical with those enumerated in the Oho-harahi itself. Great Purifications are mentioned as having been performed in 676, 678, and 686. The Japanese scholar Mabuchi ascribes the present Oho-harahi norito to this last-named period. In substance it must be very much older.