Mikoshi

A mikoshi is a special type of portable shrine that is considered sacred in the Shinto religion in Japan. It is used to carry a deity during festivals or when moving to a new shrine. It looks like a small building with walls, pillars, a roof, a veranda, and a railing.

A mikoshi of Hiyoshi-taisha.

Mikoshi fighting on Nada-no-Kenka Matsuri at Himeji.

This mikoshi enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu at the Tōshō-gū in Nikkō

In Japanese, "o-" (お) is often added to the front to make the word "omikoshi" (お神輿). This prefix is used to show respect or politeness, and is commonly added to words that are considered important or sacred.

Moving a kami with one in a festival is called Shinko-shiki. Omikoshi are common in parades alongside Matsuri floats

Related pages

• Matsuri Float

References

• Sokyo Ono, William P. Woodward, Shinto - The Kami Way, Charles E. Tuttle Company, Tokyo 1992, ISBN 4-8053-0189-9
• Basic Terms of Shinto, Kokugakuin University, Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Tokyo 1985

Other websites

• Mikoshi Photos of Shinto shrine (English version)
• Mikoshi Festival
• Shin'yo, in the Encyclopedia of Shinto by the Kokugakuin University