Saiō
A Saiō ( 斎 王 , also: Itsuki no Miko ( い つ き の み こ )) was an unmarried woman and relative of the Tennō who worked as a temple servant or priestess ( Miko ) to Ise between the late 7th century and the 14th century -Shrine in Ise in Mie Prefecture . The Saiō resided in Saikū ( 斎 宮 ), about 10 km northwest . The remains of the residence are in today's Meiwa, a place that lies between the cities of Matsusaka and Ise .
Overview
According to a 2000-year-old legend, the mythical princess Yamato Hime no mikoto ( 倭 比 売 命 , also 倭 姫 命 ), daughter of Suinin Tennō, set out from Mount Miwa in Nara Prefecture to find a suitable place to worship the sun goddess Amaterasu- to find ō-mi-kami . Her search lasted 20 years until she finally came to Ise, where the Ise shrine is still located today. Until then, Amaterasu was worshiped in the Yamato Imperial Palace .
After the Man'yōshū , the first Saiō princess was Ōku , daughter of Temmu Tennō ( Asuka period ). Saiō are also mentioned in the Genji Monogatari and the Ise Monogatari .
The duties of a Saiō
The main task of a Saiō was to serve as a priestess in the name of Tennō and in the succession of Yamatohime-no-mikoto at the Ise Shrine. Most of the year, the Saiō stayed in their residence, the Saikū, and passed the time with poetry and all sorts of idleness, waiting to be called back to Kyoto. It was up to the Saiō to perform three important ceremonies at the Ise Shrine over the course of a year. These included the Tsukinami Festival in June and the Kanname Festival ( 神 嘗 祭 ) in September. On the occasion of the Kanname festival, she made offerings to the gods to pray for a good harvest in the coming year.
The end of the Saiō custom
It is not known when exactly the Saiō custom ended. It is known that the end coincided with the " period of the north and south courts ", in which the dynasties in Kyōto and Yoshino fought for the succession to the throne. By this time the custom had fallen into disrepair and the Saikū residence was simply relocated to another farming village after the custom had collapsed. It was not until 1970 that ceramic remains of the Saikū were discovered during construction work in Meiwa, which enabled the exact location to be determined. In the place of the first finds there is now a museum in which the excavation finds are exhibited. Large parts of the Saikū are under the Ise line of the Kinki Nippon Tetsudō railway company and are therefore inaccessible.
Trivia
In Meiwa, a "Saiō Festival" is celebrated annually on the first weekend in June. a. the procession of the Saiō from Kyōto to the Saikū takes up.
List of Saiō
The following list gathers all Saiō who have served in the Ise Shrine since the establishment of this custom by Tennō Temmu.
| Saiō | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| date | Saiō | Japanese name | Life dates | appointed by | Kinship relationship | |
| 673-686 | Princess Ōku | 大 来 皇 女 | 661-701 | Temmu | daughter | |
| 698-701 | Princess Taki | 多 紀 皇 女 | ? -751 | Mommu | aunt | |
| 701-706? | Princess Izumi | 泉 内 親王 | ? -734 | Mommu | distant relatives | |
| 706-707? | Princess Takata | 田 形 内 親王 | ? -728 | Mommu | aunt | |
| 715? -721 | Princess Kuse | 久 勢 女王 | Genshō | unknown | ||
| 721-730? | Princess Inoe | 井上 内 親王 | 717-775 | Shōmu | daughter | |
| 744? -749 | Princess Agata | 県 女王 | Shōmu | unknown | ||
| 749-756? | Princess Oyake | 小 宅 女王 | Kōken | distantly related | ||
| 758-764? | Princess Yamao | 山 於 女王 | Junnin | unknown | ||
| 772-775? | Princess Sakahito | 酒 人 内 親王 | 754-829 | Konin | daughter | |
| 775? -781? | Princess Kiyoniwa | 浄 庭 女王 | Konin | distantly related | ||
| 782-796 | Princess Asahara | 朝 原 内 親王 | 779-817 | Kammu | daughter | |
| 796-806 | Princess Fuse | 布 勢 内 親王 | ? -812 | Kammu | daughter | |
| 806-809 | Princess Ōhara | 大 原 内 親王 | ? -863 | Heating egg | daughter | |
| 809-823 | Princess Yoshiko | 仁 子 内 親王 | ? -889 | saga | daughter | |
| 823-827 | Princess Ujiko | 氏 子 内 親王 | ? -885 | Junna | daughter | |
| 828-833 | Princess Yoshiko | 宜 子女 王 | Junna | niece | ||
| 833-850 | Princess Hisako | 久 子 内 親王 | ? -876 | Nimmyo | daughter | |
| 850-858 | Princess Yasuko | 晏子 内 親王 | ? -900 | Montoku | daughter | |
| 859-876 | Princess Yasuko | 恬 子 内 親王 | ? -913 | Seiwa | Sister (different mother) | |
| 877-880 | Princess Satoko | 識 子 内 親王 | 874-906 | Yōzei | Sister (different mother) | |
| 882-884 | Princess Nagako | 掲 子 内 親王 | ? -914 | Yōzei | aunt | |
| 884-887 | Princess Shigeko | 繁 子 内 親王 | ? -916 | Kōkō | daughter | |
| 889-897 | Princess Motoko | 元子 女王 | Uda | distantly related | ||
| 897-930 | Princess Yasuko | 柔 子 内 親王 | ? -959 | Daigo | sister | |
| 931-936 | Princess Masako | 雅子 内 親王 | 909-954 | Suzaku | Sister (different mother) | |
| 936 | Princess Sayoko | 斉 子 内 親王 | 921-936 | Suzaku | Sister (different mother) | |
| 936-945 | Princess Yoshiko | 徽 子女 王 | 929-985 | Suzaku | niece | |
| 946 | Princess Hanako | 英 子 内 親王 | 921-946 | Murakami | Sister (different mother) | |
| 947-954 | Princess Yoshiko | 悦子 女王 | Murakami | niece | ||
| 955-967 | Princess Rakushi | 楽 子 内 親王 | 952-998 | Murakami | daughter | |
| 968-969 | Princess Sukeko | 輔 子 内 親王 | 953-992 | Murakami | daughter | |
| 969-974 | Princess Takako | 隆 子女 王 | ? -974 | Akiakira | daughter | |
| 975-984 | Princess Noriko | 規 子 内 親王 | 949-986 | Murakami | daughter | |
| 984-986 | Princess Saishi | 済 子女 王 | Akiakira | daughter | ||
| 986-1010 | Princess Kyōshi | 恭子 女王 | 984-? | Tamehira | daughter | |
| 1012-1016 | Princess Toshi | 当 子 内 親王 | 1001-1023 | Sanjō | daughter | |
| 1016-1036 | Princess Senshi | 嫥 子女 王 | 1005-1074 | Tomohira | daughter | |
| 1036-1045 | Princess Nagako | 良 子 内 親王 | 1029-1077 | Go-suzaku | daughter | |
| 1046-1051 | Princess Yoshiko | 嘉 子 内 親王 | approx. 1030-? | Go-Reizei | ||
| 1051-1068 | Princess Tagako | 敬 子女 王 | Go-Reizei | |||
| 1069-1072 | Princess Toshiko | 俊 子 内 親王 | 1056-1132 | Go-Sanjō | ||
| 1073-1077 | Princess Atsuko | 淳 子女 王 | Shirakawa | |||
| 1078-1084 | Princess Yasuko | 媞 子 内 親王 | 1076-1096 | Shirakawa | ||
| 1087-1107 | Princess Yoshiko | 善 子 内 親王 | 1077-1132 | Horikawa | ||
| 1108-1123 | Princess Aiko | 恂 子 内 親王 | 1093-1132 | Toba | ||
| 1123-1141 | Princess Moriko | 守 子女 王 | 1111-1156 | Sutoku | ||
| 1142-1150 | Princess Yoshiko | 妍 子 内 親王 | ? -1161 | Konoe | ||
| 1151-1155 | Princess Yoshiko | 喜子 内 親王 | Konoe | |||
| 1156-1158 | Princess Asako | 亮 子 内 親王 | 1147-1216 | Go-Shirakawa | ||
| 1158-1165 | Princess Yoshiko | 好 子 内 親王 | 1148-1192 | Nijō | ||
| 1165-1168 | Princess Nobuko | 休 子 内 親王 | 1157-1171 | Rokujō | ||
| 1168-1172 | Princess Atsuko | 惇 子 内 親王 | 1158-1172 | Takakura | ||
| 1177-1179 | Princess Isako | 功 子 内 親王 | 1176-? | Takakura | ||
| 1185-1198 | Princess Sayoko | 潔 子 内 親王 | 1179-after 1227 | Go-Toba | ||
| 1199-1210 | Princess Sumiko | 粛 子 内 親王 | 1196-? | Tsuchimikado | ||
| 1215-1221 | Princess Hiroko | 熙 子 内 親王 | 1205-? | Juntoku | ||
| 1226-1232 | Princess Toshiko | 利子 内 親王 | 1197-1251 | Go-Horikawa | ||
| 1237-1242 | Princess Teruko | 昱 子 内 親王 | 1231-1246 | Shijō | ||
| 1244-1246 | Princess Akiko | 曦 子 内 親王 | 1224-1262 | Go saga | ||
| 1262-1272 | Princess Yasuko | 愷 子 内 親王 | 1249-1284 | Kameyama | ||
| 1306-1308 | Princess Masako | 弉 子 内 親王 | 1286-1348 | Go-nijō | ||
| 1330-1331 | Princess Yoshiko | 懽 子 内 親王 | 1315-1362 | Go-Daigo | ||
| 1333-1334 | Princess Sachiko | 祥子 内 親王 | Go-Daigo | |||
Individual evidence
- ↑ 斎 王 豆 知識 (Japanese), Retrieved March 27, 2012
- ↑ Brown Delmer et al. (1979): Gukanshō , p. 253; Varley, H. Paul (1980): Jinnō Shōtōki pp. 95-96; M1 Titsingh, Isaac (1834): Annales des empereurs du japon p. 10 .
- ↑ Purple Narrators Guild ( 紫 紺 の 語 り 部 ), Meiwa City, 2003, p. 3.
- ↑ The Deep Purple Story of Meiwa , p. 9.
- ↑ Saiku Historical Museum ( Memento of the original from March 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed March 27, 2012
- ↑ Saiku Historical Museum, Meiwa, Mie
literature
- William Wayne Farris (1999): Sacred Texts and Buried Treasures: Issues in the Historical Archeology of Ancient Japan. Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 54, No. 1, pp. 123-126.
Web links
- Saikū Historical Museum (Japanese)
- Saioh Festival (Japanese)