[English below] ※石鎚神社本社／厄除階段前の鳥居
Picture 1: The Main shrine of Ishizuchi Shrine: Torii gate in front of "Steps to ward off evil"
ごく希に石鎚神社本社や成就社などを参拝される方に、「ここは何番札所ですか？」という方が(^^;)…本社も成就社も本殿や社務所までの参道にはそこそこ大きな鳥居が数基あるのですが…。
で…ここに来て、お寺さん？は無いでしょう…みたいな(-_-;)
が、しかあし！！この質問も有る意味正しいのです。そうです！鳥居があるから必ず神社とは限りません。またシメナワが社殿等に掛けられているから絶対に神社という訳でもないのです。
※石鎚神社中宮成就社の鳥居＆本殿シメナワ
Picture 2: Torii gate of Ishizuchi Shrine Chugu Jojusha and sacred rope "Shimenawa" of the main shrine
一例を挙げると、日本三大稲荷のひとつとして有名な岡山市の最上稲荷山 妙教寺。
その参道には立派な大鳥居が有り、本殿とされる霊光殿には画像のような大シメナワが掛かっています。間違いなく寺院で、祭礼を務めるのは当然僧侶の皆様、神職ではありません。
※最上稲荷参道の大鳥居
Picture 3: Huge Torii gate on the approach to Saijo inari
※最上稲荷霊光殿に掛かるシメナワ
Picture 4: Sacred rope "Shimenawa" at Reiko-den of Saijo Inari
コホン…え～では、
何を以て一般的には「神社建築」だとするのか！？ ・・・・では…次回にm(_ _)m
…じゃない^^; それは、人が拝礼する拝殿ではなく、社殿一番奥の基本的に御神座（神様のベッドルーム）の屋根の棟に画像にあるような「千木（ちぎ）、鰹木（かつおぎ）」が有れば神社といえます。もっとも高山で風の強いところに位置する社殿には、敢えてそれを付けない場合もあります。因みに石鎚神社の山頂社殿には、強風雨雪に飛ばないように宮大工さんが技を尽くして千木、鰹木を付けて下さいました。
※石鎚神社本社祖霊殿御神座の千木、鰹木
Picture 5: Chi-gi and Katsuo-gi of Goshinza at Sorei-den of Ishizuchi Shrine
※頂上社殿の棟に観る千木＆鰹木
Picture 6: Chi-gi and Katsuo-gi of the shrine at the top of Mt. Ishizuchi
…実は神社建築とはいいながらこれもまた特例があり、本尊として仏様ではなく牛頭天皇を祀る埼玉県飯能市にある東日本唯一の神仏習合の寺院、医王山薬寿院八王寺、通称「竹寺」は、その本殿の棟に次の画像のように連立する変形千木を備え、参道の鳥居には一般神社では夏越の神事の際に人の罪穢れを祓うために設けて潜る茅の輪が年中掛けらています。
←Picture 7: Takedera in Hanno City, Saitama
↓Picture 8: Chi-no-wa at Torii gate on the approach to Takedera
さて、御神座の屋根の棟の両端に取り付けられる「千木」ですが、知木とも記され、日本語の言霊の世界では「ち」は霊的なものを意味する言葉で、「神様の力が宿った木」という意味になります。さらに、画像にある石鎚神社の千木は「外削ぎ・そとそぎ」と呼ばれる形で、切り口が天に向かって水平になる「内削ぎ」もあり、外削ぎが男神、内削ぎは女神を祀るとの説もありますが、これは一説に過ぎません。因みに、石鎚神社は石鎚毘古命という男神様をお祀りしていますが、画像の祖霊殿は、石鎚山開山の祖、役小角（えんのおづぬ）を始め、歴代の宮司、役職員、信徒等の男女の御霊をご一緒にお祀り申し上げています。ですので、一説の例には該当しませんね。
※石鎚神社本社祖霊殿の千木＆鰹木
Picture 9: Chi-gi and Katsuo-gi of Sorei-den of the Main shrine of Ishizuchi Shrine
そして棟に付けられる丸太状の装飾になる「鰹木」は、その形が鰹や鰹節に似ているからともいわれ、「勝男木」とも記され、この本数が多ければ神徳が高いとか奇数は男神、偶数は女神を祀るとの説もありますが、これも俗説になります。
～以上知らなくても別段困ることはありません(^^)/
※リレーエッセイ次週は、プロバレエダンサーの久寿奏恵さん（3巡目）です。
では、奏恵さん、よろしくお願いします。
令和3年8月16日投稿：石鎚神社祢宜 曽我部英司
The Message of the Week
Hi! I’m Hideshi Sogabe, "Negi" Senior Priest of Ishizuchi Shrine. Here comes my turn! As a Shinto priest, let me talk more about our trivia facts of Shinto. Of course, it doesn't bother you that you don't know details about Shinto architecture, but getting familiar with some interesting facts of Shinto may make your life a bit happier! Here we go!
Sometimes, not very often, visitors to Ishizuchi Shrine or Jojusha ask me "Could you please tell me the number of Fudasho of this temple?" Whenever I come across this sort of question, I think to myself "Well, you must have seen a couple of Torii gates on your way here...what on earth made you think this is a temple?"
NEVERTHELESS, I should say that this question puts finger on a very important point, in a sense. Torii gates do not necessarily prove that the building is a Shinto shrine or neither do sacred ropes Shimenawa.
Let me give a you very good example: both Picture 3 and 4 show Saijo Inari-san Myokyoji temple in Okayama well known as one of three major Inari in Japan. You can see a huge Torii gate on the approach to the temple, and also you will find a huge sacred Shimenawa rope at Reiko-den, the main hall. It goes without saying that religious festivals are held by Buddhist monks here, not by Shinto priests.
Ahem! let me tell you what features identify buildings as Shinto architecture, then. These features are NOT found at the front shrine hall of worship BUT at the roof top of "Goshinza", that is, the place where there is a god, you know, a god's bedroom, which is basically placed at the innermost of the shrine. If you find the crossed beams extending upwards from both ends of the roof gables, they are what is called "Chi-gi", and the shorter log-shaped sections set horizontally on the roof are "Katsuo-gi": they are characteristics of Shinto architecture. In case a shrine is located at the top of windy mountain, they can be avoided for the sake of safety. As for our Ishizuchi shrine at the very top of Mt. Ishizuchi, however, carpenters specializing in temple and shrine, "Miyadaiku", did their very best to fix Chi-gi and Katsuo-gi to the roof so safely that they will never be blown away even by the strongest rainy or snowy storm.
Well, actually I've got some more to explain here: please have a look at Picture 7 and 8. Iozan Yakujyuin Hachioji, commonly known as "Takedera", in Hanno-City, Saitama is the only temple based upon the syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism in East Japan. The principal image of this temple is not Buddha, but Gozu Tenno. As its name shows, it is the temple, but it is also marked by characteristic Chi-gi and even by the sacred hoop called "Chi-no-wa", which is usually used at Summer Purification "Nagoshi" Ritual held at Shinto shrines in general. You can find this sacred hoop hung from the Torii gate at Takedera all the year round.
Lastly, let's have a closer look at Chi-gi and Katsuo-gi. Chi-gi is usually written "千木" in Chinese characters, but sometimes it is written as "知木". You see, the character "知" refers to wisdom or knowledge, and the sound "chi" is connected with something spiritual in the archaic Japanese belief "Kododama" that words have a sprit in it, thus Chi-gi also means the trees where gods' spirits abide.
Let us go a bit further, OK? Please have a look at Picture 9: Chi-gi of Ishizuchi shrine are cut vertically, and known as "soto-sogi", while those cut horizontally as "uchi-sogi". It is often said that the former indicates a male god enshrined within, and the latter a female god, but it's only one theory. Actually, Ishizuchi shrine enshrines Ishizuchihiko-no-mikoto, a male god, but at the Sorei-den(=Picture 9), we worship not only Ishizuchihiko-no-mikoto, but also Ennoodunu who founded Mt. Ishizuchi, together with generations of priests as well as believers both male and female. So the theory above does not apply to our shrine ;-)
Katsuo-gi, literally means "Bonito woods", is called so because they look like the shape of bonito (both raw and dried!) It is also written as "勝男木", which again literally means "Man of Victory woods". Based upon these ideas, some say that the larger number of Katsuo-gi indicates the higher divine virtue, or some say that the odd number of Katsuo-gi indicates a male god enshrined within and the even number a female god. But, as you may guess, they are again popular beliefs, so it does not bother you that you don't know them, didn't I tell you? ;-D
--Hideshi Sogabe (16, August 2021)