29 Procedures of the Engi Era (Engi Shiki) (an omission) About two hundred years elapsed between the invention of the Iroha Song and the appearance of The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari). The Engi era (901-923) occurred in the middle of that two-hundred-year period. In the 5th year of this era (905), the imperial poetry collection Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems (Kokinshuu) was compiled. Now in the same year, another decree for compilation was given. This was Procedures of the Engi Era (Engi Shiki), whose compilation was so delayed that it took twenty-two years to complete. The process appears very slow, but this is reasonable, since it is a fifty-volume organization of detailed rules and regulations. At that time there were four components of the legal system: "ritsu," "ryou," "kyaku," and "shiki." Ritsu referred to the criminal code, and "ryou" to civil law, which together established the foundation and standards of the legal system. "Kyaku," regulations, were a set of temporary orders devised according to circumstances. Last, "shiki," procedures, were a collection of detailed procedures that were not included in the above fundamental requirements. The first ten volumes of Procedures of the Engi Era (Engi Shiki) contain stipulations relating to matters of Shintou religion. Subsequently, the procedures of the Council of State, and those of the Eight Ministries were compiled. Here, we see that Shintou matters took preccedence over the Council of State and Eight Ministries. Further, the regulations are numerous. The beginning of Selection of the Protocols of the Inner Palace (Kinpi-shouu) compiled by Emperor Juntoku (r. 1210-1221) states: "In the protocol of the inner palace, Shintou matters precede all others." Thus in Japan the Shintou matters had priority over everythin. Thus is evident in the ten volumes of the Procedures of the Engi Era (Engi Shiki) regulations devoted to Shintou religion, one of which is devoted to the Grand Shrine of Ise, and another to the Bureau of Consecrated Princess. The latter refers to the Princess serving at the Grand Shrine of Ise, and thus two of the volumes pertain to matters of the Grand Shrine of Ise, showing the esteem it cmmanded. When Amatsuhiko Hikoho no Ninigi no Mikoto (Heavenly Grandchild) descended from the Plain of High Heaven, Amaterasu Ohmikami entrusted him with the Sacred Mirror. For a long time it was enshrined in the imperial palace. Howevere, Emperor Sujin (the tenth Emperor) feared that the practice might profance the sacred authority. Consequently the Mirror was moved to the Villase of Yamato no Kasanui, and Princess Toyo Sukiiri Hime no Mikoto was appointed to serve there. In the next reign of Emperor Suinin, Princess Yamato Hime no Mikoto received this appointment. The Prince searched for a more suitable location, and finally having received an oracle from the Gods, she built a shrine by Isuzu River in the Province of Ise (Mie Prefecture). This is the Grand Shrine (Naiguu or Naikuu) of Ise. During the reign of Emperor Yuuryaku, Toyouke no Ohkami (Goddess of Food) was invited from the Province of Tanba (Kyouto Prefecture) to the Watarai Palace, which came to be called Geguu (Gekou), the outer shrine, as juxtaposed to Naiguu (Naikuu), the inner shrine. Together they were called the Grand Shrine at the Two Locations. In the Procedures of the Engi Era (Engi Shiki) regulations, the subsidiary shrines of the inner shrine total twenty-four, and those of the outer shrine, sixteen. The distribution of these shrines, and their divine territory are truly immense. The regulations on their respective festivale are extremely exact. They include a stipulation that the Grand Shrine must be built sfresh every twenty years, using new wooden material. For Buddhist temples, the older the better. But in Shintou, cleanliness, brightness, and purity are considered desirable, and therefore the Grand Shrine must be renewed every twenty years. The Chinese characters 斎宮 can be read "saiguu" in Chinese rendering, and "itsuki no miya" in Japanese rendering. When an Emperor ascends, a Consecrated Princess called Saiou, a virgin imperial princess, is chosen to serve at the Grand Shrine. First she cleanses herself at the Primary Palace for the Consecrated Princess in the imperial palace. Then a Field Palace is built in the outskirts of Kyouto, where she resides. After a year of purification there, she proceeds to the Palace for the Consecrated Princess in Ise. Here, Buddhism was abhorred, just like death and sickness. The abhorred words were replaced by other expressions: Buddha was expressed as Middle Child (nakago), Sutra, as Dyed Paper (somegami), Temple, as Roof-tile-building (kawara buki), Buddhist monks, as Long Hairs (kaminaga), Buddhist nuns, as Female Long Hairs (me-kaminaga), To die: To Recover (naoru), To be sick: To rest (yasumi), To cry: To shed saltwater (shiotare), Blood: Sweat (ase), To beat: To stroke (nazu). Four hundred years had passed since Buddhism was imported to Japan. In Nara, the Toudaiji-Temple had been built, and in the Provinces, the provincial Temples. Further, Mt. Hiei and Mt. Kouya had been established. Seemingly Buddhism was flourishing at its height. Yet a spirit tenaciously persisted, aimed at preserving the fundamental essence of the Japanese nation. A total of 3,132 shrines, distributed all over Japan, are listed in Procedures of the Engi Era (Engi Shiki). (an omission) Visiting a shrine at the present day, one might see a gatepost stating: "Included in the shrines list of Procedures of the Engi Era (Engi Shiki), SO and So Shrine." That the shrine had been listed in the shrines list of Procedures of the Engi Era means that it is an ancient one, with a history of over one thousand years. (Rest omitted)

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