Very dignified, and so very elegant, is the traditional ceremony to calm down the earth, before beginning to build a new house.
Not so very complicated, but so very beautiful; it can best be described as a short celebration to show respect for Mother Earth, before digging into her and disrupting the natural situation. The kanji for Ji Chin Sai is 地鎮祭, and it means the ceremony to calm down the earth.
This is done by marking out the lines of the new house,
placing bamboo trees in the four directions,
making offerings of fruits and vegetables and fish and osake,
inviting the neighbours,
inviting the local spirits below the earth on the earth and above the earth, requesting their permission to live here peacefully together, purifying the space, and invoking the natural powers of peace and harmony and justice and happiness. Basically, it is connecting with the earth in a good and proper and respectful way.
The master of the new house first cuts and digs into the earth in a symbolic way.
The carpenter pulls out the stones.
The shrine priest smooths the earth and places the colours of the five directions and the protectors of the four directions--Tiger, Lion, Garuda, Dragon.
Afterwards, the new house owners and carpenters and neighbours enjoy a small cup of Osake together as a gesture of celebration. So in this way, everything gets off to a good start. You don't just start digging without asking for permission and making offerings. On this day, the local Shrine priest prepared all this in a truly impressive and touching way. It was a honour to be a part of this, and to offer "A Bowl of Peace into The Four Directions." For those of you who know Shotoku-an, the photos show our house from the west side. Soon none of this will be visible, as once again a new house will crowd in on us.
