Formal ritual prayers in classical Japanese, recited by priests to the kami at shrine festivals and rites.
Tagged: Liturgical Prayer Prayer Ritual Shinto
Historical Context
Norito are the formal liturgical prayers of Shinto, composed in an archaic, ceremonial Japanese and addressed to the kami (the sacred powers and beings enshrined at jinja). Twenty-seven norito survive in the tenth-century Engishiki, the great compendium of court ritual, including prayers for harvests, purification, and protection from calamity; the Great Purification prayer (Oharae no Kotoba) remains in use today. Norito are the priest's prescribed words for set occasions, not free personal prayer, and their full texts belong to the ritual setting, so this page describes and links to them rather than reproducing them.
Use and Practice
A priest recites the norito, head bowed, at the height of a shrine rite — after purification (harae) and the presentation of offerings (shinsen) and before the worshippers offer their sacred branches. Fixed norito mark the great annual festivals, rites of passage, and prayers for individuals at the shrine.
References
- Jinja Honcho — How to Offer Prayers at a Jinja Free / open access
- Kokugakuin Encyclopedia of Shinto Free / open access
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