The following notes serve to trace the origins and important moments in the preparation and conduct of the Misogi ceremony on January 1st as practised in the dōjōs of the Itsuo Tsuda School. They cannot replace the oral transmission and experience of the ceremony; they are guidelines, not a set of mandatory instructions. To help convey the atmosphere of these moments, it seemed appropriate to present these notes by drawing on the three rhythms of Japanese tradition, jo – ha – kyū, which Tsuda Itsuo discusses in his books:
[…] fruits grow gradually (jo), ripen as we watch (ha), and suddenly fall from the branches (kyu).’1Tsuda Itsuo, The Science of the Particular, Chap. XVII (end), 2016, Yume Editions, p. 143-4
Origin and preparations (jo)
Life in our School’s dōjōs is punctuated by several cycles. Between the cycle that begins with the creation of the dōjō and the daily cycle of Aikidō sessions, there is the multi-weekly cycle of Katsugen Undō sessions, the seasonal cycle of seminars, and the annual cycle of the Misogi of January 1st.
Misogi is a practice derived from pre-Buddhist Shintō. Shintō – or Kami-no-michi – the way of the Spirits of Nature or the way of the ancestors2see also Tsuda‘s eigth book The Way of the Gods, is not a religion as we understand it in the West. A religion in the Western sense includes a doctrine, rituals, and a moral code. In Shintō, there is no well-defined doctrine and no moral code, only rituals, among which we find Misogi. The first written record of this term is found in the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters), specifically in the passage where Izanagi, wanting to rid himself of the defilement he had contracted during his visit to the realm of the dead, went to perform ablutions – misogi – in a river.
In Japan, this ritual takes place in many places, particularly in martial arts dōjōs but also in Nō theatres. In martial arts dōjōs, it usually takes the form of an intensive session that takes place after the start of the calendar year. In Nō theatres, the ceremony is named after the play being performed: Okina3Our sources on Okina include this webpage and Armen Godel‘s book Joyaux et fleurs du Nô [Jewels and Flowers of Nō Theatre], 2010, pub. Albin Michel (Paris)..
It takes place only on the first day of the year or on special occasions. The theatre doors are closed during the ceremony, so that those in the audience take part in the Misogi with the actors. Their entrance on stage is preceded by several rituals that can vary from one school to another, including kiribi: an assistant strikes flints in front of each of the actors and then on the stage. The central moment of Misogi is Okina. Composed of three dances, it is the oldest play in the repertoire and has no narrative plot. When recited alone, it is called Kami Uta, which Master Tsuda translated as Divine Nō.
In his dōjō in Paris, he chose a form of Misogi derived from that practised in Noh theatres. In the days leading up to the start of the year, like the shite – the main actor – in Okina, he slowed down his activities. On the day of the ceremony, he recited the divine Noh after one of the practitioners struck the flints. One year, when he was conducting Misogi in Geneva, he told his students in Paris that, in his absence, they could do the first part of the breathing practice instead of reciting the divine Nō. After Master Tsuda‘s death, Régis Soavi, who had been his student for ten years, proposed, in the dōjōs where he taught, to combine a living element – the first part of the breathing practice and in particular the recitation of the Norito – with a recording of the divine Nō recited by Master Tsuda and made in the last years of his life.
Misogi is generally translated as purification, but one should be careful not to seek a moral connotation in it. Misogi does not mean becoming good, kind or stopping being bad… The term purification should be understood as synonymous with stripping away, with following The Path of Less. By extension of this translation, if we consider that when a substance is purified, it becomes denser and more concentrated, we can view this rite as a process of seeking and discovering concentration. The Misogi of January 1st is a celebration, a secular ceremony with Japanese ritual origins.
Preparations for the ceremony usually begin in mid-autumn. The first task is to create the invitation that will be sent to the people the dōjō members wish to invite to the Misogi. This is a special opportunity to introduce the dōjō to friends and family, whether they are more interested in the solemnity of the ceremony or the more convivial atmosphere that follows, with sake. Towards the end of November, a group of people, usually the members of the board, draw up the schedule and list of tasks to be completed, particularly with regard to cleaning the dōjō .
The word ‘cleaning’, understood in the sense of ablution, is therefore the primary translation of Misogi. Just as Izanagi bathed in the river, the dōjō is washed with water. What could be seen as a chore is often a joyful occasion, usually spread over one or two weekends in mid-December. It is a time to clean areas that are somewhat neglected during the rest of the year and to clear out cupboards of unused items, which will sometimes find a new home with someone else, but in any case far from the dōjō. The communal meals during the cleaning days are an opportunity to explain the ceremony to newcomers and to start to see who will be present and wishes to participate.
[click to enlarge photos]
Among the important roles are: the person who leads the session, the person who strikes the flints (kiribi), the people who wish to practise, the people who welcome and seat the attendees, and the person who starts the recording of the divine Nō. And also the person who goes to buy the sake, those who serve it, and those who coordinate the list of dishes and desserts brought to accompany the sake. We will come back to some of the specifics later. Nevertheless, it is already clear that it is difficult to imagine that the person conducting the session or the person striking the flint would also have to manage, for example, the serving of sake. All of this therefore requires the involvement of a significant number of people in order to ensure that the Misogi runs smoothly for everyone.
In the weeks leading up to the ceremony, a decision is made as to who will lead the session and who will strike the flints. This choice is always a convergence between individual and collective desire. It is not uncommon for names to emerge fairly quickly during discussions, but it would be incongruous to think that a particular person should lead because they have never done so before! It is also desirable that a certain harmony exists or is created between these two people. Sometimes a dōjō will invite a member of the School who practises in another dōjō to lead the Misogi, but this is rare. It is preferable for these two people to be immersed in the atmosphere of the preparations for the ceremony. Their presence is therefore welcome during the cleaning days and is essential during the rehearsals (usually one or two) for the ceremony. The purpose of these rehearsals is not to achieve perfection in execution, but rather to allow participants to feel the necessary concentration. Misogi could be seen as a spectacle, especially since its sequence is meticulously regulated, but that is not what it is about.
Before the ceremony (ha)
It is essential that practitioners organise themselves so that most – if not all – of the questions that arise and tasks to be carried out are resolved as far in advance of 31 December as possible. On this last day of the year – apart from the morning Aikidō session – there will only be a final cleaning of the tatami mats and the creation of an ikebana or bouquet. The dōjō will then be left to rest until the following morning. This period of inactivity, which allows the space to empty itself, is called Ma in Japanese. It is an essential prerequisite for the smooth running of Misogi.
On the morning of 1 January, the person conducting the ceremony is probably among the first to enter the dōjō. If you happen to meet them, you should not speak to them or pay any attention to them. Their first words that day will be for the recitation of the Norito.
Around ten o’clock, the participants begin to arrive. Ideally, they are welcomed by two people, one who will be practising and one who will not. The second person will take them to their places, while the first will close the dojo door at the appointed time.
The relatively short time between the opening of the dōjō and the start of the ceremony is a special moment. Emerging from the sleepy streets, sometimes still a little foggy from the previous night’s festivities, everyone discovers the dōjō, beautiful and clean as ever. Here we are, the new year is beginning!
At around 10:20 a.m., those attending are seated on the tatami mats facing the tokonoma, with a passage left behind them. The person who leads and the person who strikes the flints take their places opposite each other. The practitioners coordinate to leave the changing rooms and take their positions.
The ceremony (kyū)
Between 10:25 and 10:30, the practitioner in charge of welcoming guests closes the door and the curtain, creating a doubly enclosed space.
By positioning himself in full view of the person striking the flints, he signals that the ceremony can begin. The person conducting the ceremony steps forward from the corner where he was standing, leaving a passage behind him.
When the time comes, the person in charge of the flints takes them out of the box. Then they stand up and, with a simple, focused step, walk around the dojo, stopping at each corner to strike the flints twice high up, producing sparks that they may be the only one to see. Through this act and this journey, they materialise the sacred enclosure in which all the participants find themselves.
Once this is accomplished, they put the flints back in their box and rejoin the other practitioners. The person leading the session stands up to salute the calligraphy. Unlike in daily sessions, they do not salute with a weapon but use a white fan, which will remain unfolded.
As mentioned earlier, the Norito will be his first words. A special moment, which in everyday life helps to clear the mind and allows the transition from everyday life to the session, the recitation takes on a greater intensity than usual on this day. The respiratory practice that follows is shorter, as in the Ame no ukihashi ken sessions.
To close the ceremony, we listen to a recording of the Divine Nō recited by Master Tsuda. This audio recording allows us to continue celebrating, in our own way but with the same spirit, the Misogi as he introduced it to his students.
The doors of the dōjō reopen at around 11:15 a.m., and the preparation of sake and accompanying dishes will allow everyone time to get together to celebrate the New Year.
Notes
- 1Tsuda Itsuo, The Science of the Particular, Chap. XVII (end), 2016, Yume Editions, p. 143-4
- 2see also Tsuda‘s eigth book The Way of the Gods
- 3Our sources on Okina include this webpage and Armen Godel‘s book Joyaux et fleurs du Nô [Jewels and Flowers of Nō Theatre], 2010, pub. Albin Michel (Paris).