What is Shinto? 7

宗教には崇めるべき宗祖・教祖が存在し、経典が在ります。でも「神道」にはそれらは在りません。神道には天照大御神はじめ多くの神様が居るではないか？　という疑問が投げかけられますが経典が無いのです。ご祭神ではあってもその神さまを祈るような経典はありません。ならば「祝詞」があるではないか？という質問も聞こえますが「祝詞」は基本的には神話の長い物語を音読しているのです。私たちは多くの過ちを起こしがちだが清く正しく生きることで清めて頂いて平安な世の中が続きますようにという祈願の文なのです。「払え給え、清め給え」と繰り返して悪しき想念などを川上から大海に流す如くに清めて頂き、潔く生きていきます。という決意に近い文なのです。特別な人（神仏）を拝むものではないです。

Religions have a religious founder or founder of a religion to be worshipped, and scriptures. But Shinto does not have these. Doesn't Shinto have many gods, including Amaterasu Omikami? This question is raised, but there are no scriptures. Even if they are worshipped deities, there are no scriptures to pray to them. So why not have "norito" (prayers)? Some people ask, but "norito" is basically a long story from mythology read aloud. We tend to make many mistakes, but it is a prayer that we may be purified by living purely and righteously, so that the world may continue to be peaceful. By repeating "cleanse me up, cleanse me up," we are purified of evil thoughts as if they were being washed away from the river into the ocean, and we will live with integrity. It is a sentence that is like a resolution. It is not about worshiping a special person (god or Buddha).

　私の兄が故郷飛騨で神職を成していたのでよく話してくれたことですが「地鎮祭」という「土地の開発」や「新築施行時」「工事開始時」などで、その土地の神様（八百万の神々が存在するから至る所に神が居る）に穢れをお祓いをしてお礼を伝えて工事の無事をどうかよろしくお願いします。というお祈りをするのですが、その際には日本酒と塩が必須で、その当該地での東西南北の各方面にそれらを注いでいくのですが、どうしても清めが終えられない部分では何かを感じるのでそこには幾度も繰り返してお神酒を注ぐ！ようにしている。そうするとしっかりと応えてもらえる。と言っておりました。

この「穢れ」・「清める」・「払う」という言葉をしっかりと外国語に訳せると良いなぁと

常々思っています。これが叶えば　日本のことがもっと正しく世界の皆さんに解してもらえるだろうなぁと思います。

My brother was a Shinto priest in his hometown of Hida, and he often told me that at the "groundbreaking ceremony" held when land is developed, a new building is constructed, or construction begins, the gods of the land (there are eight million gods, so there are gods everywhere) are asked to purify the land of impurities, express their gratitude, and ask for the safe completion of the construction. Sake and salt are essential for this, and they are poured in all four directions of the land, north, south, east, and west. However, there are parts where the purification is not complete, and they feel something is wrong, so they pour sake over those parts over and over again! That's how they respond. He said.

I've always thought it would be nice to be able to translate the words "impurity," "purify," and "clean" into foreign languages. If this could be achieved, I think the world would be able to understand Japan more accurately.