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In Japan, before construction of a new building or house, a special preparatory ceremony is held in order to appease the gods or spirits (神 KAMI), as well as to pray for the safety of all who are involved in completion of the work. The ceremony is called: 地鎮祭 (JI-CHIN-SAI) ... "地" = land or soil, "鎮" = tranquilize or settle-down, and "祭" = ceremony or rite. So, as can be seen from the meanings of the KANJI characters, the purpose of JICHINSAI is to "pacify" the ground at the building site; and it does so by asking for permission of the guardian KAMI which exist there. The ceremony is normally performed by a SHINTO or BUDDHIST priest, and is attended by the property owners, construction workers, real estate company representatives, and others. A sacred space is set-up, with its boundary marked by SAKAKI or bamboo branches; and, inside the space is an altar with candles, flowers, offerings of food and drink, etc. Also, a small conical mound of dirt is set-up near the altar, which participants will eventually dig-into using a ceremonial shovel -- i.e., to symbolize actual ground-breaking. Finally, salt and Japanese rice wine (SAKE) get sprinkled and poured around the building site to ensure its purification. We recently held a JICHINSAI at our newest house construction project in the Hinode-Cho district of Yokosuka, and will tell you more about it in the future, so stay tuned!

written by Goodfield