Kagura Suzu (神楽鈴): A sacred item of Shinto (English version)

This is the english version from my article: Kagura Suzu

A Kagura Suzu is an item which is often used in rituals or ceremonies in Shinto shrines by Miko. A Miko is a shinto-shrine priestress, whereby this term is often translated as shrine maiden or shrine servant.

Origin of the Kagura Suzu

According to a myth a woman called Ame no Uzume is said to have lured the sun deity Amaterasu out of a cave with a dance. Thus Amaterasu has made the world shine in its light again, ending the total darkness. In her dance Ame no Uzume held a Sakaki branch (Cleyera japonica) [1] in her right hand. This dance and the Sakaki branch thus form the basis of Kagura Suzu and Kagura dance [2].

Picture of a Kagura Suzu

Shape, Structure and Meaning

If you take a closer look at the Kagura Suzu, you can see that this object has the shape of a tree or of a branch. The bells represent the leaves or the buds of a branch. According to the Shinto tradition, bells serve another purpose, namely the calling of Kami.

Maybe you've seen one big bell before a Shinto shrine. This is to help you get the attention of kami before clapping your hands twice.

A Kagura Suzu always consists of 15 bells

A closer look at one bell

Now it is clear why a Kagura Suzu consists of bells but why are there exactly 15 bells? Each Kagura Suzu, no matter how big it is, always has three bells in the top row, five in the middle row and seven in the bottom row.

So we have the number pattern 3-5-7. According to Asian numerology, these numbers are lucky numbers. Furthermore there is the Shichigosan (ceremony for children) [3], where the numbers 3-5-7 also play an important role.

If we go further down from the "treetop with bells", we see that the handle of a Kagura Suzu is made of red paint. The colour red is supposed to bring health, keep away illnes and other negative influences. This is also the reason why the color red dominates in Shinto shrines [3].

When Mikos perform a Kagura dance, a Kagura Suzu is often decorated with silk bands. These silk ribbons consist of five equally sized stripes with the five colours: red, green, white, yellow and violet. These colours also have their meanings. They represent the five directions and the five aspects of the soul [4].

• violet = north, it corresponds to the aggressive aspect of the soul
• white = west, it corresponds to the gentleness/kindness of the soul
• red = south, one of two aspects that gives blessings
• yellow = (solar)centre, it corresponds to the origin of life and the core of our soul
• green = east, one of two aspects that gives blessings

In short, a Kagura Suzu symbolically represents that it has the power to touch all aspects of our soul and it resounds (when rung) throughout the universe. Thus it fulfills the role of calling a kami and is also used as a ritual object in Kagura dances.

A short video of my Kagura Suzu in action (DTube)

I hope you enjoyed this article.

Sources
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleyera_japonica [last access : 06.01.2020, 17:41]
[2] https://www.univie.ac.at/rel_jap/an/Mythen/Goetter_des_Himmels/Uzume (German) [last access : 06.01.2020, 17:41]
[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shichi-go-san [last access : 06.01.2020, 17:41]
[4] http://www.greenshinto.com/wp/2015/04/05/the-colours-of-shinto/ [last access : 06.01.2020, 17:41]