Page:Shinto, the Way of the Gods - Aston - 1905.djvu/219

Rh Worship has a secondary but most important function. It is addressed not only to the Gods but to our fellow-men. It is a means of communicating religious thoughts and emotions from man to man and from one generation to another.

Obeisance.—The simplest and most universal mode of showing reverence to the Gods is by bowing. In Shinto it is the custom to bow twice before and after praying or making an offering. The word ogamu, to pray or worship, means to bend. Kneeling is also practised one of the norito has the phrase "bending the knee like a deer" but is less common. Squatting (kashikomaru) is another form of obeisance.

Clapping Hands.—Clapping hands (kashihade), primarily a sign of joy, as it still is in our nurseries, was in ancient times in Japan a general token of respect. The Nihongi states that the Ministers clapped hands in honour of the Empress when she ascended the throne. More recently, this form was confined to divine worship. One of the norito has the rubric, "Offer three cups of sake, clap hands, and retire." The number of hand-clappings was minutely prescribed in the old ritual. In some ceremonies it was done thirty-two times. A silent hand-clapping (shinobi-te) was sometimes directed. It seems possible that in Shinto at least this was the origin of the simple folding of the hands in prayer, common to so many nations, and explained by anthropologists as the attitude of an unresisting suppliant holding out his hands for the cord.

Other Gestures.—Respect may also be shown by raising objects to the forehead or placing them on the head (ita-daku), as the most honourable and important part of the body. This is done in the case of the implements used in the greater divination. Among less formal gestures used in worship are reverent upward looks (awogu), an almost