「Ｇ７」伊勢神宮参拝に思う
(Reflections on the G7 Visit to Ise Jingu)
平成28年7月号掲載(Published July 2016)
去る５月２６日、２７日の両日にわたって開催されたいわゆるＧ７（先進７カ国）首脳会議は、多くの皆様がテレビや新聞でご覧になったように、首脳一行の伊勢神宮参拝から始まりました。
On May 26 and 27, the so‑called G7 Summit of the leaders of the seven major industrial nations was held. As many of you saw on television or read in the newspapers, the proceedings began with the leaders’ visit to Ise Jingu 伊勢神宮.
宇治橋のたもとで待つ安倍首相に迎えられた首脳方は、宇治橋を渡り参道の玉砂利を踏んで御正宮に向かいました。内玉垣に案内された一行は、天皇陛下をはじめ皇室の方々の参拝にならって、整列して一斉に一礼をもって参拝されました。
Welcomed at the foot of Uji Bridge by Prime Minister Abe Shinzō, the leaders crossed the bridge, walked along the gravel approach, and proceeded to the Main Sanctuary. Guided within the inner fence, they followed the example of His Majesty the Emperor and members of the Imperial Family, standing in line and offering a solemn bow in worship.
首脳方が感じたものは夫々でありましょうが、私にはかつての英米仏と日独伊に加（カナダ）の加わった首脳が、こうした形でお伊勢様に参られたことに感慨ひとしおのものがありました。それは、翌日、オバマ米大統領が広島を訪問してつとめた、原爆慰霊碑での敬虔な姿勢にもつながっていたと思います。
What each leader felt may have differed, but for me it was deeply moving that the heads of state of Britain, America, France, Japan, Germany, Italy, and now Canada together paid their respects at Ise Jingu in this way. I believe this spirit was also reflected the following day, when U.S. President Barack Obama visited Hiroshima and stood reverently before the Cenotaph for the Atomic Bomb Victims.
こうした中で、私の中ではあらためてお伊勢様と本教とのご神縁に思いが駆けめぐりました。
In this context, my thoughts once again turned to the divine bond between Ise Jingu and our faith.
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車も電車もない江戸時代、一度のお参りに岡山から往復ひと月もかかる参宮をご生涯に６度までおつとめになり、ひたすら 「天照大御神の御開運を祈り奉る」 の祈りに徹せられた教祖宗忠神を戴く私たちです。
In the Edo period, when there were no cars or trains, a pilgrimage to Ise from Okayama took a full month for the round trip. Our Divine Founder, Munetada, undertook this journey six times in his lifetime, devoting himself solely to the prayer: “I humbly pray for the divine prosperity of Amaterasu Ōmikami.”
二代宗信様の時の江戸末期に挙行された「伊勢千人参り」、迎えた神宮の神官にして国学者の足代弘訓師の一言「神道の大元はここ伊勢だが、教えの大元は備前の中野なり」に、教祖神ご降誕ご立教の地である備前の中野は、多くの方々から「大元さま」と崇められ、現在の「霊地大元」になりました。
In the late Edo era, under the Second Chief Patriarch Munenobu, the Pilgrimage of a Thousand to Ise was held. At that time, Rev. Ajiro Hironori, a priest of Ise Jingu and a scholar of Japanese learning, welcomed the group and declared: “The source (Ōmoto 大元) of Shintō is here at Ise, but the source (Ōmoto) of the teaching is in Nakano, Bizen.” Thus, Nakano in Bizen, the birthplace of the Divine Founder and the site of Kurozumikyō’s founding, came to be revered by many as “Ōmoto-sama 大元様 (Divine Ōmoto),” and is now known as the sacred site Ōmoto.
京都は吉田山に鎮まり、全国の神社をいわば取り仕切っていた吉田神社の境内、その東南の高台その名も神楽岡にご鎮座なった宗忠神社は、時の帝孝明天皇の勅願所にまでなったこと。しかもこの地は、ご鎮座１０年前の嘉永５年（１８５２）に、後に明治天皇と立たれる孝明天皇のご長子がご降誕になりその「胞衣（胎盤）塚」の鎮まる東南の高台でもあること。
Munetada Shrine, located on the southeastern hill called Kaguraoka within the grounds of Yoshida Shrine on Mount Yoshida in Kyoto, once served as an imperial prayer site under Emperor Kōmei. Yoshida Shrine itself oversaw shrines throughout the nation. Remarkably, this same hill had already become sacred ten years earlier, in 1852, when the first son of Emperor Kōmei—later to ascend as Emperor Meiji—was born, and his placenta mound was placed on that southeastern plateau.
孝明天皇の御前で御道を講じた赤木高弟に賜った御製
「玉鉾の道の御国にあらわれて日月と並ぶ宗忠の神」、更に明治１６年、明治天皇の御前講演をつとめた山野定泰高弟の立像（真庭市）の碑文に
「日本神道に就いてと題する御前講演を命ぜられ天顔咫尺（天皇陛下のお側近くに進むこと）の光栄に浴す」とあること。
The imperial poem bestowed upon High Disciple Akagi, a devoted disciple who lectured before Emperor Kōmei, reads:
In the land of the sacred way of the jeweled spear, revealed is Munetada the Divine, standing alongside sun and moon.
Furthermore, in 1883 (Meiji 16), High Disciple Yamano Sadayasu, another eminent disciple, delivered a lecture before Emperor Meiji. The inscription on his statue in Maniwa City records: “Commanded to lecture on Japanese Shintō before His Majesty, I was honored to approach the imperial presence at close quarters.”
明治１８年の大元・宗忠神社ご鎮座の奉告と神恩感謝を捧げるための伊勢萬人参りは明治２１年につとめられ、それは第１回となり明治４０年まで５回の萬人参りが挙行されたこと。その後も毎年新年の参宮団参は絶えることなく続けられ、昭和４９年に竣工の神道山・大教殿の御神殿は、前年の昭和４８年に斎行された第６０回式年遷宮で古殿となった内宮御正殿の古材を大量に賜って造営されたこと。
In 1885 (Meiji 18), the dedication of Ōmoto and Munetada Shrine was followed in 1888 (Meiji 21) by the first “Pilgrimage of Ten Thousand to Ise,” offered in gratitude for divine blessings. Five such pilgrimages were held up to 1907 (Meiji 40). Since then, annual New Year pilgrimages to Ise have never ceased.
In 1974 (Shōwa 49), the Daikyōden at Shintōzan was completed, and its sanctuary was built using a large amount of sacred timber granted from the Inner Sanctuary of Ise Jingu, which had become the old shrine after the 60th Shikinen Sengū of 1973 (Shōwa 48).
特に、第６１回６２回の式年遷宮に教団を挙げて奉賛させていただいたこと。とりわけお互いに忘れ難いお木曳行事、お白石持行事への参拝奉仕。
Especially memorable were the 61st and 62nd Shikinen Sengū ceremonies, when our organization was privileged to offer collective support. In particular, the unforgettable service of participation in the Okihiki お木曳行事 (timber-hauling) procession and the Oshiraishi-mochi (carrying pure white stones) event remains deeply cherished.
平成２６年の立教二百年大祝祭を中心としたいわゆる”祭り年”を満願成就なった奉告と神恩感謝の、この２月につとめた萬人参りをはじめ、昭和の２回、平成６年の萬人参りと、私たちは格別のご神縁をいただいている「お伊勢様」です。
In February of 2014 (Heisei 26), we offered the “Pilgrimage of Ten Thousand to Ise” in thanksgiving for the fulfillment of the Bicentennial Grand Festival of our Faith, the so‑called “Festival Year.” This was the first of its kind in the Heisei era (1989-2019). Together with two pilgrimages in the Shōwa era (1926-1989) and another in 1994 (Heisei 6), we have received extraordinary divine bonds with Ise Jingu.
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私には、伊勢神宮とは何かと問われる度に決まって申し上げることがあります。
それは伊勢神宮、すなわち「皇大神宮」と天皇陛下はご一体にあられるということです。
先帝が崩御になり即位された新天皇は、大嘗祭という御祭りをつとめ、名実ともに天皇陛下と立たれます。
Whenever I am asked what Ise Jingu truly is, I always reply the same:Ise Jingu, that also is Kōtai Jingu 皇大神宮 (the “Shrine of Imperial Ancestor”), and His Majesty the Emperor are one in essence.
When the previous Emperor passes away, the new Emperor ascends the throne and performs the Daijōsai 大嘗祭, the Great Rite of Enthronement. Through this sacred festival, he becomes Emperor both in name and in reality.
伊勢神宮の方向に向かって新しく造られた大嘗宮で、四日四晩の祈りの中に新天皇は皇大神宮に鎮まります
天照坐皇大御神の御神霊を神迎えされます。
ここに鎮まった天皇霊を、私たち国民は大御心と崇めるのです。それは子を持つ親の親ごころを大きくしたところにあると信じていますが、大御心はいつもは私たちには見えませんが国民の危機的なときにまさに発露されます。
In the newly built Daijō Palace 大嘗宮, oriented toward Ise Jingu, the new Emperor devotes himself to four days and nights of prayer, in which he becomes united with Kōtai Jingu. He receives the divine spirit of Amaterasu Ōmikami.
The Emperor’s spirit, settled there, is revered by us, the people, as Ōmikokoro 大御心— the Great Divine Heart. We believe this Ōmikokoro is like an expanded parental love, the heart of a parent magnified. Normally unseen, it manifests itself precisely in times of national crisis.
７１年前の終戦直後、連合国最高司令官マッカーサー元帥の前に立たれた昭和天皇陛下が、マ元帥の思いとは丸反対の「戦争の責任はすべて自分にあり」と明言し「戦争に責任のない国民が飢え苦しんでいるから一刻も早く食糧を」と訴えられたこと。
Seventy‑one years ago, immediately after the end of the war, Emperor Shōwa stood before General MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, and declared the exact opposite of what the General expected: “All responsibility for the war rests with me.” He pleaded, “The people, who bear no responsibility for the war, are starving and suffering. Provide food as quickly as possible.”
この度の熊本地震もそうでしょうが、５年前の東日本大震災に際して度々被災地に行幸して被災者に仰った「よくぞ生きていて下さいました」のお言葉は、実に大御心の発するところのご言動と拝察することです。
In the same spirit, during the Kumamoto Earthquake and especially five years earlier at the Great East Japan Earthquake, His Majesty repeatedly visited the disaster areas. To the survivors he said, “I am grateful you have lived through this.” These words, I believe, were truly the expression of Ōmikokoro.
陛下のご日常が祈りを中心としたものであることは、明らかにこの大御心を崇め尊び、常に生き生きとお働き下さるためのおつとめと確信いたします。
It is clear that His Majesty’s daily life, centered on prayer, is devoted to revering and honoring this Ōmikokoro, ensuring that it is always alive and active for the people.
平成２５年１０月２日、第６２回式年遷宮の本祭典ともいうべき「皇大神宮遷御の儀」に、有り難くもお招きいただいた私と長男の副教主と孫の宗芳は、秋篠宮殿下に続く安倍首相以下８名の閣僚方の後を進む２００名ほどの方々の中にありました。今上陛下の御姉上であられる神宮祭主の池田厚子様、鷹司尚武大宮司、この方々をはじめ装束に身を正した大勢の神職方がつとめられましたが、先頭を参進しこの遷御の儀の最も主要なお役は天皇陛下の勅使でありました。
On October 2, 2013 (Heisei 25), I was deeply honored to be invited, together with my eldest son, the Vice Chief Patriarch, and my grandson Muneyoshi, to attend the “Transfer of the Sacred Symbol Ceremony” (Sengyo no Gi 遷御の儀) of the 62nd Shikinen Sengū, the central rite of renewal at Kōtai Jingu. We were among about 200 participants, following Prince Akishino and Prime Minister Abe Shinzō with eight cabinet ministers. Lady Ikeda Atsuko, elder sister of His Majesty the Emperor and Festival Chief of Ise Jingu, Grand Chief Priest Takatsukasa Naotake, and many priests in full ritual attire officiated. Yet the foremost role in leading the procession was carried out by the imperial envoy, representing His Majesty the Emperor.
さらに申せば、天皇陛下の厳修される毎年１１月２３日の新嘗祭は、大嘗祭の縮小されたものと伺いますし、伊勢神宮で毎年斎行される数多くの祭儀の中でも、１０月１７日の神嘗祭は最重要視され、いわば２０年に一度の式年遷宮遷御の儀の縮小版といえると思います。
Furthermore, I am told that the annual Niiname-sai 新嘗祭, solemnly performed by His Majesty on November 23, is a smaller form of Daijōsai. Likewise, among the many ceremonies held each year at Ise Jingu, Kannamesai 神嘗祭 on October 17 is regarded as most important, and may be seen as a smaller version of the twenty‑year Shikinen Sengū’s Sengyo no Gi.
このような、陛下の大嘗祭と新嘗祭、皇大神宮の遷御の儀と神嘗祭と相呼応するような関わりをみるとき、天皇陛下と神宮がご一体にあられることが分かります。
When we see the correspondence between His Majesty’s Daijōsai and Niiname-sai, and Sengyo no Gi and Kannamesai at Kōtai Jingu, it becomes clear that the Emperor and Ise Jingu are one in essence.
世界に聖地と崇められる所はいくつもあるでしょうが、神宮のような聖地は稀でありましょう。
There are many places in the world revered as holy sites, but a sacred place like Ise Jingu is rare.
Ｇ７の首脳方のことです。きっと神宮について学び、足を運んで参拝しただけに、感じられたものは深く強いものがあると拝察します。
As for the G7 leaders, I believe that because they learned about Ise Jingu and made the effort to visit and worship, what they felt must have been deep and powerful.
私たちの宗教教団としての責任、使命も重いということです。お互い、自らの日々の祈りと信仰生活の充実に一層つとめてまいりましょう。
For us, as a religious organization, this means our responsibility and mission are weighty. Let us each devote ourselves all the more to daily prayer and the fulfillment of our faith.
