About Prayer of Reverence to the Guardian of This Place
Overview
A historical general prayer of distant worship to the Ubusuna Okami who protects a place, asking for guardianship morning and evening, by day and by night.
- Structure
- 3sections
- Japanese text
- 46characters
- Notes
- 2notes
Purposes
- To worship the guardian kami of the locality from afar
- To ask for continuing protection of the place and its people
Deities and subjects
- Ubusuna Okami
- Is revered as the guardian of the place and asked for protection throughout day and night
Background
This prayer was composed for worship in the direction of the local guardian kami. The relationships among ubusuna-gami, chinju-gami, and ujigami differ according to local history and tradition.
Flow of the text
Across 3 sections, the text moves from “The Ubusuna Ōkami guarding the land” to “Closing words of distant worship.”
What to know before reading
The prayer states that the kami guards the place and closes with a request for protection at all times.
Because no shrine is named, the reader directs the words toward the guardian kami of the locality.