8th of the 24 solar terms
[Summer solstice]

The longest days and shortest nights of the year.

As the name suggests, once we pass the summer solstice, summer truly arrives.
The temperature is rising and the heat is increasing day by day, but the hours of daylight will gradually become shorter as we approach winter.

The winter solstice, when the sun's power is at its weakest, is also called the "birthday of the sun" and the New Year's Day of the solar year, as the days gradually become fuller from this point on.The summer solstice, when the sun's energy is felt at its strongest, was thought to be the time when the sun's blessings reach their greatest.
For ancient people, the winter solstice was the day closest to death, when the sun was shut out in the cold and no crops could grow, and the longest night of the year was shrouded in darkness. On the other hand, the summer solstice was seen as the source of life for people, as the light of the sun shines on the earth and makes crops grow, and it was worshiped as a symbol of human activities, when men and women meet and their descendants prosper. Excavations and petroglyphs (rock carvings) symbolizing various sun worships have been discovered at the ruins of ancient civilizations.

 

Even today, there are many "summer solstice festival" customs around the world that are based on the sun worship that existed before the spread of Christianity. (Many of these have evolved into Christian festivals.)
Although the form and names of festivals vary from region to region, most festivals use bonfires as a symbol, and the main event is a fire festival where people dance around the fire. They are held to express gratitude to nature as the source of life that allows flowers and crops to grow, as well as to represent the development of ethnic groups and the encounter and blessing of men and women.

 

In Japan, ruins such as the Oyu Stone Circle in Akita Prefecture and sundials from the Jomon period remain, and the country has a long history and culture of nature worship, so many shrines, temples, and shrines have various legends associated with them.

Amaterasu Omikami, famous at Ise Shrine, is the sun goddess, Susanoo no Mikoto is the sea god and storm god, and Tsukuyomi is the moon god. Gods have been said to govern all things in nature.

　

Japan's "Summer Solstice Festival"　

The "Meoto Iwa" rocks, which can be seen from Futamiokitama Shrine, are the rocks from which the morning sun rises just before and after the summer solstice. A "misogi" ritual is held in which people purify themselves by entering the sea while basking in the summer solstice sunrise between the rocks, when the sun's energy is strongest.

In addition, a ritual called "Nagoshi no Harae" (summer purification ritual), in which people pass through a straw circle, is held at shrines all over the country around the last day of June.
The Great Purification is a Shinto ritual that has its roots in Izanagi no Mikoto's misogiharai, and was a rite to purify the mind and body from impurities and disasters at the turning points of the seasons.

Twice a year, (around the summer solstice and winter solstice), the "Nagoshi no Harae" and the "Toshikoshi no Oharae" are held.

　

　

　

In Japan, the god enshrined at the special shrine Ise Grand Shrine is Amaterasu Omikami (the sun goddess), but it is said that the rainy season is the reason why there are fewer festivals on the summer solstice (the day when the sun is full) in Japan compared to other parts of the world.

The rainy season begins in earnest around the country from mid-June. This is due to the fact that long periods of rain continue, and the hours of daylight are not felt during this time of year.

Even so, as a way to refresh ourselves at the turning points of the seasons, we have things like "Nagoshi no Harae" (purification of the summer) and "Doyo no Ushi" (the day of the doyo period), because bodies that are not used to the heat tend to tire easily both physically and mentally. As we spend the summer, we have a culture of purifying our minds and bodies and preparing our bodies at turning points. I think this is wisdom that has been nurtured by the land of Japan.

 

The next solar term is "Shosho."