Toshigomori (staying in one's room) - Surviving the night with God

Toshigomori - Surviving the Night with God

As the end of the year approaches, the air becomes a little clearer.
While people's footsteps become less hectic, a mysterious silence envelopes the city, as if time is somehow slowing down.
Deep within this silence, the custom of "Toshikomori" (year-end seclusion), which was cherished by people in the past, quietly lives on.

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Spending time with God at the turn of the year

"Toshikomori" is an ancient Japanese Shinto ritual in which the head of the household retreats to the shrine of his local deity from the night of New Year's Eve until the morning of New Year's Day and offers prayers to welcome the New Year deity.
It was not just a simple act of worship, but a deeply spiritual act in which gods and humans dwelled in the same space and spent the same time together.

The act of staying in a shrine all night was imbued with the meaning of loosening the boundaries between "this world" and "the next," "the past" and "the future," and "people" and "gods," and then reconnecting them anew.
The boundary between years is not just a division on the calendar, but a time when the world "unravels."

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Welcoming the New Year's deity

Japanese New Year is a series of rituals to welcome the New Year god into the home.
Toshigami-sama is an ancestral spirit that descends from the mountains, an agricultural god, and has been considered to bring good harvests and health for the year.

• Kadomatsu is a signpost that is set up to help the gods find their way home without getting lost.
• Shimenawa is a barrier that separates the sacred space from the secular world.
• Kagami mochi is a "yorishiro" (a place where gods reside) and is an offering to spend time with the gods.

New Year's seclusion was at the heart of these welcoming of the gods.
By retreating to the shrine, the head of the household could face the gods directly and pray for peace and prosperity for his family and community for the year.
It was a prayer, a contract, and a ritual of rebirth.

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To overcome the night

The New Year's nights are not just long.
It is time to "go beyond the darkness."

For ancient people, night was a source of fear.
In particular, the night at the end of the year was considered a "time of liminal transition" when the spirits of the dead would visit and the order of the world would be temporarily broken.
Overcome that darkness with God.
Perhaps that was the essence of staying in seclusion.

Light a fire, keep the light burning, and offer a quiet prayer.
Its appearance is like that of a "guardian of the night."
And as the night breaks, a new year arrives with God.
It is the return of light and the reboot of life.

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The transformation of seclusion and the beginning of first shrine visits of the year

As time goes on, the custom of staying in seclusion gradually changes.
In the Middle Ages, it was divided into "Joyamode" (New Year's Eve visit) and "Ganjitsumode" (New Year's Day visit), and the term "Hatsumode" was born after the Meiji period.

With the development of railways, the practice of visiting famous temples and shrines for "Hatsumode" (first visit of the year), became widespread, and the act of "seclusion" such as New Year's seclusion gradually disappeared.
However, the spirit of seclusion still remains in the custom of purifying the Shinto altar at the end of the year, hanging a sacred rope, and quietly ringing in the New Year.

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The modern form of "Toshikomori"

We no longer stay holed up in the shrine all night.
However, at the end of the year, we can quietly turn off the lights, calm our minds, and take time to reflect on things that cannot be seen.

for example,

• In front of the Shinto altar, express your gratitude for this year and your wishes for the coming year. • At the dinner table with your family, quietly say "thank you." • On a night alone, boil water and drink it to clear the space in your heart.

All of these may be modern forms of "seclusion."
The act of crossing the night with God is not a matter of form, but rather a state of mind.

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Conclusion: Weaving a prayer in silence

New Year's seclusion was a time of quiet prayer to endure the night with God and welcome a new light.
It is a manifestation of the deep spiritual culture of the Japanese people, who have lived in harmony with nature and the invisible.

Even today, as we reach the turning point of the new year, somewhere in our hearts we long for that same tranquility.
A little space in the midst of your busy schedule.
A single prayer amidst the hustle and bustle.

To welcome the New Year deity,
Don't just "start" the new year,
I am reminded once again that it is about ``welcoming'' something.