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| [[File:Miruku.jpg|right|thumb|300px|[[Miruku]] coming ashore from ''nirai kanai'' during a festival, bringing ''[[yugafu]]'' (good fortune), as represented in a museum display at the [[National Museum of Japanese History]]. Also seen here are a ''[[shisa]]'' (lion) and ''[[hari]]'' (dragon boat), welcoming the deity.]] | | [[File:Miruku.jpg|right|thumb|300px|[[Miruku]] coming ashore from ''nirai kanai'' during a festival, bringing ''[[yugafu]]'' (good fortune), as represented in a museum display at the [[National Museum of Japanese History]]. Also seen here are a ''[[shisa]]'' (lion) and ''[[hari]]'' (dragon boat), welcoming the deity.]] |
| *''Other Names'': ぎれーかねー ''(giree kanee)'' | | *''Other Names'': ぎれーかねー ''(giree kanee)'' |
− | *''Japanese'': ニライカナイ ''(nirai kanai)'' | + | *''Japanese'': ニライカナイ ''(nirai kanai)''<ref>Some sources suggest that the term ''nirai kanai'' is derived from or related to 根の屋・金屋 (Standard Japanese: ''ne no ya, kanaya''), meaning very roughly a house at the root, source, or origin, a golden house. Sakima Toshikatsu 崎間敏勝, ''Shurijô to Sanshin'' 首里城と三絃, Yonabaru, Okinawa: Ryûkyû bunka rekishi kenkyûjo (2009), 168.</ref> |
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| ''Nirai kanai'' is a legendary paradise prominent in [[Ryukyuan religion|Ryukyuan folk beliefs]]. It is believed to exist across the eastern sea, beyond the sea or beyond the horizon, and is associated with creation myths, sometimes being identified as a creator deity itself. Gods, especially [[Miruku]] (Maitreya Buddha), are believed to come over the sea from ''nirai kanai'' to Ryûkyû, bringing good fortune, and good harvests. As a result, any and all ships arriving from beyond the horizon are associated with this place, and with the arrival of good fortune. | | ''Nirai kanai'' is a legendary paradise prominent in [[Ryukyuan religion|Ryukyuan folk beliefs]]. It is believed to exist across the eastern sea, beyond the sea or beyond the horizon, and is associated with creation myths, sometimes being identified as a creator deity itself. Gods, especially [[Miruku]] (Maitreya Buddha), are believed to come over the sea from ''nirai kanai'' to Ryûkyû, bringing good fortune, and good harvests. As a result, any and all ships arriving from beyond the horizon are associated with this place, and with the arrival of good fortune. |
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| Local festivals throughout the islands often take place on the beach, and involve welcoming gods (esp. Miruku) to the village, with [[harisen|dragon boat]] races, tall decorative pikes or spears festooned with streamers and banners, and music & dances. Similar ritual elements are seen in paintings depicting the welcoming back (or sending off) of [[tribute]] ships bound for (or returning from) China. | | Local festivals throughout the islands often take place on the beach, and involve welcoming gods (esp. Miruku) to the village, with [[harisen|dragon boat]] races, tall decorative pikes or spears festooned with streamers and banners, and music & dances. Similar ritual elements are seen in paintings depicting the welcoming back (or sending off) of [[tribute]] ships bound for (or returning from) China. |
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| + | The idea of deities coming from ''Nirai kanai'' (across the sea) is sometimes paired with an idea of additional deities coming from "''obotsu-kagura''" (from the heavens).<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 199.</ref> |
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| ==References== | | ==References== |
| *"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42520-storytopic-121.html Nirai kanai]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003. | | *"[http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-42520-storytopic-121.html Nirai kanai]," ''Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia'' 沖縄コンパクト事典, Ryukyu Shimpo, 1 March 2003. |
| + | <references/> |
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| [[Category:Ryukyu]] | | [[Category:Ryukyu]] |
| [[Category:Mythology]] | | [[Category:Mythology]] |
| [[Category:Deities]] | | [[Category:Deities]] |