canberra's nara peace park: a deepened love for kasuga-taisha, & new year's offerings

welcome back to another episode of "spacehey user kitkatanddog fails to beat the kasuga-taisha obsessed allegations". sometimes I feel bad for posting about it almost exclusively- but I swear I'm trying to write other blog posts too! maybe this post will offer some background, alongside the foreshadowing of my first wisteria blog post. I'm really missing japan tonight, & the feeling of walking around the forest of kasuga-taisha almost alone, the cool air decalcifying my heart... take me back, please, & leave me there to sleep under the sunazuri-no-fuji. 

I was born in canberra, australia's capital city. that's about where the interesting information about canberra ends, save for the fact that it's sister cities with nara. I had previously, on a superficial level, noted that maybe my connection with japanese culture had something to do with being born in canberra, & thought it was neat it, australia's capital, was sister cities with nara, japan's ancient capital city. but now that I've been to nara it means so much more to me. I felt more at home there than I ever do in canberra, like not only had I been there before but that I could also feel the royalty from hundreds of years ago that had also walked through the shrine's grounds. I wish I could've spent more time there with these maybe ancestors of mine, bought a mikuji or two, & taken lots of photos. now that I've been, both to nara & japan in general, the only thing I want in my life is to be back there. 

to add to the mystery, it turns out that the lantern in canberra's 'nara peace park' was based upon those of kasuga-taisha! (& in fact, kasuga-taisha is considered to be the originator of many architectural features now seen in other shrines, such as its torii gates & the shape of its lanterns)

...

seeing as my family will be back in canberra soon after new year's, I figure I could stop by the peace park & leave some sort of new years' offering. it would be a hatsumōde (first shrine visit in the new year) of sorts, minus the shrine. with any luck it'll reach the enshrined fujiwara; nara & canberra are sister cities, after all- it has to count for something. 

my first point of reference when deciding on 神饌 (food & alcohol offerings for gods) was those prepared by kasuga-taisha itself. some of my research lead me to this article by the Literally hopelessly paywalled (trust me, I tried!) asahi shinbun, in which shintō priests prepare, from what I could gather from the free section; '練飯' (ねりめし, nerimushi) & 粽 (ちまき, chimaki), the latter of which is a rice cake wrapped in leaves. other sites have mentioned 伏兎 (ぶと, buto)- deep-fried mochi from the heian period (as previously mentioned, the period in which the fujiwara dominated the imperial court), 

but the most interesting of all to me is the following (original japanese will be italicised, & the english google translated, because I've had enough of the niche shintō terms for today!):

「それらの多くで供えられる神饌には米や魚、野菜を調理せず、まるごと神前に供える「生饌」と、調理したものを供える「熟饌」の２種類がある。

There are two types of sacred offerings at most of these shrines: "raw offerings", where rice, fish, and vegetables are offered whole, without being cooked, and "mature offerings", where the offerings are cooked.

もとは熟饌が主流だったが、明治以降は生饌が大半となり、熟饌の伝統を受け継ぐ神社は全国でもごくわずかに。熟饌は神職が丹精して調理し、神への真心が込められるのだ。こうした神饌をもととする中旬の献は「神徳」を授かる貴重な膳ということになる。

Originally, mature offerings were the norm, but raw offerings have become the norm since the Meiji period, and there are only a few shrines across the country that continue the tradition of mature offerings. Mature offerings are prepared with great care by the priest, and are filled with sincerity for the gods. The mid-month offerings based on these sacred offerings are considered precious meals that bestow "divine virtue."

中野権禰宜はこう話す。「本来は、今では素朴とも思えるような料理がごちそうで、神様に感謝しながらいただいた。『原点に戻れ』と教えられているように感じます」

Junior priest Nakano had this to say:

"Originally, what would now seem like simple cuisine was a feast, and it was eaten with gratitude to the gods. It feels like we're being taught to 'return to basics.'"」

...so there is much to ponder!

what I've gathered is;

• offer something cooked, as per kasuga-taisha tradition
• include something made of rice (it's the lifeblood of japanese culture- it was going to appear eventually!).
• include a seafood product*

*from the same article as above:

「「質素に感じるかもしれませんが、『海なし県』の奈良では古来、海の魚は貴重。正月の豪華な神饌として考えられた献立でしょう」と、大社の中野和正権禰宜（５１）は語る。

“This may seem simple, but in Nara, a landlocked prefecture, seafood has been precious since ancient times. This menu was probably conceived as a lavish offering to the gods during the New Year,” says the shrine’s junior priest, Kazumasa Nakano (51).」

this introduces an interesting possibility, as my area is somewhat famous for its seafood products, & I would probably benefit from challenging my squeamishness about handling raw meat. it would be a good opportunity to complement canberra's role in the sister-city relationship within the dish without straying too far from the traditional nature of a new year's offering (to which I am adhering both as a matter of respect & because I am a pedant). similarly, the extent to which I can offer sōzai (side dishes served as part of a meal) is somewhat limited, especially because I simply don't have access to traditional japanese ingredients (e.g. renkon). on that note, a dish like '鏡餅' (かがみもち, kagami-mochi) is appropriate & more approachable than chimaki- one of the recipes I found calls for "top-grade rice flour made from non-glutinous rice" & "kudzu starch", neither of which I'll be getting my hands on any time soon!

my obsession with detail, apart from being intrinsic, is rooted in this instance from one of my source sites, which states that offerings "should be as pleasant to see as to eat". it is a priority of mine to choose dishes that will be as beautiful upon their arrival as when I first made them.

considering that, my current dish plans are as follows;

• kagami-mochi (at an absolute minimum)
• tempura (something like pumpkin/sweet potato, eggplant, edamame- it could also serve as a more viable way to transport a fish dish)
• something pickled, such as carrots or ginger, as a palate cleanser

since I have some time before the new year, & my menu feels incomplete, I'll continue to work on my dish planning (& will hopefully work out some of the logistics). if I were feeling particularly neurotic (& you know me), I could keep with the heian theme introduced by the kagami-mochi upon which the rest of my menu is planned. 

I'll endeavour to update this blog post as I solidify my plans, & hopefully make a second edition if I am fortunate enough to follow through with them. I hope you enjoyed my info-dumping, because I know I did ( ˊᵕˋ )♡.°⑅

(& while we're here! look what I found! 

I couldn't find any images of the fuji in bloom, but it reminds me of the pergola near kasuga-taisha's 'south cloister' (their words, not mine.), which was beautiful. my memories must've been on the right track, as the species of fuji planted over the pergola, ('violacea plena'), is the only one to bloom with double flowers, & is said to have originated from kasuga-taisha itself! how exciting is that!!)