Land Clearing for the “Office in the Forest” Started
Ground Breaking Ceremony held in the Presence of Rev. and Mrs. Masanobu Taniguchi
On January 19, a ground breaking ceremony was held at the construction site of the “Office in the Forest” in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture, prior to the start of actual land clearing. Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie; and Mrs. Junko Taniguchi, President of the Seicho-No-Ie White Dove Association, were present at the Ceremony.
At 10:30 a.m. on January 19, a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, Rev. and Mrs. Taniguchi arrived at the site of the ground breaking ceremony, which was set in a corner of the premises for the “Office in the Forest” on the southern foot of Mt. Yatsugatake. The mountains were covered with snow in streaks.
Around the Ceremony site, leaf-less white birches and Japanese larches stood bare and snow was still on the ground here and there. The scenery was wintery and the near-zero-degree temperature added to the tension of the atmosphere before the Ceremony began.
In attendance from Seicho-No-Ie, the benefactors of the Ceremony, were Rev. and Mrs. Masanobu Taniguchi; Rev. Kotaro Miura, Chief of the Seicho-No-Ie Missionary Council; Rev. Kazuo Isoze, Chairman and CEO of Seicho-No-Ie; Rev. Tatsufumi Yukishima, Vice Chairman of Seicho-No-Ie; Rev. Takafumi Sugawara, a Missionary Counselor of Seicho-No-Ie; and officers and employees concerned with the construction project. Also in attendance were the construction company, Shimizu Corporation; the real estate company, design consulting company, and representatives of local residents. The number of attendees totaled 29.
The ground breaking ceremony started at 10:55 a.m., led by the Head Priest of the local Hemi Shrine, which enshrines the Suwa Gracious Diety, Takeminakata no Mikoto. Amid a solemn atmosphere, the Ceremony began with the purification, the deity’s descending, offerings and the reading of the supplication, and the cut-paper-and-rice sprinkling purification.
The Ceremony next proceeded to the main event, “Kuwaire no Gi” (the ceremony to pacify local guardian spirits).
On behalf of the benefactors, Seicho-No-Ie, the “Imikuwa” (purified hoe) rite was conducted by Rev. Masanobu Taniguchi, President of Seicho-No-Ie. Rev. Taniguchi held the ceremony tool, a wooden hoe, called out “Ei” three times and broke ground in the heap of sand located at the right side in front.
It was followed by “Imisuki” (purified hoe) rite by the officer of the Shimizu Corporation, construction company. He held a wooden hoe, while calling out “Ei” three times and placed the hoe into the heap of the sand.
This was followed by the offering of a sacred branch by the Head Priest. Rev. and Mrs. Masanobu Taniguchi next offered sacred branches. This was followed by the offering of sacred branches by representatives of local residents, the design consultant company and the construction company. Other attendees joined in the worship with their representatives. A prayer was thus offered to the local deity, requesting His protection and wishing for success.
After the removal of the offerings and the deity ascending rite, the ground breaking ceremony ended at 11:32 a.m.
The land clearing work will continue until August of this year. Subsequently, the construction of the “Office in the Forest” building is scheduled to begin.