Okinawan Shimi

This blog entry is about 3 weeks late... The month of April contains one of Okinawa's most sacred of observances. It is known by Okinawans as "Shimi" and it involves bringing family members together in front of the family tomb to have a meal together with the spirits of those family ancestors who have past away. In Okinawa, the tombs are like small stone houses. In the old days they used to hold the bones of those loved ones who had past away. They were also used extensively in WWII to provide shelter for Okinawans caught in the middle and trying to survive the "typhoon of steel", a combination of Japanese and US mortar shellings, bullets, grenades and shrapnel that killed so many in those days.

Today, the cremated remains of the entire family are stored together in the tomb. The tomb is generally inherited by the eldest boy of the family. The other siblings will either start their own tomb or be absorbed by their husbands family heritage. If we stay in Okinawa for the long term, I imagine I will invest in my own stone tomb and create the first Bull Family Tomb in Okinawa...

(Matsuda Family Tomb Engraved Head Stone)

In the second weekend of April, our family, the Matsuda's gathered near a small village in Northern Okinawa called Teima. This is the small village that my mother used to live in as a child. You should see this place. The ocean is just across the street from where the tomb sits. The ocean and its craggy coral shore is a beautiful sight to see. I love northern Okinawa as it is the one place left that the rapid urbanization of Okinawa has not swallowed whole. Its a very rural setting, the next size able city Nago being many many miles away. It is here that the Matsuda family was laid to rest many years ago. Nearby to the Matsuda tomb is a communal village tomb that those connected to the village collectively pray to before starting the annual feast to commemorate the dead. I believe that this tomb was created during WWII. A community tomb was made and used by the entire village to mourn their dead. The day of the Shimi, I met many people who are connected to Teima who have come to pray at this same tomb that me and my cousins pray too. In fact as I was walking, my Aunt Hiroko told me she just saw walking by an old and very dear friend to my mother. I probably should have talked to her. In any case I don't have much in depth knowledge of the customs of Shimi but I do know some main points.

(The 2008 Matsuda Family Gathering)

First, money is presented to the tomb and ceremonially burned as an offering to the deceased. Nowadays, real money is not used. They use special napkins that symbolize money. These napkins are burned as an offering to our ancestors. Then food and sake (usually the Okinawa spirit Awamori) is presented to the tomb and placed on an offering tray. Next to the food offering is a bowl of ash where incense is placed by each family member in attendance. One piece of incense is given to each family member, the incense is lit then placed in the bowl of ash. Prayers are then offered to the dead in which it is common to pray for protection from harm and a hope for future happiness for the family. The ancestors of the family are thought to be able to provide protection and guidance to the "living" family through supernatural means. In Okinawa, ancestors are worshipped in place of a God or Buddha. This form of ancestor worship probably has historic roots in China (I'm totally making an uneducated guess here) but is quite unique to Okinawa in terms of comparing it to the rest of Japan. The food is then distributed to the family in attendance who eat "together" with the ancestors. Many times, this same ritual is repeated in Okinawan households, especially during Shimi but also when relatives have come to visit who haven't been seen in quite sometime. For example, I remember them doing a ceremony for my mother and I when we visited Okinawa about 10 years ago. For them at the time, it was like reacquainting Yoshiko (my mother) to her deceased father, mother, and brother after all those years she had been away living in the US. (Eldest Living Son - Katsuya Matsuda leads the ceremony byburning the money offering)

Well that's my shimi lesson for the day. You should really come to Okinawa and experience it first hand. In the month of July and August another way the Okinawa's praise their ancestors is evident in the local festivals. It's called Eisa Matsuri, and you can view it on the video bar to the right of the screen. Well, until next time!