How to make a Japanese Shimenawa

[grangersmith]

Beautiful,what does the zig zag paper signify or is symbolic of? I am very curious about that because it seems to be a powerful Shinto symbol.

[ZaOscelot]

@grangersmith They're shide. They're used for a few things.. primarily on rope, but also some times on tall sticks which the kami inhabit during ceremonies and the kannushi (priest) flutter over the crowd or item, usually for purification.

[ZaOscelot]

@grangersmith eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp has a good glossary of shinto terms and items.

[54mwi53]

Beautiful!

[Goat5611]

great video! my wife's father does this the exact same way! 

[sz42781]

Japanese culture has amazing ingenuity!

[ninjaofthe9seas]

I'm making a sculpture project with kadoma similar to the ones in the Princess Mononoke movie, and i think this would be a good addition to the atmosphere. :)

[cnett66]

ha its funny i watched almost all of these and the leech vs earthworm vid is in the suggestions the vid that hooked me on these great vids keep up the awesom vids and god bless kami sama ga mamoru youni if thats how u say it

[theducttapeguy00]

how much would that piece sell for?

[uzerofutube]

I thought it was a bushcraft rope making tutorial, but how come you could run into all these things in Japan?

[softypapa]

@uzerofutube I walk around a lot and always keep my eyes open and camera handy. ~Kurt :-)

[namelessDude85]

thanx for this awesome video. i got the hang of the shimenawa perfectly.

:)

[softypapa]

@namelessDude85 That's wonderful! Thank you for watching and taking the time to let me know this video was helpful. Have a great week! ~Kurt :-)

[Anzwerz142]

man looks painful on the hands.... lol

[pcopete]

According to Amy Katoh's 'Otafuku Origins', when Amaterasu Omikami had hidden in a cave, bringing darkness and chaos to the world, Uzume's dance and ensuing hilarity of the gods, brought her out. Shimenawa was used to seal the cave, avoiding Amaterasu going back to the cave, thus returning light and order to the world. This legend prompted us to look for shimenawa in Google, leading us to see this wonderful video.

[SargonBighorn]

I noticed the first step was not captured in the video. He twisted two bundles and left the middle bundle untwisted? Is that correct? Or are all three twisted? It's not a basic three strand braid. Did he twist two bundles around one?

[softypapa]

@SargonBighorn I actually missed several steps before I was able to get the camera ready. Another thing I missed was when he soaked the straw in boiling water which I believe was done to make it pliable prior to twisting. I am very sorry though I do not remember how many bundles were twisted or in what manner this was done. Thank you for watching. ~Kurt :-)

[oddmuffin14]

@SargonBighorn Its actually a basic rope making technique. if you take three strands that are twisted in the same direction and twist them together in the opposite direction it will form a tight rope because they keep wanting to twist back together.

[MrPotatoWedge]

Could I ask you what are the materials you need to make it..? I am traveling to Japn this summer via the people to people Organization... In order to go, I need to do a project on Japan and I decided to do it on Religion... So I plan on making one for the display... Thank you...

[softypapa]

Basically you need to have only a few simple items including rice straw, string and some wire. You will also need paper if you plan to make the paper inserts. The toughest thing to find will probably be the rice straw which is abundant during the fall harvest yet may be difficult to find during other times. There are some on-line sources which sell these materials which may help if you can't find them directly. I hope that this helps and that you have a great stay in Japan! -Kurt :-)

[MrPotatoWedge]

Thank you... This is increasingly helpful... I have the wire and the String but the Rice straw does seem a bit of a problem though i have quite a bit of time to finish the project.. Thank you again

[katieoros]

What a wonderful video! Thank you for sharing!

[taikokuro]

very interesting...

congratulations...

[puffyrocks]

oooh thanks for the video!

[jcgros]

Thank you very much for this video. I'd like to make my own shimenawa, and I was wondering what was the rope made of. Thank you again!

[TiramisuHappy]

I'm almost positive it's made of the exact same dried reeds that "tatami" mats are made of. That thin metal rod, I didn't know about. But it totally makes sense now! He says in the video that it's inserted to keep the rope nice and straight horizontally. He also says the thicker end of the rope should always be on your right-hand side when displaying it.

[antijelly]

at 4:09, what kind of paper did he use??

[softypapa]

Hello antijelly, Thanks for watching this video. The paper used is a type commonly used for calligraphy. I'm not sure if this is the standard type of paper used for making these items or if it was just best paper on hand that day.

[antijelly]

okay. thanks

[egoods333]

This video may just have saved my grade in a World Cultures class I am taking; I am in a group and we are responsible for presenting on Japanese traditions and such. I was assigned Religion, and this is entertaining and will keep my audience better than me talking, and writing on the board, agreed? :] Thanks a bundle for this video. I just hope i am able to reach this site on the computers, I may not due to blocking. :[

[yaaaaaaayme]

hi emily! it's bri. yes, i looked this up. idk, i was bored. see you in world cultures! (and don't let ashli have pocky!!)

[rolandthegreat]

What is the rod that he forces into the Shimenawa towards the end?

[spaceman2115]

That is so awesome! I wish I could make a Shimenawa. At least I know how to make the paper things (don't know name Is it Shimenawa too?). I am a self profest Shintoist and since Im a westener there are no Shrines for almost infinite miles. So, the only way I can worship is through a Kamidana-whitch I don't have T_T-. Any advice on how to make one out of wood? Arigatogozaimasu, Ja ne, Softypapa-San!!!

[rolandthegreat]

The "paper things" in question are called shido, I believe.

[antijelly]

the paper zigzags are called gohei.

[jin54363]

@antijelly

they are called shide

[Takeru1983]

Thanks for the new upload Kurt! What an insightful video clip to how one can prepare a shimenawa prayer rope! Excellent Japanese enunciation Kurt, for a second, I said where did the gaikukojin go...? Thanks again!