神降ろし

Japanese

Kanji in this term
神	降
かみ Grade: 3	お Grade: 6
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
神降ろし (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Compound of 神 (kami, “god, spirit”) +‎ 降ろし (oroshi, “bringing down”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 降ろす (orosu), “to take down, to lower, to bring down”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) かみお​ろし [kàmíóꜜròshì] (Nakadaka – [3])
• IPA^(key): [ka̠mʲio̞ɾo̞ɕi]

Noun

神(かみ)降(お)ろし • (kamioroshi) 

1. the calling down a god to a place of worship at the start of a festival

   Synonym: 口寄せ (kuchiyose)

2. an avatar, particularly a 巫女 (miko, “shrine maiden”) who has prayed and invited a god to enter her body to be an oracle
3. the listing the names of gods and making a solemn oath on a written vow to the gods; also, the place on the document where the names of the gods are written