Read, reflect, pray
Prayer over sacred sake
神酒祝詞
A text in the 1911 Shintō Ōharai Zenshū anthology. It is presented as a historical reading, not the current ritual of every shrine or temple.
English meaning, sound explanations and source text
English meaning and sound explanations
About this English rendering
This site’s English rendering of the Japanese meaning guide, aligned with this edition. It is separate from the source words for recitation and is not an official liturgy. Sacred sounds are explained where possible, not given speculative literal translations. Historical beliefs, royal authority, illness and protection claims belong to the text; they are not present-day judgments, medical advice or guarantees of results.
We reverently purify and prepare the rice, brew sacred sake, and offer it in shallow vessels.
荒稲 and 和稲 distinguish states of rice, but the connections of 御酒うに and 八盛てそ in this edition remain uncertain. Only identifiable actions are explained.
We speak words of blessing, that heaven and the land may flourish.
Source text and reading aid
Roman letters are provided for 1 of 2 lines. Readings not fully supplied in the source are left without Roman letters.
How to use the Roman letters
Roman letters follow the kana displayed in this site’s Japanese reader; some readings are editorial additions documented on the Japanese page. These are a reading aid, not restored Sanskrit or a recording of a temple’s chanting. Historical spellings (such as wo, wi, we and ha used as a particle) are kept. Double vowels and repeated vowels mark the written kana; rhythm and pronunciation can differ by tradition.
You can simply read the meaning or sit quietly. No recitation is required. For a temple or shrine’s own recitation, follow that tradition’s published guidance.
荒稻を持清まはり、和稻を持齋はりて造る御酒うにの平賀に八盛てそ、
arashinewo mochikiyomahari, nikishinewo mochiimaharite tsukuru mikiunino hirakani yamoriteso,
天の榮へや國の昌へや稱辭竟奉る。
Sources and edition (1)
English explanations on this page were prepared by Inori no Mori from the cited text and its Japanese explanations. They are not an official translation or a prescribed liturgy.