also: さいぶん
noun
ritual address to the gods; Shinto prayer
A formal prayer or address recited at Shinto ceremonies; also refers to a genre of song that originated with mountain ascetics and spread among common people during the Kamakura period.
神主が祭文を読み上げた。
The Shinto priest recited the ritual address to the gods.
鎌倉時代に山伏から広まった祭文という歌がある。
There is a type of song called saimon that spread from mountain ascetics during the Kamakura period.
祝詞 is a more general term for Shinto prayers, while 祭文 often implies a specific formal address or a historical song genre.
Composed of 祭 (festival, ritual) and 文 (writing, text). The exact historical derivation of the song genre is uncertain, but it is associated with mountain ascetics (山伏) and later spread to the laity.