地じ鎮ちん祭さい

じ

ち

ん

さ

い

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun

ground-breaking ceremony; purification ceremony before construction

Shinto›

A Shinto ceremony held before starting construction to purify the land and pray for safety. Often translated as 'ground-breaking ceremony', but it is specifically a religious ritual, not a secular event.

新あたらしい家いえを建たてる前

まえ

に

、

地じ

鎮ちん

祭さい

を

行おこな

い

まし

た

。

We held a ground-breaking ceremony before building our new house.

地じ鎮ちん祭さいでは、神かん主ぬしが土と地ちの神かみ様さまに安あん全ぜんを祈いのります。

At the ground-breaking ceremony, a Shinto priest prays to the land deity for safety.

Kanji

地ground, earth
鎮tranquilize, ancient peace-preservation centers
祭ritual, offer prayers, celebrate

Related words

起き工こう式しき
起工式 is a secular ground-breaking ceremony, often for public works or large projects, while 地鎮祭 is a Shinto religious ritual for purifying the land.

Built from

地じ+鎮ちん祭さい

Etymology

Compound of 地 (land), 鎮 (to calm, to pacify), and 祭 (festival, ceremony). The term refers to a Shinto ritual to appease the land deity before construction.