sacred lamp; offering light
A lamp, candle, or other light offered at a Shinto shrine or Buddhist temple as a religious offering. Often seen in phrases like 御明かしをあげる or 御明かしを灯す.
I offered a sacred lamp at the shrine.
本堂の前にたくさんの御明かしが灯されていた。
Many offering lights were lit in front of the main hall.
Standard kanji spelling for the religious offering lamp.
Alternate spelling; can also be read ごとう or みとう, but みあかし is the most common reading for this meaning.
Alternate spelling, less common than 御明かし.
Compound of the honorific prefix 御 (み) and 明かし (akashi), the noun form of 明かす (akasu, 'to light up'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word has long been used in Shinto and Buddhist contexts for a light offered to a deity or Buddha.