玉たま串ぐし

noun

sacred sakaki branch with paper or cloth strips; Shinto offering wand

A ritual offering in Shinto, typically a branch of the sakaki tree decorated with shide (zigzag paper strips) or cloth. Used in ceremonies and presented at shrines.

• 参さん拝ぱいの際さいに玉たま串ぐしを神しん前ぜんに捧ささげる。

  When visiting the shrine, we offer a tamagushi before the deity.

• 神かん主ぬしが玉たま串ぐしに紙し垂でを付つける。

  The Shinto priest attaches paper streamers to the tamagushi.

noun

sakaki tree; Cleyera japonica

Refers to the sakaki tree itself, an evergreen sacred in Shinto. This sense is less common than the offering sense; the tree is usually called 榊 (さかき).

See also: 榊

• 玉たま串ぐしは神しん事じに欠かかせない常じょう緑りょく樹じゅである。

  The sakaki is an evergreen tree indispensable for Shinto rituals.