玉たま串ぐし料りょう

Meanings

monetary offering at a Shinto shrine; cash gift for a shrine visit

A formal cash offering made when visiting a Shinto shrine, often placed in an envelope and presented at the shrine office. The term originates from the practice of offering a sacred sakaki branch (玉串) and later substituting money.

初はつ詣もうで玉たま串ぐし料りょうを納おさめた。
I made a monetary offering at the shrine for the New Year's visit.
玉たま串ぐし料りょうはのし袋ぶくろに入いれて持じ参さんします。
The cash offering is brought in a special gift envelope.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

玉jewel, ball
串spit, skewer
料fee, materials

Related words

賽さい銭せん
賽銭 is a small coin offering thrown into the offering box at a shrine or temple, while 玉串料 is a more formal cash gift presented at the shrine office.
玉たま串ぐし
玉串 is the sacred sakaki branch offered to the gods; 玉串料 is the monetary substitute for that branch.

Built from

玉たま串ぐし+料りょう

Written forms

玉たま串ぐし料りょう
Standard kanji spelling for the monetary offering made at Shinto shrines.
玉たまぐし料りょう
Variant spelling using kana for ぐし; less common but still encountered.

Etymology

From 玉串 (tamagushi, 'sacred sakaki branch offered to the gods') + 料 (ryō, 'fee, charge'). Originally, worshippers offered a branch, but over time money became a common substitute, hence the term for the monetary offering.