also: さいもん
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.
The Shinto priest recited the ritual address to the gods.
They turned the tragedy of the journey into a 祭文 and passed it down orally.
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.
The Shinto priest recited the ritual address before the deity.
呪文 is a magical incantation or spell chanted for personal effect, whereas 祭文 is a formal address recited to the gods in a Shinto ceremony.
Standard kanji spelling; the reading さいもん is more common than さいぶん.
Alternate reading, less common; may appear in older or specialized contexts.
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.