Be humble to the Spirit of the Land

The Shinto shrine that is closest to where you live now is called Uji-gami(氏神). Ubusuna-gami(産土神) is the god of the land of your birth place (Where your mother lived when she had you in your her womb). It seems that many people are confused of these two different gods.

Like in the old days when people used to live all their life in one place, Uji-gami and Ubusuna-gami was referring to the same god. But in the modern days, most of the people move from one place to another.

When you are displaying a Kami-fuda, the formal charm with the name of the Kami (god), at your Kami-dana altar, you should prioritize the Uji-gami. Why is that?

When you think about your land–lord, which is more important? The land-lord of your former apartment or the land-lord of your present apartment? I should say the present one is more important because he is the one providing you good deeds in your present daily life. But you mustn’t forget about your first land-lord either. It’s better to pay a visit once in a while.

If you display your Uji-gami at your Kami-dana, it will help to bring you good fortune. It’s like if you ignore your land-lord and not pay any rent, he will kick you out. It’s sort of the same idea. If you don't have a Uji-gami in your local area, your nearest Ichi-no-miya Jinjya in your prefecture would become your Uji-gami. When you worship the Kami by sending gratitude, it means you are spiritually paying your rent.

It’s not that you have to display the charm on your altar. You will still live on even without it. But it’s a good thing to acknowledge the great spirit who lives in your surrounding. You are sharing the space with him/her. When you acknowledge the presence of your local Kami and be humble about it, he/she will help you bring good fortune.

We can explain to a certain degree, but a “life force” is still a mystery even in the modern science of today.

It’s easy to forget that we live on top of a spirit of the land, so I am suggesting that it’s a good idea to have a tool, a Kami-dana altar that is visible to your eyes. For some reason, if you cannot set an altar at home, you could use the Buddhist memorial tablet or a Tanzaku with the three incense and gratitude sending to your ancestral spirits.

Many people live in the same environment, but each person’s life runs differently.

We have the day and night. The day (reality) is half of our life. The other half is the invisible part. It's more effective for your life when you acknowledge the night (dark& invisible) side. You will be able to make your life more fruitful.

Ikashite-itadaite arigato-gozaimasu

Thank you for letting us live