<a href="http://www.taima.org/en/shinto.htm" target="_blank">Hemp in Japanese Religion</a>
The priests' clothes were made from hemp linen and and bell ropes in shrines (see image to the right) were made from hemp too. Hemp for bell ropes is still grown in Nagano prefecture today. Several hemp fields are cultivated on Shikoku (one of the four main islands of Japan) to make ceremonial linen clothes for the Imperial family and for Shinto priests.
<a href="http://cannabisculture.com/articles/101.html" target="_blank">Hemp en culture in Japan</a>
Hemp fibre attached to a wooden stick called a gohei is used in Shinto cleansing ceremonies, such as Shichigosan. Hemp ropes and hemp paper are often seen as decorations in shrines as they are believed to keep away evil.
At Japanese weddings so called Shishimai dragon dances are sometimes performed. The thick white "hair" of these dragons is hemp fibre, and so is the "hair" of fox masks and other costumes worn at o-matsuri (festivals). The heavy carts pulled trough villages in o-matsuri are pulled on hemp ropes.
Believers in Shinto sought the protection of a certain group of gods, the Sahe no Kami: "Travellers prayed to them before setting out on a journey and made a little offering of hemp leaves and rice to each one they passed." (Moore) We are not surprised that rice was a standard travel fare, but this passage tells us that medieval Japanese used to travel carrying hemp leaves, nowadays called marijuana. If travellers were to practice their religion this way today they could face as much as 5 years in prison.
<a href="http://www2.gol.com/users/joewein/hempjpn.htm" target="_blank">Asa, hemp in Japanese</a>
Emperor (left), priest, hemp fibre (right) at funeral of Emperor's mother
Liberation from Occupation!
From an interview with Pon (Yamada Kaiya)
"Well, the prayer given at the Ise Jingu, which is the shrine to Amaterasu, the founding god of the imperial family, is called taima, or marijuana. Hemp and rice are two sacred things which are part and parcel of the rites conducted at Ise Jingu. This is because hemp and rice were the staple products of the Jomon and Yayoi cultures, respectively. This means they were the most sacred things to these people. The imperial tribe, which was an invading people, took possession of these two sacred things and made them into instruments of control."
During the sumo ritual of dôyo-iri a yokozuna, the highest ranking sumo wrestler, will ritually cleanse the dôyo (sumo ring) to exorcise evil, wearing a hemp rope weighing several kg around his belly.
The choice of material is no coincidence. The reason for it is hemp's association with purity, with driving out evil spirits. One such hemp belt was presented by Japanese prime minister Obuchi to French President Chirac, a sumo fan and, ironically, a staunch supporter of marijuana prohibition.
Presently, farmers in over 30 countries -- including Canada, France,England, Germany, Japan, and Australia -- grow hemp for industrial purposes.
Shinto priests carrying cannabis plants in the mountains of Gunma prefecture (1990)
<a href="http://www.taima.org/img/gunma/gnm2028.jpg" target="_blank">http ://www.taima.org/img/gunma/gnm2028.jpg</A>
<a href="http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohi bitioncannabisnewsan dinformation.showMes sage?topicID=15.topi c" target="_blank">Cann abis in Japan Cannabis(Taima) / Hemp(Asa) ¶8)</a>
<a href="http://taima.org/en/main.htm" target="_blank">http ://taima.org/en/main.htm</A>
