祝詞(のりと)

のりと
noun
Shinto ritual prayer (recited by a priest)
formalreligionculture
1. Shinto ritual prayer; formal address to the kami
A set text chanted aloud by a Shinto priest at ceremonies — ground-breaking rites, shrine festivals, weddings, purifications — reporting the occasion to the deity and asking for protection. Composed in an archaic, highly formal style of Japanese.
神主(かんぬし)が祝詞(のりと)をあげる。
The Shinto priest recites the ritual prayer.
地鎮祭(じちんさい)で祝詞(のりと)が読(よ)み上(あ)げられた。
A ritual prayer was read aloud at the ground-breaking ceremony.
神前(しんぜん)結婚式(けっこんしき)では、神主(かんぬし)が二人(ふたり)の名(な)を読(よ)み上(あ)げて祝詞(のりと)を奏上(そうじょう)する。
At a Shinto wedding, the priest reads out the couple's names and offers the ritual prayer to the deity.

Heard by most Japanese people at least a few times in life — at a shrine visit for a child's blessing, a wedding, or a construction ground-breaking.

Common collocations

Pronunciation

The same characters read しゅくし mean a written congratulatory address delivered at a ceremony — a different word entirely.

Related Words

Related: 奏上(そうじょう)
general
Added 2026.8.15 21:20 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
30500/30669_norito