Question:

After offering the third incense stick, I inadvertently skipped the phrase “いただいて” when saying “生かしていただいて、ありがとうございます” (Thank you for keeping me alive). I quickly corrected myself.

My memorial service in gratitude is still clumsy, but I hope it reaches my ancestors.

By the way, I have three talismans: one of Amaterasu Ōmikami, a protective charm from Hakusan Hongū, and one of Atake Sumiyoshi Daimyōjin. If I place these in a kamidana (household altar), with the Amaterasu Ōmikami talisman at the front, which talisman should come next?

Answer:

Your ancestral memorial and gratitude service is about offering your feelings of thankfulness in your own way.

Everyone has their own path to climb, so the scenery everyone sees is different.

There’s no need for every minor detail of the view to be the same for everyone.

However, it’s good to have the phrase “生かして頂いてありがとうございます” (Thank you for keeping me alive) at the end of the memorial service.

This is because the presence or absence of this phrase acts like a signpost on a mountain path, determining whether you’re taking a shortcut or a detour.

Regarding the arrangement of the talismans, if the width of your kamidana is narrow, place the Amaterasu Ōmikami talisman at the frontmost. Then, place the talisman from your local shrine next, followed by the talisman of a shrine you greatly respect or one from a distant shrine you love.

In your case, the order should be: Amaterasu Ōmikami talisman, Atake Sumiyoshi Daimyōjin talisman, and then the Hakusan Hongū talisman.

If you can arrange the talismans side by side, the order from left to right would be: Hakusan Hongū, Amaterasu Ōmikami, and Atake Sumiyoshi Daimyōjin.

For the kamidana, changing the water of the offered sakaki tree and offering fresh water daily is essential.

It can be quite burdensome, so if you can’t maintain it regularly, you don’t need to force yourself to have a kamidana.

Everyone has their own timing for worship, and when the time is right, they will naturally be able to maintain such an environment.

Leaving a kamidana unattended is sad and not ideal.

When you worship the kamidana properly, spirits will come to the sakaki only when you offer your gratitude.

I place a bunch of sakaki on both the left and right of my kamidana, and they wither differently. This has spiritual significance.

The sakaki in front of the main shrine talisman tends to wither quickly as it absorbs the impure spirits of the house.