Yorishiro

A in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called "kami", thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. "Yorishiro" are used during ceremonies to call the "kami" for worship. The word itself literally means "approach substitute". Once a "yorishiro" actually houses a "kami", it is called a "shintai". Ropes called "shimenawa" decorated with paper streamers called "shide" often surround "yorishiro" to make their sacredness manifest. Persons can play the same role as a "yorishiro", and in that case are called or .
To many (animists) they are the natural residence of spirits, "kami" in the case of Japan.
History.
"Yorishiro" and their history are intimately connected with the birth of Shinto shrines. Early Japanese did not have the notion of anthropomorphic deities, and felt the presence of spirits in nature and its phenomena. Mountains, forests, rain, wind, lightning and sometimes animals were thought to be charged with spiritual power, and the material manifestations of this power were worshiped as "kami", entities closer in their essence to Polynesian mana. Village councils sought the advice of "kami" and developed the "yorishiro", tools that attracted "kami" acting like a lightning rod. "Yorishiro" were conceived to attract the "kami" and then give them a physical space to occupy to make them accessible to human beings for ceremonies, which is still their purpose today. Village council sessions were held in a quiet spot in the mountains or in a forest near a great tree, rock or other natural object that served as a "yorishiro". These sacred places and their "yorishiro" gradually evolved into the shrines of today. The first buildings at shrines were certainly just huts built to house some "yorishiro".
A trace of this origin can be found in the term , literally meaning "deity storehouse", which evolved into "hokora" (also written with the character 神庫), one of the earliest words for a shrine. Most of the sacred objects we find today in shrines (trees, mirrors, swords, "magatama") were originally "yorishiro", and only later became "kami" themselves by association.
Common "yorishiro".
The most common "yorishiro" are swords, mirrors, ritual staffs decorated with paper streamers called "gohei", comma-shaped jewels called , large rocks ( or , and sacred trees. "Kami" dwell often in unusually shaped rocks or trees, or in caves and earth mounds. "Yorishiro" can also be persons, and in that case they are called .
Trees.
Because of Shinto's nature, "yorishiro" are often natural objects like trees. Significantly, in ancient Japanese texts the words 神社 ("shrine"; now normally read as "jinja") and 社 were sometimes read as "yashiro" ("sacred place"), but also sometimes read as "mori" ("grove"), reflecting the fact that the earliest shrines were simply sacred groves or forests where "kami" were present. (Part of the reading disparity may have been due to the confusion between similar characters 社 and 杜.) Many shrines still have on their grounds one of the original great "yorishiro", a great tree surrounded by a sacred rope called . Now such trees have become divine by association, and no longer simply represent a "kami".
Shinto altars called "himorogi" are usually just square areas demarcated with "sakaki" ("Cleyera japonica") at the corners supporting sacred border ropes ("shimenawa"). A branch of "sakaki" at the center is erected as a "yorishiro".
"Iwakura".
Rock sects are also common. An "iwakura" is simply a rock formation where a "kami" is invited to descend, and is therefore holy ground. With time, through a process of association, the "iwakura" itself can come to be considered divine. Archeological research in Japan confirms these sects to be ancient. In shrines, even today stones considered to be related to the shrine's "kami" are used to make food offerings to the "kami".
"Iwasaka".
An "iwasaka" is a stone altar or mound erected as a "yorishiro" to call a "kami" for worship. The concepts of "iwasaka" and "iwakura" are so close that some suggest the two words are in fact synonymous.
In homes.
"Yorishiro" are, however, most numerous in people's homes. During the New Year's holidays people decorate their entrances with "kadomatsu", which are the "yorishiro" of the new year's "kami". "Kamifuda", plaques of wood or pieces of paper (similar to an ofuda) representing the "kami", are hung above the door. There are "kami" who dwell in the toilet ("benjō-gami") and in the well ("suijin"). The "kamado-gami" lives in the oven, and its function is to protect the house from fires. Other common "yorishiro" are the small altar called "kamidana" and the "butsudan", which is an altar for the dead. ("Butsudan" were originally meant just for Buddhist worship, but now often contain also spirit tablets called "ihai", which are "yorishiro" used to recall the spirits of one's dead ancestors). In shops one often sees clay cats with a raised paw called "maneki-neko" or rake-like bamboo objects called "kumade" supposed to attract good business.