Norito are liturgical texts or ritual incantations in Shinto, usually addressed to a given kami.
History
The first written documentation of norito dates to 712 CE in the Kojiki and 720 CE in the Nihongi. The Engishiki, a compilation of laws and minute regulation presented by the court compiled in 927 CE, preserves twenty-seven representative forms of norito.
Etymology
There is no single accepted universally accepted theory to explain the meaning of the term. One theory derives norito from noru - combined with the suffix-to. A variant term, notto, is derived from a combination of norito with koto, 'word'. There are various known ways of writing the word in kanji: aside from 祝詞, 詔戸言, 詔刀言, and 諄辞 are also attested. One recent writer summed up the original meaning of norito as "a general term meaning magic by means of words."
Form and content
The Shinto religion did not produce any writings, particularly those that inferred from myths and legends, that would have constituted a religious theology except for the norito. These few prayers were primarily used in purification rituals and articulated gratitude towards the gods for the blessings of kami or to ask for climate change such as rain. Norito is a form of a rhythmic poem recited to facilitate the transmission of posterity. The incantation would usually begin with praises for the supreme power of kami and concludes with an expression of respect and awe. The Nakatomi no Harae Kunge or the Exposition of the Ritual of Purification describes norito within a process that implies the idea of human beings as children of the kami who lost their purity but returns to their divine origin by restoring it.
Reading
Norito were traditionally written in a variety of man'yōgana where particles and suffixes are written in a smaller script than the main body of the text. This style of writing, used in imperial edicts preserved in the Shoku Nihongi and other texts dating from the 8th century, is known as senmyōgaki.
