Shinto Straw Festoon (Shimenawa) and Engraving (Erimono)

In the Kouniwa, where the Kagura dances take place, seven, five and three bowers are lined up on two sides and carvings are displayed. The Seven-Five-Three Shinto straw festoons (Shimenawa) are stretched over two-ken (3.6 meters) on a side and engravings (Erimono) are decorated. Erimono, which resembles a “cutout picture”, is a cutting paper designed on traditional Japanese Washi paper for “Yin-Yang” (Monday (Moon)/Sunday (Sun)) and the “Five Elements” (Tuesday (Fire), Wednesday (Water), Thursday (Wood), Friday (Metal) and Saturday (Earth)), the Chinese signs of the zodiac and the landscapes of the four seasons and the Torii (Shinto gateway).