In the centre of the court a temporary shed was
erected for the occasion, in which the tables or altars were placed. The
final preparations being now complete, the ministers of state, the
virgin priestesses and priests of the temples to which offerings were
sent by the Mikado, entered in succession, and took the places severally
assigned to them. The horses which formed a part of the offerings were
next brought in from the Mikado's stable, and all the congregation drew
near, while the reader recited or read the norito. This reader was a
member of the priestly family or tribe of Nakatomi, who traced their
descent back to Ameno-koyane, one of the principal advisers attached to
the sun-goddess's grandchild when he first descended on earth. It is a
remarkable evidence of the persistence of certain ideas, that up to the
year 1868 the nominal prime-minister of the Mikado, after he came of
age, and the regent during his minority, if he had succeeded young to
the throne, always belonged to this tribe, which changed its name from
Nakatomi to Fujiwara in the seventh century, and was subsequently split
up into the Five Setsuke or governing families. At the end of each
section the priests all responded 'O!' which was no doubt the equivalent
of 'Yes' in use in those days.
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