A great many articles are employed jn conducting Shinto rituals and worship. These are called ;~iif(b~ts~ ( sacred vessels) and are tokens of the kami, abodes of kami (kami-no-yorishiro), or decorations. They are almost all inseparable from Shinto. The articles employed in rituals are sanctified and treated as symbolic, or representative of Shinto. The term seikibutsu (sacred vessel) includes all the Shinto equipment and articles used in Shinto ceremonies. It is impos sible in this brief study to do more than to touch a few of the most significant ones. The order in which they are dis cussed is as follows: himorogi, tamagushi, gohei, onusa, shime nawa, goshiki-no-hata, shimp'll, the mirror, sword and jewels, kamidana, and mikoshi. Himorogi ( divine enclosure) generally consists of a gohei or a branch of the sakaki tree hung with strips of paper or hemp and set upon a table covered with a clean straw mat. Sometimes it is a fenced-in sakaki tree or some other specific kind of evergreen tree, hung with strips of paper, hemp, or possibly a mirror. - 89-