{
  "id": 11351518,
  "title": "Japanese Shinto ceremonial sand-digging in London celebrates start of British Library expansion",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/02/japanese-shinto-ceremonial-sand-digging-in-london-celebrates-start-of",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-02T04:00:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "SoraNews24",
    "slug": "soranews24",
    "url": "https://soranews24.com/2026/10/02/japanese-shinto-ceremony-held-in-london-to-celebrate-start-of-british-library-expansion/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Japanese property developer Mitsui Fudosan recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the British Library in London, incorporating a traditional Japanese Shinto ceremony known as chakko-shiki. The event took place in London near St. Pancras International Station and marked the start of a £1.1 billion (approximately 230 billion yen) expansion project. The ceremony was attended by UK government officials, library leadership, and Mitsui Fudosan executives. As part of the tradition, a Shinto priest performed the jichinsai, a purifying ritual using rice wine, salt, and rice to pacify the local deities. The highlight of the ceremony, ugachi-zome, involved the symbolic first dig using a hoe or shovel into a small mound of sand. The ceremony also included other traditional elements, such as the kuwaire-no-gi (hoe entry ceremony) and the sukiire-no-gi (shovel entry ceremony), which represented the leveling of the ground. The event concluded with the naorai, a closing feast where participants shared food and sake to receive blessings. This unique blend of Shinto tradition and modern construction practices highlights the importance of cultural customs in large-scale real estate developments.",
  "summary": "Swapping out scissors and ribbons for sand and farm tools. Japanese property developer Mitsui Fudosan recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for its historic £1.1 billion (approximately 230 billion yen [US$1.46 billion]) expansion of the British Library in London, and in doing so also brought a long-standing Japanese tradition to the other side of the world. […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Mitsui Fudosan held Shinto ceremony for British Library expansion in London.",
    "Jichinsai ritual performed to pacify local deities during ceremony.",
    "Ugachi-zome marked symbolic first dig into sand mound during event."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The incorporation of a traditional Japanese Shinto ceremony into the British Library expansion project's groundbreaking signals a culturally sensitive approach by developer Mitsui Fudosan and its UK partners.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}