noun
Only with reading しゃしょく
Archaic, elevated term for the state or nation, originally referring to the altars of the land and grain gods as symbols of sovereignty. Restricted to the reading しゃしょく.
社稷の安泰を祈る儀式が古くから行われてきた。
Rituals to pray for the peace of the state have been performed since ancient times.
noun
tutelary deity; god of grain
Refers to the deities of land and grain worshipped in ancient China and adopted in Japanese Shinto; the term itself is classical and rarely used in everyday language. The reading すめらおおもとお is an archaic Japanese reading for the same concept.
社稷の神を祀ることは、古代国家の重要な祭祀であった。
Worshipping the gods of land and grain was an important ritual of the ancient state.
国家 is the standard modern term for 'state' or 'nation', while 社稷 is an archaic, literary synonym with classical Chinese origins.
From Chinese 社稷 (shèjì), literally 'altar of the land god and altar of the grain god', symbolizing the state. The reading すめらおおもとお is a native Japanese reading of the same characters, used in classical contexts.