Shinto shrine

Sha (社) itself was not an initially secular term. In Chinese it alone historically could refer to Tudigong, or soil gods, a kind of tutelary deity seen as subordinate to City Gods.^[11] Such deities are also often called (神社; shèshén), or the same characters in the reverse order.^[11] Its Kunyomi reading Yashiro (社) is a generic term for shinto shrine like jinja.^[2][10]

It is also used as a suffix -sha or sometimes -ja (社), as in Shinmei-sha or Tenjin-ja, indicates a minor shrine that has received through the kanjō process a kami from a more important one.^[9]

A mori (杜) is a place where a kami is present.^[2] It can therefore be a shrine and, in fact, the characters 神社, 社 and 杜 can all be read "mori" ("grove").^[10] This reading reflects the fact the first shrines were simply sacred groves or forests where kami were present.^[10]

Hokora/hokura (神庫) is an extremely small shrine of the kind one finds for example along country roads.^[12] The term Hokora (祠), believed to have been one of the first Japanese words for Shinto shrine, evolved from hokura (神庫), literally meaning "kami repository", a fact that seems to indicate that the first shrines were huts built to house some yorishiro.^{[note 3][13]}

-gū (

Jingū (神宮) is a shrine of particularly high status that has a deep relationship with the Imperial household or enshrines an Emperor, as for example in the case of the Ise Jingū and the Meiji Jingū.[9] The name Jingū alone, however, can refer only to the Ise Jingū, whose official name is just "Jingū".^[9] It is a formulation close to jinja (神社) with the character Sha (社) being replaced with gū (宮), emphasizing its high rank

Miya (宮) is the kunyomi of -gū (宮) and indicates a shrine enshrining a special kami or a member of the Imperial household like the Empress, but there are many examples in which it is used simply as a tradition.^[2] During the period of state regulation, many -miya names were changed to jinja.

A taisha (大社) (the characters are also read ōyashiro) is literally a "great shrine" that was classified as such under the old system of shrine ranking, the

Chinjusha (鎮守社•鎮社, or tutelary shrine) comes from Chinju written as 鎮守 or sometimes just 鎮. meaning Guardian, and Sha (社)

Setsumatsusha (摂末社)^{[15][note 4]} is a combination of two words Sessha (摂社, auxiliary shrine) and massha (末社, undershrine).^[16] They are also called also called eda-miya (枝宮, branch shrines)^[16] which contains Miya (宮)

During the Japanese Middle Ages, shrines started being called with the name gongen (権現), a term of Buddhist origin.^[17] For example, in Eastern Japan there are still many Hakusan shrines where the shrine itself is called gongen.^[17] Because it represents the application of Buddhist terminology to Shinto kami, its use was legally abolished by the Meiji government with the Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order (神仏判然令, Shin-butsu Hanzenrei), and shrines began to be called jinja.^[17]

History

Early origins

Ancestors are kami to be worshipped. Yayoi period village councils sought the advice of ancestors and other kami, and developed instruments, yorishiro (依り代), to evoke them. Yoshishiro means "approach substitute"^[18] and were conceived to attract the kami to allow them physical space, thus making kami accessible to human beings.^[18]

Village council sessions were held in quiet spots in the mountains or in forests near great trees or other natural objects that served as yorishiro.^[18] These sacred places and their yorishiro gradually evolved into today's shrines, whose origins can be still seen in the Japanese words for "mountain" and "forest", which can also mean "shrine".^[18] Many shrines have on their grounds one of the original great yorishiro: a big tree, surrounded by a sacred rope called shimenawa (標縄・注連縄・七五三縄).^{[18][note 5]}

The first buildings at places dedicated to worship were hut-like structures built to house some yorishiro.^[18] A trace of this origin can be found in the term hokura (神庫), "deity storehouse", which evolved into hokora (written with the same characters 神庫) and is considered to be one of the first words for shrine.^{[18][note 6]}

First temporary shrines

True shrines arose with the beginning of agriculture, when the need arose to attract kami to ensure good harvests.^[19] These were, however, just temporary structures built for a particular purpose, a tradition of which traces can be found in some rituals.^{[clarification needed][19]}

Hints of the first shrines can still be found.

The first known Shinto shrine was built in roughly 478.[22]

Rites and ceremonies

In 905 CE,

The arrival of Buddhism in Japan in around the sixth century introduced the concept of a permanent shrine.^[19] A great number of Buddhist temples were built next to existing shrines in mixed complexes called jingū-ji (神宮寺, literally: "shrine temple") to help priesthood deal with local kami, making those shrines permanent. Some time in their evolution, the word miya (宮), meaning "palace", came into use indicating that shrines had by then become the imposing structures of today.^[18]

Once the first permanent shrines were built, Shinto revealed a strong tendency to resist architectural change, a tendency which manifested itself in the so-called shikinen sengū-sai (式年遷宮祭), the tradition of rebuilding shrines faithfully at regular intervals adhering strictly to their original design. This custom is the reason ancient styles have been replicated throughout the centuries to the present day, remaining more or less intact.

The Shinto shrine went through a massive change when the Meiji administration promulgated a new policy of separation of kami and foreign Buddhas (shinbutsu bunri) with the Kami and Buddhas Separation Order (神仏判然令, Shinbutsu Hanzenrei). This event triggered the haibutsu kishaku, a violent anti-Buddhist movement which in the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate and during the Meiji Restoration caused the forcible closure of thousands of Buddhist temples, the confiscation of their land, the forced return to lay life of monks, and the destruction of books, statues and other Buddhist property.^[29]

Until the end of

After the law, the two would be forcibly separated. This was done in several stages. At first an order issued by the Jingijimuka in April 1868 ordered the defrocking of shasō and

After a short period in which it enjoyed popular favor, the process of separation of Buddhas and kami however stalled and is still only partially completed. To this day, almost all Buddhist temples in Japan have a small shrine (

Kannon) are revered in Shinto shrines.^[32]

Shintai

Main article: Shintai

The defining features of a shrine are the kami it enshrines and the shintai (or go-shintai if the honorific prefix go- is used) that houses it. While the name literally means "body of a kami", shintai are physical objects worshiped at or near Shinto shrines because a kami is believed to reside in them.^[33] Shintai are not themselves part of kami, but rather just symbolic repositories which make them accessible to human beings for worship;^[34] the kami inhabits them.^[35] Shintai are also of necessity yorishiro, that is objects by their very nature capable of attracting kami.

The most common shintai are objects like mirrors, swords, jewels (for example comma-shaped stones called magatama), gohei (wands used during religious rites), and sculptures of kami called shinzō (神像),^{[note 8]} but they can be also natural objects such as rocks, mountains, trees, and waterfalls.^[33] Mountains were among the first, and are still among the most important, shintai, and are worshiped at several famous shrines. A mountain believed to house a kami, as for example Mount Fuji or Mount Miwa, is called a shintai-zan (神体山).^[36] In the case of a man-made shintai, a kami must be invited to reside in it.^[35]

The founding of a new shrine requires the presence of either a pre-existing, naturally occurring shintai (for example a rock or waterfall housing a local kami), or of an artificial one, which must therefore be procured or made to the purpose. An example of the first case are the Nachi Falls, worshiped at Hiryū Shrine near Kumano Nachi Taisha and believed to be inhabited by a kami called Hiryū Gongen.^[37]

The first duty of a shrine is to house and protect its shintai and the kami which inhabits it.

matsuri), when it is put in portable shrines (mikoshi) and carried around the streets among the faithful.^[35] The portable shrine is used to physically protect the shintai and to hide it from sight.^[35]

Re-enshrinement

Main article: Kanjō

Often the opening of a new shrine will require the ritual division of a kami and the transferring of one of the two resulting spirits to the new location, where it will animate the shintai. This process is called

matsuri) to animate temporary shrines called mikoshi.^[39]

The transfer does not necessarily take place from a shrine to another: the divided spirit's new location can be a privately owned object or an individual's house.

Hachiman shrines

, etc.).

Shake families

Main article: Shake (social class)

The shake (社家) are families and the former social class that dominated Shinto shrines through hereditary positions within a shrine. The social class was abolished in 1871, but many shake families still continue hereditary succession until present day and some were appointed hereditary nobility (Kazoku) after the Meiji Restoration.^[41]

Some of the most well-known shake families include:

• Arakida and Watarai of Ise Grand Shrine^[42]
• Senge and Kitajima of Izumo Taisha^[42]
• Ōnakatomi of Kasuga Taisha^[42]
• Urabe of Yoshida Shrine^[42]

Famous shrines and shrine networks

Those worshiped at a shrine are generally Shinto kami, but sometimes they can be Buddhist or

Kitano Tenman-gū

.

Often the shrines which were most significant historically do not lie in a former center of power like

Mie prefecture. Izumo-taisha, one of the oldest and most revered shrines in Japan, is in Shimane Prefecture.^[43]

This is because their location is that of a traditionally important kami, and not that of temporal institutions.

Some shrines exist only in one locality, while others are at the head of a network of branch shrines (分社, bunsha).[44] The spreading of a kami can be evoked by one or more of several different mechanisms. The typical one is an operation called kanjō, a propagation process through which a kami is invited to a new location and there re-enshrined. The new shrine is administered completely independent from the one it originated from.

However, other transfer mechanisms exist. In Ise Grand Shrine's case, for example, its network of Shinmei shrines (from Shinmei, 神明; another name for Amaterasu) grew due to two concurrent causes. During the late

Kamakura, Kanagawa. Amaterasu began to be worshiped in other parts of the country because of the so-called tobi shinmei (飛び神明, flying Shinmei) phenomenon, the belief that she would fly to other locations and settle there.^[44]

Similar mechanisms have been responsible for the spreading around the country of other kami.

Notable shrines

Main article:

Beppyo shrines

The

Mie prefecture is, with Izumo-taisha, the most representative and historically significant shrine in Japan.^[45] The kami the two enshrine play fundamental roles in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, two texts of great importance to Shinto.^[45] Because its kami, Amaterasu, is an ancestor of the Emperor, Ise Grand Shrine is the Imperial Household's family shrine. Ise Grand Shrine is, however, dedicated specifically to the emperor and in the past, even his mother, wife and grandmother needed his permission to worship there.^[46]

Its traditional and mythological foundation date goes back to 4 BCE, but historians believe it was founded around the 3rd to 5th century CE.

The

The religious significance of the Kumano region goes back to prehistoric times and predates all modern religions in Japan.[51] The area was, and still is, considered a place of physical healing.

There are estimated to be around 80,000 shrines in Japan.[52] The majority of Shinto shrines are associated with a shrine network.^[8] This number includes only shrines with resident priests; if smaller shrines (such as roadside or household shrines) are included, the number would be twice the amount. These are highly concentrated;^[53] over one-third are associated with Inari (over 30,000 shrines), and the top six networks comprise over 90% of all shrines, though there are at least 20 networks with over 200 shrines.

The next ten largest networks contain between 2,000 branches down to about 200 branches, and include the networks headed by

The entrance to an Inari shrine is usually marked by one or more vermilion torii and two white foxes. This red color has come to be identified with Inari because of the prevalence of its use among Inari shrines and their torii.^[54] The kitsune statues are at times mistakenly believed to be a form assumed by Inari, and they typically come in pairs, representing a male and a female, although sex is usually not obvious.^[55] These fox statues hold a symbolic item in their mouths or beneath a front paw – most often a jewel and a key, but a sheaf of rice, a scroll, or a fox cub are common. Almost all Inari shrines, no matter how small, will feature at least a pair of these statues, usually flanking, on the altar, or in front of the main sanctuary.^[55]

Hachiman shrines

A syncretic entity worshiped as both a kami and a Buddhist

While the ritsuryō legal system was in use, visits by commoners to Ise were forbidden.^[44] With its weakening during the Heian period, commoners started being allowed in the shrine. The growth of the Shinmei shrine network was due to two concomitant causes. During the late Heian period, goddess Amaterasu, worshiped initially only at Ise Grand Shrine, started to be re-enshrined in branch shrines in Ise's own possessions through the typical kanjō mechanism. The first evidence of a Shinmei shrine elsewhere is given by the Azuma Kagami, a Kamakura period text which refers to Amanawa Shinmei-gū's appearance in Kamakura.^[44] Amaterasu spread to other parts of the country because of the so-called tobi shinmei (飛び神明, literally: "flying Shinmei") phenomenon, the belief that Amaterasu flew to other locations and settled there.^[44]

Tenjin shrines

The

Munakata shrines

Headed by Kyūshū's Munakata Taisha and Itsukushima Shrine, shrines in this network enshrine the Three Female Kami of Munakata (宗像三女神, Munakata Sanjoshin), namely Chikishima Hime-no-Kami, Tagitsu Hime-no-Kami, and Tagori Hime-no-Kami.^[58] The same three kami are enshrined elsewhere in the network, sometimes under a different name. However, while Munakata Taisha enshrines all three in separate islands belonging to its complex, branch shrines generally do not. Which kami they enshrine depends on the history of the shrine and the myths tied to it.^[58]

Suwa Shrines

Suwa Shrines are branch shrines of

Hiyoshi shrines

Hiyoshi shrines are branch shrines of Hiyoshi Taisha. They have origins in Sannō Ichijitsu Shintō and worship Oyamakui no Kami.

Kumano shrines

Kumano shrines enshrine the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi (the Kumano

Gion shrines are branch shrines of

The following is a list and diagram illustrating the most important parts of a Shinto shrine:

1. Torii – Shinto gate
2. Stone stairs
3. Sandō – the approach to the shrine
4. Chōzuya or temizuya – place of purification to cleanse one's hands and mouth
5. Tōrō
   – decorative stone lanterns
6. Kagura-den – building dedicated to Noh or the sacred kagura dance
7. Shamusho – the shrine's administrative office
8. Ema
   – wooden plaques bearing prayers or wishes
9. Sessha/massha – small auxiliary shrines
10. Komainu – the so-called "lion dogs", guardians of the shrine
11. Haiden – oratory or hall of worship
12. Tamagaki – fence surrounding the honden
13. Honden – main hall, enshrining the kami
14. On the roof of the haiden and honden are visible
    finials) and katsuogi
    (short horizontal logs), both common shrine ornamentations.

The general blueprint of a Shinto shrine is Buddhist in origin.[18] The presence of verandas, stone lanterns, and elaborate gates is an example of this influence. The composition of a Shinto shrine is extremely variable, and none of its many possible features is necessarily present. Even the honden can be missing if the shrine worships a nearby natural shintai.

However, since its grounds are sacred, they are usually surrounded by a fence made of stone or wood called tamagaki, while access is made possible by an approach called sandō. The entrances themselves are straddled by gates called torii, which are usually the simplest way to identify a Shinto shrine.

A shrine may include within its grounds several structures, each built for a different purpose.^[60] Among them are the honden or sanctuaries, where the kami are enshrined, the heiden or hall of offerings, where offers and prayers are presented, and the haiden or hall of worship, where there may be seats for worshippers.^[60] The honden is the building that contains the shintai, literally, "the sacred body of the kami".^{[note 11]} Of these, only the haiden is open to the laity. The honden is usually located behind the haiden and is often much smaller and unadorned. Other notable shrine features are the temizuya, the fountain where visitors cleanse their hands and mouth, and the shamusho (社務所), the office which oversees the shrine.^[60] Buildings are often adorned by chigi and katsuogi, variously oriented poles which protrude from their roof.

Before the

Meiji period, the connection between the two religions was officially severed, but continued nonetheless in practice and is still visible today.^[61]

Architectural styles

Main article: Shinto architecture

Shrine buildings can have many different basic layouts, usually named either after a famous shrine's honden (e.g. hiyoshi-zukuri, named after Hiyoshi Taisha), or a structural characteristic (e.g., irimoya-zukuri, after the hip-and gable roof it adopts. The suffix -zukuri in this case means "structure".)

The honden's roof is always gabled, and some styles have a veranda-like aisle called

ken

wide corridor surrounding one or more sides of the core of a shrine or temple). Among the factors involved in the classification, important are the presence or absence of:

• hirairi or hirairi-zukuri (平入・平入造) – a style of construction in which the building has its main entrance on the side which runs parallel to the roof's ridge (non gabled-side). The shinmei-zukuri, nagare-zukuri, hachiman-zukuri, and hie-zukuri belong to this type.^[63]
• tsumairi or tsumairi-zukuri (妻入・妻入造) – a style of construction in which the building has its main entrance on the side which runs perpendicular to the roof's ridge (gabled side). The taisha-zukuri, sumiyoshi-zukuri, ōtori-zukuri and kasuga-zukuri belong to this type.^[63]

Proportions are important. A building of a given style often must have certain proportions measured in

ken

(the distance between pillars, a quantity variable from one shrine to another or even within the same shrine).

The oldest styles are the tsumairi shinmei-zukuri, taisha-zukuri, and sumiyoshi-zukuri, believed to predate the arrival of Buddhism.^[63]

The two most common are the hirairi nagare-zukuri and the tsumairi kasuga-zukuri.^[64] Larger, more important shrines tend to have unique styles.

Most common styles

The following are the two most common shrine styles in Japan.

Nagare-zukuri

The flowing style (流造,

Uji's Ujigami Shrine, has a honden of this type. Its external dimensions are 5×3 ken, but internally it is composed of three sanctuaries (内殿, naiden) measuring 1 ken each.^[65]

Kasuga-zukuri

Kasuga Taisha's honden. It is characterized by the extreme smallness of the building, just 1×1 ken in size. In Kasuga Taisha's case, this translates in 1.9 m × 2.6 m.^[66] The roof is gabled with a single entrance at the gabled end, decorated with chigi and katsuogi, covered with cypress bark and curved upwards at the eaves. Supporting structures are painted vermillion, while the plank walls are white.^[66]

After the Nagare-zukuri, this is the most common style, with most instances in the Kansai region around Nara.^[64]

Styles predating the arrival of Buddhism

The following four styles predate the arrival in Japan of Buddhism:

Primitive shrine layout with no honden

Unique in that the honden is missing, it is believed shrines of this type are reminiscent of what shrines were like in prehistorical times. The first shrines had no honden because the shintai, or object of worship, was the mountain on which they stood. An extant example is

Futarasan Shrine near Nikkō, whose shintai is Mount Nantai

.

Shinmei-zukuri

Shinmei-zukuri (神明造) is an ancient style typical of, and most common at, Ise Grand Shrine, the holiest of Shinto shrines.^[64] It is most common in Mie prefecture.^[67] Characterized by an extreme simplicity, its basic features can be seen in Japanese architecture from the Kofun period (250–538 CE) onwards and it is considered the pinnacle of Japanese traditional architecture. Built in planed, unfinished wood, the honden is either 3×2 ken or 1×1 ken in size, has a raised floor, a gabled roof with an entry on one of the non-gabled sides, no upward curve at the eaves, and decorative logs called chigi and katsuogi protruding from the roof's ridge.^[67] The oldest extant example is Nishina Shinmei Shrine.^[63]

Sumiyoshi-zukuri

Ōsaka. The building is 4 ken wide and 2 ken deep and has an entrance under the gable.^[63] Its interior is divided in two sections, one at the front (外陣, gejin) and one at the back (内陣, naijin) with a single entrance at the front.^[68]

Construction is simple, but the pillars are painted in vermilion and the walls in white.

The style is supposed to have its origin in old palace architecture.

Sumiyoshi Sanjin complex in Fukuoka Prefecture.^[68]

In both cases, as in many others, there is no veranda.

Taisha-zukuri

Izumo Taisha and, like Ise Grand Shrine's, has chigi and katsuogi, plus archaic features like gable-end pillars and a single central pillar (shin no mihashira).^[64] Because its floor is raised on stilts, it is believed to have its origin in raised-floor granaries similar to those found in Toro, Shizuoka prefecture.^[69]

The honden normally has a 2×2 ken footprint (12.46 × 12.46 m in Izumo Taisha's case), with an entrance on the gabled end. The stairs to the honden are covered by a cypress bark roof. The oldest extant example of the style is Kamosu Jinja's honden in Shimane Prefecture, built in the 16th century.

Other styles

Many other architectural styles exist, most of them rare.

Interpreting shrine names

Shrine nomenclature has changed considerably since the Meiji period. Until then, the vast majority of shrines were small and had no permanent priest.

Tokusō Daigongen and Kanda Myōjin

.

Today, the term "Shinto shrine" in English is used in opposition to "

Izumo Taisha;^[60]

mori (杜); and hokora/hokura (神庫).

Shrine names are descriptive, and a difficult problem in dealing with them is understanding exactly what they mean. Although there is a lot of variation in their composition, it is usually possible to identify in them two parts. The first is the shrine's name proper, or meishō (名称), the second is the so-called shōgō (称号), or "title".[9]

Meishō

The most common meishō is the location where the shrine stands, as for example in the case of Ise Jingū, the most sacred of shrines, which is located in the city of Ise, Mie prefecture.^[70]

Very often the meishō will be the name of the kami enshrined. An

Meiji Emperor

. The name can also have other origins, often unknown or unclear.

Shōgō

The second part of the name defines the status of the shrine.

• Jinja (神社) is the most general name for shrine.^[9] Any place that owns a honden (本殿) is a jinja.^[2] These two characters used to be read either "kamu-tsu-yashiro" or "mori", both meaning "kami grove".^[10] Both readings can be found for example in the Man'yōshū.^[10]
• Yashiro (社) is a generic term for shinto shrine like jinja.^[2][10]
• A mori (杜) is a place where a kami is present.^[2] It can therefore be a shrine and, in fact, the characters 神社, 社 and 杜 can all be read "mori" ("grove").^[10] This reading reflects the fact the first shrines were simply sacred groves or Chinju no Mori where kami were present.^[10]
• The suffix -sha or -ja (社), as in Shinmei-sha or Tenjin-ja, indicates a minor shrine that has received through the kanjō process a kami from a more important one.^[9]
• Hokora/hokura (神庫) is an extremely small shrine of the kind one finds for example along country roads.^[12]
• Jingū (神宮) is a shrine of particularly high status that has a deep relationship with the Imperial household or enshrines an Emperor, as for example in the case of the Ise Jingū and the Meiji Jingū.^[9] The name Jingū alone, however, can refer only to the Ise Jingū, whose official name is just "Jingū".^[9]
• Miya (宮) indicates a shrine enshrining a special kami or a member of the Imperial household like the Empress, but there are many examples in which it is used simply as a tradition.^[2] During the period of state regulation, many -miya names were changed to jinja.
• -gū (宮) indicates a shrine enshrining an imperial prince, but there are many examples in which it is used simply as a tradition.^[9]
• A taisha (大社)(the characters are also read ōyashiro) is literally a "great shrine" that was classified as such under the old system of shrine ranking, the
  shakaku (社格), abolished in 1946.^[2][14] Many shrines carrying that shōgō adopted it only after the war.^[9]
• During the Japanese Middle Ages, shrines started being called with the name gongen, a term of Buddhist origin.^[17] For example, in Eastern Japan there are still many Hakusan shrines where the shrine itself is called gongen.^[17] Because it represents the application of Buddhist terminology to Shinto kami, its use was legally abolished by the Meiji government with the Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order (神仏判然令, Shin-butsu Hanzenrei), and shrines began to be called jinja.^[17]

These names are not equivalent in terms of prestige: a taisha is more prestigious than a -gū, which in turn is more important than a jinja.

Etiquette at shrines

Two bows, two claps, one bow [ja; simple

] is explained in both Japanese and English.

Main article: Hakushu (Shinto)

At shrines there is a relatively standardized system of visit ettiquette that is called

Two bows, two claps, one bow [ja; simple]. It goes roughly as follows^[71][72]

1. Bow once before entering Torii^[71][72][73]
   1. Do not walk through the center of a Torii as that is reserved for deities^[72][73]
2. Purify hands and mouth with
   chozuya^[71][72][73]
3. Put money in the offering box[74]^[73][75]
4. Ring the bell 2-3 times if present^[76][75]
5. Bow twice^{[71][72][73] [75]}
6. Clap twice^{[71][72][73] [75]}
7. Bow once^[71][72][73] This bow should be deeper than the others^[77] at a 90-degree angle^[75]

Shrines with structures designated as National Treasures

Main article: List of National Treasures of Japan (shrines)

Shrines that are part of a World Heritage Site are marked with a dagger (†).

• Tōhoku region
  • Sendai, Miyagi
    )
• Kantō region
  • Nikkō, Tochigi
    )
  • Nikkō, Tochigi
    )
• Chūbu region
  • Nishina Shinmei Shrine (Ōmachi, Nagano)
• Kansai region
  • Ōtsu, Shiga
    )
  • Ōtsu, Shiga
    )
  • Mikami Shrine (Yasu, Shiga)
  • Ōsasahara Shrine (Yasu, Shiga)
  • Tsukubusuma Shrine (Nagahama, Shiga)
  • Namura Shrine (Ryūō, Shiga)
  • Kyoto, Kyoto
    )
  • Kyoto, Kyoto
    )
  • Kyoto, Kyoto
    )
  • Kyoto, Kyoto
    )
  • Uji, Kyoto
    )
  • Osaka, Osaka
    )
  • Sakai, Osaka
    )
  • Nara, Nara
    )
  • Nara, Nara
    )
  • Isonokami Shrine (Tenri, Nara)
  • Udamikumari Shrine (Uda, Nara
    )
• Chūgoku region
  • Sanbutsu-ji (Misasa, Tottori)
  • Izumo Taisha (Taisha, Shimane
    )
  • Matsue, Shimane
    )
  • Okayama, Okayama
    )
  • Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima
    )
  • Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi
    )
• Shikoku region
  • Kandani Shrine (Sakaide, Kagawa)
• Kyūshū region
  • Usa Shrine (Usa, Ōita
    )
  • Aoi Aso Shrine (Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto)

Officiants

Kannushi

Main article: Kannushi

A

synonyms. Originally, a kannushi was a holy man who could work miracles and who, thanks to purification rites, could work as an intermediary between kami and man, but later the term evolved to being synonymous with shinshoku, a man who works at a shrine and holds religious ceremonies there.^[2][78] Women can also become kannushi, and it is common for widows to succeed their husbands.^[79]

Miko

Main article: Miko

A miko (巫女) is a shrine maiden who has trained for and taken up several duties at a shrine including assistance of shrine functions such as the sale of sacred goods (including amulets known as omamori, paper talisman known as ofuda, wood tablets known as ema and among other items), daily tidying of the premises, and performing the sacred kagura dances on certain occasions.

Gallery

• 
  Hirairi style: entrance on the non-gabled side
• 
  Tsumairi style: entrance on the gabled side
• 
  Some setsumassha
• 
  A hokora
• 
  Shinmei-zukuri
• 
  Sumiyoshi-zukuri
• 
  Taisha-zukuri,

  Izumo Taisha
• 
  camphor sacred tree growing through it with a shrine at the base^[80]
• 
  The Jinja no Mori near Yuni, Hokkaido
• 
  Yasuzumi Jinja is famous not only for praying for safe childbirth, but also as a motorcycle shrine

See also

• Dambana
• Giboshi
• Glossary of Shinto
• List of National Treasures of Japan (shrines)
• List of Shinto shrines
• Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines
• Senjafuda
• Shrine Shinto
• Twenty-Two Shrines (Nijūnisha)

Notes

Footnotes

1. ^ Also called shinden (神殿)
2. synonyms, these shrines are sometimes called setsumatsusha (摂末社), a neologism
   that fuses the two old names
3. ^ The word yorishiro (依り代) literally means approach substitute. Yorishiro were tools conceived to attract the kami and give them a physical space to occupy, thus making them accessible to human beings.
4. ^ The term setsumatsusha is the combination of the two terms sessha and massha.
5. ^ Many other sacred objects (mirrors, swords, comma-shaped jewels called magatama) were originally yorishiro, and only later became kami by association
6. ^ A hokora today is an extremely small shrine, of the type one sees on many roadsides
7. ^ The rōmon, or tower gate, is a gate which looks like a two-storied gate, but in fact has only one
8. ^ Kami are as a rule not represented in anthropomorphic or physical terms, however numerous paintings and statues representing them have appeared under Buddhist influence
9. ^ The opposite can also happen. Toyokawa Inari is a Buddhist temple of the Sōtō sect in Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture and, with its Akasaka branch, one of the centers of Inari's cult (Smyers 1999:26, 34)
10. Meiji restoration and is still common. The kami which inhabits the Nachi Falls within the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, the already mentioned Hiryū Gongen, is itself syncretic
    .
11. ^ In spite of its name, the shintai is actually a temporary repository of the enshrined kami. (Smyers, page 44)

1. Hiromine shrine the three share a tradition of the Gion cult
   . If grouped together they would be the 6th largest shrine network

Citations

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54. ^ Smyers (1999:60, 177)
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61. ^
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References

• ISBN 978-0-8248-2363-4
  .
• ISBN 978-0-521-22352-2
  .
• Burkman, Thomas W. (June–September 1974). "The Urakami Incidents and the Struggle for Religious Tolerance in Early Meiji Japan" (PDF). Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 1 (2–3): 143–216.
  doi:10.18874/jjrs.1.2-3.1974.143-216. Retrieved 2008-07-17.^{[permanent dead link}
  ]
• Fujita Masaya; Koga Shūsaku, eds. (April 10, 1990). Nihon Kenchiku-shi (in Japanese) (September 30, 2008 ed.). Shōwa-dō.
  ISBN 978-4-8122-9805-3
  .
• JSTOR 132446
  .
• Havens, Norman; Inoue, Nobutaka (translated by Norman Havens and Helen Hardacre), eds. (2004). "Jinja (Encyclopedia of Shinto, vol. 2)" [Shrines]. Encyclopedia of Shinto. Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University.
  ISBN 978-4-905853-12-1
  .
• Mori, Mizue (2005-06-02). "Honden". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Kokugakuin University. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
• Sokyo Ono;
  ISBN 978-0-8048-3557-2
  .
• ISBN 978-0-8248-2102-9
  .
• The History of Shrines, Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on June 10, 2008
• Shinto Shrines or Temples?^{[permanent dead link]} retrieved on June 10, 2008
• Shrine Architecture Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on June 10, 2008
• Overview of a Shinto Shrine, a detailed visual introduction to the structure of a Shinto shrine, Encyclopedia of Shinto retrieved on June 8, 2008
• Jinja no Shōgō ni Tsuite Oshiete Kudasai Archived 2014-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, Shinto Online Network Association, retrieved on July 2, 2008 (in Japanese)
• Tamura, Yoshiro (2000). "The Birth of the Japanese nation in". Japanese Buddhism: A Cultural History (First ed.). Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Company.
  ISBN 978-4-333-01684-6
  .
• Stuart D. B. Picken. Essentials of Shinto: An Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings. Greenwood, 1994.
  ISBN 0313264317

Further reading

• Shimizu, Karli. Overseas Shinto Shrines: Religion, Secularity and the Japanese Empire (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022) online book review

• Cluzel, Jean-Sébastien (October 2008). Architecture éternelle du Japon - De l'histoire aux mythes. Dijon: Editions Faton.
  ISBN 978-2-87844-107-9
  .
• ISBN 978-0-415-38713-2; OCLC 63679956
• The Herbert Offen Research Collection of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum Archived 2010-01-30 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shinto shrines.

• Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin University
• Jinja and Shinto, site of the Shinto Online Network Association
• Jinja Honchō, the Association of Shinto Shrines
• (in Japanese) Kokugakuin University Shinto Jinja Database
• Shinto Shrine types