Kinen-sai ( 祈年祭 , also read as Toshigoi no Matsuri) is a harvest festival that was celebrated every year in ancient Japan on February 4. It was held to pray for a good harvest, as reflected in its name. It is sometimes contrasted with Niiname-no-Matsuri or the fall festival.
17-592: It is now celebrated yearly all across Japan including at Meiji Jingu , and Isonokami Shrine . Emperor Tenmu started the festival in 675 AD. All shrines of the Engishiki Jinmyocho had to perform the ceremony. In ancient times, people held domestic rites called Kinen-sai in the February or April and Niinamesai in November. During these rites, people worshiped their ancestors, the god of food, and
34-424: A 65 year old tourist from America was arrested for property damage after he carved the letters of his last name into one of the shrine’s wooden torii gates with his fingernails. Meiji Shrine is located in a forest that covers an area of 70 hectares (170 acres). This area is covered by an evergreen forest that consists of 120,000 trees of 365 different species, which were donated by people from all parts of Japan when
51-674: Is a bridge that passes over the Yamanote Line between Harajuku Station and the entrance to the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo , Japan. Formerly a pedestrian bridge , it is now open to traffic. With its wide pedestrian area, it is well known as a spot for cosplayers and fashion performers, which in turn led to it becoming a tourist attraction. Jingūbashi is a 20.4-metre (67 ft)-long, 29.1-metre (95 ft)-wide bridge made out of reinforced concrete. It dates from 1982, when it replaced
68-546: Is allowed to be completed. Several festivals are held at the shrine per year. Some festivals are held annually. The exhibitions range from ice carving, shodoten (calligraphy winners's works), bonsai, Suiseki Masterpieces, Memory Dolls, Chrysanthemums, Dahlia and exhibitions at the Treasure Museum Annex. Jingu Bashi (Tokyo) Jingūbashi ( 神宮橋 , Jingūbashi ) , lit. Shrine Bridge , also known as Harajuku Bridge or Harajuku Cosplay Bridge ,
85-636: Is centered on the shrine buildings and includes a treasure museum that houses articles of the Emperor and Empress. The treasure museum is built in the Azekurazukuri style. The Gaien is the outer precinct, which includes the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery that houses a collection of 80 large murals illustrative of the events in the lives of the Emperor and his consort. It also includes a variety of sports facilities, including
102-595: The Department of Divinities . The festival was not longer celebrated in the late Muromachi period due to military conflict. It was revived in a form called sairō by Shirakawa house, the ruling clan of the Department of Divinities . But this form was abbreviated. Kinen-sai was fully revived in the Meiji Restoration . The Engishiki specified imperial involvement with four festivals, the Kinen-sai,
119-465: The Japanese Diet passed a resolution to commemorate his role in the Meiji Restoration . An iris garden in an area of Tokyo where Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken had been known to visit was chosen as the building's location. Construction began in 1915 under Itō Chūta , and the shrine was built in the traditional nagare-zukuri style, using primarily Japanese cypress and copper. The building of
136-414: The 1960s, it has attracted numerous cosplayers , performers, people dressed in visual kei , lolita fashion (sometimes in gothic variations), or similar outfits, and tourists. The area was pedestrian-only and closed to motor-vehicles until 1995; the opening of the area to motor vehicles has been credited with lessening the popularity of the area. Jingu Bridge itself has become somewhat less popular in
153-571: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government approved a plan to develop 28.4 hectares of Meiji Jingu Gaien. A new sports stadium, hotel and three skyscrapers are planned for the site. In September 2023, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), a UNESCO advisory body, warned of 'irreversible destruction of cultural heritage' if the project, which will result in the loss of 3,000 trees and open park space,
170-542: The first rank of government-supported shrines. The original building was destroyed during the Tokyo air raids of World War II . The present iteration of the shrine was funded through a public fund raising effort and completed in October 1958. Meiji Shrine has been visited by numerous foreign politicians, including United States President George W. Bush , United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle . In November 2024,
187-461: The hearth deity. They believed the spirits of their ancestors ( Oyagami ) came to them through the rice. Although agricultural in origin, it quickly developed into a general celebration of imperial power.Tribute was offered to the gods, and the ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials, although the emperor did not participate. In the Heian period , the festival declined and was celebrated only in
SECTION 10
#1732779674029204-563: The national stadiums ( Meiji Jingu Gaien Stadium , National Stadium , and the newer National Stadium ), and the Meiji Memorial Hall (Meiji Kinenkan), which was originally used for governmental meetings, including discussions surrounding the drafting of the Meiji Constitution in the late 19th century. Today it is used for Shinto weddings as well as meeting rooms rent and restaurants services. In February of 2023,
221-541: The original bridge that had opened in September 1920. The original bridge was one of the first reinforced concrete bridges in Japan. The current bridge inherits the design and some of the elements of the original bridge, such as the ornamental railing pillars. The Harajuku area is known internationally as a center of Japanese youth culture and fashion. Jingu Bridge has become one of the locality's popular landmarks. Since
238-521: The shrine was a national project, mobilizing youth groups and other civic associations from throughout Japan, who contributed labor and funding. The main timbers came from Kiso in Nagano, and Alishan in Taiwan, then a Japanese territory, with materials being utilized from every Japanese prefecture , including Karafuto , Korea , Kwantung , and Taiwan . It was estimated that the cost of the construction
255-479: The shrine was established. The forest is visited by many as a recreation and relaxation area in the center of Tokyo. The entrance to the shrine complex leads through the Jingu Bashi bridge. Meiji Shrine is adjacent to Yoyogi Park which together is a large forested area. The entrances open at sunrise and close at sunset. The shrine itself is composed of two major areas: The Naien is the inner precinct, which
272-465: The two Ōharae-shikis and Niiname-no-Matsuri for tribute. Meiji Jingu Meiji Shrine ( 明治神宮 , Meiji Jingū ) is a Shinto shrine in Shibuya , Tokyo , that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken . The shrine does not contain the emperor's grave, which is located at Fushimi-momoyama , south of Kyoto . After the emperor's death in 1912,
289-578: Was ¥5,219,00 in 1920 (approximately US$ 26 million today), about a quarter of the actual cost due to the donated materials and labor. It was formally dedicated on November 3, 1920, completed in 1921, and its grounds officially finished by 1926. The interior volume of the shrine complex when originally built was 650 tsubo . Until 1946, the Meiji Shrine was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha ( 官幣大社 ), meaning that it stood in
#28971