A Shinto shrine ( 神社 , jinja , archaic: shinsha , meaning: "kami shrine") is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami , the deities of the Shinto religion.
60-480: Yoshino Mikumari Shrine ( 吉野水分神社 , Yoshino Mikumari-jinja ) is a Shinto shrine located on Mount Yoshino in Yoshino district , Nara , Japan . It is closely associated with Emperor Go-Daigo . The Shrine is dedicated to mikumari [ Wikidata ] , a female Shinto kami associated with water, fertility and safe birth. Yoshino Mikumari Shrine is one of four important mikumari shrines in
120-652: A kami is believed to reside in them. Shintai are not themselves part of kami , but rather just symbolic repositories which make them accessible to human beings for worship; the kami inhabits them. 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 ) , but they can be also natural objects such as rocks, mountains, trees, and waterfalls. Mountains were among
180-649: A kami . There may be a haiden ( 拝殿 , meaning: "hall of worship") and other structures as well. Although only one word ("shrine") is used in English, in Japanese, Shinto shrines may carry any one of many different, non-equivalent names like gongen , -gū , jinja , jingū , mori , myōjin , -sha , taisha , ubusuna or yashiro . Miniature shrines ( hokora ) can occasionally be found on roadsides. Large shrines sometimes have on their precincts miniature shrines, sessha ( 摂社 ) or massha ( 末社 ) . Mikoshi ,
240-493: A cultural import which provided much of Shinto architecture's vocabulary. The rōmon ( 楼門 , tower gate ) , the haiden , the kairō ( 回廊 , corridor ) , the tōrō , or stone lantern, and the komainu , or lion dogs, are all elements borrowed from Buddhism. Until the Meiji period (1868–1912), shrines as they exist today were rare. With very few exceptions like Ise Grand Shrine and Izumo Taisha , they were just
300-651: A high deity. 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. The name Jingū alone, can refer only to the Ise Jingū, whose official name is just "Jingū". 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 )
360-448: A part of a temple-shrine complex controlled by Buddhist clergy. These complexes were called jingū-ji ( 神宮寺 , literally: "shrine temple") , places of worship composed of a Buddhist temple and of a shrine dedicated to a local kami . The complexes were born when a temple was erected next to a shrine to help its kami with its karmic problems. At the time, kami were thought to be also subjected to karma , and therefore in need of
420-460: 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 . The first duty of a shrine is to house and protect its shintai and the kami which inhabits it. If
480-552: A salvation only Buddhism could provide. Having first appeared during the Nara period (710–794), the jingū-ji remained common for over a millennium until, with few exceptions, they were destroyed in compliance with the new policies of the Meiji administration in 1868. 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
540-424: A shrine has more than one building, the one containing the shintai is called honden ; because it is meant for the exclusive use of the kami , it is always closed to the public and is not used for prayer or religious ceremonies. The shintai leaves the honden only during festivals ( matsuri ), when it is put in portable shrines ( mikoshi ) and carried around the streets among the faithful. The portable shrine
600-413: A shrine to another: the divided spirit's new location can be a privately owned object or an individual's house. The kanjō process was of fundamental importance in the creation of all of Japan's shrine networks ( Inari shrines , Hachiman shrines , etc.). The shake (社家) are families and the former social class that dominated Shinto shrines through hereditary positions within a shrine. The social class
660-493: A small shrine ( chinjusha ) dedicated to its Shinto tutelary kami , and vice versa Buddhist figures (e.g. goddess Kannon ) are revered in Shinto shrines. 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
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#1732786700164720-422: Is also involved in public relations activities through the publication and distribution of pamphlets. The Association of Shinto Shrines is a comprehensive religious corporation of about 80,000 companies nationwide. Each shrine has its own history, and there are various religious beliefs such as Yawata belief and Inari belief, and it was very difficult to establish one doctrine. Therefore, on May 21, 1980 (Showa 55),
780-458: 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. A mori ( 杜 ) is a place where a kami is present. It can therefore be a shrine and, in fact, the characters 神社, 社 and 杜 can all be read "mori" ("grove"). This reading reflects the fact
840-423: 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
900-501: Is believed to serve the mountain on which it stands—images or objects are therefore unnecessary. For the same reason, it has a worship hall, a haiden ( 拝殿 ) , but no place to house the kami , called shinden ( 神殿 ) . Archeology confirms that, during the Yayoi period, the most common shintai ( 神体 ) (a yorishiro actually housing the enshrined kami ) in the earliest shrines were nearby mountain peaks that supplied stream water to
960-511: Is its best extant example. In Shinto it has played a particularly significant role in preserving ancient architectural styles. Izumo Taisha , Sumiyoshi Taisha , and Nishina Shinmei Shrine each represent a different style whose origin is believed to predate Buddhism in Japan. These three styles are known respectively as taisha-zukuri , sumiyoshi-zukuri , and shinmei-zukuri . Shrines show various influences, particularly that of Buddhism,
1020-558: Is the Tōshō-gū shrines erected to enshrine Tokugawa Ieyasu , or the many shrines dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane , like Kitano Tenman-gū . Often the shrines which were most significant historically do not lie in a former center of power like Kyoto , Nara , or Kamakura . For example, Ise Grand Shrine , the Imperial household 's family shrine, is in Mie prefecture . Izumo-taisha , one of
1080-481: 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. 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
1140-600: Is the largest Shinto religious group in Japan, and more than 79,000 of the approximately 80,000 Japanese shrines, including major ones, are members. Each prefecture has a shrine office . It is the successor to the Institute of Divinities , which was an external agency of the Home Ministry , and is a comprehensive religious corporation based on the Religious Corporation Law. In Article 3 of
1200-465: Is used to physically protect the shintai and to hide it from sight. 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 kanjō , and the divided spirits bunrei ( 分霊 , literally: "divided spirit") , go-bunrei ( 御分霊 ) , or wakemitama ( 分霊 ) . This process of propagation, described by
1260-411: Is where a shrine's patron kami is/are enshrined. The honden may be absent in cases where a shrine stands on or near a sacred mountain, tree, or other object which can be worshipped directly or in cases where a shrine possesses either an altar-like structure, called a himorogi , or an object believed to be capable of attracting spirits, called a yorishiro , which can also serve as direct bonds to
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#17327867001641320-614: The Engi-shiki (延喜式, literally: "Procedures of the Engi Era") was promulgated in fifty volumes. This, the first formal codification of Shinto rites and Norito (liturgies and prayers) to survive, became the basis for all subsequent Shinto liturgical practice and efforts. In addition to the first ten volumes of this fifty volume work, which concerned worship and the Department of Worship , sections in subsequent volumes addressing
1380-575: The Ise Grand Shrine as the foundation of their belief. It is the largest Shrine Shinto organization in existence. The association has five major activities, in addition to numerous others: It currently has an administrative structure including a main office and branches. Its headquarters in Yoyogi , Shibuya , Tokyo , adjacent to Meiji Shrine . Its leadership includes the Sosai ( 総裁 ) ,
1440-766: The Japanese Middle Ages , shrines started being called with the name gongen ( 権現 ) , a term of Buddhist origin. For example, in Eastern Japan there are still many Hakusan shrines where the shrine itself is called gongen . 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 . Ancestors are kami to be worshipped. Yayoi period village councils sought
1500-667: The Jingūkyō , took the lead to establish the Jinja Honcho. The Association has many contacts within the Liberal Democratic Party and is a successful lobbyist ; its influence can be seen in recent conservative legislation, like the legal recognition of the National Flag ( Hinomaru ) and National Anthem ( Kimigayo ), their use for official school events, or the revision of Fundamental Education Law , and it
1560-630: 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. Until
1620-461: The Man'yōshū . 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 . Such deities are also often called ( 社神 ; shèshén ), or the same characters in the reverse order. Its Kunyomi reading Yashiro ( 社 ) is a generic term for shinto shrine like jinja . It
1680-549: The Ministry of Ceremonies (治部省) and the Ministry of the Imperial Household (宮内省) regulated Shinto worship and contained liturgical rites and regulation. In 1970, Felicia Gressitt Brock published a two-volume annotated English language translation of the first ten volumes with an introduction entitled Engi-shiki; procedures of the Engi Era . The arrival of Buddhism in Japan in around the sixth century introduced
1740-604: The "Association of Shinto Shrine Charter" was established by a decision of the Councilors. The background and position of this is stated in the preamble, "The important concern to date has been to establish and maintain basic norms as a tie for spiritual integration." At the time of enforcement of this Charter, the agency rules and previous rules, etc. shall be deemed to have been established based on this Charter." Article 1 states, "The Association of Shinto Shrines respects tradition, promotes rituals and promotes morality, prays for
1800-788: The "Association of Shinto Shrines" and the "Platform of Respectful Life". The Association was established following the Surrender of Japan at the end of World War II . On 15 December 1945, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) issued the Shinto Directive , ordering the Disestablishment of Shinto as a state religion . On February 2, 1946, to comply with the SCAP order, three organizations –
1860-587: The "Regulations of the Religious Corporation 'Jinja Honcho' Agency," the regulations of the Agency as a religious corporation, the purpose of the Agency is to manage and guide shrines under its jurisdiction, promote Shinto, perform shrine rituals, educate and foster believers ( Ujiko ), support Ise Shrine , the head shrine, train priests, and conduct public relations through the publication and distribution of pamphlets, among other activities. The shrine
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1920-533: The 'Daijōkan' banned the application of Buddhist terminology such as gongen to Japanese kami and the veneration of Buddhist statues in shrines. The third stage consisted of the prohibition against applying the Buddhist term Daibosatsu (Great Bodhisattva ) to the syncretic kami Hachiman at the Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū and Usa Hachiman-gū shrines. In the fourth and final stage, all
1980-475: The Japanese words for "mountain" and "forest", which can also mean "shrine". 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 ) . The first buildings at places dedicated to worship were hut-like structures built to house some yorishiro . A trace of this origin can be found in the term hokura ( 神庫 ) , "deity storehouse", which evolved into hokora (written with
2040-573: The Kōten Kōkyūjo ( 皇典講究所 ) , Dainippon Jingikai ( 大日本神祇会 ) , and Jingū Hōsaikai ( 神宮奉斎会 ) – established the nongovernmental Association, assuming the functions of the Institute of Divinities , a branch of the Home Ministry . In accordance with the Shinto Directive , 1946 ( Showa 21) January 23 , National Association of Shinto Priests , the Office of Japanese Classics Research , and
2100-540: The advice of ancestors and other kami , and developed instruments, yorishiro ( 依り代 ) , to evoke them. Yoshishiro means "approach substitute" and were conceived to attract the kami to allow them physical space, thus making kami accessible to human beings. 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 . These sacred places and their yorishiro gradually evolved into today's shrines, whose origins can be still seen in
2160-430: The concept of a permanent shrine. 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. Once
2220-466: The defrocked bettō and shasō were told to become "shrine priests" ( kannushi ) and return to their shrines. Monks of the Nichiren sect were told not to refer to some deities as kami . 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
2280-617: The end of Edo period , local kami beliefs and Buddhism were intimately connected in what was called shinbutsu shūgō (神仏習合), up to the point where even the same buildings were used as both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. 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 bettō (shrine monks performing Buddhist rites at Shinto shrines). A few days later,
2340-495: 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. Ise Grand Shrine , still rebuilt every 20 years,
2400-455: The first shrines were huts built to house some yorishiro . -gū ( 宮 ) indicates a shrine enshrining an imperial prince, but there are many examples in which it is used simply as a tradition. The word gū ( 宮 ) often found at the end of names of shrines such as Hachimangu , Tenmangū , or Jingu ( 神宮 ) comes from the Chinese ( 宮 ; gong ) meaning palace or a temple to
2460-402: The first shrines were simply sacred groves or forests where kami were present. Hokora / hokura ( 神庫 ) is an extremely small shrine of the kind one finds for example along country roads. 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
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2520-430: 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 ) . In the case of a man-made shintai , a kami must be invited to reside in it. The founding of a new shrine requires the presence of either a pre-existing, naturally occurring shintai (for example
2580-438: The former province Yamato. The shrine also houses six kami that are more or less related to mikumari (Takami-musubi-no-kami, Sukuna-hiko-no-kami, Mikogami, Ama-tsu-hiko-hi-no-ninigi-no-mikoto, Tamayori-hime-no-mikoto, and Yorozu-hata-toyo-akitsushi-hime-no-mikoto). A wooden statue of the deity Tamayori hime is registered as a National Treasure of Japan . The present-day buildings go back to 1605, when Toyotomi Hideyori rebuilt
2640-550: The head priestess of the Ise Shrine, presently Sayako Kuroda . The tōri ( 統理 ) is Kuniaki Kuni [ ja ] , and the post of sōchō ( 総長 ) or Secretary-General is currently held by Masami Yatabe , the chief priest of the Mishima Shrine . The association maintains regional offices in every prefecture . They handle financial and personnel matters for member shrines. The Association of Shinto Shrines
2700-453: The hereditary succession continues to present day. The Unicode character representing a Shinto shrine (for example, on maps ) is U+26E9 ⛩ SHINTO SHRINE . Jinja ( 神社 ) is the most general name for shrine. Any place that owns a honden ( 本殿 ) is a jinja . These two characters used to be read either "kamu-tsu-yashiro" or "mori" in kunyomi , both meaning "kami grove". Both readings can be found for example in
2760-455: The late Heian period the cult of Amaterasu , worshiped initially only at Ise Grand Shrine, started to spread to the shrine's possessions through the usual kanjō mechanism. Association of Shinto Shrines The Association of Shinto Shrines ( 神社本庁 , Jinja Honchō ) is a religious administrative organisation that oversees about 80,000 Shinto shrines in Japan . These shrines take
2820-401: The mission to be afraid of the gods, to follow the ancestral lessons, to finally demonstrate the essence of the road, and to promote the welfare of humankind. It is hoped that this code will be put up here to clarify the direction and to put it into practice and proclaim the road. To thank God for the grace and grace of our ancestors, to attend rituals with a clear and clean spirit, to serve for
2880-573: The number of shrines at 79,467, mostly affiliated with the Association of Shinto Shrines ( 神社本庁 ) . Some shrines, such as the Yasukuni Shrine , are totally independent of any outside authority. The number of Shinto shrines in Japan is estimated to be around 100,000. Since ancient times, the Shake (社家) families dominated Shinto shrines through hereditary positions, and at some shrines
2940-537: The old system of shrine ranking, the shakaku ( 社格 ) , abolished in 1946. Many shrines carrying that shōgō adopted it only after the war. 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 ) is a combination of two words Sessha ( 摂社 , auxiliary shrine ) and massha ( 末社 , undershrine ) . They are also called eda-miya ( 枝宮 , branch shrines ) which contains Miya ( 宮 ) During
3000-488: The oldest and most revered shrines in Japan, is in Shimane Prefecture . 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 ) . The spreading of a kami can be evoked by one or more of several different mechanisms. The typical one
3060-462: The palanquins which are carried on poles during festivals ( matsuri ), also enshrine kami and are therefore considered shrines. In 927 CE , the Engi-shiki ( 延喜式 , literally: "Procedures of the Engi Era") was promulgated. This work listed all of the 2,861 Shinto shrines existing at the time, and the 3,131 official-recognized and enshrined kami . In 1972, the Agency for Cultural Affairs placed
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#17327867001643120-460: The plains where people lived. Besides Ōmiwa Shrine, another important example is Mount Nantai , a phallus -shaped mountain in Nikko which constitutes Futarasan Shrine 's shintai . The name Nantai ( 男体 ) means "man's body". The mountain provides water to the rice paddies below and has the shape of the phallic stone rods found in pre-agricultural Jōmon sites. The first known Shinto shrine
3180-506: The priests, in spite of this name, not as a division but as akin to the lighting of a candle from another already lit, leaves the original kami intact in its original place and therefore does not alter any of its properties. The resulting spirit has all the qualities of the original and is therefore "alive" and permanent. The process is used often—for example during Shinto festivals ( matsuri ) to animate temporary shrines called mikoshi . The transfer does not necessarily take place from
3240-524: The prosperity of the great lord, and contributes to the peace of the four seas." Prior to the "Association of Shinto Shrine Charter", the "Platform of Respectful Life" was enacted in 1956 to show the practical spirit of the Association of Shinto Shrines. Shinto is an eternal road of heaven and earth, and is the basis for cultivating a noble spirit and opening the Taihei. It is the reason for achieving
3300-458: The sake of the world, and to create and solidify the world as the will of God. We pray for the coexistence and co-prosperity of the country and the world. There is no codified doctrine in the Association of Shinto Shrines, but according to the "Commentary on the Charter of the Association of Shinto Shrines", the Association of Shinto Shrines is the spirit of its establishment and activities with
3360-480: The same characters 神庫) and is considered to be one of the first words for shrine. True shrines arose with the beginning of agriculture, when the need arose to attract kami to ensure good harvests. These were, however, just temporary structures built for a particular purpose, a tradition of which traces can be found in some rituals. Hints of the first shrines can still be found. Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara , for example, contains no sacred images or objects because it
3420-452: The shrine, as his father Toyotomi Hideyoshi once had prayed here for a son and successor. The main hall ( honden ), an Important Cultural Property ，is an unusual structure 9 ken long and 2 ken wide. Built in the nagare-zukuri style, it has however an independent 1x1 ken unit in the kasuga-zukuri style at the center. The three resulting edifices all lie under the same bark roof, which has three dormer gables . In 2004, it
3480-535: 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 . Some of the most well-known shake families include: Those worshiped at a shrine are generally Shinto kami , but sometimes they can be Buddhist or Taoist deities, as well as others not generally considered to belong to Shinto. Some shrines were established to worship living people or figures from myths and legends . An example
3540-519: Was built in roughly 478. In 905 CE, Emperor Daigo ordered a compilation of Shinto rites and rules. Previous attempts at codification are known to have taken place, but, neither the Konin nor the Jogan Gishiki survive. Initially under the direction of Fujiwara no Tokihira , the project stalled at his death in April 909. Fujiwara no Tadahira , his brother, took charge and in 912 and in 927
3600-496: Was designated as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range . This article relating to Shinto is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a Japanese religious building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Shinto shrine The honden (本殿, meaning: "main hall")
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