The second most important shrine is that of Okuninushi at Izumo-taisha. These two are the oldest Shinto shrines in Japan. Besides the most famous shrines, every local community had and still has small shrines dedicated to their particular kami spirits. Even modern city buildings can have a small Shinto shrine on their roof. Some shrines are even portable. Known as mikoshi , they can be moved so that ceremonies can be held at places of great natural beauty such as waterfalls.
The sanctity of shrines means that worshippers must cleanse themselves oharai before entering them, commonly by washing their hands and mouth with water. Then, when ready to enter, they make a small money offering, ring a small bell or clap their hands twice to alert the kami and then bow while saying their prayer.
A final clap indicates the end of the prayer. Small offerings might include a bowl of sake rice wine , rice, and vegetables. As many shrines are in places of natural beauty such as mountains, visiting these shrines is seen as an act of pilgrimage, Mt. Fuji being the most famous example. Some major shrines have a national rather than a local role, and are visited by millions of people from across Japan at major festivals.
Japanese people don't visit shrines on a particular day each week. People go to the shrine at festival times, and at other times when they feel like doing so. Japanese often visit the local shrine when they want the local kami to do them a favour such as good exam results, a good outcome to a surgical operation for a relative, and so on.
Many Shinto shrines are places of intense calm with beautiful gardens. They possess a deeply spiritual atmosphere, as Jean Herbert has written The best explanation I can offer is that the Shinto shrine is a visible and ever-active expression of the factual kinship - in the most literal sense of the word - which exists between individual man and the whole earth, celestial bodies and deities, whatever name they be given.
When entering it, one inevitably becomes more or less conscious of that blood-relation, and the realisation of it throws into the background all feelings of anxiety, antagonism, loneliness, discouragement, as when a child comes to rest on its mother's lap. A feeling of almost palpable peace and security falls upon the visitor as he proceeds further into the holy enclosure, and to those unready for it, it comes as a shock.
Epithets such as kogoshi god-like and kami-sabi divinely serene seem fully justified. Shrines are made of natural materials cypress wood is very common and are designed to provide a home for the particular kami to whom they are dedicated. A shrine is not restricted to a single kami. Although shrines are a focus for kami and their devotees, it is very rare for shrines to contain statues of kami. Shrines do often include statues of animals such as foxes or horses - these are not statues of the kami but of animals that serve the kami in various ways.
The connection between the shrine and the natural world is emphasised by the way many of the objects within a shrine are made with as little human effort as possible so that their natural origins remain visible.
The design of the shrine garden is intended to create a deep sense of the spiritual, and of the harmony between humanity and the natural world. Offerings of mochi rice cakes at the Meiji Shrine. Each pair of cakes is stacked on top of a sanbo , a wooden stand for food offerings.
This changed with the Kami and Buddhism Separation Order. In the case of the active deities, prayers and food are offered before the kam i's sanctuary honden in the inner temple. However, for the kami of natural phenomena, prayers are offered at the gate or at the outer temple.
In ancient times they were offered on the open ground. Later, the Japanese introduced worship halls haiden facing the sanctuary to serve this function. In the case of some special shrines, such as the Great Shrine of Ise, prayers are offered by both priests and laymen sitting on the ground outdoors where a temporary structure is built for offering prayers. The most important Shinto ritual for assuring the kami's permanent dwelling in the shrine, is the offering of spiritual flesh. Food offerings are made in different ways at different shrines.
The ritual may include placing food on a table, hanging, scattering on the ground, burying it in the earth or releasing it into the water. In case of some active deities, the sanctuary containing the representative object is the focus for this sacred practice and the sanctuary doors may be kept open during the offering. At shrines for the kami of natural phenomenon, the doors of the sanctuary may not be opened. Therefore, special offering halls heiden were built for offering food.
Partaking of the same meal as the deities is a necessary step in the union between the kami and humans, as it signifies that they are all supported by a universal source of power. This communion repast is called " ainame. In the earliest Shinto complexes there was no structure for this particular function. Food was offered to the kami at the altar or places outside the shrine hall and was eaten by the worshippers in front of the altar.
Later, a structure called " naoraeden " was built for the practice of communion meal. The building faced the main hall in the center of the complex.
Sometimes Japanese call this structure chokushiden or "the imperial messenger hall. Music halls and platforms for dancing were introduced during the medieval period. They are elevated platforms for musical performance, placed at both sides of a shrine, temporarily built for each ceremony. Singing and dancing are thought to increase the harmony between the kami and human beings. In the early period of Shinto practice, all worshippers were required to engage in the sacred singing and dancing; but today, only experts perform these practices in shrine.
Religious festivals at Shinto shrines reflect early Japanese observances of agricultural seasons with spring and fall festivals associated with planting and harvesting rice as well as periodic purification ceremonies to wash away spritual pollutions. In addition to seasonal observances, Shinto festivals also mark the events of an individual's life.
Every 20 years the Ise Shrine is rebuilt on the adjacent lot. This model shows the existing shrine alongside the kodenchi , which is the temporarily empty site of the previous shrine. The empty site from the previous shrine, the kodenchi , is marked by a small wooden building. When the shrine is rebuilt again in this building will mark the center of the rebuilt shrine. Two views of the Geku outer Shrine at Ise. On the left is a view from , just before rebuilding.
On the right is a view from , five years after the new construction. For additional images of the shrine comples, see the official Ise Jingu website. According to Japanese popular belief, the Ise Shrine complex is the holiest of Japan. The shrine is composed of two similar complexes. The earliest complex, said to date from the third century, is called the Naiku , or Inner Shrine. It is dedicated to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami. The second complex, the Geku , or Outer Shrine, is about six kilometers 3.
It is thought to have been built in the fifth century for Toyouke no Okami, the Grain Goddess. Building material from roof to floors for both structures and finishing comes entirely from Japanese white cypress, Hinoki. The main building of the Inner Shrine is designed in a special form of architectural style, called shinmei-zukuri.
This style is prohibited for other shrines. It's simple rectangular design is said to derive from the granaries and treasure storehouses of prehistoric Japan. The sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami is the mythical ancestor of the Imperial family.
She is represented by the sacred mirror, one of the three objects Imperial Regalia symbolic of the divine authority of the imperial family. Legend holds that the inner shrine dates from when Princess Yamatohime, daughter of Emperor Suinin, was searching for a final resting place for the sacred mirror. When she reached Ise, she heard the voice of Amaterasu Omikami, saying, "This is a good place, and I would like to stay here.
Every twenty years the buildings at Ise are torn down and new ones are built on an immediately adjacent site. In this way the site is purified and building materials renewed while preserving the original design from the third and fourth centuries.
The new shrines, however identical with the old ones, are not considered a replica of Ise, but are "Ise re-created. Japanese Architecture. New York: G. Braziller, It walks you through all the architectural elements mentioned elsewhere on this page. The nishi-jukusha at Izumo Shrine is a building to house the gods during the Kamiari Matsuri festival in October. Torii One or more torii gates mark the approach and entrance to a shrine. They come in various colors and are made of various materials.
Most torii, however are made of wood, and many are painted orange and black. Komainu Komainu are a pair of guardian dogs or lions, often found on each side of a shrine's entrance. In the case of Inari Shrines, they are foxes see picture rather than dogs.
Purification trough Found near the entrance, the water of these fountains is used for purification. You are supposed to clean your hands and mouth before approaching the main hall more details. Main and offering hall Depending on the shrine's architecture style, the main hall honden and offering hall haiden are two separate buildings or combined into one building. The main hall's innermost chamber contains the shrine's sacred object, while visitors make their prayers and offerings at the offering hall more details.
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