Shinto shrine
A Template:Nihongo<ref name=":0">Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii</ref> is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the deities of the Shinto religion.<ref name="IK"/>
The Template:Nihongo<ref group="note">Also called the Template:Nihongo.</ref> is where a shrine's patron {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is or are enshrined.<ref name="IK">Iwanami Template:Nihongo Japanese dictionary</ref><ref name="scheid2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or an object believed to be capable of attracting spirits, called a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which can also serve as direct bonds to a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Mori Mizue</ref> There may be a Template:Nihongo 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Miniature shrines ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) can occasionally be found on roadsides. Large shrines sometimes have on their precincts miniature shrines, Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo.<ref group="note"> Because the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} once had different meanings but are now synonymous, these shrines are sometimes called Template:Nihongo, a neologism that fuses the two old names.</ref> {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the palanquins which are carried on poles during festivals ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), also enshrine {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and are therefore considered shrines.
In 927 CE, the Template:Nihongo was promulgated. This work listed all of the 2,861 Shinto shrines existing at the time, and the 3,131 official-recognized and enshrined {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>"Engishiki" in Stuart D. B. Pecken, ed., Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Second edition. (Lanham, MD, USA: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011) p. 92.</ref> In 1972, the Agency for Cultural Affairs placed the number of shrines at 79,467, mostly affiliated with the Template:Nihongo.<ref>Japanese Religion: A Survey by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Abe Yoshiya and David Reid, translators. (Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1972) p. 239.</ref> Some shrines, such as the Yasukuni Shrine, are totally independent of any outside authority.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The number of Shinto shrines in Japan is estimated to be around 100,000.<ref name="breenteeuwen">Breen, Teeuwen in Breen, Teeuwen (2000:1)</ref>
Since ancient times, the Template:Nihongo families dominated Shinto shrines through hereditary positions, and at some shrines the hereditary succession continues to present day.
The Unicode character representing a Shinto shrine (for example, on maps) is Template:Unichar.
EtymologyEdit
Template:Nihongo is the most general word for a Shinto shrine.<ref name="jinja.jp" /> Any place that has a Template:Nihongo is a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="IK" /> The word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} used to have two more readings, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, both of which are kun'yomi readings and mean 'kami grove'.<ref name="BT43" /> Both of these older readings can be found, for example, in the Man'yōshū.<ref name="BT43" />
Template:Nihongo, the second character in Template:Nihongo by itself, was not initially a secular term. Historically, in Chinese, it could refer to a Tudigong or 'soil god', a kind of tutelary deity seen as subordinate to the City Gods.<ref name=":03">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Such deities are also often called Template:Lang-zh or Template:Lang-zh.<ref name=":03" /> The kun'yomi reading of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, is a generic term for a Shinto shrine, much like {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="IK" /><ref name="BT43" /> {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or, occasionally, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} can also be used as a suffix, as in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. As a suffix, this indicates a minor shrine that has received a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} from a more important shrine through the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} process.<ref name="jinja.jp" />
Template:Nihongo are places where {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are present.<ref name="IK" /> These places can therefore be shrines and, in fact, 神社, 社 and 杜 can all be read as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="BT43" /> This reading reflects the fact that the first shrines were simply sacred groves or forests where {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were present.<ref name="BT43" />
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Template:Nihongo are extremely small shrines like the ones that can be found, for example, along country roads.<ref name=":1" /> The term Template:Nihongo, believed to have been one of the first words for a Shinto shrine, evolved from the word Template:Nihongo. This fact seems to indicate that the first shrines were huts built to house {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="Tamura202">Template:Cite book</ref><ref group="note">Template:Nihongo were tools conceived to attract the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and give them a physical space to occupy, thus making them accessible to human beings.</ref>
Template:Nihongo indicates a shrine enshrining an imperial prince. However, there are many instances where it is used simply as a tradition.<ref name="jinja.jp" /> The word Template:Nihongo, often found at the end of shrine names such as Hachimangū, Tenmangū, or Template:Nihongo, comes from the Chinese word Template:Lang-zh, meaning 'a palace or a temple to a high deity'.
A Template:Nihongo is a shrine of particularly high status that has a deep relationship with the Imperial household or enshrines an Emperor. This is the case for, both, Ise Jingū and Meiji Jingū.<ref name="jinja.jp" /> {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} alone, however, only refers to Ise Jingū, whose official name is just that.<ref name="jinja.jp" /> It is a formulation close to Template:Nihongo, with the character Template:Nihongo being replaced with Template:Nihongo to emphasize its high rank.
Template:Nihongo, the kun'yomi reading of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, indicates a shrine that is enshrining a special {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or a member of the Imperial household like the Empress. However, there are many examples, much like with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, in which it is used simply as a tradition.<ref name="IK" /> During the period of state regulation, many shrines changed the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in their names to {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
A {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Template:Nihongo is a shrine that was classified as such under the old system of shrine ranking, the Template:Nihongo, which was abolished in 1946.<ref name="IK" /><ref name=":2" /> Many shrines carrying that {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or 'title' adopted it only after the war.<ref name="jinja.jp" />
A Template:Nihongo3 is a shrine housing a tutelary {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} that protects a given area, village, building, or Buddhist temple. The word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} comes from the words Template:Nihongo3 and Template:Nihongo3.
Template:Nihongo<ref name="sgk">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a combination of two words: Template:Nihongo3 and Template:Nihongo3.<ref name="IK2">Iwanami Template:Nihongo Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version.</ref> They are also called Template:Nihongo3.<ref name="IK2" />
During the Japanese Middle Ages, shrines started being called Template:Nihongo, a term of Buddhist origin.<ref name="sos3" /> For example, in Eastern Japan, there are still many Hakusan shrines where the shrine itself is called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="sos3" /> Because it represents the application of Buddhist terminology to Shinto {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, its use was legally abolished by the Meiji government with the Template:Nihongo, and shrines began to be called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="sos3" />
HistoryEdit
Early originsEdit
Ancestors are {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} to be worshipped. Yayoi period village councils sought the advice of ancestors and other {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and developed instruments, Template:Nihongo, to evoke them.<ref name="Tamura20">Tamura, page 21</ref> These were conceived to attract the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and allow them physical space, thus making {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} accessible to human beings.<ref name="Tamura20"/>
Village council sessions were held in quiet spots in the mountains or in forests near great trees or other natural objects that served as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="Tamura20"/> These sacred places and their {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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".<ref name="Tamura20"/> Many shrines have on their grounds one of the original great {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}: a big tree, surrounded by a sacred rope called a Template:Nihongo.<ref name="Tamura20"/><ref group="note">Many other sacred objects (mirrors, swords, comma-shaped jewels called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) were originally {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and only later became {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} by association</ref>
The first buildings at places dedicated to worship were hut-like structures built to house some {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="Tamura20"/> A trace of this origin can be found in the term Template:Nihongo, which evolved into {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (written identically) and is considered to be one of the first words for shrine.<ref name="Tamura20"/><ref group="note">Today, a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is an extremely small shrine, like those seen on the sides of many roads.</ref>
First temporary shrinesEdit
True shrines arose with the beginning of agriculture, when the need arose to attract {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} to ensure good harvests.<ref name="NKS"/> These were, however, just temporary structures built for a particular purpose, a tradition of which's traces can be found in some rituals.<ref name="NKS"/>Template:Clarify
Hints of the first shrines can still be found.<ref name="Tamura20"/> Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara, for example, contains no sacred images or objects because it is believed to serve the mountain on which it stands—images or objects are therefore unnecessary.<ref name="Tamura20"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For the same reason, it has a worship hall, a Template:Nihongo, but no place to house the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a Template:Nihongo.<ref name="Tamura20" /> Archeology confirms that, during the Yayoi period, the most common Template:Nihongo, a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} actually housing the enshrined {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, in the earliest shrines were nearby mountain peaks that supplied stream water to the plains where people lived.<ref name="cambridge">Cambridge History of Japan (1993:524)</ref>
Besides Ōmiwa Shrine, another important example is Mount Nantai, a phallus-shaped mountain in Nikko which constitutes Futarasan Shrine's {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="cambridge"/> The name Template:Nihongo means 'man's body'.<ref name="cambridge"/> The mountain provides water to the rice paddies below and has the shape of the phallic stone rods found in pre-agricultural Jōmon sites.<ref name="cambridge"/>
First known shrineEdit
The first known Shinto shrine was built in roughly 478.<ref name=":022">Template:Cite book</ref>
Rites and ceremoniesEdit
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<ref>"Jogan Gishiki" in Stuart D. B. Pecken, ed., Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Second edition. (Lanham, MD, USA: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011) p. 139.</ref> 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 927,<ref name="nussbaum178">Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Engi-shiki" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 178.</ref> the Template:Nihongo 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.<ref>" Engishiki" in Stuart D. B. Pecken, ed., Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Second edition. (Lanham, MD, USA: Scarecrow Press, Inv, 2011) p. 92.</ref> 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 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.
Arrival and influence of BuddhismEdit
The arrival of Buddhism in Japan in around the sixth century introduced the concept of a permanent shrine.<ref name="NKS">Fujita, Koga (2008:20-21)</ref> A great number of Buddhist temples were built next to existing shrines in mixed complexes called Template:Nihongo to help priesthood deal with local {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, making those shrines permanent. Some time in their evolution, the word Template:Nihongo, meaning 'palace', came into use, indicating that shrines had, by then, become the imposing structures of today.<ref name="Tamura20"/>
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 Template:Nihongo, 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.<ref name="NKS"/>
Ise Grand Shrine, still rebuilt every 20 years, is its best extant example. In Shinto, it has played a particularly significant role in preserving ancient architectural styles.<ref name="NKS"/> 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
Shrines show various influences, particularly that of Buddhism, a cultural import which provided much of Shinto architecture's vocabulary. The Template:Nihongo3,<ref group="note">The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or 'tower gate', is a gate which looks like a two-story gate, but in fact is only one story.</ref> the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the Template:Nihongo3, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or 'stone lantern', and the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or 'lion dogs', are all elements borrowed from Buddhism.
Shinbutsu shūgō and the jingūjiEdit
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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 a part of a temple-shrine complex controlled by Buddhist clergy.<ref name="hardacre"/> These complexes were called Template:Nihongo, places of worship composed of a Buddhist temple and of a shrine dedicated to a local {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name=masato>Template:EOS</ref>
The complexes were born when a temple was erected next to a shrine to help its {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} with its karmic problems. At the time, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were thought to be also subjected to karma, and therefore in need of a salvation only Buddhism could provide. Having first appeared during the Nara period (710–794), the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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.
Shinbutsu bunriEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Shinto shrine went through a massive change when the Meiji administration promulgated a new policy of separation of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and foreign Buddhas ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) with the Template:Nihongo. This event triggered the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 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.<ref name="EoSHK">Template:Citation.</ref>
Until the end of Edo period, local {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} beliefs and Buddhism were intimately connected in what was called Template:Nihongo, 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in April 1868 ordered the defrocking of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (shrine monks performing Buddhist rites at Shinto shrines).<ref name = "Burkman">Template:Citation.</ref> A few days later, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} banned the application of Buddhist terminology such as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} to Japanese {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and the veneration of Buddhist statues in shrines.<ref name="EoSSB" />
The third stage consisted of the prohibition against applying the Buddhist term {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Great Bodhisattva) to the syncretic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Hachiman at the Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū and Usa Hachiman-gū shrines.<ref name="EoSSB">Template:Citation.</ref> In the fourth and final stage, all the defrocked {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were told to become "shrine priests" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and return to their shrines.<ref name="EoSSB" /> Monks of the Nichiren sect were told not to refer to some deities as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="EoSSB" />
After a short period in which it enjoyed popular favor, the process of separation of Buddhas and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} however stalled and is still only partially completed. To this day, almost all Buddhist temples in Japan have a small shrine ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) dedicated to its Shinto tutelary {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and vice versa Buddhist figures (e.g. goddess Kannon) are revered in Shinto shrines.<ref name="Scheid">Template:Citation.</ref>
ShintaiEdit
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The defining features of a shrine are the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} it enshrines and the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} if the honorific prefix {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is used) that houses it. While the name literally means 'body of a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}', {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are physical objects worshiped at or near Shinto shrines because a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is believed to reside in them.<ref name="sos">Shintai, Encyclopedia of Shinto</ref> {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are not themselves part of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, but rather just symbolic repositories which make them accessible to human beings for worship;<ref>Smeyers, page 44</ref> the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} inhabits them.<ref name="scheid1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}.</ref> {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are also of necessity {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, that is objects by their very nature capable of attracting {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
The most common {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are objects like mirrors, swords, jewels (for example comma-shaped stones called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (wands used during religious rites), and sculptures of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} called Template:Nihongo,<ref group="note"> {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are, as a rule, not represented in anthropomorphic or physical terms, however numerous paintings and statues representing them have appeared under Buddhist influence.</ref> but they can be also natural objects such as rocks, mountains, trees, and waterfalls.<ref name="sos"/> Mountains were among the first, and are still among the most important, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and are worshiped at several famous shrines. A mountain believed to house a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, as for example Mount Fuji or Mount Miwa, is called a Template:Nihongo.<ref name="ono">Ono, Woodard (2004:100)</ref> In the case of a man-made {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} must be invited to reside in it.<ref name="scheid1"/>
The founding of a new shrine requires the presence of either a pre-existing, naturally occurring {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (for example a rock or waterfall housing a local {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} called Hiryū Gongen.<ref name="nachi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The first duty of a shrine is to house and protect its {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} which inhabits it.<ref name="scheid1"/> If a shrine has more than one building, the one containing the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is called the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; because it is meant for the exclusive use of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, it is always closed to the public and is not used for prayer or religious ceremonies. The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} leaves the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} only during festivals ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), when it is put in portable shrines ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) and carried around the streets among the faithful.<ref name="scheid1"/> The portable shrine is used to physically protect the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and to hide it from sight.<ref name="scheid1"/>
Re-enshrinementEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Often, the opening of a new shrine will require the ritual division of a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and the transferring of one of the two resulting spirits to the new location, where it will animate the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. This process is called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and the divided spirits Template:Nihongo, Template:Nihongo, or Template:Nihongo.<ref name="Smyers147">Smyers (1999:235)</ref> This process of propagation, described by 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} intact in its original place and therefore does not alter any of its properties.<ref name="Smyers147"/> The resulting spirit has all the qualities of the original and is therefore "alive" and permanent.<ref name="Smyers147"/> The process is used often—for example during Shinto festivals ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) to animate temporary shrines called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="sonoda12">Sonoda (1975:12)</ref>
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.<ref name="Smyers156">Smyers (1999: 156-160)</ref> The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} process was of fundamental importance in the creation of all of Japan's shrine networks (Inari shrines, Hachiman shrines, etc.).
Shake familiesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Template:Nihongo 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} families still continue hereditary succession until present day and some were appointed hereditary nobility ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) after the Meiji Restoration.<ref name=":02">Template:Cite book</ref>
Some of the most well-known {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} families include:
- Arakida and Watarai of Ise Grand Shrine<ref name=":13">Template:Cite book</ref>
- Senge and Kitajima of Izumo Taisha<ref name=":13" />
- Ōnakatomi of Kasuga Taisha<ref name=":13" />
- Urabe of Yoshida Shrine<ref name=":13" />
Famous shrines and shrine networksEdit
Those worshiped at a shrine are generally Shinto {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, but sometimes they can be Buddhist or Taoist deities, as well as others not generally considered to belong to Shinto.Template:Refn Some shrines were established to worship living people or figures from myths and legends. An example 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 the oldest and most revered shrines in Japan, is in Shimane Prefecture.<ref name="schreine">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This is because their location is that of a traditionally important {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and not that of temporal institutions.
Some shrines exist only in one locality, while others are at the head of a network of Template:Nihongo.<ref name="bunpu">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The spreading of a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} can be evoked by one or more of several different mechanisms. The typical one is an operation called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a propagation process through which a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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 Template:Nihongo, another name for Amaterasu) grew due to two concurrent causes. During 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} mechanism.<ref name="bunpu"/>
Later, branch shrines started to appear further away. The first evidence of a Shinmei shrine far from Ise is given by the Azuma Kagami, a Kamakura-period text which refers to Amanawa Shinmei-gū's appearance in Kamakura, Kanagawa. Amaterasu began to be worshiped in other parts of the country because of the so-called Template:Nihongo3 phenomenon, the belief that she would fly to other locations and settle there.<ref name="bunpu"/> Similar mechanisms have been responsible for the spreading around the country of other {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
Notable shrinesEdit
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The Ise Grand Shrine in Mie prefecture is, with Izumo-taisha, the most representative and historically significant shrine in Japan.<ref name="IUI"/> The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} the two enshrine play fundamental roles in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, two texts of great importance to Shinto.<ref name="IUI">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Because its {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Amaterasu, is an ancestor of the Emperor, Ise Grand Shrine is the Imperial Household's family shrine. Ise Grand Shrine is dedicated specifically to the emperor. In the past, even his mother, wife and grandmother needed his permission to worship there.<ref name="EOS-IS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its traditional and mythological foundation date goes back to 4 BCE, but historians believe it was founded around the 3rd to 5th century CE.
Izumo Taisha in Shimane Prefecture is so old that no document about its origin survives, and the year of foundation is unknown. The shrine is the center of a series of sagas and myths.<ref name="IUI"/> The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} it enshrines, Ōkuninushi, created Japan before it was populated by Amaterasu's offspring, the Emperor's ancestors.<ref name="IUI"/> Because of its physical remoteness, in historical times Izumo has been eclipsed in fame by other sites, but there is still a widespread belief that in October all Japanese gods meet there.<ref name="IUI"/> For this reason, October is also known as the Template:Nihongo, while at Izumo Taisha alone it is referred to as the Template:Nihongo.<ref>Iwanami Template:Nihongo Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version</ref>
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Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of the largest shrine network in Japan, which has more than 32,000 members, about a third of the total. Inari Okami worship started here in the 8th century and has continued ever since, expanding to the rest of the country. Located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, the shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines. Another very large example is the Yūtoku Inari Shrine in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture.
Ōita Prefecture's Usa Shrine, called in Japanese Usa Jingū or Usa Hachiman-gū, is together with Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū, the head of the Hachiman shrine network.<ref name="usa">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Hachiman worship started here at least as far back as the Nara period (710–794). In 860, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} was divided and brought to Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū in Kyoto, which became the focus of Hachiman worship in the capital.<ref name="hachi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Located on top of Mount Otokoyama, Usa Hachiman-gū is dedicated to Emperor Ōjin, his mother Empress Jingū, and female {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Hime no Okami.<ref name="iwa">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Itsukushima Shrine is, together with Munakata Taisha, at the head of the Munakata shrine network. Remembered for its {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} raising from the waters, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The shrine is dedicated to the three daughters of Susano-o no Mikoto, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of seas and storms and brother of the great sun {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
Kasuga Taisha is a Shinto shrine in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. Established in 768 AD and rebuilt several times over the centuries, it is the shrine of the Fujiwara family. The interior is noted for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the many stone lanterns that lead up the shrine. The architectural style {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} takes its name from Kasuga Taisha's {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
The Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, head of the Kumano shrine network, includes Kumano Hayatama Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Shingu), Kumano Hongu Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Tanabe), and Kumano Nachi Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Nachikatsuura).<ref name="ks"/> The shrines lie between Template:Convert one from the other.<ref name="ks"/> They are connected by the pilgrimage route known as Template:Nihongo. The great Kumano Sanzan complex also includes two Buddhist temples, Seiganto-ji and Fudarakusan-ji.<ref group="note">The presence of Buddhist temples within a Shinto shrine complex is due to an integration of Buddhism and Shinto ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) which used to be normal before the Meiji restoration and is still common. The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} which inhabits the Nachi Falls within the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, the already mentioned Hiryū Gongen, is itself syncretic.</ref><ref name="ks">Sacred site "Kumano Sanzan" Template:Webarchive accessed on June 12, 2008</ref>
The religious significance of the Kumano region goes back to prehistoric times and predates all modern religions in Japan.<ref name="ks"/> The area was, and still is, considered a place of physical healing.
Yasukuni shrine, in Tokyo, is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan.
San Marino Shrine in Serravalle, San Marino, is the first Shinto shrine in Europe.
Shrine networksEdit
There are an estimated 80,000 shrines in Japan.<ref>Karan, Pradyumna. (2010). Japan in the 21st Century: Environment, Economy, and Society, p. 72; (1997). Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths, p. 191.</ref> The majority of Shinto shrines are associated with a shrine network.<ref name="breenteeuwen" /> 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.<ref name="bunshanum" /> Over one-third, 30,000, are associated with Inari. The top six networks comprise over 90% of all shrines. 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 Matsunoo-taisha, Kibune Shrine, and Taga-taisha, among others.
Inari shrinesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The number of branch shrines gives an approximate indication of their religious significance, and neither Ise Grand Shrine nor Izumo-taisha can claim the first place.<ref name="schreine"/> By far the most numerous are shrines dedicated to Inari, tutelary {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of agriculture popular all over Japan, which alone constitute almost a third of the total.<ref name="bunpu"/> Inari protects fishing, commerce, and productivity in general. Many modern Japanese corporations have shrines dedicated to Inari on their premises. Inari shrines are usually very small and easy to maintain, but can be very large, as in the case of Fushimi Inari Taisha, the head shrine of the network. The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is enshrined in some Buddhist temples.<ref name="schreine"/>
The entrance to an Inari shrine is usually marked by one or more vermilion {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Smyers (1999:60, 177)</ref> The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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.<ref name="Smyers93">Smyers (1999:93)</ref> 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.<ref name="Smyers93"/>
Hachiman shrinesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
A syncretic entity worshiped as both a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and a Buddhist {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, Hachiman is intimately associated with both learning and warriors.<ref name="bunpu"/> In the sixth or seventh century, Emperor Ōjin and his mother Empress Jingū came to be identified together with Hachiman.<ref name="ash">Template:Cite book</ref> First enshrined at Usa Hachiman-gū in Ōita Prefecture, Hachiman was deeply revered during the Heian period. According to the Kojiki, it was Ōjin who invited Korean and Chinese scholars to Japan, and for this reason he is the patron of writing and learning.
Because as Emperor Ōjin he was an ancestor of the Minamoto clan, Hachiman became the Template:Nihongo of the Minamoto samurai clan<ref name="bunpu"/> of Kawachi (Osaka). After Minamoto no Yoritomo became {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and established the Kamakura shogunate, Hachiman's popularity grew, and he became by extension the protector of the warrior class the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} had brought to power. For this reason, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of a Hachiman shrine is usually a stirrup or a bow.<ref name="ash"/>
During the Japanese medieval period, Hachiman worship spread throughout Japan among samurai and the peasantry. There are 25,000 shrines in Japan dedicated to him, the second most numerous after those of the Inari network.<ref name="bunpu"/> Usa Hachiman-gū is the network's head shrine together with Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū. However, Hakozaki Shrine and Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū are historically no less significant shrines and are more popular.
Shinmei shrinesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} While the ritsuryō legal system was in use, visits by commoners to Ise were forbidden.<ref name="bunpu" /> 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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.<ref name="bunpu" /> Amaterasu spread to other parts of the country because of the so-called Template:Nihongo phenomenon, the belief that Amaterasu flew to other locations and settled there.<ref name="bunpu" />
Tenjin shrinesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
The Tenjin shrine network enshrines 9th-century scholar Sugawara no Michizane. Sugawara had originally been enshrined to placate his spirit, not to be worshiped.<ref name="suga">Template:Cite book</ref> Michizane had been unjustly exiled in his life, and it was necessary to somehow placate his rage, believed to be the cause of a plague and other disasters. Kitano Tenman-gū was the first of the shrines dedicated to him. Because in life he was a scholar, he became the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of learning, and during the Edo period schools often opened a branch shrine for him.<ref name="bunpu" /> Another important shrine dedicated to him is Dazaifu Tenman-gū.
Munakata shrinesEdit
Headed by Kyūshū's Munakata Taisha and Itsukushima Shrine, shrines in this network enshrine the Template:Nihongo, namely Chikishima Hime-no-Kami, Tagitsu Hime-no-Kami, and Tagori Hime-no-Kami.<ref name="munakata">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The same three {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} they enshrine depends on the history of the shrine and the myths tied to it.<ref name="munakata" />
Suwa ShrinesEdit
Suwa Shrines are branch shrines of Suwa Taisha.
Hiyoshi shrinesEdit
Hiyoshi shrines are branch shrines of Hiyoshi Taisha. They have origins in Sannō Ichijitsu Shintō and worship Oyamakui no Kami.
Kumano shrinesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Kumano shrines enshrine the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi (the Template:Nihongo).<ref name="kumano">Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kumano Shinkō, accessed on April 1, 2010</ref> The point of origin of the Kumano cult is the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, which includes Template:Nihongo (Wakayama Prefecture, Shingu), Kumano Hongu Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Tanabe), and Kumano Nachi Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Nachikatsuura).<ref name="ks"/> There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan.
Gion ShrinesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Gion shrines are branch shrines of Tsushima Shrine, Yasaka Shrine or Hiromine Shrine. Historically associated with Gozu Tenno, they became dedicated to Susanoo during the separation of Shinto and Buddhism.
StructureEdit
The following is a list and diagram illustrating the most important parts of a Shinto shrine:
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – Shinto gate
- Stone stairs
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – the approach to the shrine
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – place of purification to cleanse one's hands and mouth
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – decorative stone lanterns
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – building dedicated to {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or the sacred {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} dance
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – the shrine's administrative office
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – wooden plaques bearing prayers or wishes
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – small auxiliary shrines
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – the so-called "lion dogs", guardians of the shrine
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – oratory or hall of worship
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – fence surrounding the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} – main hall, enshrining the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
- On the roof of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are visible {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (forked roof finials) and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (short horizontal logs), both common shrine ornamentations.
The general blueprint of a Shinto shrine is Buddhist in origin.<ref name="Tamura20"/> 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} can be missing if the shrine worships a nearby natural {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
Since its grounds are sacred, they are usually surrounded by a fence made of stone or wood called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Access is made possible by an approach called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. The entrances are straddled by gates called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 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.<ref name="HoS"/> Among them are the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or sanctuaries, where the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are enshrined, the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or hall of offerings, where offers and prayers are presented, and the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or hall of worship, where there may be seats for worshippers.<ref name="HoS"/> The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is the building that contains the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, literally, 'the sacred body of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}'.Template:Refn
Of these, only the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is open to the laity. The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is usually located behind the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and is often much smaller and unadorned. Other notable shrine features are the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the fountain where visitors cleanse their hands and mouth, and the Template:Nihongo, the office which oversees the shrine.<ref name="HoS"/> Buildings are often adorned by {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, variously oriented poles which protrude from their roof.
Before the Meiji Restoration it was common for a Buddhist temple to be built inside or next to a shrine, or vice versa.<ref name="SS">See the Shinbutsu shūgō article.</ref> If a shrine housed a Buddhist temple, it was called a Template:Nihongo. Analogously, temples all over Japan adopted Template:Nihongo and built Template:Nihongo to house them.<ref name="BT95">Mark Teeuwen in Breen and Teeuwen (2000:95-96)</ref> After the forcible separation of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines (shinbutsu bunri) ordered by the new government in the Meiji period, the connection between the two religions was officially severed, but continued nonetheless in practice and is still visible today.<ref name="SS"/>
Architectural stylesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Shrine buildings can have many different basic layouts, usually named either after a famous shrine's {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (e.g. {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, named after Hiyoshi Taisha), or a structural characteristic (e.g., {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, after the hip-and gable roof it adopts. The suffix {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in this case means 'structure'.)
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}Template:'s roof is always gabled, and some styles have a veranda-like aisle called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (a 1-{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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:
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Template:Nihongo – 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} belong to this type.<ref name="yahoo"/>
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Template:Nihongo – 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} belong to this type.<ref name="yahoo"/>
Proportions are important. A building of a given style often must have certain proportions measured in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (the distance between pillars, a quantity variable from one shrine to another or even within the same shrine).
The oldest styles are the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, believed to predate the arrival of Buddhism.<ref name="yahoo"/>
The two most common are the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="ko">History and Typology of Shrine Architecture, Encyclopedia of Shinto accessed on November 29, 2009</ref> Larger, more important shrines tend to have unique styles.
Most common stylesEdit
The following are the two most common shrine styles in Japan.
Nagare-zukuriEdit
The Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo is a style characterized by a very asymmetrical gabled roof or Template:Nihongo, projecting outwards on the non-gabled side, above the main entrance, to form a portico.<ref name="ko"/>
This is the feature which gives the style its name, the most common among shrines all over Japan. Sometimes the basic layout consisting of an elevated Template:Nihongo partially surrounded by a veranda called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (all under the same roof) is modified by the addition of a room in front of the entrance.<ref name="ko"/>
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} varies in roof ridge length from 1 to 11 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, but is never 6 or 8 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="jana">JAANUS, Nagare-zukuri, accessed on December 1, 2009</ref> The most common sizes are 1 and 3 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. The oldest shrine in Japan, Uji's Ujigami Shrine, has a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} of this type. Its external dimensions are 5×3 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, but internally it is composed of three Template:Nihongo measuring 1 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} each.<ref name="jana"/>
Kasuga-zukuriEdit
Template:Nihongo as a style takes its name from Kasuga Taisha's {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. It is characterized by the extreme smallness of the building, just 1×1 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in size. In Kasuga Taisha's case, this translates in Template:Convert.<ref name="jaka">JAANUS, Kasuga-zukuri, accessed on December 1, 2009</ref> The roof is gabled with a single entrance at the gabled end, decorated with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, covered with cypress bark and curved upwards at the eaves. Supporting structures are painted vermillion, while the plank walls are white.<ref name="jaka"/>
After the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, this is the most common style, with most instances in the Kansai region around Nara.<ref name="ko"/>
Styles predating the arrival of BuddhismEdit
The following four styles predate the arrival in Japan of Buddhism.
Primitive shrine layout with no hondenEdit
Unique in that the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is missing, it is believed shrines of this type are reminiscent of what shrines were like in prehistorical times. The first shrines had no {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} because the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or object of worship, was the mountain on which they stood. An extant example is Nara's Ōmiwa Shrine, which still has no {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="ko"/> An area near the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or hall of worship, sacred and taboo, replaces it for worship. Another prominent example of this style is Futarasan Shrine near Nikkō, whose {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is Mount Nantai.
Shinmei-zukuriEdit
Template:Nihongo is an ancient style typical of, and most common at, Ise Grand Shrine, the holiest of Shinto shrines.<ref name=" ko"/> It is most common in Mie prefecture.<ref name="jashi">JAANUS, Shinmei-zukuri accessed on December 1, 2009</ref> 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is either 3×2 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or 1×1 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} protruding from the roof's ridge.<ref name="jashi"/> The oldest extant example is Nishina Shinmei Shrine.<ref name="yahoo"/>
Sumiyoshi-zukuriEdit
Template:Nihongo takes its name from Sumiyoshi Taisha's {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in Ōsaka. The building is 4 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} wide and 2 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} deep and has an entrance under the gable.<ref name="yahoo">Jinja Kenchiku, Shogakukan Nihon Daihyakka Zensho, accessed on November 29, 2009</ref> Its interior is divided in two sections, one at the Template:Nihongo and one at the Template:Nihongo with a single entrance at the front.<ref name="jasu">JAANUS, Sumiyoshi-zukuri, accessed on December 1, 2009</ref> 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.<ref name="jasu"/> Another example of this style is Sumiyoshi Jinja, part of the Sumiyoshi Sanjin complex in Fukuoka Prefecture.<ref name="jasu"/> In both cases, as in many others, there is no veranda.
Taisha-zukuriEdit
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Template:Nihongo is the oldest shrine style, takes its name from Izumo Taisha and, like Ise Grand Shrine's, has {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, plus archaic features like gable-end pillars and a single central pillar ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}).<ref name="ko"/> 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.<ref name="jata">JAANUS, Taisha-zukuri, accessed on December 1, 2009</ref>
The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} normally has a 2×2 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} footprint (Template:Convert 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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in Shimane Prefecture, built in the 16th century.
Other stylesEdit
Many other architectural styles exist, most of them rare.
Template:AnchorInterpreting shrine namesEdit
Shrine nomenclature has changed considerably since the Meiji period. Until then, the vast majority of shrines were small and had no permanent priest.<ref name="hardacre">Hardacre (1986:31)</ref> With very few exceptions, they were just a part of a temple-shrine complex controlled by Buddhist clergy.<ref name="hardacre"/>
They usually enshrined a local tutelary {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, so they were called with the name of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} followed by terms like {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; Template:Nihongo, short for {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, or guardian deity of one's birthplace; or Template:Nihongo. The term Template:Nihongo, now the most common, was rare.<ref name="hardacre"/> Examples of this kind of pre-Meiji use are Tokusō Daigongen and Kanda Myōjin.
Today, the term "Shinto shrine" in English is used in opposition to "Buddhist temple" to mirror in English the distinction made in Japanese between Shinto and Buddhist religious structures. This single English word translates several non-equivalent Japanese words, including Template:Nihongo as in Yasukuni Jinja; Template:Nihongo as in Tsubaki Ōkami Yashiro; Template:Nihongo as in Watarai no Miya; Template:Nihongo as in Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū; Template:Nihongo as in Meiji Jingū; Template:Nihongo as in Izumo Taisha;<ref name="HoS">The History of Shrines</ref> Template:Nihongo; and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Template:Nihongo.
Shrine names are descriptive. A 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 Template:Nihongo, the second is the so-called Template:Nihongo, or 'title'.<ref name="jinja.jp">Shinto Online Network Association Jinja no Shōgō ni Tsuite Oshiete Kudasai Template:Webarchive</ref>
MeishōEdit
The most common {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 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.<ref>Ise, the Holiest Shrine Template:Webarchive, Berkeley University ORIAS site accessed on August 10, 2008</ref>
Very often the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} will be the name of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} enshrined. An Inari Shrine for example is a shrine dedicated to {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Inari. Analogously, a Kumano Shrine is a shrine that enshrines the three Kumano mountains. A Hachiman Shrine enshrines {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Hachiman. Tokyo's Meiji Shrine enshrines the Meiji Emperor. The name can also have other origins, often unknown or unclear.
ShōgōEdit
The second part of the name defines the status of the shrine.
- Template:Nihongo is the most general word for a Shinto shrine.<ref name="jinja.jp" /> Any place that has a Template:Nihongo is a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="IK" /> The word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} used to have two more readings, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, both of which are kun'yomi readings and mean 'kami grove'.<ref name="BT43" /> Both of these older readings can be found, for example, in the Man'yōshū.<ref name="BT43" />
- Template:Nihongo is a generic term for Shinto shrine, much like {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="IK"/><ref name="BT43"/>
- Template:Nihongo are places where {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are present.<ref name="IK" /> These places can therefore be shrines and, in fact, 神社, 社 and 杜 can all be read as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="BT43">Sonoda Minoru in Breen, Teeuwen (2000:43)</ref> This reading reflects the fact that the first shrines were simply sacred groves or forests where {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} were present.<ref name="BT43" />
- The suffix {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, as in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} indicates a minor shrine that has received a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} from a more important shrine through the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} process.
- {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Template:Nihongo are extremely small shrines like the ones that can be found, for example, along country roads.<ref name=":1">Basic Terms of Shinto, Hokora retrieved on July 1, 2008</ref>
- A Template:Nihongo is a shrine of particularly high status that has a deep relationship with the Imperial household or enshrines an Emperor. This is the case for, both, Ise Jingū and Meiji Jingū.<ref name="jinja.jp" /> {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} alone, however, only refers to Ise Jingū, whose official name is just that.<ref name="jinja.jp" />
- Template:Nihongo indicates a shrine that is enshrining a special {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or a member of the Imperial household like the Empress. However, there are many examples, much like with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, in which it is used simply as a tradition.<ref name="IK" /> During the period of state regulation, many shrines changed the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in their names to {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
- Template:Nihongo indicates a shrine enshrining an imperial prince. However, there are many instances where it is used simply as a tradition.<ref name="jinja.jp" />
- A {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or Template:Nihongo is a shrine that was classified as such under the old system of shrine ranking, the Template:Nihongo, which was abolished in 1946.<ref name="IK" /><ref name=":2">Myōjin taisha, Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on July 2, 2008</ref> Many shrines carrying that {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or 'title' adopted it only after the war.<ref name="jinja.jp" />
- During the Japanese Middle Ages, shrines started being called Template:Nihongo, a term of Buddhist origin.<ref name="sos3">Encyclopedia of Shinto, Gongen shinkō, accessed on October 5, 2008</ref> For example, in Eastern Japan, there are still many Hakusan shrines where the shrine itself is called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="sos3" /> Because it represents the application of Buddhist terminology to Shinto {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, its use was legally abolished by the Meiji government with the Template:Nihongo, and shrines began to be called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="sos3" />
These names are not equivalent in terms of prestige: a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is more prestigious than a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which is more important than a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
Etiquette at shrinesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
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At shrines there is a relatively standardized system of visit ettiquette that is called Template:Ill. It goes roughly as follows:<ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Bow once before entering the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> Walking through the center of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is reserved for deities.<ref name=":7" />
- Purify the hands and mouth with the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" />
- Put money in the offering box.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":22">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Ring the bell 2 to 3 times if present.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":22" />
- Bow twice.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":22" />
- Clap twice.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":22" />
- Bow once.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> This bow is deeper than the others,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> at a 90-degree angle.<ref name=":22" />
- When exiting the shrine, turn around and bow once at the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref> "Etiquette For Worship" retrieved May 31 2024. </ref>
There are rare exceptions to this system. For example, at Usa Jingū and Izumo-taisha, it is correct etiquette to clap four times in front of the offering box rather than the usual twice.<ref> "Usa Jingu - About Worship" retrieved May 31 2024. </ref><ref> "Izumo-Taisha - Frequently Asked Questions" retrieved May 31 2024.</ref>
Shrines with structures designated as National TreasuresEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Shrines that are part of a World Heritage Site are marked with a dagger (Template:Dagger).
- Tōhoku region
- Kantō region
- Chūbu region
- Kansai region
- Onjō-ji (Ōtsu, Shiga)
- Hiyoshi Taisha (Ōtsu, Shiga)
- Mikami Shrine (Yasu, Shiga)
- Ōsasahara Shrine (Yasu, Shiga)
- Tsukubusuma Shrine (Nagahama, Shiga)
- Namura Shrine (Ryūō, Shiga)
- Kamo ShrineTemplate:Dagger (Kyoto, Kyoto)
- Daigo-jiTemplate:Dagger (Kyoto, Kyoto)
- Toyokuni Shrine (Kyoto, Kyoto)
- Kitano Tenman-gū (Kyoto, Kyoto)
- Ujigami ShrineTemplate:Dagger (Uji, Kyoto)
- Sumiyoshi Taisha (Osaka, Osaka)
- Sakurai Shrine (Sakai, Osaka)
- Kasuga ShrineTemplate:Dagger (Nara, Nara)
- Enjō-ji (Nara, Nara)
- Isonokami Shrine (Tenri, Nara)
- Udamikumari Shrine (Uda, Nara)
- Chūgoku region
- Shikoku region
- Kyūshū region
OfficiantsEdit
KannushiEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
A Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo is a priest responsible for the maintenance of a shrine, as well as for leading worship of a given {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref name="HoS"/> These two terms were not always synonyms. Originally, a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} was a holy man who could work miracles and who, thanks to purification rites, could work as an intermediary between {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and man, but the term later evolved such that it was synonymous with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, a term for a man who works at a shrine and holds religious ceremonies there.<ref name="IK"/><ref name="ya">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Women can become {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and it is common for widows to succeed their husbands.<ref name="EB">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} </ref>
MikoEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
A Template:Nihongo is a shrine maiden who has trained for and taken up several duties at a shrine including assistance of shrine functions such as but not limited to: tidying the premises every day, performing the sacred kagura dances on certain occasions, and performing the sale of sacred goods, including amulets known as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, paper talismans known as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and wood tablets known as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
GalleryEdit
- Shinra Zenjin Hall.jpg
lang}} style: entrance on the non-gabled side
- Outside of Itsukushima main shrine.jpg
lang}} style: entrance on the gabled side
- Katsuragi-jinja (Gose, Nara) massha.jpg
lang}}
- Hokora-DSC2202.jpg
lang}}
- 安住神社(バイク神社).jpg
Template:Ill is famous not only for praying for safe childbirth, but also as a motorcycle shrine.
See alsoEdit
- 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 ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}})
NotesEdit
FootnotesEdit
<references group="note"/>
CitationsEdit
ReferencesEdit
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead link
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite encyclopedia
- {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
- The History of Shrines, Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on June 10, 2008
- Shinto Shrines or Temples?Template: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 Template:Webarchive, Shinto Online Network Association, retrieved on July 2, 2008 (in Japanese)
- Template:Cite book
- Stuart D. B. Picken. Essentials of Shinto: An Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings. Greenwood, 1994. Template:ISBN
Further readingEdit
- Shimizu, Karli. Overseas Shinto Shrines: Religion, Secularity and the Japanese Empire (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022) online book review
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book Template:ISBN; OCLC 63679956
- The Herbert Offen Research Collection of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum Template:Webarchive
External linksEdit
- Encyclopedia of Shinto, Kokugakuin University
- Jinja and Shinto, site of the Shinto Online Network Association
- Jinja Honchō, the Association of Shinto Shrines
- Template:In lang Kokugakuin University Shinto Jinja Database
- Shinto Shrine types