Tokyo Shrines

The official name of the Inner Shrine is "Koutai Jingu," which enshrines the deity Amaterasu.

The oldest shrine in Japan is said to be the Ogami Shrine in Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture. Because Mt. Miwa itself is the deity, there is no temple, and only a hall of worship has been erected.

The highest shrine in Japan is Mt. Fuji Hongu Sengen Taisha Shrine in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The Tokyo Ten Shrines are Kanda Myojin, Nezu Shrine, Shiba Daijingu Shrine, Kameido Tenjin Shrine, Hakusan Shrine, Shinagawa Shrine, Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine, Oji Shrine, Hie Shrine, and Akasaka Hikawa Shrine, which were designated as associate shrines by the Emperor Meiji.

The entire 233-meter-high Mount Inari is the object of worship at Fushimi Inari Taisha, and Sei Shonagon wrote about his pilgrimage to the mountain in his "Pillow Book.

The general etiquette for worshipping at shrines is "Nirei Ni-Beat-Itte-Ichirei" (two beats, one bow).

Ise Jingu was considered a separate entity and was placed outside the classification of the modern shrine ranking system and imperial shrines.

The deity of Izumo-taisha Shrine is Okuninushi no Mikoto, the hero of the myth "Inaba no Shirohare (White Rabbit of Inaba). He is also known as Daikoku-sama, one of the seven gods of good fortune.

About 90% of the site area of Ise Jingu Shrine is forest, which accounts for about one-sixth of the total area of Ise City.

There are 22,000 priests in Japan, of which approximately 3,000 are women.

The chief priest is the head of a shrine, and there is one priest for each shrine. Only Ise Jingu has "Grand Shrine Priest" and "Minor Shrine Priest.

Tenmangu Shrine is dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, a scholar and politician of the Heian period. There are approximately 12,000 Tenmangu shrines and Sugawara shrines throughout Japan.

A shrine is a place where Shinto deities are enshrined.

The month of October on the lunar calendar is said to be the month when all the gods from all over Japan gather in Izumo for their divine assemblies, and is generally referred to as "Kanashizuki," while in Izumo it is called "Kanzai-zuki.

Visitors are required to stop in front of the torii gate and bow before passing through.

Komainu are the guardian animals of shrines. They are placed in pairs on the left and right, with the mouths of each pair representing the "A" and "Un" forms.

There are more than 2,000 single shrines that do not belong to the Honcho, including Nikko Toshogu Shrine, Meiji Shrine, Yasukuni Shrine, and Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine.

The basic architectural style of shrine pavilions is the gabled gabled roof, which can be broadly divided into the "Shinmei-zukuri" style, which has its roots in the Ise Jingu Shrine, and the "Taisha-zukuri" style, which has its roots in the Izumo-Taisha Shrine.

The hall of worship is the place where rituals and worship services are held, and in some cases also serves as a dance hall, kaguraden, and shrine office. Some shrines, including Ise Jingu, do not have a hall of worship.

Ise Jingu is the collective name for 125 shrines, centering on the Inner and Outer Shrines, and consisting of 14 annexes of the two shrines, as well as regent shrines, subordinate shrines, and shrines under jurisdiction.

The prefecture with the fewest number of shrines is Okinawa Prefecture with 13 shrines.

The deity of Hiyoshi Shrine, Hie Shrine, and Sanno Shrine, which have about 3,800 shrines throughout Japan, is Oyakui, also known as "Hiyoshi God" or "Sanno Gongen. The deity is also the head deity of the Matsuo faith, which has Matsuo Taisha Shrine in Kyoto as its head shrine.

The Honcho is the umbrella organization for all Shinto shrines in Japan, and each prefectural government has its own Shinto Shrine Agency as a local branch.

In 1946, GHQ abolished the system of shrine ranks, but the concept of shrine rank itself still exists today.

The shrine with the largest site area in Japan is Meiji Jingu Shrine. It has a total area of 700,000 m2.

The southernmost shrine in Japan is Miyako Shrine on Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture.

Of all the Shinto shrines in Japan, about 20,000 are manned, and one priest often serves several shrines at the same time.