Tokyo Shrines

Shikinai-sha were divided into "kan'ei" and "kokun'ei," which were further classified into "osha" and "kosha," respectively.

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.

After the Meiji Restoration, shrines to which an imperial envoy was sent by the emperor on the occasion of rituals were called "imperial shrines.

Dendenmangu Shrine at Horinji Temple in Arashiyama, Kyoto, enshrines Denden Myojin, the god of electricity and radio waves, and is visited by people in the TV and IT industries.

Shrines have a rank that expresses their prestige, called "Shakkaku.

Ookunitama Shrine is located in Fuchu City, Tokyo, and is the head shrine enshrining from the first to the sixth shrines of Musashi Province.

It is considered good luck to dedicate an ema (votive tablet) to the left side of the shrine, with the horse facing to the left.

The Ise Jingu Shrine is basically self-sufficient in the production of food: rice is grown in the Jingu Jinden, vegetables and fruits are grown in the Jingu Gyoen, and salt is produced in the Yakisho.

Suwa Shrine is the head shrine of Suwa-taisha in Nagano Prefecture, and there are approximately 5,000 Suwa shrines throughout the country, with Kenmonakata no Kami as the main deity.

Including annexes and outlying regent shrines, Ise Jingu is the largest shrine in Japan in terms of area.

The meaning of the tama gravel on the approach to shrines is that "tama" is the same as "tama" in the word "mitama," meaning beautiful, and that it is spread to keep the sacred place clean.

The shrine grounds generally consist of a torii gate as the entrance to the shrine, a hand-watering basin, guardian dogs, a hall of worship, a main hall of worship, and regent shrines.

There are various theories as to the origin of the torii, such as that the perch of a bird was placed in front of the shrine in reference to the "everlasting long-nesting bird" that appeared in the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) to lure Amaterasu out of Ama-no-Omikami (Amaterasu) from the Ama-no-Iwato.

The custom of worship at Izumo-taisha is "Ni-hai (two worships, four claps, one bow, and one bow). In addition, during the annual festival in May, the worshippers bow with eight beats of the hand.

The 16 shrines that are designated as "imperial shrines" are Kamo Betsurai-jinja Shrine, Kamo Goso-jinja Shrine, Ishimizu Hachimangu Shrine, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Atsuta Shrine, Izumo Taisha Shrine, Hikawa Shrine, Kashima Shrine, Katori Shrine, Kashihara Shrine, Omi-jingu Shrine, Heian Shrine, Meiji Shrine, Yasukuni Shrine, Usa Shrine, and Kashinomiya Shrine.

The head shrine of the Inari Shrines, said to number more than 30,000 throughout Japan, is the Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, founded in 711.

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.

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

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.

Inari Shrine, Hachiman Shrine, and Tenmangu Shrine (Tenjin Shrine) are the three major Shinto shrines in Japan that have a particularly large number of affiliated shrines.

Since the center of the torii gate and the approach to the shrine is considered to be the path of the gods, it is customary to pass by either side of the gate.

The most famous of these is the "three sacred objects" that Ninigi no Mikoto is said to have received from Amaterasu at the time of his descent from heaven in the "Chronicles of Japan.

The gojintai, the central object of a shrine, is also called "yoriyoshiro," and the place or object where the deity dwells varies from shrine to shrine.

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

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

The Jinja Honcho was established in 1946 as a religious corporation independent of the national government under the Shinto Directive issued by GHQ.

The highest shrine in Tokyo's 23 wards is the Tower Grand Shrine on the 2nd floor of the Tokyo Tower Grand Observatory.