Tokyo Shrines – Page 2 – A glimpse of the real Japan.

Shrine Number

十二社弁財天

Junisha Benzaiten

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

皆中稲荷神社

Kaichu Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The forests maintained in and around the grounds of shrines are called "chinju no mori (woods).

Shrine Number

津の守弁財天

Tsunokami Benzaiten

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

月見岡八幡神社

Tsukimigaoka-hachiman Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

牛込柳町天祖神社

Ushigome-yanagicho-tenso Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

熊鷹社

Kumatakasha

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

穴八幡宮

Ana Hachimangu

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

中井御霊神社

Nakai-goryo Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The presidency of the Honcho has been held by a female member of the Imperial Family for generations, and it is customary for the president to also serve as the chief priestess of Ise Jingu Shrine.

Shrine Number

金丸稲荷神社

Kanemaru Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

銀世界稲荷神社

Ginsekai Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

柳稲荷大明神

Yanagi Inari Daimyojin

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

Tokyo Daijingu Shrine was built as the far shrine of Ise Jingu Shrine. It is the "birthplace of the Shinto wedding ceremony" where Emperor Taisho performed the first Shinto wedding ceremony, and is very popular as a shrine with benefits for marriage.

Shrine Number

大六天社

Dairoku Tensha

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

筑土八幡神社

Tsukudo-hachiman Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

厳島神社抜弁天

Itsukushima Shrine Nukibenten

Shinjuku, Tokyo

By prefecture, Niigata Prefecture has the most shrines, with 4,727.

Shrine Number

清水川稲荷神社

Shimizu-gawa Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The Hachiman Shrine, affectionately known as "Hachiman-sama," is dedicated to Emperor Ojin (Honoritabetsumei). In the Middle Ages, he was worshipped by the warrior class as a warrior god.

Shrine Number

神楽坂若宮八幡神社

Kagurazaka-wakamiya-hachiman Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

大京神社

Daikyo Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The professional staff who serve at shrines are called "priests. The term "priest" is also used to refer to the Shinto priesthood in general.

Shrine Number

須賀神社

Suga Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Okinawa Prefecture also has the fewest number of shrines per 100,000 people, with 0.9 shrines per 100,000 people; Osaka (8.22) and Tokyo (10.68) are in second and third place, respectively.

Shrine Number

胡桃下稲荷社

Kurumigashita Inari Sha

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

水稲荷神社

Mizu Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

宮比神社

Miyabi Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

小田急豊川稲荷

Odakyu-toyokawa Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The northernmost shrine in Japan is Cape Soya Shrine in Hokkaido.

Shrine Number

成子天神社

Narukoten Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Since Shinto originally originated from nature worship, the objects of worship are so numerous that they are said to be "eight million gods.

Shrine Number

鮫ヶ橋せきとめ稲荷

Samegahashi-sekidome Inari

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The only shrine in Japan dedicated to the god of weather is located in the Koenji Hikawa Shrine in Tokyo, and many visitors come to pray for clear skies and success in the meteorologist exam.

Shrine Number

稲荷大明神

Inari Daimyojin

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

豊玉稲荷神社

Toyotama Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Meiji Jingu Shrine usually attracts the largest number of visitors for Hatsumode (New Year's visit) in Japan. The number of visitors is approximately 3.2 million on the first three days of the year.

Shrine Number

改代稲荷神社

Kaitai Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

朝日弁財天

Asahi Benzaiten

Shinjuku, Tokyo

In general, people refrain from visiting shrines during the period of mourning.

Shrine Number

新宿諏訪神社

Shinjuku-suwa Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.