Tokyo Shrines

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

It is a basic rule to visit the Outer Shrine and then the Inner Shrine in that order.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Ise Jingu" is a common name, and its official name is "Jingu.

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

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.

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.

After the Meiji Restoration, the Meiji government established a modern shrine ranking system based on the Engi-shiki.

There are approximately 81,000 shrines throughout Japan (Agency for Cultural Affairs, 2016).

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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