Tokyo Shrines

The torii is the boundary between the secular world of human habitation and the Shinto realm, and serves as a gateway to the Shinto realm.

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 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.

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

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.

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

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

The head shrine of Hachiman worship, of which there are said to be more than 25,000 throughout Japan, is Usa Jingu Shrine in Oita Prefecture, which was built in 725.

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

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

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.

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

Nakajima Shrine in Hyogo Prefecture enshrines Tamizumamori-no-mikoto, who is revered as the god of sweets.

The Outer Shrine, officially named Toyoke Grand Shrine, enshrines the deity Toyoke, the patron god of agriculture, industry, food, clothing, and shelter.

Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine in Osaka Prefecture is the head shrine of the 2,000 Sumiyoshi shrines in Japan. The three Sumiyoshi deities were worshipped as gods of navigation and purification.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Tokyo Gosha are Meiji Shrine, Yasukuni Shrine, Hie Shrine, Okunitama Shrine, and Tokyo Daijingu Shrine, which are considered historically prestigious among the approximately 1,800 shrines in 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.

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.