Tokyo Shrines

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

In the Heian period (794-1185), the dedication of remote shrines was avoided, and "Nijusha" was established as a new ranking of shrines, mainly those close to Kyoto.51 "Ichinomiya" was established from the late Heian to Kamakura periods, and is the most prestigious shrine in each country (Ritsuryo/Kokugyo).

In principle, ichinomiya was granted to one shrine in one country, but there are cases where there are multiple ichinomiya in one country due to a battle for shrine status.

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.

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

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

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 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 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 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.