Tokyo Shrines

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.

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).

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 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

A shrine is a place where Shinto deities are enshrined.

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.

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

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 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 northernmost shrine in Japan is Cape Soya Shrine in Hokkaido.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.