Tokyo 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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

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

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.

Ise Jingu is the collective name for 125 shrines, centering on the Inner and Outer Shrines, and consisting of 14 annexes of the two shrines, as well as regent shrines, subordinate shrines, and shrines under jurisdiction.

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 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.

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 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.

The Tokyo Ten Shrines are Kanda Myojin, Nezu Shrine, Shiba Daijingu Shrine, Kameido Tenjin Shrine, Hakusan Shrine, Shinagawa Shrine, Tomioka Hachimangu Shrine, Oji Shrine, Hie Shrine, and Akasaka Hikawa Shrine, which were designated as associate shrines by the Emperor Meiji.

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.

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

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