Tokyo Shrines

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

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

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 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.

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

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

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

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.

Shikinai-sha," the oldest shrine ranking in Japan, refers to the 2,861 shrines recorded in the Engi-shiki Shinmei-cho, part of the Engi-shiki in 5 extended years.

It is considered good luck to dedicate an ema (votive tablet) to the left side of the shrine, with the horse facing to the left.

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.

Atago Shrine in Minato Ward, Tokyo, is located on Mt. Atago, the highest mountain in the 23 wards as a natural terrain mountain.

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.

More than 1,500 rituals are held annually at Ise Jingu.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 deity of Izumo-taisha Shrine is Okuninushi no Mikoto, the hero of the myth "Inaba no Shirohare (White Rabbit of Inaba). He is also known as Daikoku-sama, one of the seven gods of good fortune.

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

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.