Tokyo Shrines

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Miko (shrine maidens) originally played a central role in Shinto, performing kagura (Shinto music and dance), praying, divination, and micturition.

Originally white in color, torii gates are said to have been painted red to ward off evil spirits in Buddhism as a result of the syncretization of Shintoism and Buddhism.

The general etiquette for worshipping at shrines is "Nirei Ni-Beat-Itte-Ichirei" (two beats, one bow).

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.

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.

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

By prefecture, Niigata Prefecture has the most shrines, with 4,727.

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.

The entire 233-meter-high Mount Inari is the object of worship at Fushimi Inari Taisha, and Sei Shonagon wrote about his pilgrimage to the mountain in his "Pillow Book.

Ise Jingu" is a common name, and its official name is "Jingu.

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.

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 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 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 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 presidency of the Honcho has been held by a female member of the Imperial Family for generations, and it is customary for the president to also serve as the chief priestess of Ise Jingu Shrine.

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

After the Meiji Restoration, shrines to which an imperial envoy was sent by the emperor on the occasion of rituals were called "imperial shrines.