Tokyo Shrines – A glimpse of the real Japan.

Shrine Number

神楽坂若宮八幡神社

Kagurazaka-wakamiya-hachiman Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

水神宮

Sui Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

Kanda Myojin is the general guardian deity of 108 town councils in central Tokyo, and its benefits include prosperous business, prosperity of the company, protection from disaster and misfortune, healing from illness, and marriage. It is also famous for the Kanda Festival, one of the three major festivals in Japan.

Shrine Number

皆中稲荷神社

Kaichu Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The forests maintained in and around the grounds of shrines are called "chinju no mori (woods).

Shrine Number

鎧神社

Yoroi Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

小田急豊川稲荷

Odakyu-toyokawa Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

中井御霊神社

Nakai-goryo Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

大六天社

Dairoku Tensha

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

柳稲荷大明神

Yanagi Inari Daimyojin

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Ookunitama Shrine is located in Fuchu City, Tokyo, and is the head shrine enshrining from the first to the sixth shrines of Musashi Province.

Shrine Number

北野神社

Kitano Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

於岩稲荷

Oiwa Inari

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

天日鷲神社

Ameno-hiwashinokami Shrine

Shrine Number

稲荷神社・三峯神社

Inari Shrine Mitsumine Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

浅間神社

Asama Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Of all the Shinto shrines in Japan, about 20,000 are manned, and one priest often serves several shrines at the same time.

Shrine Number

夫婦木神社

Meotogi Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

天白稲荷神社

Tenpaku Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The ema (votive tablet) of the Weather Shrine, which also appears in the movie "Weather Child," is in the shape of a geta (wooden clogs). The omikuji is in the shape of a teru teru bozu. The red seal is stamped with the day's weather.

Shrine Number

十二社熊野神社

Juniso-kumano Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

赤城神社

Akagi Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

大京神社

Daikyo Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

The professional staff who serve at shrines are called "priests. The term "priest" is also used to refer to the Shinto priesthood in general.

Shrine Number

大神宮

Dai-jingu

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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

Shrine Number

須賀神社

Suga Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

富受稲荷大明神

Tomiuke Inari Daimyojin

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

豊玉稲荷神社

Toyotama Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

笑福稲荷神社

Warafuku Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

多武峯内藤神社

Tatakegamine-naito Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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).

Shrine Number

音羽今宮神社

Otowaimamiya Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Gohage Shrine in Kyoto enshrines the god of hair. It is said that offering cut hair to the shrine brings blessings related to hair.

Shrine Number

新宿諏訪神社

Shinjuku-suwa Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

雷電稲荷神社

Raiden Inari Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

牛込柳町天祖神社

Ushigome-yanagicho-tenso Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.

Shrine Number

高木神社

Takagi Shrine

Shinjuku, Tokyo

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.