Tokyo Shrines

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.

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

It is a basic rule to visit the Outer Shrine and then the Inner Shrine in that order.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

In general, people refrain from visiting shrines during the period of mourning.

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

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.

The basic architectural style of shrine pavilions is the gabled gabled roof, which can be broadly divided into the "Shinmei-zukuri" style, which has its roots in the Ise Jingu Shrine, and the "Taisha-zukuri" style, which has its roots in the Izumo-Taisha Shrine.

The chief priest is the head of a shrine, and there is one priest for each shrine. Only Ise Jingu has "Grand Shrine Priest" and "Minor Shrine Priest.

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.

Since Shinto originally originated from nature worship, the objects of worship are so numerous that they are said to be "eight million gods.

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 Outer Shrine, officially named Toyoke Grand Shrine, enshrines the deity Toyoke, the patron god of agriculture, industry, food, clothing, and shelter.

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.

A shrine is a place where Shinto deities are enshrined.

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

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.