Tokyo Shrines

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.

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.

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

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

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

The shrine with the largest site area in Japan is Meiji Jingu Shrine. It has a total area of 700,000 m2.

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

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.

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 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 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 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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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 16 shrines that are designated as "imperial shrines" are Kamo Betsurai-jinja Shrine, Kamo Goso-jinja Shrine, Ishimizu Hachimangu Shrine, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, Atsuta Shrine, Izumo Taisha Shrine, Hikawa Shrine, Kashima Shrine, Katori Shrine, Kashihara Shrine, Omi-jingu Shrine, Heian Shrine, Meiji Shrine, Yasukuni Shrine, Usa Shrine, and Kashinomiya Shrine.

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

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

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

Since the center of the torii gate and the approach to the shrine is considered to be the path of the gods, it is customary to pass by either side of the gate.

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.

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.

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

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.