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The torii and the haiden of Ono Jinja in Fuchū, Tokyo
The torii and the haiden of Ono Jinja in Fuchū, Tokyo

A Shinto shrine is a Shinto place of worship[1]. The word is used in opposition to Buddhist temple to mirror in English the distinction made in Japanese between Shinto and Buddhist places of worship. This single English term however translates several, not always equivalent Japanese words, including jinja (神社?) as in Yasukuni Jinja, yashiro (社?) as in Tsubaki Ōkami Yashiro, miya (宮?) as in Watarai no Miya, -gū (宮?) as in Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū, jingū (神宮?) as in Meiji Jingū, taisha (大社?) as in Izumo Taisha and hokora/hokura (神庫?) or mori (杜?) as in the case of some special shrine buildings [2].

The most famous among shrines is Ise Shrine in Mie prefecture dedicated to sun goddess Amaterasu. Purportedly the home of the Sacred Mirror, the shrine is arguably Shinto's holiest and most important site.

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[edit] Structure of a Shinto shrine

Romon at Isonokami Jingu in Tenri, Nara
Romon at Isonokami Jingu in Tenri, Nara

A shrine may include within its grounds several structures, each destined to a different purpose[2]. Among them are the honden (本殿) or sanctuary, where the kami are enshrined, the heiden (幣殿?) or hall of offerings, where offers and prayers are presented, and the haiden (拝殿) or hall of worship, where there may be seats for worshipers[2]. The honden is the building that contains the goshintai (御神体), literally, "the sacred body of the kami". Of these, only the haiden is open to the laity. The honden is located behind the haiden and is much smaller and unadorned. Other notable shrine features are the torii, or sacred gates, that delimit the sacred grounds and have become the symbol of Japan, the temizuya (手水舎), the fountain where visitors cleanse their hands and mouth, and the shamusho (社務所), the office that administrates the shrine[2].

Until the Meiji Restoration it was not uncommon for a Buddhist temple to be built inside or next to a shrine, or viceversa for a shrine to include Buddhist subtemples[3]. When a shrine houses a Buddhist temple, it is then called a jinguji (神宮寺). After the forcible separation of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines (shinbutsu bunri) ordered by the new government in the Meiji period, the connection between the two religions was officially severed, but continued nonetheless in practice[3].

Other structures they may be present within the grounds of a shrine are:

  • The kaguraden (神楽殿), a stage for Noh or kagura ritual dance
  • The koma-inu 狛犬, or lion-dog statues at its entrance
  • The maiden/maidono (舞殿), where dances and music are performed
  • The rōmon (楼門), or two-storied gate
  • The sessha (摂社), or auxiliary shrine dedicated to a deity closely related to that of the main shrine
  • The suesha (末社), or subordinate shrine
  • The tamagaki (玉垣) or fences surrounding the shrine
  • The tōrō (燈籠), or stone lanterns

[edit] The evolution of Shinto shrines

We know that in the Yayoi period the Japanese did not have the notion of anthropomorphic deities, and felt the presence of spirits in nature and its phenomena[4]. Mountains, forests, rain, wind, lightning and sometimes animals were thought to be charged with spiritual power, and its material manifestations were worshipped as kami, entities closer in their essence to Polynesian mana than to a Western God[4]. Yayoi village councils sought the advice of kami and developed instruments to evoke them called yorishiro (依り代?), a word that literally means approach substitute[4]. Yorishiro were conceived to attract the kami and give them a physical space to occupy, thus making them accessible to human beings[4].

Village council sessions were held in a quiet spot in the mountains or in a forest near a great tree or other natural object that served as a yorishiro[4]. These sacred places and their yorishiro gradually evolved into the shrines of a religion that did not have yet a name for itself[4]. The origin of shrines can be still seen in the Japanese words for "mountain" and "forest", which can also mean "shrine"[4].

The very first buildings at shrines were surely huts built to house some yorishiro[4]. A trace of this origin can be found in the term hokura (神庫?), literally meaning "deity storehouse", which evolved into hokora (also written with the character 神庫 ({{{2}}}?)), one of the first words for shrine[4]. Many shrines still have on their grounds one of the original great yorishiro, a big tree surrounded by a sacred rope called shimenawa (標縄・注連縄・七五三縄?), [4]. It is also worth noting that many of the sacred objects we find today in shrines (mirrors, swords, comma-shaped jewels) were originally yorishiro, and only later became kami themselves by association[4]. Some time in their evolution, the word Miya (宮?) meaning "palace" came into use, indicating that shrines had by then become the imposing structures of today[4].

Today's Shinto shrines, with their main hall (shaden (社殿?) and prominent religious images, came into being under the strong influence of Buddhism, but hints of what the first shrines were like can still be found[4]. Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara, for example, contains no images because it serves the mountain on which it stands[5][4]. For the same reason, it has a worship hall (a haiden (拝殿?)), but no place to house the deity (shinden (神殿?))[4].


[edit] The Kannushi

Kannushi
Kannushi

The Kannushi (神主?) or shinshoku (神職?) is a priest responsible for the shrine's maintenance and for officiating ceremonies[2]. He generally does not proselitize. Traditionally, most shrines did not have a Kannushi and were maintained by a committee of parishioners called Ujiko (氏子). In a jinguji, a Buddhist monk had of course to maintain both his shrine and his temple.

[edit] Popular kami

A kami worshipped at a shrine is generally a Shinto kami, but sometimes Buddhist or Taoist deities are worshiped, as well as other kami not generally considered to belong to Shinto. Some shrines are established to worship living people or figures from myths and legends. In recent centuries, especially significant kami have come to be enshrined throughout Japan. Some kami and shrines that have widespread geographic distribution are:

[edit] Shrines designated as National Treasures

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ See also Buddhist temples in Japan
  2. ^ a b c d e The History of Shrines
  3. ^ a b See Shinbutsu shūgō article
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Tamura, page 20
  5. ^ (English) Ōmiwa Shrine site

[edit] References

  • (English) Tamura, Yoshiro (2000). "The Birth of the Japanese nation in", Japanese Buddhism - A Cultural History, First Edition (in English), Tokyo: Kosei Publishing Company, 232 pages. ISBN 4-333-01684-3. 
  • (English) The History of Shrines, Encyclopedia of Shinto, accessed on June 10, 2008
  • (English) Shinto Shrines or Temples? accessed on June 10, 2008
  • (English) Shrine Architecture 'Encyclopedia of Shinto, accessed on June 10, 2008
  • (English) Overview of a Shinto Shrine, a detailed visual introduction to the structure of a Shinto shrine, Encyclopedia of Shinto accessed on June 8, 2008

[edit] External links

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