Shinto is a religion originating from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners Shintoists, although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners.
Religion in Japan is manifested primarily in Shinto and in Buddhism, the two main faiths, which Japanese people often practice simultaneously. According to estimates, as many as 80% of the populace follow Shinto rituals to some degree, worshiping ancestors and spirits at domestic altars and public shrines. An almost equally high number is reported as Buddhist. Syncretic combinations of both, known generally as shinbutsu-shūgō, are common; they represented Japan's dominant religion before the rise of State Shinto in the 19th century.
A Shinto shrine is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, the deities of the Shinto religion.
State Shintō was Imperial Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control of shrine finances and training regimes for priests to strongly encourage Shinto practices that emphasized the Emperor as a divine being.
The Hokkaidō Shrine, named the Sapporo Shrine until 1964, is a Shinto shrine located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Sited in Maruyama Park, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, the Hokkaido Shrine enshrines four kami including the soul of the Emperor Meiji. A number of early explorers of Hokkaidō such as Mamiya Rinzō are also enshrined.
The modern system of ranked Shinto shrines was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into
- Imperial shrines (kampeisha), which are parsed into minor, medium, or major sub-categories; and
- National shrines (kokuheisha), which are similarly categorized as minor, medium, or major.
Kamo clan is a Japanese sacerdotal kin group which traces its roots from a Yayoi period shrine in the vicinity of northeastern Kyoto. The clan rose to prominence during the Asuka and Heian periods when the Kamo are identified with the 7th-century founding of the Kamo Shrine.
Chōsen Shrine was the most important Shinto shrine during the Japanese colonial period in Korea. It was built in 1925 in Seoul and destroyed soon after the end of colonial rule in 1945.
In Japan, a chinjusha is a Shinto shrine which enshrines a tutelary kami; that is, a patron spirit that protects a given area, village, building or a Buddhist temple. The Imperial Palace has its own tutelary shrine dedicated to the 21 guardian gods of Ise Shrine. Tutelary shrines are usually very small, but there is a range in size, and the great Hiyoshi Taisha for example is Enryaku-ji's tutelary shrine. The tutelary shrine of a temple or the complex the two together form are sometimes called a temple-shrine. If a tutelary shrine is called chinju-dō, it is the tutelary shrine of a Buddhist temple. Even in that case, however, the shrine retains its distinctive architecture.
Karafuto Shrine was a Shinto shrine in Toyohara, Karafuto Prefecture in what is now Sakhalin Oblast, Russia.
The origins of Shinto in Korea are primarily a result of Japan's incursions since an unbalanced treaty in 1876. Shinto's rise in Korea is directly associated with the Japanese government's ideological use of the traditional folk practices of Japan, later described as "State Shinto." As Japan expanded its control of Korea, it also expanded the number of shrines, with the aim of one national shrine in each province. Before 1945, attendance at shrines was in many cases compulsory.
Amatsukami is a category of kami in Japanese mythology. Generally speaking, it refers to kami born in, or residing in, Takamagahara.
Kunitsukami are the kami of the land and live in tsuchi (earth).
Tokyo Daijingu is a shrine located in Tokyo. The shrine is also called O-Ise-sama in Tokyo because of the deities enshrined there. It is one of the top five shrines in Tokyo.
The Sagichō Fire Festival, also called Dondoyaki or by other names, is a festival celebrated in Japan, usually on January 14 or 15. During this local event, town or village residents burn their gate pine and other New Year's decorations, as well as to pray for good fortune in the new year. Some Sagichō festivals are held at Shinto shrines.
Tainan Shrine was a Shinto shrine made outside of Japan by the Empire of Japan. It was linked to imperialism and State Shinto rather than local support for Shintoism It was established in 1920 and upgraded in 1925 and its main deity was Prince Kitashirakawa. who died during the Japanese invasion of Taiwan. from malaria. He was enshrined in most shrines in Taiwan including Taiwan Grand Shrine. This was seen as a beginning of a new Taiwanese Japanese civilization.
Ryūtōsan Shrine (龍頭山神社) was a Shinto shrine in Korea. It is the earliest shinto shrine in Korea built by workers of the local Japan House trade office in 1678. Such shinto may have served a purpose of expressing and maintaining a Japanese identity outside of Japan, while the Japanese and Korean people lived relatively close during this period.
Kunitama (国魂) is a type of kami or god who acts as a tutelary deity or guardian of a province of Japan or sometimes other areas in shinto.
San Marino Shrine (サンマリノ神社) is a shrine in Serravalle, Republic of San Marino. It is the first official shinto shrine in Europe approved by the Jinja Honcho.
The Daijingu Temple of Hawaii is a Shinto Shinmei shrine located in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. It is also known as the Honolulu Grand Shrine (ホノルル大神宮) and is the oldest Shinto shrine on Oahu.
