Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Shinto shrine
A Shinto shrine (神社, jinja; archaic: shinsha, meaning: 'kami shrine') is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, the deities of the Shinto religion.
The main hall (本殿, honden) is where a shrine's patron kami is or are enshrined. The honden may be absent in cases where a shrine stands on or near a sacred mountain, tree, or other object which can be worshipped directly or in cases where a shrine possesses either an altar-like structure, called a himorogi, or an object believed to be capable of attracting spirits, called a yorishiro, which can also serve as direct bonds to a kami. There may be a hall of worship (拝殿, haiden) and other structures as well.
Although only one word ("shrine") is used in English, in Japanese, Shinto shrines may carry any one of many different, non-equivalent names like gongen, -gū, jinja, jingū, mori, myōjin, -sha, taisha, ubusuna, or yashiro. Miniature shrines (hokora) can occasionally be found on roadsides. Large shrines sometimes have on their precincts miniature shrines, sessha (摂社) or massha (末社). Mikoshi, the palanquins which are carried on poles during festivals (matsuri), also enshrine kami and are therefore considered shrines.
In 927 CE, the Engi-shiki (延喜式; lit. 'Procedures of the Engi Era') was promulgated. This work listed all of the 2,861 Shinto shrines existing at the time, and the 3,131 official-recognized and enshrined kami. In 1972, the Agency for Cultural Affairs placed the number of shrines at 79,467, mostly affiliated with the Association of Shinto Shrines (神社本庁). Some shrines, such as the Yasukuni Shrine, are totally independent of any outside authority. The number of Shinto shrines in Japan is estimated to be around 100,000.
Since ancient times, the Shake (社家) families dominated Shinto shrines through hereditary positions, and at some shrines the hereditary succession continues to present day.
The Unicode character representing a Shinto shrine (for example, on maps) is U+26E9 ⛩ SHINTO SHRINE.
Jinja (神社) is the most general word for a Shinto shrine. Any place that has a honden (本殿) is a jinja. The word jinja used to have two more readings, kamu-tsu-yashiro and mori, both of which are kun'yomi readings and mean 'kami grove'. Both of these older readings can be found, for example, in the Man'yōshū.
Sha (社), the second character in jinja (神社) by itself, was not initially a secular term. Historically, in Chinese, it could refer to a Tudigong or 'soil god', a kind of tutelary deity seen as subordinate to the City Gods. Such deities are also often called shèshén (社神) or shénshè (神社). The kun'yomi reading of sha, yashiro, is a generic term for a Shinto shrine, much like jinja. Sha or, occasionally, ja can also be used as a suffix, as in Shinmei-sha or Tenjin-ja. As a suffix, this indicates a minor shrine that has received a kami from a more important shrine through the kanjō process.
Hub AI
Shinto shrine AI simulator
(@Shinto shrine_simulator)
Shinto shrine
A Shinto shrine (神社, jinja; archaic: shinsha, meaning: 'kami shrine') is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, the deities of the Shinto religion.
The main hall (本殿, honden) is where a shrine's patron kami is or are enshrined. The honden may be absent in cases where a shrine stands on or near a sacred mountain, tree, or other object which can be worshipped directly or in cases where a shrine possesses either an altar-like structure, called a himorogi, or an object believed to be capable of attracting spirits, called a yorishiro, which can also serve as direct bonds to a kami. There may be a hall of worship (拝殿, haiden) and other structures as well.
Although only one word ("shrine") is used in English, in Japanese, Shinto shrines may carry any one of many different, non-equivalent names like gongen, -gū, jinja, jingū, mori, myōjin, -sha, taisha, ubusuna, or yashiro. Miniature shrines (hokora) can occasionally be found on roadsides. Large shrines sometimes have on their precincts miniature shrines, sessha (摂社) or massha (末社). Mikoshi, the palanquins which are carried on poles during festivals (matsuri), also enshrine kami and are therefore considered shrines.
In 927 CE, the Engi-shiki (延喜式; lit. 'Procedures of the Engi Era') was promulgated. This work listed all of the 2,861 Shinto shrines existing at the time, and the 3,131 official-recognized and enshrined kami. In 1972, the Agency for Cultural Affairs placed the number of shrines at 79,467, mostly affiliated with the Association of Shinto Shrines (神社本庁). Some shrines, such as the Yasukuni Shrine, are totally independent of any outside authority. The number of Shinto shrines in Japan is estimated to be around 100,000.
Since ancient times, the Shake (社家) families dominated Shinto shrines through hereditary positions, and at some shrines the hereditary succession continues to present day.
The Unicode character representing a Shinto shrine (for example, on maps) is U+26E9 ⛩ SHINTO SHRINE.
Jinja (神社) is the most general word for a Shinto shrine. Any place that has a honden (本殿) is a jinja. The word jinja used to have two more readings, kamu-tsu-yashiro and mori, both of which are kun'yomi readings and mean 'kami grove'. Both of these older readings can be found, for example, in the Man'yōshū.
Sha (社), the second character in jinja (神社) by itself, was not initially a secular term. Historically, in Chinese, it could refer to a Tudigong or 'soil god', a kind of tutelary deity seen as subordinate to the City Gods. Such deities are also often called shèshén (社神) or shénshè (神社). The kun'yomi reading of sha, yashiro, is a generic term for a Shinto shrine, much like jinja. Sha or, occasionally, ja can also be used as a suffix, as in Shinmei-sha or Tenjin-ja. As a suffix, this indicates a minor shrine that has received a kami from a more important shrine through the kanjō process.