Shinto Shrine

Shinto Shrine
Group Caravaggio
Mitsi Pimentel
November 19, 2008



General Description

There are Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples all across Japan. I will be focusing on the Ise Shrine located in the city of Ise in the Mie prefecture, western Honsho, southeastern Japan. The Ise Shrine, also known as Ise-jingu, is considered the most holy of all Shinto shrines. This is where the goddess Amaterasu-omikami is housed. She is the sun goddess whose name literally means “that which illuminates heaven.” She is credited for inventing the cultivation of rice and wheat, using silkworms, and weaving on the loom. She is represented as a mirror in the inner shrine or the “Naiku.”.

Ise Shrine is actually a shrine complex. There are over one hundred and twenty five shrines in place there. The complex is divided into two main parts. The Outer Shrine is the “Geku” and is in the town of Yamado. Naiku, the Inner Shrine, is in the town of Uji. There are 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) between them.

Legend holds that the shrine was first constructed in four B.C. but historians think the actual date to be around 690 A.D.

Architectural Design

The Ise Shrine is located in a dense wooded National Park surrounded by numerous other holy structures. The Japanese white cypress, hinoki, is the only building material used to construct the shrine. It’s architectural style is called shimmei-zukuri and no other shrines are allowed to use this style. The rectangular design is supposedly derived from the granaries and storehouses of Japan from ancient times. Since the Ise Shrine predates Buddhism and Chinese influences, the visitor is able to see an example of ancient Japanese architecture. Every 20 years the shrine is rebuilt to exact specifications of the original. The next scheduled rebuilding will be in the year 2013.

The shrine’s chambers are raised on a pile of timbers which represents the central sacred post. The erection of a central post in a sacred area with stones strewn about represents the form taken by the ancient Japanese places of worship. The ridge beams, carried by two large columns at each side of the building, supports the roof. The two large columns are embedded directly into the ground so there is no actual foundation.
Auxiliary Outer Shrine

Harmony with Nature

Originally, in Japanese history, there were no shrines but only areas that were sacred. The Japanese people believe that rocks, trees, and mountains held the forces of nature called “ke”. Shrines are built and then the “kami”, spirits or deities that live within objects, are lured from the natural surroundings to come and reside within the shrine where they will be worshipped. As mentioned before, the Ise Shrine is built of only the white cypress hinoki and it is totally rebuilt every twenty years not as “new” but as “renewed” which mimics the cycle of nature.

Symbolism and Sacred Objects

After passing the outer shrine, one will cross over the Uji Bridge which symbolizes crossing over and cleansing of evils. The next stop is Temizusha. Here you are invited to wash your hands, face and rinse your mouth to further purify yourself before approaching the Main Shrine. Within the shrine you will find hundreds of statues and incense for prayer and to purify oneself even further! Outside the shrines are usually statues of dogs or lions to protect the kami within.
Uji Bridge

How the Shrine is used by Worshippers

Of over the 6 million visitors per year that visit the shrines, the belief rate is very small. Most visit the shrines out of tradition and respect of the elders. It is said in Japan you are born a Shinto and die a Buddhist. People bring their babies to dedicate to the kami of the shrine and then go to temples (Buddhist) to prepare for death and the afterlife. In between, they have many belief systems including Christianity. They also venerate the goddess or deities living in the shrine and their ancestors there. They pray for special intentions and prosperity. It is expected that each person visit the shrine at least once in their life time.

Sources:


Ise Shinto. (2008, April 3). New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:55, November 19, 2008 from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ise_Shinto?oldid=686448

Reader, Ian. (1991) Religion in Contemporary Japan. Published in North America by University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, Hawaii