Shinto shrine#Shrine networks

File:Jinja etymology.svg

{{Nihongo||神社|Jinja}} is the most general word for a Shinto shrine. Any place that has a {{nihongo||本殿|honden}} is a {{lang|ja|jinja}}. The word {{lang|ja|jinja}} used to have two more readings, {{lang|ja|kamu-tsu-yashiro}} and {{lang|ja| 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.

{{Nihongo||社|Sha}}, the second character in {{Nihongo||神社|jinja}} 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.{{Cite web |last=Theobald |first=Ulrich |title=Sheshen 社神, Local Deities (www.chinaknowledge.de) |url=http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Religion/personssheshen.html |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=www.chinaknowledge.de |language=en}} Such deities are also often called {{lang-zh|c=社神|p=shèshén|labels=no|out=p}} or {{lang-zh|c=神社|p=shénshè|labels=no|out=p}}. The kun'yomi reading of {{lang|ja|sha}}, {{lang|ja|yashiro}}, is a generic term for a Shinto shrine, much like {{lang|ja|jinja}}. {{lang|ja|Sha}} or, occasionally, {{lang|ja|ja}} can also be used as a suffix, as in {{lang|ja|Shinmei-sha}} or {{lang|ja|Tenjin-ja}}. As a suffix, this indicates a minor shrine that has received a {{lang|ja|kami}} from a more important shrine through the kanjō process.

{{Nihongo||杜|Mori|{{lit|grove}}}} are places where {{lang|ja|kami}} are present. These places can therefore be shrines and, in fact, 神社, 社 and 杜 can all be read as {{lang|ja|mori}}. This reading reflects the fact that the first shrines were simply sacred groves or forests where {{lang|ja|kami}} were present.

{{Lang|ja|Hokora}} or {{nihongo||神庫|hokura}} are extremely small shrines like the ones that can be found, for example, along country roads. The term {{nihongo||祠|hokora}}, believed to have been one of the first words for a Shinto shrine, evolved from the word {{nihongo||神庫|hokura|{{lit|kami repository}}}}. This fact seems to indicate that the first shrines were huts built to house yorishiro.{{cite book |last=Tamura |first=Yoshiro |title=Japanese Buddhism - A Cultural History |publisher=Kosei Publishing Company |year=2000 |isbn=4-333-01684-3 |edition=First |location=Tokyo |page=232 pages |chapter=The Birth of the Japanese nation}}{{Nihongo||依り代|Yorishiro|{{lit|approach substitute}}}} were tools conceived to attract the {{lang|ja|kami}} and give them a physical space to occupy, thus making them accessible to human beings.

{{Nihongo||宮|-gū}} indicates a shrine enshrining an imperial prince. However, there are many instances where it is used simply as a tradition. The word {{nihongo||宮|gū}}, often found at the end of shrine names such as Hachimangū, Tenmangū, or {{nihongo|Jingū|神宮}}, comes from the Chinese word {{lang-zh|c=宮|p=gong|labels=no|out=p}}, meaning 'a palace or a temple to a high deity'.

A {{nihongo||神宮|jingū}} is a shrine of particularly high status that has a deep relationship with the Imperial household or enshrines an Emperor. This is the case for, both, Ise Jingū and Meiji Jingū. {{Lang|ja|Jingū}} alone, however, only refers to Ise Jingū, whose official name is just that. It is a formulation close to {{nihongo||神社|jinja}}, with the character {{nihongo||社|sha}} being replaced with {{nihongo||宮|gū}} to emphasize its high rank.

{{Nihongo||宮|Miya}}, the kun'yomi reading of {{lang|ja|-gū}}, indicates a shrine that is enshrining a special {{lang|ja|kami}} or a member of the Imperial household like the Empress. However, there are many examples, much like with {{lang|ja|-gū}}, in which it is used simply as a tradition. During the period of state regulation, many shrines changed the {{lang|ja|-miya}} in their names to {{lang|ja|jinja}}.

A {{lang|ja|taisha}} or {{nihongo||大社|ōyashiro|{{lit|great shrine}}}} is a shrine that was classified as such under the old system of shrine ranking, the {{nihongo||社格|shakaku}}, which was abolished in 1946. Many shrines carrying that {{lang|ja|shōgō}} or 'title' adopted it only after the war.

A {{Nihongo3||鎮守社・鎮社|chinjusha|tutelary shrine}} is a shrine housing a tutelary {{lang|ja|kami}} that protects a given area, village, building, or Buddhist temple. The word {{lang|ja|chinjusha}} comes from the words {{nihongo3||鎮守・鎮|chinju|guardian}} and {{nihongo3||社|sha|shrine}}.

{{Nihongo||摂末社|Setsumatsusha}}{{cite web |last=Mure |first=Jin |title=Sessha, massha |url=http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E6%91%82%E7%A4%BE%E3%83%BB%E6%9C%AB%E7%A4%BE/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121219003453/http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E6%91%82%E7%A4%BE%E3%83%BB%E6%9C%AB%E7%A4%BE/ |archive-date=19 December 2012 |access-date=9 March 2010 |publisher=Shokagukan |language=ja}} is a combination of two words: {{nihongo3||摂社|sessha|auxiliary shrine}} and {{nihongo3||末社|massha|undershrine}}.Iwanami {{nihongo|Kōjien|広辞苑}} Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version. They are also called {{nihongo3||枝宮|eda-miya|branch shrines}}.

During the Japanese Middle Ages, shrines started being called {{nihongo||権現|gongen}}, a term of Buddhist origin. For example, in Eastern Japan, there are still many Hakusan shrines where the shrine itself is called {{lang|ja|gongen}}. Because it represents the application of Buddhist terminology to Shinto {{lang|ja|kami}}, its use was legally abolished by the Meiji government with the {{nihongo|Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order|神仏判然令|Shin-butsu Hanzenrei}}, and shrines began to be called {{lang|ja|jinja}}.

File:Mount nantai and lake chuzenji.jpg, has the shape of the phallic stone rods found in pre-agricultural Jōmon sites.]]

Ancestors are {{lang|ja|kami}} to be worshipped. Yayoi period village councils sought the advice of ancestors and other {{lang|ja|kami}}, and developed instruments, {{nihongo||依り代|yorishiro|{{lit|approach substitute}}}}, to evoke them.Tamura, page 21 These were conceived to attract the {{lang|ja|kami}} and allow them physical space, thus making {{lang|ja|kami}} accessible to human beings.

Village council sessions were held in quiet spots in the mountains or in forests near great trees or other natural objects that served as {{lang|ja|yorishiro}}. These sacred places and their {{lang|ja|yorishiro}} gradually evolved into today's shrines, whose origins can be still seen in the Japanese words for "mountain" and "forest", which can also mean "shrine". Many shrines have on their grounds one of the original great {{lang|ja|yorishiro}}: a big tree, surrounded by a sacred rope called a {{nihongo||標縄・注連縄・七五三縄|shimenawa}}.Many other sacred objects (mirrors, swords, comma-shaped jewels called magatama) were originally {{lang|ja|yorishiro}}, and only later became {{lang|ja|kami}} by association

The first buildings at places dedicated to worship were hut-like structures built to house some {{lang|ja|yorishiro}}. A trace of this origin can be found in the term {{nihongo||神庫|hokura|{{lit|deity storehouse}}}}, which evolved into {{lang|ja|hokora}} (written identically) and is considered to be one of the first words for shrine.Today, a {{lang|ja|hokora}} is an extremely small shrine, like those seen on the sides of many roads.

True shrines arose with the beginning of agriculture, when the need arose to attract {{lang|ja|kami}} to ensure good harvests. These were, however, just temporary structures built for a particular purpose, a tradition of which's traces can be found in some rituals.{{Clarify|reason=Which rituals?|date=November 2019}}

Hints of the first shrines can still be found. Ōmiwa Shrine in Nara, for example, contains no sacred images or objects because it is believed to serve the mountain on which it stands—images or objects are therefore unnecessary.{{Cite web|url=http://oomiwa.or.jp/english/|title=English | Ohmiwa Jinja Shrine | 大神神社（おおみわじんじゃ）|date=April 17, 2014}} For the same reason, it has a worship hall, a {{nihongo||拝殿|haiden}}, but no place to house the {{lang|ja|kami}}, a {{nihongo||神殿|shinden}}. Archeology confirms that, during the Yayoi period, the most common {{nihongo||神体|shintai}}, a {{lang|ja|yorishiro}} actually housing the enshrined {{lang|ja|kami}}, in the earliest shrines were nearby mountain peaks that supplied stream water to the plains where people lived.Cambridge History of Japan (1993:524)

Besides Ōmiwa Shrine, another important example is Mount Nantai, a phallus-shaped mountain in Nikko which constitutes Futarasan Shrine's {{lang|ja|shintai}}. The name {{nihongo|Nantai|男体}} means 'man's body'. The mountain provides water to the rice paddies below and has the shape of the phallic stone rods found in pre-agricultural Jōmon sites.

The first known Shinto shrine was built in roughly 478.{{Cite book |last1=Bohan |first1=Elise |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/940282526 |title=Big History |last2=Dinwiddie |first2=Robert |last3=Challoner |first3=Jack |last4=Stuart |first4=Colin |last5=Harvey |first5=Derek |last6=Wragg-Sykes |first6=Rebecca |last7=Chrisp |first7=Peter |last8=Hubbard |first8=Ben |last9=Parker |first9=Phillip |collaboration=Writers |date=February 2016 |publisher=DK |others=Foreword by David Christian |isbn=978-1-4654-5443-0 |edition=1st American |location=New York |pages=382 |oclc=940282526 |author-link6=Rebecca Wragg Sykes |author-link7=Peter Chrisp}}

In 905 CE, Emperor Daigo ordered a compilation of Shinto rites and rules. Previous attempts at codification are known to have taken place, but, neither the Konin nor the Jogan Gishiki"Jogan Gishiki" in Stuart D. B. Pecken, ed., Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Second edition. (Lanham, MD, USA: Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011) p. 139. survive. Initially under the direction of Fujiwara no Tokihira, the project stalled at his death in April 909. Fujiwara no Tadahira, his brother, took charge and, in 927,Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=p2QnPijAEmEC&pg=PA178&dq= "Engi-shiki"] in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 178. the {{nihongo||延喜式|Engi-shiki|{{lit|Procedures of the Engi Era}}}} was promulgated in fifty volumes.

This, the first formal codification of Shinto rites and Norito (liturgies and prayers) to survive, became the basis for all subsequent Shinto liturgical practice and efforts." Engishiki" in Stuart D. B. Pecken, ed., Historical Dictionary of Shinto. Second edition. (Lanham, MD, USA: Scarecrow Press, Inv, 2011) p. 92. In addition to the first ten volumes of this fifty volume work, which concerned worship and the Department of Worship, sections in subsequent volumes addressing the Ministry of Ceremonies (治部省) and the Ministry of the Imperial Household (宮内省) regulated Shinto worship and contained liturgical rites and regulation.{{cite book|last=Philippi|first=Donald L.|title=Norito: A Translation of the Ancient Japanese Ritual Prayers|year=1990|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0691014890|page=1}} In 1970, Felicia Gressitt Brock published a two-volume annotated English language translation of the first ten volumes with an introduction entitled Engi-shiki; procedures of the Engi Era.

The arrival of Buddhism in Japan in around the sixth century introduced the concept of a permanent shrine.Fujita, Koga (2008:20-21) A great number of Buddhist temples were built next to existing shrines in mixed complexes called {{nihongo||神宮寺|jingū-ji|{{lit|shrine temple}}}} to help priesthood deal with local {{lang|ja|kami}}, making those shrines permanent. Some time in their evolution, the word {{nihongo||宮|miya}}, meaning 'palace', came into use, indicating that shrines had, by then, become the imposing structures of today.

Once the first permanent shrines were built, Shinto revealed a strong tendency to resist architectural change, a tendency which manifested itself in the so-called {{nihongo||式年遷宮祭|shikinen sengū-sai}}, the tradition of rebuilding shrines faithfully at regular intervals, adhering strictly to their original design. This custom is the reason ancient styles have been replicated throughout the centuries to the present day, remaining more or less intact.

Ise Grand Shrine, still rebuilt every 20 years, is its best extant example. In Shinto, it has played a particularly significant role in preserving ancient architectural styles. Izumo Taisha, Sumiyoshi Taisha, and Nishina Shinmei Shrine each represent a different style whose origin is believed to predate Buddhism in Japan. These three styles are known respectively as taisha-zukuri, sumiyoshi-zukuri, and shinmei-zukuri.

Shrines show various influences, particularly that of Buddhism, a cultural import which provided much of Shinto architecture's vocabulary. The {{nihongo3|tower gate|楼門|rōmon}},The {{lang|ja|rōmon}}, or 'tower gate', is a gate which looks like a two-story gate, but in fact is only one story. the Haiden (Shinto), the {{nihongo3|corridor|回廊|kairō}}, the tōrō, or 'stone lantern', and the komainu, or 'lion dogs', are all elements borrowed from Buddhism.

{{main|Shinbutsu-shūgō|Jingū-ji}}

File:Tsurugaoka Hachimangū-ji.jpg-ji in an old drawing. In the foreground the shrine-temple's Buddhist structures (not extant), among them a pagoda, a belltower and a niōmon. The shrine (extant) is above.]]

Until the Meiji period (1868–1912), shrines as they exist today were rare. With very few exceptions like Ise Grand Shrine and Izumo Taisha, they were just a part of a temple-shrine complex controlled by Buddhist clergy. These complexes were called {{nihongo||神宮寺|jingū-ji|{{lit|shrine temple}}}}, places of worship composed of a Buddhist temple and of a shrine dedicated to a local {{lang|ja|kami}}.{{EOS|Jingūji|1126|Satō, Masato|February 28, 2007}}

The complexes were born when a temple was erected next to a shrine to help its {{lang|ja|kami}} with its karmic problems. At the time, {{lang|ja|kami}} were thought to be also subjected to karma, and therefore in need of a salvation only Buddhism could provide. Having first appeared during the Nara period (710–794), the {{lang|ja|jingū-ji}} remained common for over a millennium until, with few exceptions, they were destroyed in compliance with the new policies of the Meiji administration in 1868.

{{main|Shinbutsu bunri}}

The Shinto shrine went through a massive change when the Meiji administration promulgated a new policy of separation of {{lang|ja|kami}} and foreign Buddhas (shinbutsu bunri) with the {{nihongo |Kami and Buddhas Separation Order|神仏判然令|Shinbutsu Hanzenrei}}. This event triggered the haibutsu kishaku, a violent anti-Buddhist movement which in the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate and during the Meiji Restoration caused the forcible closure of thousands of Buddhist temples, the confiscation of their land, the forced return to lay life of monks, and the destruction of books, statues and other Buddhist property.{{citation | title = Haibutsukishaku | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Shinto}}.

Until the end of Edo period, local {{lang|ja|kami}} beliefs and Buddhism were intimately connected in what was called {{nihongo||神仏習合|shinbutsu shūgō}}, up to the point where even the same buildings were used as both Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples.

After the law, the two would be forcibly separated. This was done in several stages. At first, an order issued by the {{lang|ja|Jingijimuka}} in April 1868 ordered the defrocking of {{lang|ja|shasō}} and bettō (shrine monks performing Buddhist rites at Shinto shrines).{{citation | last = Burkman | title = The Urakami Incidents and the Struggle for Religious Toleration in Early Meiji Japan | page = 175}}. A few days later, the {{lang|ja|Daijōkan}} banned the application of Buddhist terminology such as gongen to Japanese kami and the veneration of Buddhist statues in shrines.

The third stage consisted of the prohibition against applying the Buddhist term {{lang|ja|Daibosatsu}} (Great Bodhisattva) to the syncretic {{lang|ja|kami}} Hachiman at the Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū and Usa Hachiman-gū shrines.{{citation | encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Shinto | title = Shinbutsu Bunri}}. In the fourth and final stage, all the defrocked {{lang|ja|bettō}} and {{lang|ja|shasō}} were told to become "shrine priests" (kannushi) and return to their shrines. Monks of the Nichiren sect were told not to refer to some deities as {{lang|ja|kami}}.

After a short period in which it enjoyed popular favor, the process of separation of Buddhas and {{lang|ja|kami}} however stalled and is still only partially completed. To this day, almost all Buddhist temples in Japan have a small shrine (chinjusha) dedicated to its Shinto tutelary {{lang|ja|kami}}, and vice versa Buddhist figures (e.g. goddess Kannon) are revered in Shinto shrines.{{citation | last = Scheid | first = Grundbegriffe | title = Shinto}}.

{{main|Shintai}}

File:Kodaki fuji frm shojinko refurb.jpg

The defining features of a shrine are the {{lang|ja|kami}} it enshrines and the {{lang|ja|shintai}} (or {{lang|ja|go-shintai}} if the honorific prefix {{lang|ja|go-}} is used) that houses it. While the name literally means 'body of a {{lang|ja|kami}}', {{lang|ja|shintai}} are physical objects worshiped at or near Shinto shrines because a {{lang|ja|kami}} is believed to reside in them.Shintai, Encyclopedia of Shinto {{lang|ja|Shintai}} are not themselves part of {{lang|ja|kami}}, but rather just symbolic repositories which make them accessible to human beings for worship;Smeyers, page 44 the {{lang|ja|kami}} inhabits them.{{cite web|url=http://www.univie.ac.at/rel_jap/bauten/schrein.htm|title=Schreine|last=Bernhard Scheid|publisher=University of Vienna|language=de|access-date=27 March 2010}}. {{lang|ja|Shintai}} are also of necessity yorishiro, that is objects by their very nature capable of attracting {{lang|ja|kami}}.

The most common {{lang|ja|shintai}} are objects like mirrors, swords, jewels (for example comma-shaped stones called magatama), gohei (wands used during religious rites), and sculptures of {{lang|ja|kami}} called {{nihongo||神像|shinzō}}, {{lang|ja|Kami}} are, as a rule, not represented in anthropomorphic or physical terms, however numerous paintings and statues representing them have appeared under Buddhist influence. but they can be also natural objects such as rocks, mountains, trees, and waterfalls. Mountains were among the first, and are still among the most important, {{lang|ja|shintai}}, and are worshiped at several famous shrines. A mountain believed to house a {{lang|ja|kami}}, as for example Mount Fuji or Mount Miwa, is called a {{nihongo||神体山|shintai-zan}}.Ono, Woodard (2004:100) In the case of a man-made {{lang|ja|shintai}}, a {{lang|ja|kami}} must be invited to reside in it.

The founding of a new shrine requires the presence of either a pre-existing, naturally occurring {{lang|ja|shintai}} (for example a rock or waterfall housing a local {{lang|ja|kami}}), or of an artificial one, which must therefore be procured or made to the purpose. An example of the first case are the Nachi Falls, worshiped at Hiryū Shrine near Kumano Nachi Taisha and believed to be inhabited by a {{lang|ja|kami}} called Hiryū Gongen.{{cite web|url=http://www.kkr.mlit.go.jp/wakayama/rekishi/disco131.html|title=Hiryū Gongen|last=Kamizaka|first=Jirō|publisher=Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport - Kinki Regional Development Bureau|language=ja|access-date=28 March 2010}}

The first duty of a shrine is to house and protect its {{lang|ja|shintai}} and the {{lang|ja|kami}} which inhabits it. If a shrine has more than one building, the one containing the {{lang|ja|shintai}} is called the honden; because it is meant for the exclusive use of the {{lang|ja|kami}}, it is always closed to the public and is not used for prayer or religious ceremonies. The {{lang|ja|shintai}} leaves the {{lang|ja|honden}} only during festivals (matsuri), when it is put in portable shrines ({{lang|ja|mikoshi}}) and carried around the streets among the faithful. The portable shrine is used to physically protect the {{lang|ja|shintai}} and to hide it from sight.

{{main|Kanjō}}

Often, the opening of a new shrine will require the ritual division of a {{lang|ja|kami}} and the transferring of one of the two resulting spirits to the new location, where it will animate the {{lang|ja|shintai}}. This process is called kanjō, and the divided spirits {{nihongo||分霊|bunrei|{{lit|divided spirit}}}}, {{nihongo||御分霊|go-bunrei}}, or {{nihongo||分霊|wakemitama}}.Smyers (1999:235) This process of propagation, described by the priests, in spite of this name, not as a division but as akin to the lighting of a candle from another already lit, leaves the original {{lang|ja|kami}} intact in its original place and therefore does not alter any of its properties. The resulting spirit has all the qualities of the original and is therefore "alive" and permanent. The process is used often—for example during Shinto festivals (matsuri) to animate temporary shrines called mikoshi.Sonoda (1975:12)

The transfer does not necessarily take place from a shrine to another: the divided spirit's new location can be a privately owned object or an individual's house.Smyers (1999: 156-160) The {{lang|ja|kanjō}} process was of fundamental importance in the creation of all of Japan's shrine networks (Inari shrines, Hachiman shrines, etc.).

{{Main|Shake (social class)}}

The {{nihongo||社家|shake}} are families and the former social class that dominated Shinto shrines through hereditary positions within a shrine. The social class was abolished in 1871, but many {{lang|ja|shake}} families still continue hereditary succession until present day and some were appointed hereditary nobility (kazoku) after the Meiji Restoration.{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia Nipponica|publisher=Shogakukan|year=2001|at=Shake (社家)|oclc=14970117}}

Some of the most well-known {{lang|ja|shake}} families include:

• Arakida and Watarai of Ise Grand Shrine{{Cite book|last=Gibney|first=Frank B|title=Britannica International Encyclopædia|publisher=TBS Britannica|year=1991|at=Shake (社家)|oclc=834589717}}
• Senge and Kitajima of Izumo Taisha
• Ōnakatomi of Kasuga Taisha
• Urabe of Yoshida Shrine

Those worshiped at a shrine are generally Shinto {{lang|ja|kami}}, but sometimes they can be Buddhist or Taoist deities, as well as others not generally considered to belong to Shinto.{{refn|group=note|The opposite can also happen. Toyokawa Inari is a Buddhist temple of the Sōtō sect in Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture and, with its Akasaka branch, one of the centers of Inari's cult.Smyers 1999:26, 34}} Some shrines were established to worship living people or figures from myths and legends. An example is the Tōshō-gū shrines erected to enshrine Tokugawa Ieyasu, or the many shrines dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, like Kitano Tenman-gū.

File:Haiden of Izumo-taisha-1.JPG]]

Often, the shrines which were most significant historically do not lie in a former center of power like Kyoto, Nara, or Kamakura. For example, Ise Grand Shrine, the Imperial household's family shrine, is in Mie prefecture. Izumo-taisha, one of the oldest and most revered shrines in Japan, is in Shimane Prefecture.{{cite web|url=http://www.univie.ac.at/rel_jap/bauten/bekannteschreine.htm|title=Bekannte Schreine|last=Scheid|first=Bernhard|publisher=University of Vienna|language=de|access-date=23 March 2010}} This is because their location is that of a traditionally important {{lang|ja|kami}}, and not that of temporal institutions.

Some shrines exist only in one locality, while others are at the head of a network of {{nihongo|branch shrines|分社|bunsha}}.{{cite web|url=http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=776|title=Shamei Bunpu (Shrine Names and Distributions)|last=Motegi|first=Sadazumi|publisher=Encyclopedia of Shinto|language=ja|access-date=23 March 2010}} The spreading of a {{lang|ja|kami}} can be evoked by one or more of several different mechanisms. The typical one is an operation called kanjō, a propagation process through which a {{lang|ja|kami}} is invited to a new location and there re-enshrined. The new shrine is administered completely independent from the one it originated from.

However, other transfer mechanisms exist. In Ise Grand Shrine's case, for example, its network of Shinmei shrines (from {{nihongo|Shinmei|神明}}, another name for Amaterasu) grew due to two concurrent causes. During the late Heian period the cult of Amaterasu, worshiped initially only at Ise Grand Shrine, started to spread to the shrine's possessions through the usual {{lang|ja|kanjō}} mechanism.

Later, branch shrines started to appear further away. The first evidence of a Shinmei shrine far from Ise is given by the Azuma Kagami, a Kamakura-period text which refers to Amanawa Shinmei-gū's appearance in Kamakura, Kanagawa. Amaterasu began to be worshiped in other parts of the country because of the so-called {{nihongo3|flying Shinmei|飛び神明|tobi shinmei}} phenomenon, the belief that she would fly to other locations and settle there. Similar mechanisms have been responsible for the spreading around the country of other {{lang|ja|kami}}.

{{Main|Beppyo shrines}}

File:Naiku 04.jpg has been the most important shrine in Japan.]]

The Ise Grand Shrine in Mie prefecture is, with Izumo-taisha, the most representative and historically significant shrine in Japan. The {{lang|ja|kami}} the two enshrine play fundamental roles in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, two texts of great importance to Shinto.{{cite web|url=http://www.univie.ac.at/rel_jap/bauten/ise_izumo.htm|title=Ise und Izumo|last=Scheid|first=Bernhard|publisher=University of Vienna|language=de|access-date=31 March 2010}} Because its {{lang|ja|kami}}, Amaterasu, is an ancestor of the Emperor, Ise Grand Shrine is the Imperial Household's family shrine. Ise Grand Shrine is dedicated specifically to the emperor. In the past, even his mother, wife and grandmother needed his permission to worship there.{{cite web|url=http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=781|title=Ise Shinkō|publisher=Encyclopedia of Shinto|access-date=31 March 2010}} Its traditional and mythological foundation date goes back to 4 BCE, but historians believe it was founded around the 3rd to 5th century CE.

Izumo Taisha in Shimane Prefecture is so old that no document about its origin survives, and the year of foundation is unknown. The shrine is the center of a series of sagas and myths. The {{lang|ja|kami}} it enshrines, Ōkuninushi, created Japan before it was populated by Amaterasu's offspring, the Emperor's ancestors. Because of its physical remoteness, in historical times Izumo has been eclipsed in fame by other sites, but there is still a widespread belief that in October all Japanese gods meet there. For this reason, October is also known as the {{nihongo|"Month Without Gods"|神無月|Kannazuki|one of its names in the old lunar calendar}}, while at Izumo Taisha alone it is referred to as the {{nihongo|Month With Gods|神在月・神有月|Kamiarizuki}}.Iwanami {{nihongo|Kōjien|広辞苑}} Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version

File:Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kyoto (30173750748).jpg]]

Fushimi Inari Taisha is the head shrine of the largest shrine network in Japan, which has more than 32,000 members, about a third of the total. Inari Okami worship started here in the 8th century and has continued ever since, expanding to the rest of the country. Located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, the shrine sits at the base of a mountain also named Inari and includes trails up the mountain to many smaller shrines. Another very large example is the Yūtoku Inari Shrine in Kashima City, Saga Prefecture.

Ōita Prefecture's Usa Shrine, called in Japanese Usa Jingū or Usa Hachiman-gū, is together with Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū, the head of the Hachiman shrine network.{{cite web|url=http://www.usajinguu.com/lineage.html|title=Yuisho|publisher=Usa Jingū|language=ja|access-date=1 April 2010|archive-date=7 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207130748/http://www.usajinguu.com/lineage.html|url-status=dead}} Hachiman worship started here at least as far back as the Nara period (710–794). In 860, the {{lang|ja|kami}} was divided and brought to Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū in Kyoto, which became the focus of Hachiman worship in the capital.{{cite web|url=http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=1083|title=Hachiman Shinkō|website=Encyclopedia of Shinto|publisher=Kokugakuin University|access-date=5 April 2010}} Located on top of Mount Otokoyama, Usa Hachiman-gū is dedicated to Emperor Ōjin, his mother Empress Jingū, and female {{lang|ja|kami}} Hime no Okami.{{cite web|url=http://www.kiis.or.jp/kansaida/yawata/yawata01-e.html|title=Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine |publisher=Kansai Institute of Information Systems and Industrial|access-date=1 April 2010}}

Itsukushima Shrine is, together with Munakata Taisha, at the head of the Munakata shrine network. Remembered for its torii raising from the waters, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The shrine is dedicated to the three daughters of Susano-o no Mikoto, {{lang|ja|kami}} of seas and storms and brother of the great sun kami.

Kasuga Taisha is a Shinto shrine in the city of Nara, in Nara Prefecture, Japan. Established in 768 AD and rebuilt several times over the centuries, it is the shrine of the Fujiwara family. The interior is noted for its many bronze lanterns, as well as the many stone lanterns that lead up the shrine. The architectural style kasuga-zukuri takes its name from Kasuga Taisha's {{lang|ja|honden}}.

File:Yasukuni Shrine 201005.jpg in Chiyoda, Tokyo]]

The Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, head of the Kumano shrine network, includes Kumano Hayatama Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Shingu), Kumano Hongu Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Tanabe), and Kumano Nachi Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Nachikatsuura). The shrines lie between {{convert|20|and|40|km|mi}} one from the other. They are connected by the pilgrimage route known as {{nihongo|Kumano Sankeimichi|熊野参詣道}}. The great Kumano Sanzan complex also includes two Buddhist temples, Seiganto-ji and Fudarakusan-ji.The presence of Buddhist temples within a Shinto shrine complex is due to an integration of Buddhism and Shinto (shinbutsu shūgō) which used to be normal before the Meiji restoration and is still common. The {{lang|ja|kami}} which inhabits the Nachi Falls within the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, the already mentioned Hiryū Gongen, is itself syncretic.[http://www.pref.wakayama.lg.jp/sekaiisan/english/e-kumano_e.html Sacred site "Kumano Sanzan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303221919/http://www.pref.wakayama.lg.jp/sekaiisan/english/e-kumano_e.html |date=2009-03-03 }} accessed on June 12, 2008

The religious significance of the Kumano region goes back to prehistoric times and predates all modern religions in Japan. The area was, and still is, considered a place of physical healing.

Yasukuni shrine, in Tokyo, is dedicated to the soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan.

San Marino Shrine in Serravalle, San Marino, is the first Shinto shrine in Europe.

There are an estimated 80,000 shrines in Japan.Karan, Pradyumna. (2010). [https://books.google.com/books?id=oze_mWihnU0C&pg=PA72&dq= Japan in the 21st Century: Environment, Economy, and Society, p. 72]; (1997). [https://books.google.com/books?id=ytOHbLdtSY4C&pg=PA191 Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths, p. 191]. The majority of Shinto shrines are associated with a shrine network. This number includes only shrines with resident priests. If smaller shrines, such as roadside or household shrines are included, the number would be twice the amount. These are highly concentrated. Over one-third, 30,000, are associated with Inari. The top six networks comprise over 90% of all shrines. There are at least 20 networks with over 200 shrines.

The next ten largest networks contain between 2,000 branches down to about 200 branches, and include the networks headed by Matsunoo-taisha, Kibune Shrine, and Taga-taisha, among others.

{{main|Inari Shrine}}

The number of branch shrines gives an approximate indication of their religious significance, and neither Ise Grand Shrine nor Izumo-taisha can claim the first place. By far the most numerous are shrines dedicated to Inari, tutelary {{lang|ja|kami}} of agriculture popular all over Japan, which alone constitute almost a third of the total. Inari protects fishing, commerce, and productivity in general. Many modern Japanese corporations have shrines dedicated to Inari on their premises. Inari shrines are usually very small and easy to maintain, but can be very large, as in the case of Fushimi Inari Taisha, the head shrine of the network. The {{lang|ja|kami}} is enshrined in some Buddhist temples.

The entrance to an Inari shrine is usually marked by one or more vermilion torii and two white foxes. This red color has come to be identified with Inari because of the prevalence of its use among Inari shrines and their {{lang|ja|torii}}.Smyers (1999:60, 177) The {{lang|ja|kitsune}} statues are at times mistakenly believed to be a form assumed by Inari, and they typically come in pairs, representing a male and a female, although sex is usually not obvious.Smyers (1999:93) These fox statues hold a symbolic item in their mouths or beneath a front paw—most often a jewel and a key, but a sheaf of rice, a scroll, or a fox cub are common. Almost all Inari shrines, no matter how small, will feature at least a pair of these statues, usually flanking, on the altar, or in front of the main sanctuary.

{{main|Hachiman Shrine}}

File:Sōgyō Hachiman.jpg]]

A syncretic entity worshiped as both a {{lang|ja|kami}} and a Buddhist Bodhisattva, Hachiman is intimately associated with both learning and warriors. In the sixth or seventh century, Emperor Ōjin and his mother Empress Jingū came to be identified together with Hachiman.{{cite book|last=Ashkenazy|first=Michael|title=Handbook of Japanese Mythology (World Mythology) (Hardcover)|publisher=ABC-CLIO|date=November 5, 2003|isbn=978-1-57607-467-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/handbookofjapane0000ashk}} First enshrined at Usa Hachiman-gū in Ōita Prefecture, Hachiman was deeply revered during the Heian period. According to the Kojiki, it was Ōjin who invited Korean and Chinese scholars to Japan, and for this reason he is the patron of writing and learning.

Because as Emperor Ōjin he was an ancestor of the Minamoto clan, Hachiman became the {{nihongo|tutelary {{lang|ja|kami}}|氏神|ujigami|}} of the Minamoto samurai clan of Kawachi (Osaka). After Minamoto no Yoritomo became shōgun and established the Kamakura shogunate, Hachiman's popularity grew, and he became by extension the protector of the warrior class the {{lang|ja|shōgun}} had brought to power. For this reason, the {{lang|ja|shintai}} of a Hachiman shrine is usually a stirrup or a bow.

During the Japanese medieval period, Hachiman worship spread throughout Japan among samurai and the peasantry. There are 25,000 shrines in Japan dedicated to him, the second most numerous after those of the Inari network. Usa Hachiman-gū is the network's head shrine together with Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū. However, Hakozaki Shrine and Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū are historically no less significant shrines and are more popular.

{{Main|Shinmei shrines}}

While the ritsuryō legal system was in use, visits by commoners to Ise were forbidden. With its weakening during the Heian period, commoners started being allowed in the shrine. The growth of the Shinmei shrine network was due to two concomitant causes. During the late Heian period, goddess Amaterasu, worshiped initially only at Ise Grand Shrine, started to be re-enshrined in branch shrines in Ise's own possessions through the typical {{lang|ja|kanjō}} mechanism. The first evidence of a Shinmei shrine elsewhere is given by the Azuma Kagami, a Kamakura period text which refers to Amanawa Shinmei-gū's appearance in Kamakura. Amaterasu spread to other parts of the country because of the so-called {{nihongo||飛び神明|tobi shinmei|{{lit|flying Shinmei}}}} phenomenon, the belief that Amaterasu flew to other locations and settled there.

{{main|Tenman-gū}}

The Tenjin shrine network enshrines 9th-century scholar Sugawara no Michizane. Sugawara had originally been enshrined to placate his spirit, not to be worshiped.{{cite book |editor=John Breen |editor2=Mark Teeuwen | title = Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami| publisher = University of Hawaii Press| date = July 2000| location = Honolulu| isbn = 978-0-8248-2363-4| oclc = 43487317}} Michizane had been unjustly exiled in his life, and it was necessary to somehow placate his rage, believed to be the cause of a plague and other disasters. Kitano Tenman-gū was the first of the shrines dedicated to him. Because in life he was a scholar, he became the {{lang|ja|kami}} of learning, and during the Edo period schools often opened a branch shrine for him. Another important shrine dedicated to him is Dazaifu Tenman-gū.

Headed by Kyūshū's Munakata Taisha and Itsukushima Shrine, shrines in this network enshrine the {{nihongo|Three Female Kami of Munakata|宗像三女神|Munakata Sanjoshin}}, namely Chikishima Hime-no-Kami, Tagitsu Hime-no-Kami, and Tagori Hime-no-Kami.{{cite web |title=Munakata Shinkō |url=http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=1085 |access-date=5 April 2010 |publisher=Encyclopedia of Shinto}} The same three {{lang|ja|kami}} are enshrined elsewhere in the network, sometimes under a different name. However, while Munakata Taisha enshrines all three in separate islands belonging to its complex, branch shrines generally do not. Which {{lang|ja|kami}} they enshrine depends on the history of the shrine and the myths tied to it.

Suwa Shrines are branch shrines of Suwa Taisha.

Hiyoshi shrines are branch shrines of Hiyoshi Taisha. They have origins in Sannō Ichijitsu Shintō and worship Oyamakui no Kami.

{{main|Kumano Shrine}}

Kumano shrines enshrine the three Kumano mountains: Hongū, Shingū, and Nachi (the {{nihongo|Kumano Gongen|熊野権現}}).Encyclopedia of Shinto, [http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=1076 Kumano Shinkō], accessed on April 1, 2010 The point of origin of the Kumano cult is the Kumano Sanzan shrine complex, which includes {{nihongo|Kumano Hayatama Taisha|熊野速玉大社}} (Wakayama Prefecture, Shingu), Kumano Hongu Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Tanabe), and Kumano Nachi Taisha (Wakayama Prefecture, Nachikatsuura). There are more than 3,000 Kumano shrines in Japan.

{{Main|Gion cult}}

Gion shrines are branch shrines of Tsushima Shrine, Yasaka Shrine or Hiromine Shrine. Historically associated with Gozu Tenno, they became dedicated to Susanoo during the separation of Shinto and Buddhism.

Image:Plan of Shinto Shrine.jpg

The following is a list and diagram illustrating the most important parts of a Shinto shrine:

1. torii – Shinto gate
2. Stone stairs
3. sandō – the approach to the shrine
4. Chōzuya – place of purification to cleanse one's hands and mouth
5. tōrō – decorative stone lanterns
6. kagura-den – building dedicated to noh or the sacred kagura dance
7. {{lang|ja|Shamusho}} – the shrine's administrative office
8. Ema (Shintō) – wooden plaques bearing prayers or wishes
9. Setsumatsusha – small auxiliary shrines
10. komainu – the so-called "lion dogs", guardians of the shrine
11. Haiden (Shinto) – oratory or hall of worship
12. Tamagaki – fence surrounding the {{lang|ja|honden}}
13. honden – main hall, enshrining the kami
14. On the roof of the {{lang|ja|haiden}} and {{lang|ja|honden}} are visible chigi (architecture) (forked roof finials) and katsuogi (short horizontal logs), both common shrine ornamentations.

The general blueprint of a Shinto shrine is Buddhist in origin. The presence of verandas, stone lanterns, and elaborate gates is an example of this influence. The composition of a Shinto shrine is extremely variable, and none of its many possible features is necessarily present. Even the {{lang|ja|honden}} can be missing if the shrine worships a nearby natural {{lang|ja|shintai}}.

Since its grounds are sacred, they are usually surrounded by a fence made of stone or wood called {{lang|ja|tamagaki}}. Access is made possible by an approach called {{lang|ja|sandō}}. The entrances are straddled by gates called {{lang|ja|torii}}, which are usually the simplest way to identify a Shinto shrine.

Image:---File---蒙疆神社.JPG shrine in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, China, 1952]]

A shrine may include within its grounds several structures, each built for a different purpose. Among them are the {{lang|ja|honden}} or sanctuaries, where the {{lang|ja|kami}} are enshrined, the heiden (Shinto) or hall of offerings, where offers and prayers are presented, and the {{lang|ja|haiden}} or hall of worship, where there may be seats for worshippers. The {{lang|ja|honden}} is the building that contains the {{lang|ja|shintai}}, literally, 'the sacred body of the {{lang|ja|kami}}'.{{refn|group=note|In spite of its name, the {{lang|ja|shintai}}is actually a temporary repository of the enshrined {{lang|ja|kami}}.Smyers, page 44}}

Of these, only the {{lang|ja|haiden}} is open to the laity. The {{lang|ja|honden}} is usually located behind the {{lang|ja|haiden}} and is often much smaller and unadorned. Other notable shrine features are the {{lang|ja|temizuya}}, the fountain where visitors cleanse their hands and mouth, and the {{nihongo||社務所|shamusho}}, the office which oversees the shrine. Buildings are often adorned by {{lang|ja|chigi}} and {{lang|ja|katsuogi}}, variously oriented poles which protrude from their roof.

Before the Meiji Restoration it was common for a Buddhist temple to be built inside or next to a shrine, or vice versa.See the Shinbutsu shūgō article. If a shrine housed a Buddhist temple, it was called a {{nihongo||神宮寺|jingūji}}. Analogously, temples all over Japan adopted {{Nihongo|tutelary {{lang|ja|kami}}|鎮守・鎮主|chinju}} and built {{nihongo|temple shrines|寺社|jisha}} to house them.Mark Teeuwen in Breen and Teeuwen (2000:95-96) 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 and is still visible today.

{{main|Shinto architecture}}

Shrine buildings can have many different basic layouts, usually named either after a famous shrine's {{lang|ja|honden}} (e.g. {{lang|ja|hiyoshi-zukuri}}, named after Hiyoshi Taisha), or a structural characteristic (e.g., {{lang|ja|irimoya-zukuri}}, after the hip-and gable roof it adopts. The suffix {{lang|ja|-zukuri}} in this case means 'structure'.)

The {{lang|ja|honden}}{{'}}s roof is always gabled, and some styles have a veranda-like aisle called hisashi (architecture) (a 1-ken (architecture) wide corridor surrounding one or more sides of the core of a shrine or temple). Among the factors involved in the classification, important are the presence or absence of:

• hirairi or {{nihongo||平入・平入造|hirairi-zukuri}} – a style of construction in which the building has its main entrance on the side which runs parallel to the roof's ridge (non gabled-side). The {{lang|ja|shinmei-zukuri}}, {{lang|ja|nagare-zukuri}}, {{lang|ja|hachiman-zukuri}}, and {{lang|ja|hie-zukuri}} belong to this type.
• tsumairi or {{nihongo||妻入・妻入造|tsumairi-zukuri}} – a style of construction in which the building has its main entrance on the side which runs perpendicular to the roof's ridge (gabled side). The {{lang|ja|taisha-zukuri}}, {{lang|ja|sumiyoshi-zukuri}}, {{lang|ja|ōtori-zukuri}} and {{lang|ja|kasuga-zukuri}} belong to this type.

Proportions are important. A building of a given style often must have certain proportions measured in {{lang|ja|ken}} (the distance between pillars, a quantity variable from one shrine to another or even within the same shrine).

The oldest styles are the {{lang|ja|tsumairi}} {{lang|ja|shinmei-zukuri}}, {{lang|ja|taisha-zukuri}}, and {{lang|ja|sumiyoshi-zukuri}}, believed to predate the arrival of Buddhism.

The two most common are the {{lang|ja|hirairi}} {{lang|ja|nagare-zukuri}} and the {{lang|ja|tsumairi}} {{lang|ja|kasuga-zukuri}}.[http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=248 History and Typology of Shrine Architecture], Encyclopedia of Shinto accessed on November 29, 2009 Larger, more important shrines tend to have unique styles.

The following are the two most common shrine styles in Japan.

File:Ujigami jinja08s3s4500.jpg in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture]]

The {{nihongo|flowing style|流造|nagare-zukuri}} or {{nihongo|flowing gabled style|流破風造|nagare hafu-zukuri}} is a style characterized by a very asymmetrical gabled roof or {{nihongo||切妻屋根|kirizuma-yane}}, projecting outwards on the non-gabled side, above the main entrance, to form a portico.

This is the feature which gives the style its name, the most common among shrines all over Japan. Sometimes the basic layout consisting of an elevated {{nihongo|core|母屋|moya}} partially surrounded by a veranda called {{lang|ja|hisashi}} (all under the same roof) is modified by the addition of a room in front of the entrance.

The {{lang|ja|honden}} varies in roof ridge length from 1 to 11 {{lang|ja|ken}}, but is never 6 or 8 {{lang|ja|ken}}.JAANUS, [http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/n/nagarezukuri.htm Nagare-zukuri], accessed on December 1, 2009 The most common sizes are 1 and 3 {{lang|ja|ken}}. The oldest shrine in Japan, Uji's Ujigami Shrine, has a {{lang|ja|honden}} of this type. Its external dimensions are 5×3 {{lang|ja|ken}}, but internally it is composed of three {{nihongo|sanctuaries|内殿|naiden}} measuring 1 {{lang|ja|ken}} each.

{{clear}}

File:Udamikumari Shr Kami detail.jpg Kami-gū is made of 3 joined {{lang|ja|Kasuga-zukuri}} buildings.]]

{{nihongo||春日造|Kasuga-zukuri}} as a style takes its name from Kasuga Taisha's {{lang|ja|honden}}. It is characterized by the extreme smallness of the building, just 1×1 {{lang|ja|ken}} in size. In Kasuga Taisha's case, this translates in {{convert|1.9|x|2.6|m|ft}}.JAANUS, [http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/k/kasugazukuri.htm Kasuga-zukuri], accessed on December 1, 2009 The roof is gabled with a single entrance at the gabled end, decorated with chigi (architecture) and katsuogi, covered with cypress bark and curved upwards at the eaves. Supporting structures are painted vermillion, while the plank walls are white.

After the {{lang|ja|Nagare-zukuri}}, this is the most common style, with most instances in the Kansai region around Nara.

The following four styles predate the arrival in Japan of Buddhism.

Unique in that the {{lang|ja|honden}} is missing, it is believed shrines of this type are reminiscent of what shrines were like in prehistorical times. The first shrines had no {{lang|ja|honden}} because the {{lang|ja|shintai}}, or object of worship, was the mountain on which they stood. An extant example is Nara's Ōmiwa Shrine, which still has no {{lang|ja|honden}}. An area near the Haiden (Shinto) or hall of worship, sacred and taboo, replaces it for worship. Another prominent example of this style is Futarasan Shrine near Nikkō, whose {{lang|ja|shintai}} is Mount Nantai.

File:IseShrineBuilding.jpg]]

{{nihongo||神明造|Shinmei-zukuri}} is an ancient style typical of, and most common at, Ise Grand Shrine, the holiest of Shinto shrines. It is most common in Mie prefecture.JAANUS, [http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/s/shinmeizukuri.htm Shinmei-zukuri] accessed on December 1, 2009 Characterized by an extreme simplicity, its basic features can be seen in Japanese architecture from the Kofun period (250–538 CE) onwards and it is considered the pinnacle of Japanese traditional architecture. Built in planed, unfinished wood, the {{lang|ja|honden}} is either 3×2 {{lang|ja|ken}} or 1×1 {{lang|ja|ken}} in size, has a raised floor, a gabled roof with an entry on one of the non-gabled sides, no upward curve at the eaves, and decorative logs called chigi (architecture) and katsuogi protruding from the roof's ridge. The oldest extant example is Nishina Shinmei Shrine.

{{nihongo||住吉造|Sumiyoshi-zukuri}} takes its name from Sumiyoshi Taisha's {{lang|ja|honden}} in Ōsaka. The building is 4 {{lang|ja|ken}} wide and 2 {{lang|ja|ken}} deep and has an entrance under the gable.[https://archive.today/20121209043808/http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E7%A5%9E%E7%A4%BE%E5%BB%BA%E7%AF%89/ Jinja Kenchiku], Shogakukan Nihon Daihyakka Zensho, accessed on November 29, 2009 Its interior is divided in two sections, one at the {{nihongo|front|外陣|gejin}} and one at the {{nihongo|back|内陣|naijin}} with a single entrance at the front.JAANUS, [http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/s/sumiyoshizukuri.htm Sumiyoshi-zukuri], accessed on December 1, 2009 Construction is simple, but the pillars are painted in vermilion and the walls in white.

The style is supposed to have its origin in old palace architecture. Another example of this style is Sumiyoshi Jinja, part of the Sumiyoshi Sanjin complex in Fukuoka Prefecture. In both cases, as in many others, there is no veranda.

File:Kamosu jinja.jpg

Taisha-zukuri or {{nihongo||大社造|Ōyashiro-zukuri}} is the oldest shrine style, takes its name from Izumo Taisha and, like Ise Grand Shrine's, has {{lang|ja|chigi}} and {{lang|ja|katsuogi}}, plus archaic features like gable-end pillars and a single central pillar ({{lang|ja|shin no mihashira}}). Because its floor is raised on stilts, it is believed to have its origin in raised-floor granaries similar to those found in Toro, Shizuoka prefecture.JAANUS, [http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/t/taishazukuri.htm Taisha-zukuri], accessed on December 1, 2009

The {{lang|ja|honden}} normally has a 2×2 {{lang|ja|ken}} footprint ({{convert|12.46|x|12.46|m|ft}} in Izumo Taisha's case), with an entrance on the gabled end. The stairs to the honden are covered by a cypress bark roof. The oldest extant example of the style is Kamosu Jinja's {{lang|ja|honden}} in Shimane Prefecture, built in the 16th century.

Many other architectural styles exist, most of them rare.

File:Hakusan gongen.jpg

Shrine nomenclature has changed considerably since the Meiji period. Until then, the vast majority of shrines were small and had no permanent priest.Hardacre (1986:31) With very few exceptions, they were just a part of a temple-shrine complex controlled by Buddhist clergy.

They usually enshrined a local tutelary {{lang|ja| kami}}, so they were called with the name of the {{lang|ja|kami}} followed by terms like gongen; {{nihongo||産土|ubusuna}}, short for {{lang|ja|ubusuna no kami}}, or guardian deity of one's birthplace; or {{nihongo|great kami|明神|myōjin}}. The term {{nihongo||神社|jinja}}, now the most common, was rare. Examples of this kind of pre-Meiji use are Tokusō Daigongen and Kanda Myōjin.

Today, the term "Shinto shrine" in English is used in opposition to "Buddhist temple" to mirror in English the distinction made in Japanese between Shinto and Buddhist religious structures. This single English word translates several non-equivalent Japanese words, including {{nihongo||神社|jinja}} as in Yasukuni Jinja; {{nihongo||社|yashiro}} as in Tsubaki Ōkami Yashiro; {{nihongo||宮|miya}} as in Watarai no Miya; {{nihongo||宮|-gū}} as in Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū; {{nihongo||神宮|jingū}} as in Meiji Jingū; {{nihongo||大社|taisha}} as in Izumo Taisha;The History of Shrines {{nihongo||杜|mori}}; and {{lang|ja|hokora}} or {{nihongo||神庫|hokura}}.

Shrine names are descriptive. A problem in dealing with them is understanding exactly what they mean. Although there is a lot of variation in their composition, it is usually possible to identify in them two parts. The first is the shrine's name proper, or {{nihongo||名称|meishō}}, the second is the so-called {{nihongo||称号|shōgō}}, or 'title'.Shinto Online Network Association [http://jinja.jp/modules/chishiki/index.php?content_id=56 Jinja no Shōgō ni Tsuite Oshiete Kudasai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019044202/http://jinja.jp/modules/chishiki/index.php?content_id=56 |date=2014-10-19 }}

The most common {{lang|ja|meishō}} is the location where the shrine stands, as for example in the case of Ise Jingū, the most sacred of shrines, which is located in the city of Ise, Mie prefecture.[http://orias.berkeley.edu/visuals/japan_visuals/shintoC.HTM#ISE Ise, the Holiest Shrine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704083054/http://orias.berkeley.edu/visuals/japan_visuals/shintoC.HTM#ISE |date=2008-07-04 }}, Berkeley University ORIAS site accessed on August 10, 2008

Very often the {{lang|ja|meishō}} will be the name of the {{lang|ja|kami}} enshrined. An Inari Shrine for example is a shrine dedicated to {{lang|ja|kami}} Inari. Analogously, a Kumano Shrine is a shrine that enshrines the three Kumano mountains. A Hachiman Shrine enshrines {{lang|ja|kami}} Hachiman. Tokyo's Meiji Shrine enshrines the Meiji Emperor. The name can also have other origins, often unknown or unclear.

The second part of the name defines the status of the shrine.

• {{Nihongo||神社|Jinja}} is the most general word for a Shinto shrine. Any place that has a {{nihongo||本殿|honden}} is a {{lang|ja|jinja}}. The word {{lang|ja|jinja}} used to have two more readings, {{lang|ja|kamu-tsu-yashiro}} and {{lang|ja| 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.
• {{nihongo||社|Yashiro}} is a generic term for Shinto shrine, much like {{lang|ja|jinja}}.
• {{Nihongo||杜|Mori|{{lit|grove}}}} are places where {{lang|ja|kami}} are present. These places can therefore be shrines and, in fact, 神社, 社 and 杜 can all be read as {{lang|ja|mori}}.Sonoda Minoru in Breen, Teeuwen (2000:43) This reading reflects the fact that the first shrines were simply sacred groves or forests where {{lang|ja|kami}} were present.
• The suffix {{lang|ja|-sha}} or {{lang|ja|-ja}}, as in {{lang|ja|Shinmei-sha}} or {{lang|ja|Tenjin-ja}} indicates a minor shrine that has received a {{lang|ja|kami}} from a more important shrine through the kanjō process.
• {{Lang|ja|Hokora}} or {{nihongo||神庫|hokura}} are extremely small shrines like the ones that can be found, for example, along country roads.[http://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/bts/bts_h.html#hokora Basic Terms of Shinto, Hokora] retrieved on July 1, 2008
• A {{nihongo||神宮|jingū}} is a shrine of particularly high status that has a deep relationship with the Imperial household or enshrines an Emperor. This is the case for, both, Ise Jingū and Meiji Jingū. {{Lang|ja|Jingū}} alone, however, only refers to Ise Jingū, whose official name is just that.
• {{Nihongo||宮|Miya}} indicates a shrine that is enshrining a special {{lang|ja|kami}} or a member of the Imperial household like the Empress. However, there are many examples, much like with {{lang|ja|-gū}}, in which it is used simply as a tradition. During the period of state regulation, many shrines changed the {{lang|ja|-miya}} in their names to {{lang|ja|jinja}}.
• {{Nihongo||宮|-gū}} indicates a shrine enshrining an imperial prince. However, there are many instances where it is used simply as a tradition.
• A {{lang|ja|taisha}} or {{nihongo||大社|ōyashiro|{{lit|great shrine}}}} is a shrine that was classified as such under the old system of shrine ranking, the {{nihongo||社格|shakaku}}, which was abolished in 1946.[https://web.archive.org/web/20120213073711/http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=260 Myōjin taisha], Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on July 2, 2008 Many shrines carrying that {{lang|ja|shōgō}} or 'title' adopted it only after the war.
• During the Japanese Middle Ages, shrines started being called {{nihongo||権現|gongen}}, a term of Buddhist origin.Encyclopedia of Shinto, [http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=790 Gongen shinkō], accessed on October 5, 2008 For example, in Eastern Japan, there are still many Hakusan shrines where the shrine itself is called {{lang|ja|gongen}}. Because it represents the application of Buddhist terminology to Shinto {{lang|ja|kami}}, its use was legally abolished by the Meiji government with the {{nihongo|Shinto and Buddhism Separation Order|神仏判然令|Shin-butsu Hanzenrei}}, and shrines began to be called {{lang|ja|jinja}}.

These names are not equivalent in terms of prestige: a {{lang|ja|taisha}} is more prestigious than a {{lang|ja|-gū}}, which is more important than a {{lang|ja|jinja}}.

{{Main|Hakushu (Shinto)}}

File:参拝作法_2016_(28818026392).jpg

File:Bowing-clapping-bowing.png

At shrines there is a relatively standardized system of visit ettiquette that is called {{ill|Two bows, two claps, one bow|ja|二礼二拍手一礼|simple}}. It goes roughly as follows:{{Cite web |date=2015-08-21 |title=Do you know? Shrine manners and their meanings {{!}} Feel Fukuoka Japan |url=https://feelfukuoka.com/en/culture-lifestyle/sumiyoshi/ |access-date=2023-02-12 |language=en-US}}{{cite web | url=https://www.yakult.co.jp/english/inbound/manners/05.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20230408002726/https://www.yakult.co.jp/english/inbound/manners/05.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2023-04-08 | title=Japanese Customs and Etiquette｜Dive deeper into Yakult —the Probiotic… }}

1. Bow once before entering the torii. Walking through the center of the {{lang|ja|torii}} is reserved for deities.
2. Purify the hands and mouth with the chōzuya.
3. Put money in the offering box.{{Cite web |date=7 June 2021 |title=Learn about Shinto - How to behave in a shinto shrine |url=https://tomo.life/en/blogs/shinto-and-shrines/manner-2106071 |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=供TOMO ONLINE STORE |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=二礼二拍一礼は参拝の基本。その歴史と考え方とは。｜葬儀･家族葬なら【よりそうお葬式】 |url=https://www.yoriso.com/sogi/nireinihakuichirei/ |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=www.yoriso.com |language=ja}}
4. Ring the bell 2 to 3 times if present.{{Cite web |last=Japanistry |date=2016-11-06 |title=Visiting Shrines & Temples in Japan: Etiquette & Customs |url=https://www.japanistry.com/etiquette-at-the-shrines-temples/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=japanistry.com |language=en-US}}
5. Bow twice.
6. Clap twice.
7. Bow once. This bow is deeper than the others,{{Cite web |title=Pray｜Ise Jingu |url=https://www.isejingu.or.jp/en/pray/index.html |access-date=2023-02-12 |website=Ise Jingu |language=en}} at a 90-degree angle.
8. When exiting the shrine, turn around and bow once at the {{lang|ja|torii}}. [http://www.tokyo-jinjacho.or.jp/sanpai/ "Etiquette For Worship"] retrieved May 31 2024.

There are rare exceptions to this system. For example, at Usa Jingū and Izumo-taisha, it is correct etiquette to clap four times in front of the offering box rather than the usual twice. [http://www.usajinguu.com/worship/ "Usa Jingu - About Worship"] retrieved May 31 2024. [https://izumooyashiro.or.jp/archives/faq/7898 "Izumo-Taisha - Frequently Asked Questions"] retrieved May 31 2024.

{{main|List of National Treasures of Japan (shrines)}}

Shrines that are part of a World Heritage Site are marked with a dagger ({{Dagger}}).

• Tōhoku region
• Ōsaki Hachiman Shrine (Sendai, Miyagi)
• Kantō region
• Nikkō Tōshō-gū{{Dagger}} (Nikkō, Tochigi)
• Rinnō-ji{{Dagger}} (Nikkō, Tochigi)
• Chūbu region
• Nishina Shinmei Shrine (Ōmachi, Nagano)
• Kansai region
• Onjō-ji (Ōtsu, Shiga)
• Hiyoshi Taisha (Ōtsu, Shiga)
• Mikami Shrine (Yasu, Shiga)
• Ōsasahara Shrine (Yasu, Shiga)
• Tsukubusuma Shrine (Nagahama, Shiga)
• Namura Shrine (Ryūō, Shiga)
• Kamo Shrine{{Dagger}} (Kyoto, Kyoto)
• Daigo-ji{{Dagger}} (Kyoto, Kyoto)
• Toyokuni Shrine (Kyoto, Kyoto)
• Kitano Tenman-gū (Kyoto, Kyoto)
• Ujigami Shrine{{Dagger}} (Uji, Kyoto)
• Sumiyoshi Taisha (Osaka, Osaka)
• Sakurai Shrine (Sakai, Osaka)
• Kasuga Shrine{{Dagger}} (Nara, Nara)
• Enjō-ji (Nara, Nara)
• Isonokami Shrine (Tenri, Nara)
• Udamikumari Shrine (Uda, Nara)
• Chūgoku region
• Sanbutsu-ji (Misasa, Tottori)
• Izumo Taisha (Taisha, Shimane)
• Kamosu Shrine (Matsue, Shimane)
• Kibitsu Shrine (Okayama, Okayama)
• Itsukushima Shrine{{Dagger}} (Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima)
• Sumiyoshi Shrine (Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi)
• Shikoku region
• Kandani Shrine (Sakaide, Kagawa)
• Kyūshū region
• Usa Shrine (Usa, Ōita)
• Aoi Aso Shrine (Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto)

{{main|Kannushi}}

File:Guji0148.jpg]]

A {{nihongo||神主|kannushi|{{lit|{{lang|ja|kami}} master}}}} or {{nihongo||神職|shinshoku|{{lit|{{lang|ja|kami}} employee}}}} is a priest responsible for the maintenance of a shrine, as well as for leading worship of a given {{lang|ja|kami}}. These two terms were not always synonyms. Originally, a {{lang|ja|kannushi}} was a holy man who could work miracles and who, thanks to purification rites, could work as an intermediary between {{lang|ja|kami}} and man, but the term later evolved such that it was synonymous with {{lang|ja|shinshoku}}, a term for a man who works at a shrine and holds religious ceremonies there.{{cite web|url=http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E7%A5%9E%E4%B8%BB/|title=Kannushi|last=Moriyasu|language=ja|first=Jin|website=Nihon Hyakka Zensho|publisher=Shogakukan|access-date=2009-10-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209091437/http://100.yahoo.co.jp/detail/%E7%A5%9E%E4%B8%BB/|archive-date=2012-12-09}} Women can become {{lang|ja|kannushi}}, and it is common for widows to succeed their husbands.{{cite web| title= Shinshoku | publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica Online | url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/540847/shinshoku | access-date= 2009-10-16}}

{{main|Miko}}

A {{nihongo||巫女|miko}} is a shrine maiden who has trained for and taken up several duties at a shrine including assistance of shrine functions such as but not limited to: tidying the premises every day, performing the sacred kagura dances on certain occasions, and performing the sale of sacred goods, including amulets known as omamori, paper talismans known as ofuda, and wood tablets known as ema (Shinto).

File:Shinra Zenjin Hall.jpg|{{lang|ja|Hirairi}} style: entrance on the non-gabled side

File:Outside of Itsukushima main shrine.jpg|{{lang|ja|Tsumairi}} style: entrance on the gabled side

File:Katsuragi-jinja (Gose, Nara) massha.jpg|Some {{lang|ja|setsumassha}}

File:Hokora-DSC2202.jpg|A {{lang|ja|hokora}}

File:安住神社(バイク神社).jpg|{{ill|Yasuzumi Jinja|ja|安住神社}} is famous not only for praying for safe childbirth, but also as a motorcycle shrine.

• Dambana
• Giboshi
• Glossary of Shinto
• List of National Treasures of Japan (shrines)
• List of Shinto shrines
• Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines
• Senjafuda
• Shrine Shinto
• Twenty-Two Shrines ({{lang|ja|Nijūnisha}})

{{Reflist}}

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|editor=Breen, John

|editor2=Mark Teeuwen

| title = Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami

| publisher = University of Hawaii Press

|date=July 2000

| location = Honolulu

| isbn = 978-0-8248-2363-4

}}

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| last = Brown, Delmer M.

| title = The Early Evolution of Historical Consciousness in "Cambridge History of Japan", Vol. 1

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| date = 1993

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}}

• {{cite journal|last=Burkman|first=Thomas W.|title=The Urakami Incidents and the Struggle for Religious Tolerance in Early Meiji Japan|journal=Japanese Journal of Religious Studies|volume=1|issue=2–3|pages=143–216|date=June–September 1974|url=http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/jjrs/pdf/6.pdf|access-date=2008-07-17|doi=10.18874/jjrs.1.2-3.1974.143-216|doi-access=free}}{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
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| title=Nihon Kenchiku-shi

|editor1=Fujita Masaya |editor2=Koga Shūsaku | publisher=Shōwa-dō

| date=April 10, 1990

| edition=September 30, 2008

| isbn=978-4-8122-9805-3

| language=ja

}}

• {{cite journal|last=Hardacre, Helen |title=Creating State Shinto: The Great Promulgation Campaign and the New Religions|journal=Journal of Japanese Studies |year=1986|volume=12|issue=1|pages=29–63|jstor=132446|doi=10.2307/132446}}
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| title=Jinja (Encyclopedia of Shinto, vol. 2)

|trans-title=Shrines

| editor=Havens, Norman |editor2=Inoue, Nobutaka (translated by Norman Havens and Helen Hardacre)

| publisher=Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University

| year=2004

| encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Shinto

| isbn=978-4-905853-12-1

}}

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| url=http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=250

| title=Honden

| last=Mori

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}}

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}}

• [http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=696 The History of Shrines], Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on June 10, 2008
• [http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/publications/afs/pdf/a1018.pdf Shinto Shrines or Temples?]{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} retrieved on June 10, 2008
• [http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/category.php?categoryID=13 Shrine Architecture] Encyclopedia of Shinto, retrieved on June 10, 2008
• [http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/overviewofashintoshrine/ Overview of a Shinto Shrine], a detailed visual introduction to the structure of a Shinto shrine, Encyclopedia of Shinto retrieved on June 8, 2008
• [http://jinja.jp/modules/chishiki/index.php?content_id=56 Jinja no Shōgō ni Tsuite Oshiete Kudasai] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019044202/http://jinja.jp/modules/chishiki/index.php?content_id=56 |date=2014-10-19 }}, Shinto Online Network Association, retrieved on July 2, 2008 (in Japanese)
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| first=Yoshiro

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| isbn=978-4-333-01684-6

}}

• Stuart D. B. Picken. Essentials of Shinto: An Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings. Greenwood, 1994. {{ISBN|0313264317}}

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| last =Cluzel

| first =Jean-Sébastien

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• {{cite book

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• [http://www.pem.org/library/collections/offen The Herbert Offen Research Collection of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130185156/http://www.pem.org/library/collections/offen |date=2010-01-30 }}

{{Commons category|Shinto shrines}}

• [http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/ Encyclopedia of Shinto], Kokugakuin University
• [http://jinja.or.jp/ Jinja and Shinto], site of the Shinto Online Network Association
• [http://www.jinjahoncho.or.jp/en/ Jinja Honchō], the Association of Shinto Shrines
• {{in lang|ja}} [http://21coe.kokugakuin.ac.jp/db/jinja/ Kokugakuin University Shinto Jinja Database]
• [http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/shrine-guide.shtml Shinto Shrine types]

{{Shinto shrine}}

{{Place of worship}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shinto Shrine}}

Category:Architecture in Japan