Have you ever wondered about all the gates (torii) you see around Japan? They are entrances to the sacred ground of Shinto shrines (jinja). While some might see Japan’s traditional practices of Shinto as a religion, and their various kami as gods, it’s not quite as simple as that. Special thanks to David Chart for explaining the ins and outs of Shinto. Find out more about Shinto on his blog at https://www.mimusubi.com/ and support his writing on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/mimusubi.
Posts Tagged‘Shinto’
LWIF EP86: The Rules that Rule Japan
Some people think Japan is a strange and different land, that they’ll never understand. Why do the Japanese do what they do? Well, Japan and its people are not so hard to comprehend, once you realize that it’s all about the rules. Once you know them, your time here will be easy peasy, Japaneasy. It’d be my pleasure if you join me in discovering the rules that rule Japan.
LWIF EP17: Visiting the Ise Grand Shrine (伊勢神宮 Ise Jingū)
Hello world! The Ise Grand Shrine is a Shinto shrine complex that is made up of multiple shrines (mainly in two locations). Legend has it that it was founded around 2,000 years ago, but the first known building of a shrine in the area occurred in 692, so still a long time ago! Although the grounds are ancient, the buildings are rebuilt every twenty years, “as part of the Shinto belief about the death and renewal of nature and the impermanence of all things (wabi-sabi) and as a way of passing building techniques from one generation to the next” (source:…