Category: Shrine items (Page 4 of 13)

Komainu (shrine guardians)

November 8, 2016 / John D. / 2 Comments

Anyone who visits a shrine in Japan will have noticed the curious creatures that stand as guardians, welcoming visitors but keeping out evil spirits. Those who visit a lot of shrines will notice considerable differences in the statues. Some are … Read the rest

Divine horses

May 16, 2016 / John D. / 0 Comments

Green Shinto readers will be familiar from previous articles with the white horses kept at some shrines in honour of the kami. They are of course the origin of the votive plaques known as ema (literally, horse picture). Because of

… Read the rest

Mirrors for sun worship

January 31, 2016 / John D. / 0 Comments

Mirrors may have worked magic in ancient Japanese rituals

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201401300067

By TSUYOSHI SATO January 30, 2014

KYOTO–Rulers of ancient Japan may have used a “magic mirror” to conjure up images of mountain wizards and divine beasts for sun-worshipping rituals. The

… Read the rest

Fitting out a shrine

July 10, 2015 / John D. / 4 Comments

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIry8Dz43SI

Hotly recommended youtube video of a NHK World programme about shrine fittings and decorations. It may not seem exciting, but for anyone with a sense of craftsmanship, it’s quite riveting. The documentary is part of an excellent series called … Read the rest

The mystery of Oiwa (pt 3)

June 27, 2015 / John D. / 9 Comments

At the Fushimi-ku Fukakasa Ward Office, I enquired whether they knew anything about Oiwa Jinja. The offices are not very far away from Oiwa Hill, some fifteen minutes by car, so I presumed they’d know about such a striking abandoned … Read the rest