Famous Shrines
Ise Shrine in Mie prefecture is, with Izumo-taisha, the most representative and historically significant shrine in Japan.
The kami the two enshrine play fundamental roles in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, two texts of great importance to Shinto. Because its kami, Amaterasu, is an ancestor of the Emperor, Ise Shrine is the Imperial Household's family shrine. Ise Shrine is however dedicated specifically to the emperor and in the past even his mother, wife and grandmother needed his permission to worship there. Its traditional and mythological foundation date goes back to 4 BC, but historians believe it was founded around the 3rd to 5th century.
Izumo Taisha (Shimane prefecture) is so old that no document about its birth survives, and the year of foundation is therefore unknown. The shrine is at the center of a series of popular sagas and myths. The 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, this month is known also as 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 Month With Gods (神在月 or 神有月, Kamiarizuki?).
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. Hachiman worship started here at least as far back as the Nara period (710–794). In the year 860 the kami was divided and brought to Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū in Kyoto, which became the focus of Hachiman worship in the capital. Located on top of Mount Otokoyama, Usa Hachiman-gū is dedicated to Emperor Ojin, his mother Empress Jungū and female kami Hime no Okami.
Itsukushima Shrine is, together with Munakata Taisha, at the head of the Munakata shrine network (see below). Famous for his 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, 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 A.D. and rebuilt several times over the centuries, it is the shrine of the Fujiwara family. The interior is famous 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 honden.
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 at between 20 to 40 km of distance one from the other. They are connected by the pilgrimage route known as "Kumano Sankeimichi" (熊野参詣道?). The great Kumano Sanzan complex also includes two Buddhist temples, Seiganto-ji and Fudarakusan-ji.
The religious significance of the Kumano region goes back to prehistoric times, and therefore 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.
Read more about this topic: Shinto Shrines, Famous Shrines and Shrine Networks
Famous quotes containing the words famous and/or shrines:
“Our thoughts are always elsewhere; we are stayed and supported by the hope for a better life, or by the hope that our children will turn out well, or that our name will be famous in the future, or that we shall escape the evils of this life, or that vengeance threatens those who are the cause of our death.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“I don’t care very much for literary shrines and haunts ... I knew a woman in London who boasted that she had lodgings from the windows of which she could throw a stone into Carlyle’s yard. And when I said, “Why throw a stone into Carlyle’s yard?” she looked at me as if I were an imbecile and changed the subject.”
—Carolyn Wells (1862–1942)