Jinja (Shinto Shrines)
Along city avenues and in the valleys formed by bustling urban streets, wherever the Japanese people make their lives, one will always find a luxuriant green of trees. The grove is a ritual space for the worship of the deities, and as such is a part of nature which has been preserved by the Japanese people since ancient times. And it is within such groves that one finds the edifices in which deities are enshrined.
Centering Jingu in Ise dedicated to Amaterasu Omikami, there are many Shinto Shrines throughout Japan. Each shrine has been revered by the inhabitants of the area since its establishment, and has kept close contacts with the local community through its religious activities and festivals.
At the entrance to a Shinto Shrine stands a shrine gate, or Torii, which indicates that the space within is sacred ground, a pure place. Torii is a common symbol of sacred space to the Japanese, and is not limited to Shrine alone. The torii can be found standing in deep forests and beside venerable giant trees, at the peaks and foothills of mountains, on the banks of rivers and shores of the ocean, on islands and reefs, in short, in any object within nature recognized by the Japanese as harboring the divine.
Within the shrine sanctuary (shinden) are enshrined the deities worshiped at the Jinja. Here various special ceremonies are observed and daily services are carried out.
Shrine sanctuaries throughout Japan have several different styles, namely Shinmei-zukuri, Taisha-zukuri, Kasuga-zukuri, Nagare-zukuri, Gongen-zukuri, but all of them enjoy the common characteristic of a sense of harmony which blends in with surrounding grove of trees and other natural environmental features. The Shinto Shrine can be called a sacred architecture created from within the prayer and technical skills of the Japanese people.
Within the shrine sanctuary (shinden) are enshrined the deities worshiped at the Jinja. Here various special ceremonies are observed and daily services are carried out. Shrine sanctuaries throughout Japan have several different styles, namely Shinmei-zukuri, Taisha-zukuri, Kasuga-zukuri, Nagare-zukuri, Gongen-zukuri, but all of them enjoy the common characteristic of a sense of harmony which blends in with surrounding grove of trees and other natural environmental features. The Shinto Shrine can be called a sacred architecture created from within the prayer and technical skills of the Japanese people.