Do you know how to pray at shrines ( Jinja) in Japan?

投稿日: 2026.04.30 作成者: denku

Hi, I’m Kazu✌

Today, I’d like to share with you the proper way to visit a Shinto shrine(Jinja) — something even many Japanese people, including myself, don’t fully understand.

Jinja is a Shinto shrine where Japanese deity is enshrined. Shinto deities are different from monotheism gods, the divinized existence with mysterious power. People believe and worship deities residing everywhere in nature. 

Shinto shrine is a sacred place. There is a torii gateway at the entrance to a Shinto shrine marking the bounds of the sacred area. First, you wash your hands and rinse your mouth at the purification fountain. At the main shrine, shintai or object of worship believed to contain the spirit of deity such as a mirror or a sword is housed. The object is not deity itself but a symbol. There is also a sacred straw festoon hung in the main building to distinguish the sacred place. When you pray, you offer any amount of money you wish into an offertory box. you can purchase Ema, a votive horse tablet and Omikuji, fortune slip at Shinto shrines.

The most significant events of shrines are festivals held around them. Japanese festivals originally started to pray for huge harvest and also to give thanks to deities. It is a Shinto ritual to entertain deities and the spirits of ancestors. Other than festivals, people pay a visit to Shinto shrines to exchange marriage vows, to offer prayers for good business, also on such occasions as newborn babies’ first shrine visit or the New Year’s first shrine visit. Jinjia or a Shinto shrine is a place of deep affinity for the Japanese people in terms of life and culture.

And here in Aso, we also have Aso Shrine, which boasts one of Japan’s most iconic shrine gates.　👇👇

Aso shrine, which is home to one of Japan’s three tower gates, is preside over by the Aso clan, who like the Imperial family, have a long and ancient history.

So everyone, please come visit Aso Shrine — a place that symbolizes the oral traditions of Shinto, which has carried Japan’s unique spirit unbroken to this very day. When you do, I will do my utmost to guide you so you can enjoy it to your heart’s content.

By-by👋👋👋👋

 

 

カテゴリー: Aso Information, English Blog   タグ:   この投稿のパーマリンク

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