The 1st November issue of Jinja Shinpō included an article about the completion of repairs on a jinja that was damaged in an earthquake. This in itself is not unusual, and the jinja is in Fukushima Prefecture, which had a lot of jinja damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. This particular jinja, however, was damaged in an earthquake that happened in February this year, and the repairs were completed in time for the Autumn Grand Festival in mid-September.
The article starts off in the same way as most such pieces, by describing the earthquake and the damage, but then says “the jinja received almost the full cost of the repairs from its buildings insurance”. This is not something that normally features. The article returns to the topic at the end, where the chief priest emphasises the importance of being ready for disasters, which could happen at any time. He acknowledges that the insurance premiums were expensive, but points out that the insurance payout meant that the jinja did not have to try to raise funds from the ujiko while they were faced with the repair bills for their own homes and workplaces. Rather, it was able to pay for all the repairs without putting any burden on them.
This rather implies that most jinja do not have insurance of the relevant type, which would fit with what I have picked up elsewhere. I hope that the article encourages more jinja to get insured, but the premiums for earthquake insurance are quite high. I suspect that there are a lot of smaller jinja that genuinely cannot afford them.
_ . . .but points out that the insurance pay out meant that the jinja did not have to try to raise funds from the ujiko while they were faced with the repair bills for their own homes and workplaces. . . . . I suspect that there are a lot of smaller jinja that genuinely cannot afford them._
Does the article also thus comment on raising funds from the ujiko at some point that isn’t a time such as the aftermath of an earthquake?