David Chart

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the project in Mië Prefecture to grow hemp for fibres. That has actually started now, and there were two articles about it, in the April 24th and May 5th issues of Jinja Shinpō. There were two articles because inclement weather meant that the events did not all happen together as originally planned. First, on April 15th, there was a meeting at the site of the Saigū, the historical residence of the sacred princess at Jingū, with two parts. The first part was a… Read More »Planting Hemp

Jishū is one of the major Buddhist sects in Japan, founded by Ippen in 1274. It is one of the sects dedicated to Amida Buddha, and it is famous for its dancing recitation of the name of Amida (“odoru nenbutsu”). The connection to Shinto is that it was founded after Ippen cloistered himself at Kumano Hongū Taisha (in what is now Wakayama Prefecture), and had a vision of the kami. This vision revealed how he should spread the word of Amida’s salvation of all living beings. The April 17th issue… Read More »Kami Guidance for Buddhists

The April 17th issue of Jinja Shinpō contained a short article about Kitano Tenjinja in Kōnan, Aichi Prefecture. As a jinja that enshrines Tenjin-sama, the jinja is popular with students taking entrance exams, and trying to get into selective schools and universities. In Japanese, this is referred to as “passing through a narrow gate”. At this jinja, there is a stone torii, with a shimënawa attached. So far, so normal. The gate space in this torii, however, is about 50 cm tall and about 40 cm wide. Even Japanese people… Read More »Through A Narrow Gate

Suberiishi (“Sliding Rock”) Jinja (I think that’s the name, but I haven’t heard it pronounced and I can’t find a reading for the kanji on the website — it could be “Kasseki”) is one of the minor jinja associated with Kinkasan Koganëyama Jinja, the jinja on a sacred island in Miyagi Prefecture that I visit every year. The spring issue of the jinja newsletter has an article about it. This jinja is a little way up the mountain, behind the main sanctuaries and beside a small river. There used to… Read More »Suberiishi Jinja

The depopulation of rural areas of Japan is a serious problem for the whole country, and Shinto is in no way exempt. In some ways, Shinto is more seriously affected than many fields, because jinja are closely tied to particular locations, and cannot move very far, even if the same kami can be (and sometimes is) venerated in other places. In addition, matsuri linked to particular rural jinja are at serious risk, because in many cases there are simply not enough people in the area to hold them any longer.… Read More »Facing Depopulation