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Meotoiwa
, or Married Couple Rocks, are a kind of rock formation seen as religiously significant in Shinto. They are a subtype of Iwakura rock According to Shinto, the rocks represent the union of the creator ''kami'', Izanagi and Izanami. The rocks, therefore, celebrate the union in marriage of man and woman. The most famous pair is the pair at Futami Okitama Shrine in Futami-ura, two rocky Stack (Geology), stacks off the coast from Ise, Mie, Japan. They are joined by a ''shimenawa'' (a heavy rope of rice straw) and are considered sacred by worshippers of the shrine. The shimenawa, composed of five separate strands which each weigh 40 kilograms, must be replaced several times a year in a special ceremony. The larger rock, said to be male, has a small ''torii'' at its peak.At dawn during the summer, the sun appears to rise between the two rocks. Mount Fuji is visible in the distance. At low tide, the rocks are not separated by water. Futami Okitama Shrine, Okitama Shrine is dedicated to ...
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Meotoiwa
, or Married Couple Rocks, are a kind of rock formation seen as religiously significant in Shinto. They are a subtype of Iwakura rock According to Shinto, the rocks represent the union of the creator ''kami'', Izanagi and Izanami. The rocks, therefore, celebrate the union in marriage of man and woman. The most famous pair is the pair at Futami Okitama Shrine in Futami-ura, two rocky Stack (Geology), stacks off the coast from Ise, Mie, Japan. They are joined by a ''shimenawa'' (a heavy rope of rice straw) and are considered sacred by worshippers of the shrine. The shimenawa, composed of five separate strands which each weigh 40 kilograms, must be replaced several times a year in a special ceremony. The larger rock, said to be male, has a small ''torii'' at its peak.At dawn during the summer, the sun appears to rise between the two rocks. Mount Fuji is visible in the distance. At low tide, the rocks are not separated by water. Futami Okitama Shrine, Okitama Shrine is dedicated to ...
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Shimenawa
are lengths of laid rice straw or hemp rope used for ritual purification in the Shinto religion. vary in diameter from a few centimetres to several metres, and are often seen festooned with —traditional paper streamers. A space bound by typically indicates a sacred or ritually pure space, such as that of a Shinto shrine. are believed to act as a ward against evil spirits, and are often set up at a ground-breaking ceremony before construction begins on a new building. They are often found at Shinto shrines, gates, and sacred landmarks. are also placed on , objects considered to attract spirits or be inhabited by them. These notably include being placed on certain trees, the spirits considered to inhabit them being known as . Cutting down these trees is thought to bring misfortune. In the case of stones considered to be inhabited by spirits, the stones are known as . A variation of the are worn in sumo wrestling by (grand champions), during the entrance ceremony to deb ...
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Futami Okitama Shrine
The is a Shinto temple in the town of Futami-ura, part of the city of Ise, in Mie Prefecture (Japan). It is known for its proximity to the Meoto Iwa rocks, which serve as ''torii'' gates for believers offering prayers to the sun.. Characteristics The shrine is dedicated to the Shinto deity Sarutahiko Ōkami and worships the Meoto Iwa rocks, which represent the gods Izanagi and Izanami. Because of its proximity, 700 m from the coast, it is common for couples to go to the shrine to pray for their marriage. The temple is a typical purification stop before visiting the Ise Grand Shrine, through the ceremony of ''harae'', pilgrims used to bathe in the waters of Futami and then go to the neighboring shrine.. The grounds of the enclosure are decorated with numerous statues of frogs.; According to the beliefs, these attract people and objects back. The faithful whose prayers were fulfilled donate the figures of amphibians. See also * Japanese mythology * Kuniumi In Japanese my ...
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Iwakura (Yorishiro)
refers to the belief in rocks as Yorishiro containing Kami in ancient Shinto. It also refers to the rock itself, which is the object of worship. Overview Nature worship (spirit worship, animism), which has existed in Japan since ancient times, is a type of base faith. In Shinto rituals, gods descended from shintai, a rock, and made his yorishiro (called himorogi) and divine power the center of the ritual. As time went on and temples, where gods were believed to be always present, became more permanent, the object of worship moved away from the body of the god and toward the shrine itself. In many cases, sacred trees and sacred stones adorned with shimenawa ropes still exist in their precincts. In addition to rock, other examples of belief in nature include the Chinju no Mori ("Mori" itself refers to the shrine, and the forest is the forest itself), the "island" as an forbidden area, the Munakata Taisha's Okinoshima of Munakata Taisha, belief in "mountains" such as Rokko Him ...
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Futami-ura
Futami-ura is a sub-bay or inlet of Ise Bay in Japan, where the Isuzu River enters the bay. Futami-urasa Geonames.org (cc-by) post updated 2013-10-07; database download sa 2017-02-07 It is located in Mie prefecture, in the southern part of the country, 300 km southwest of Tokyo. It is where the famous Meoto Iwa rocks are found Description Futami-ura is a delta formed at the mouth of the Isuzu River that flows into Ise Bay. It is part of Ise-Shima National Park that has been designated a , and has been selected as one of . It has sometimes served as a site for ritual purification (''misogi'') prior to worshiping at Ise Jingu.http://www.jingukaikan.jp/sukeikai/imgs_mimosuso/55.pdf A rock formation called Meoto Iwa, which is within the precincts of Futamiokitama Shrine in Tateishizaki, is a well-know geological feature with significance to Shinto devotees. Climate The climate is temperate. The average temperature is 14 °C. The warmest month is July, at 23 °C, ...
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Iwakura Rock
refers to the belief in rocks as Yorishiro containing Kami in ancient Shinto. It also refers to the rock itself, which is the object of worship. Overview Nature worship (spirit worship, animism), which has existed in Japan since ancient times, is a type of base faith. In Shinto rituals, gods descended from shintai, a rock, and made his yorishiro (called himorogi) and divine power the center of the ritual. As time went on and temples, where gods were believed to be always present, became more permanent, the object of worship moved away from the body of the god and toward the shrine itself. In many cases, sacred trees and sacred stones adorned with shimenawa ropes still exist in their precincts. In addition to rock, other examples of belief in nature include the Chinju no Mori ("Mori" itself refers to the shrine, and the forest is the forest itself), the "island" as an forbidden area, the Munakata Taisha's Okinoshima of Munakata Taisha, belief in "mountains" such as Rokko Him ...
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Mie Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to the northwest, Nara Prefecture to the west, Wakayama Prefecture to the southwest, and Aichi Prefecture to the east. Tsu is the capital and Yokkaichi is the largest city of Mie Prefecture, with other major cities including Suzuka, Matsusaka, Ise, and Kuwana. Mie Prefecture is located on the eastern coast of the Kii Peninsula, forming the western side of Ise Bay which features the mouths of the Kiso Three Rivers. Mie Prefecture is a popular tourism destination home to Nagashima Spa Land, Suzuka International Racing Course, and some of the oldest and holiest sites in Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, including the Ise Grand Shrine and the Tsubaki Grand Shrine. History Until the Meiji Restoration, the area that is now Mie P ...
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Kami
are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the spirits of venerated dead people. Many ''kami'' are considered the ancient ancestors of entire clans (some ancestors became ''kami'' upon their death if they were able to embody the values and virtues of ''kami'' in life). Traditionally, great leaders like the Emperor could be or became ''kami''. In Shinto, ''kami'' are not separate from nature, but are of nature, possessing positive and negative, and good and evil characteristics. They are manifestations of , the interconnecting energy of the universe, and are considered exemplary of what humanity should strive towards. ''Kami'' are believed to be "hidden" from this world, and inhabit a complementary existence that mirrors our own: . To be in harmony with the awe-inspiring aspects of nature ...
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Shintai
In Shinto, , or when the honorific prefix ''go''- is used, are physical objects worshipped at or near Shinto shrines as repositories in which spirits or ''kami'' reside.''Shintai'', Encyclopedia of Shinto ''Shintai'' used in Shrine Shinto (Jinja Shinto) can be also called . In spite of what their name may suggest, ''shintai'' are not themselves part of ''kami'', but rather just temporary repositories which make them accessible to human beings for worship. ''Shintai'' are also of necessity ''yorishiro'', that is objects by their very nature capable of attracting ''kami''. Description The most common ''shintai'' are man-made objects like mirrors, swords, jewels (for example comma-shaped stones called '' magatama)'', ''gohei'' (wands used during religious rites), and sculptures of ''kami'' called , but they can be also natural objects such as rocks (), mountains (), trees (), and waterfalls () Before the forcible separation of ''kami'' and Buddhas of 1868 ('' shinbutsu bunri'') a ...
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Concept
Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by several disciplines, such as linguistics, psychology, and philosophy, and these disciplines are interested in the logical and psychological structure of concepts, and how they are put together to form thoughts and sentences. The study of concepts has served as an important flagship of an emerging interdisciplinary approach called cognitive science. In contemporary philosophy, there are at least three prevailing ways to understand what a concept is: * Concepts as mental representations, where concepts are entities that exist in the mind (mental objects) * Concepts as abilities, where concepts are abilities peculiar to cognitive agents (mental states) * Concepts as Fregean senses, where concepts are abstract objects, as opposed to mental ob ...
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Misogi
is a Japanese Shinto practice of ritual purification by washing the entire body. Misogi is related to another Shinto purification ritual called ''Harae'' – thus both being collectively referred to as . Background Every year, many people take pilgrimages to sacred waterfalls, lakes and rivers, either alone or in small groups, to perform misogi. Mount Ontake, the Kii mountain range and Mount Yoshino are but a few examples of ancient and well known areas for misogi in Japan. In Kyoto, people douse themselves under Kiyomizu Temple's ''Otowa no taki'' (Sound-of-Wings) waterfall, although the majority of visitors drink from the waters rather than plunging into them. In the United States misogi is performed at the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America at the Konryu Myojin no Taki waterfall each morning. Before encountering misogi, members generally undergo some sort of preliminary purification. Such things as prayers, fasting, or some sort of physical activity is common. Generally, w ...
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Mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and is usually higher than a hill, typically rising at least 300 metres (1,000 feet) above the surrounding land. A few mountains are Monadnock, isolated summits, but most occur in mountain ranges. Mountain formation, Mountains are formed through Tectonic plate, tectonic forces, erosion, or volcanism, which act on time scales of up to tens of millions of years. Once mountain building ceases, mountains are slowly leveled through the action of weathering, through Slump (geology), slumping and other forms of mass wasting, as well as through erosion by rivers and glaciers. High elevations on mountains produce Alpine climate, colder climates than at sea level at similar latitude. These colder climates strongly affect the Montane ecosystems, ecosys ...
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