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Omi Shrine
or Omi Shrine is a List of Jingū, Jingū shinto shrine in Ōtsu, Shiga, Ōtsu, a city in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. It was constructed in 1940 and is dedicated to Emperor Tenji. It was formerly an imperial shrine of the first rank (官幣大社, ''kanpei taisha'') in the Modern system of ranked Shinto Shrines. The shrine is located near Ōmijingūmae Station. History The shrine is dedicated to Emperor Tenji (626-671), the List of Emperors of Japan, 38th emperor of Japan. Emperor Tenji carried out the Taika Reforms and aimed to complete the reform in the capital city, which was located on the west bank of Lake Biwa. He moved the Capital of Japan, Japanese capital from Asuka, Yamato, Asuka to Ōtsu in 667. Emperor Tenji also presided over the establishment of the first rōkoku, or Japanese water clock system, which was installed in 671. The proposal for this shrine to Emperor Tenji was first considered by Japanese Diet in 1908. The construction of the shrine started in 1937 and was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shinto
Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoists'', although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the . The are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The are worshiped at household shrines, family shrines, and ''jinja'' public shrines. The latter are staffed by priests, known as , who oversee offerings of food and drink to the specific enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and and to solicit the latter's blessing. Other common rituals include the dances, rites of pass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asuka, Yamato
was the Imperial capital of Japan during the Asuka period (538 – 710 AD), which takes its name from this place. It is located in the present-day village of Asuka, Nara Prefecture. Etymology Some of the many theories of what the place was named after include the bird common crossbill, or ''isuka'' in Japanese, or local geological features, e.g. 洲処 (''suka'', meaning sandbar, sandbank or delta) or 崩地 (''asu'') + 処 (''ka''). Or it may have been named in honor of Asuka (or Ashuku) Nyorai, the Japanese equivalent of Akshobhya, one of the Five Buddhas of Wisdom, who is still worshiped in Asuka-dera (Asuka Temple), the Asuka-niimasu-jinja (the shrine for his manifestation as a Shinto god), and several other structures from those days. Archaeology Archaeology projects continue to uncover relics from these ruins. Recent discoveries in the area include Wado coins, believed to be some of the oldest coins in Japan, and paintings in the Kitora and Takamatsuzuka Kofun, or tom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agency For Cultural Affairs
The is a special body of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). It was set up in 1968 to promote Japanese arts and culture. The agency's budget for FY 2018 rose to ¥107.7 billion. Overview The agency's Cultural Affairs Division disseminates information about the arts within Japan and internationally, and the Cultural Properties Protection Division protects the nation's cultural heritage. The Cultural Affairs Division is concerned with such areas as art and culture promotion, art copyrights, and improvements in the national language. It also supports both national and local arts and cultural festivals, and it funds traveling cultural events in music, theater, dance, art exhibitions, and film-making. Special prizes are offered to encourage young artists and established practitioners, and some grants are given each year to enable them to train abroad. The agency funds national museums of modern art in Kyoto and Tokyo and The National ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reliquary Box Sufukuji
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''feretory''. Relics may be the purported or actual physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures. The authenticity of any given relic is often a matter of debate; it is for that reason, some churches require documentation of the relic's provenance. Relics have long been important to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and to followers of many other religions. In these cultures, reliquaries are often presented in shrines, churches, or temples to which the faithful make pilgrimages in order to gain blessings. The term is sometimes used loosely of containers for the body parts of non-religious figures; in particular the Kings of France often specified that their hea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honden
In Shinto shrine architecture, the , also called , or sometimes as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined ''kami'', usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue.JAANUS The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public. In front of it usually stands the ''Haiden (Shinto), haiden'', or Public speaking, oratory. The ''haiden'' is often connected to the ''honden'' by a ''Heiden (Shinto), heiden'', or hall of offerings. Physically, the ''honden'' is the heart of the shrine complex, connected to the rest of the shrine but usually raised above it, and protected from public access by a fence called ''tamagaki''. It usually is relatively small and with a gabled roof. Its doors are usually kept closed, except at matsuri, religious festivals. Kannushi, Shinto priests themselves enter only to perform rituals. The rite of opening those doors is itself an important part of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haiden (Shinto)
In Shinto shrine architecture, the is the hall of worship or oratory. It is generally placed in front of the shrine's main sanctuary ('' honden'') and often built on a larger scale than the latter. The ''haiden'' is often connected to the ''honden'' by a '' heiden'', or hall of offerings. While the ''honden'' is the place for the enshrined ''kami'' and off-limits to the general public, the ''haiden'' provides a space for ceremonies and for worshiping the ''kami''. In some cases, for example at Nara's Ōmiwa Shrine , also known as , is a Shinto shrine located in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is noted because it contains no sacred images or objects because it is believed to serve Mount Miwa, the mountain on which it stands. For the same re ..., the ''honden'' can be missing and be replaced by a patch of sacred ground. In that case, the ''haiden'' is the most important building of the complex. References Shinto architecture {{Shinto-stub ja:拝殿< ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rōmon
The is one of two types of two-storied gate used in Japan (the other one being the ''nijūmon'', see photo in the gallery below). Even though it was originally developed by Buddhist architecture, it is now used at both Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines. Its otherwise normal upper story is inaccessible and therefore offers no usable space. It is in this respect similar to the ''tahōtō'' (a two-storied pagoda) and the multi-storied pagoda, neither of which offers, in spite of appearances, usable space beyond the first story. In the past, the name also used to be sometimes applied to double-roof gates. This extremely common single-roof gate was developed from the double-roofed ''nijūmon'', replacing the flanking roof above the first floor with a very shallow balcony with a balustrade that skirts the entire upper story. Therefore, while the ''nijūmon'' has a series of brackets ('' tokyō'') supporting the roof's eaves both at the first and at the second story, in the ''rōmon' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torii
A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines, and a small ''torii'' icon represents them on Japanese road maps. The first appearance of ''torii'' gates in Japan can be reliably pinpointed to at least the mid-Heian period; they are mentioned in a text written in 922. The oldest existing stone ''torii'' was built in the 12th century and belongs to a Hachiman shrine in Yamagata Prefecture. The oldest existing wooden ''torii'' is a ''ryōbu torii'' (see description below) at Kubō Hachiman Shrine in Yamanashi Prefecture built in 1535. ''Torii'' gates were traditionally made from wood or stone, but today they can be also made of reinforced concrete, copper, stainless steel or other materials. They are usually either unpainted or painted vermilion with a bl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tangible Cultural Properties Of Japan
A as defined by the Japanese government's Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties is a part of the Cultural Properties of Japan, Cultural PropertiesIn this article, capitals indicate an official designation as opposed to a simple definition, e.g "Cultural Properties" as opposed to "cultural properties". of high historical or artistic value such as structures, paintings, sculptures, handicrafts, calligraphic works, ancient books, historic documents, archeological artifacts and other such items created in Japan.Despite the official definition, some Cultural Properties of Japan were created in China, Korea or other countries. See for example the Letter from Duarte de Menezez to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a National Treasures of Japan, National Treasure, pictured below and made in India. All objects which are not structures are called "works of fine arts and crafts. Considered by the Japanese government to be, like all Cultural Properties, a precious legacy of the Japanese people, they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kanpei-taisha
The was an organizational aspect of the establishment of Japanese State Shinto. This system classified Shinto shrines as either official government shrines or "other" shrines. The official shrines were divided into #Imperial shrines (''kampeisha''), which are parsed into minor, medium, or major sub-categories; and #National shrines (''kokuheisha''), which are similarly categorized as minor, medium, or major.Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University Glossary of Shinto Names and Terms, ''Kampei Taisha.''/ref> Some shrines are the "first shrines" called ''ichinomiya'' that have the highest rank in their respective provinces of Japan. The Ise Grand Shrine stood at the top of all shrines and thus was outside the classification. History On the fourteenth day of the fifth month of 1871, by decree of the Dajō-kan, the fundamental elements of the modern shrine system were established: a hierarchic ranking of Shinto shrines, with specification of the grades of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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