is a

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

dedicated to the goddesses

Amaterasu-ōmikami Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and ...

, Toyouke-ōmikami, Mihikahime-mikoto and Shirakumowake-mikoto. It is located in the city of Katsuragi in

Nara Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Nara Prefecture has a population of 1,321,805 and has a geographic area of . Nara Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Osaka Prefecture to the northwest, Wakayama P ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Sandō

In typical

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 ''Shintois ...

style the outermost

gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word derived from old Norse "gat" meaning road or path; But other terms include ''yett and port''. The concept originally referred to the gap or hole in the wall ...

, Ichi-no-torii, leads to the second gate, Ni-no-torii, through a 200 meter long path called a sandō.

Temizusha

After crossing the sandō, a traditional Shinto style road, pilgrims to the shrine encounter the Temizusha, a small, roofed structure containing a pool of water for use in ritual purification. The god of this pool is Dragon. Prayers purify their hands and purify their mouths there as a symbolic act to purify the mind and body. The second of two torii gates stands just behind the Temizusha.

Haiden

This spiritual hall for visitors, located just after the second large torii gate, is open to the public for the offering of prayers to the god (

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 sp ...

), the giving of donations, and the purchase of special talismans of protection, such as amulets ( omamori) and hanging scrolls ( ofuda). On special days, one may be invited to a

kagura is a type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance. The term is a contraction of the phrase , indicating the presence of gods () in the practice. One major function of is , involving a procession-trance process. Usually a female shaman will perfor ...

. The miko (shrine maiden) guides into the

haiden Haiden may refer to: *A Gewürztraminer wine * Haiden (Shinto), the hall of worship of a Shinto shrine See also * Heiden (disambiguation) {{disambig ...

. Lay down your head totally and

Kan-Nushi A , also called , is a person responsible for the maintenance of a as well as for leading worship of a given .* ''Kannushi'' (in Japanese), Iwanami Japanese dictionary, 6th Edition (2008), DVD version The characters for are sometimes also re ...

(Shinto priest) purifies us. After that, Oriental Miko dance in sync with the music playing bell(Suzu), flute (Ryu-teki), taiko, and Gagaku. Urayasu-no-Mai (means 'dance at the seashore') is famous in Nagao shrine. You pass from item by Hatsuho Ryou prayer from Kan-Nushi, the prayer is finished. Especial of one, we can get to commemorate the dish made of earthenware after the reception as a special shrine, Miko serve a sacred Omiki (sake of the gods).

Matsuri festivals

*1 January - Saitan-Sai (New Year Shinto Festival, Miko) *4 March - Onda-Matsuri (Taue praying for the rich harvest, Gokumaki(mochi-maki)) *around 15 July - Natsu-Matsuri (pray for dynamic summer, Karaoke) *4 October - YoMiya (for newborn children, Mystic Miko Dance) *2 October Saturday and Sunday - Danjiri *23 November - Niiname-Sai (thanksgiving day for rich harvest, New Kome)

External links

{{Commons category, Nagao-jinja (Katsuragi, Nara) *

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inn ...

Ise Jingu

Shinto shrines in Nara Prefecture Sōja shrines