Jinja
Heart of JapanJinja

Jinja

Kami and Jinja
A “jinja” is a sacred space, the seat of one or more kami.

The many kami are awe-inspiring, standing out from the normal and the everyday,
and this is what makes them kami. Different jinja honour different kami, often morethan one, in different combinations, and different aspects of the same kami are oftenemphasised at different jinja. The kami themselves are very diverse: some are figuresfrom the ancient myths of Japan, others are historical figures, and still others areclosely associated with natural features such as mountains or rivers.
The oldest jinja were established well over one thousand years ago, and newones are still being founded today. A jinja exists to enable priests to serve the kami
through a daily and annual cycle of rites called “matsuri”, and other people visit toparticipate in those rites, to make requests of the kami, to give thanks for blessings
received, or simply to pay their respects.
You are welcome to join them, whatever your nationality, age, sex, race, or religion.
The place where the kami is present is particularly sacred, and in many cases
visitors to the jinja may not enter that area, or sometimes even see it. At many jinja,
this is a building called the “honden”, or main sanctuary, but at some jinja the kami
inhabits a hill, mountain, island, or waterfall, or an area of woodland in the precincts.
Jinja are as varied as the kami they venerate, and nothing in this booklet is true of
every jinja. It describes features common to most jinja, and ways to pay your respects
that are acceptable almost everywhere. However, if priests at a particular jinja ask
you to do things differently there, then you should follow their instructions.

0102

JinjaJinja

Shinto Over TimeIn the distant past, the people of the Japanese islands saw kami in the natural world
around them, and reverence for these kami became part of their daily life. In thatsociety based on rice agriculture and fishing, the power of nature brought great
blessings, but could also be a terrible threat, through earthquakes, floods, plagues,typhoons, and volcanoes. People saw the kami at work in both aspects of nature, andrevered mountains, great rocks, trees, waterfalls, and other natural phenomena as
their dwelling places. Eventually, permanent buildings were constructed at sites ofreverence. From early times, people revered their ancestors as kami, and later cameto also see people who had made great contributions to the community as kami.
Unlike many religions, then, Shinto has no founder, having arisen and developedorganically as the people of Japan interacted with the natural world and otherpeoples around them.

03

Reverence for the kami takes the form of matsuri, which reflect the traditional
culture of Japan, and particularly the importance of rice cultivation. In spring, thecommunity prays for a good harvest, and in the heat of summer they pray for good
health. In autumn, they give thanks for the harvest, and in winter they bid farewell tothe old year and welcome the new.
Many of these matsuri are major events for the whole community, with many
people gathering to celebrate in the grounds of the jinja while the rites are conductedwithin. Sometimes, the kami is transferred to a “mikoshi”, in which they are carriedaround the area in procession, with much shouting and enjoyment.

04JinjaJinja

Entering a Jinja
Ajinja and its grounds are like the home of the kami. You should treat it with therespect you would show when visiting an important person in their home.

Torii
The entrance to a jinja is marked bya torii. The torii marks the border
between the sacred space of the jinja
and the everyday world outside, andso many people pause and bow theirheads slightly before walking through.

Purification FontAs purity is very important in Shinto,
most jinja have a font of water that you
should use to cleanse yourself before
paying your respects. First, hold theladle in your right hand, and rinse
your left hand. Then, hold it in yourleft hand, and rinse your right hand.
Next, pour a little water into the palmof your left hand, and use that to rinse
your mouth. Do not touch the ladle toyour mouth, and spit the water out atthe base of the font, not into it. Finally,rinse your left hand once more. Whenyou have finished, put the ladle backwhere you found it.

Koma Inu
Many jinja have a pair of animal
statues in the grounds. The mostcommon are mythological creatures
called “koma inu”, which look a little
like lions. Some jinja have animals
particularly associated with their kami,
such as foxes, wolves, or monkeys.
These statues represent guardians,
keeping evil influences out of the jinja.

0506

JinjaJinja

Paying Your RespectsW

hen visiting a jinja, you should first pay your respects to the kami, before
looking around.
The path from the torii leads to the place where you should do so, normally in frontof a building. At a small jinja, this may be the main sanctuary, but at larger jinja it is
the prayer hall, or “haiden”. If there is a prayer hall, the main sanctuary is normallybehind it. You should not enter the prayer hall without permission, and most people
pay their respects from outside.
There are often an offering box and bell rope at the front. The sound of the bell issaid to purify you, and offering a small amount shows respect for the kami.

07Etiquette• Stand up straight, facing the prayer hall or sanctuary.
• Put some coins in the offering box, if you wish, and shake the rope to ring the bell
if there is one.
• Bow deeply, twice.
• Stand up straight again, and put your hands together in front of your chest.
• Clap twice to show respect.
• Say a quiet prayer if you wish.
• Bow deeply once.

08

JinjaJinja

Getting CloserIf you wish to make a particular request of the kami, you may ask at thejinja office for a more formal ceremony, called a gokito, which is held in
the prayer hall. If a jinja is staffed, the jinja office is normally close to theprayer hall.
Most priests only speak Japanese, but they may have prepared ways toorganise gokito with people who do not.
You must make an offering for a formal gokito. These days, this ismost often an offering of cash, which you should give to the priests
while arranging the gokito. The amount of the offering depends on thejinja and the gokito, and the staff will indicate an appropriate amount.
Many Japanese offer a few thousand yen, or a few tens of thousands onparticularly special occasions.
In theory, a gokito can be for anything, but common requests include thefollowing:

Safe travel

Good healthSuccess in studies

09

Japanese families often bring new babies to their local jinja, for aceremony called hatsumiyamairi (“first jinja visit”), or young children,
aged three, five, or seven, for a ceremony in autumn called shichi-go-san(“seven-five-three”). You may see these if you visit a jinja.
It is also possible to have a ceremony performed to pay formal respects tothe kami without a specific request.
At most jinja, you will have to wait for a while before your gokito: either
the priest needs time to prepare, or you need to wait for another group ofpeople to finish.
It is normal to remove your shoes before entering a traditional Japanesebuilding, and most jinja are very traditional. However, there are exceptions,so you should follow the instructions of the priests.
Most jinja would prefer you to be dressed smartly, at least with long
sleeves and trousers or skirts, for a gokito. If your clothes are too
inappropriate, it may not be possible to have a gokito performed.

Business successA happy home

New relationships(romantic, business, career, etc.)

10Jinja

Jinja

GokitoA

gokito follows the same structure as all jinja ceremonies, called matsuri. This iswhat you can expect.

Purification
In Shinto, it is believed that people pickup impurity in their daily lives, bothfrom things that they do, and things that
happen to them, such as illness or natural
disasters. Purification, called “oharai”, istherefore a central part of every Shinto
ritual. Through this, people are thought
to recover their natural standing,and resume an active role in society.
Everyone, and everything, must be
purified before the matsuri. This is called“oharai” in Japanese. At most jinja, a priest
recites a short purification prayer, andthen waves an “ohnusa” over the people
and offerings involved in the matsuri,
as shown in the picture. Some jinja use
a branch of an evergreen tree, with theleaves attached. You should bow yourhead while the priest is purifying you.

Offerings
Offerings are made to the kami as partof the ceremony. They may be placed
before the kami during the ceremony,or already be there before it starts. Rice,sake, rice cakes, fish, vegetables, fruit,
salt, and water are common offerings.

Reverence
After the norito, everyone pays reverence to the kami. This follows the same etiquetteas described earlier, and may also involve offering a small evergreen branch withnarrow folded paper tied to it, called a “tamagushi”. First, hold it vertically with theleaves upwards in front of your chest, and silently offer your prayer. When you place
the tamagushi on the table, the stem should point away from you, with the leaves
towards you. It is common for one member of a group to offer the tamagushi on behalfof everyone, but all members should bow and clap together once it has been offered.

Prayer
The presiding priest goes before thekami and recites a prayer, called a“norito” in Japanese. These prayers are
written in ancient Japanese, and convey
your request to the kami. Everyone
should bow their heads while the norito
is being offered.

Sacred DanceAt larger jinja, miko, female attendants, may offer sacred dance, called “kagura”,
before the reverence. At some jinja, you may be able to request this, or it may be partof the normal ceremony. Smaller jinja, however, usually do not have miko who areable to perform the dances.
1112

JinjaJinja

Taking It HomeJ

inja offer several ways to keep the power of the kami with you. A small offeringis almost always required for any of these, and most jinja indicate the appropriate
amount.

Amulets（Omamori）

Ofuda
Ofuda are used to venerate the kami
in your own home, and some people
say that the kami’s spirit resides inthem. Physically, they are tablets with
the name of the kami or jinja written
on, and they come in various sizes.

13“Omamori” are small amulets, which
are also said to contain the spirit of
the kami. People normally choose anomamori that matches their request of
the kami, and carry it with them.
Omamori are available for the samerange of requests as gokito, and if you
have a gokito performed many jinja
will give you an appropriate omamori
after the ceremony.
These take many forms, but most arecolourful embroidered bags, whichcontain a sacred wooden tablet. You
are not supposed to open the bags orlook inside.
Omamori are appropriate gifts forfriends or family who might appreciate
the blessings of the kami.

Fortunes（Omikuji）
A lot of visitors to jinja draw Japaneselanguage fortunes, called omikuji.

Votive Tablets（Ema）

Goshuin
Many jinja will provide a goshuin asa record of your visit and respects.
This is a red stamp on a piece of paper,normally with the jinja’s name and thedate written by hand in black. Everyjinja has a different scarlet seal and thewriting is always different, so somepeople in Japan collect them in special
books, called “goshuincho”.
A goshuin is a record of your visit tothe jinja, so they are not appropriategifts.

Ema are small wooden tablets used tomake requests of the kami. They havea picture on one side and space towrite on the other. After writing, youhang the ema up in the jinja grounds.
Most jinja have pens available. Unlike
the other items here, ema are often left
at the jinja.

14

Jinja Honcho
1-1-2, Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0053 JAPANhttps://www.jinjahoncho.or.jp
Published in March 2020