Let's go to temples and shrines ②： Izumo Taisha

Hi everyone! みなさん、こんにちは！

What do you do when looking for a new love? Go to a singles bar? (Do they still exist?) Ask your friends to introduce someone? Become a member of  a marriage agency?

In Japan it has been a trend that girls pray for fateful encounters at Izumo Taisha, one of the oldest and most important shrines, located in Shimane Prefecture.

Why do they go down all the way to Shimane, far west in the Honshu Island, taking 1.5 hours by plane from Tokyo? Because Izumo Taisha is dedicated to Okuninushi no Mikoto, the deity who establishes good relationship over people, and naive women believe that the deities will bring them Prince Charming by visiting the shrine. 

I went to Izumo province for the first time in my life last year-end, not because I'm looking for a romance, but because 2013 was the important year for the ancient shrine.

The shrine needs to be renovated every 60 years, and the "goshintai" or a holy object in which the spirit of deity resides is moved out to the shrine building. Goshintai can be mirrors, swards, jewels, etc. depending on the shrine, but no one, except for a handful of shrine priests, knows what the goshintai of Izumo Taisha is.  It has been a big mystery for centuries. When it moves out from the shrine, priests carry it, hiding with big white cloths.

Anyway, when we visited, it was very cold and quiet, as people are usually busy preparing for the new year. If you like the serenity, year-end would be a good season for tourism, if you don't mind the coldness. 

As you already know, this type of gate, called torii, is the symbol of shrine and marks entrance to holy precincts. 23.5 meters high, this torii is generally known as "O-torii (big torii)". 

 Going down the path, you'll reach the haiden, a prayer hall (photo below). At most shrines, you first bow twice and clap your hands twice, make a wish or pray and then, bow again (only once), while you have to clap your hands  four times at Izumo Taisha.

The huge shimenawa (rice straw rope), weighing 4.4 tons, is a symbol of Izumo Taisha. Shimenawa marks god's territory, and can be seen at any shrines but this size is exceptional and rare.  

Then, advance to "honden (本殿）," or the main hall built in the oldest architectural style in Japan known as Taisha Zukuri style, and designated as the national treasure. Unfortunately, it is surrounded by wooden fences and you can't get close to it.

I took this photo from the back. The roof was completely renewed last year, and the enormous scissor-shaped finial on the roof called "chigi" was replaced with the new one. The removed chigi is displayed at the nearby shrine museum, where you can see how big it is (photo below).
  

Today the hall is 24 meters high, but when it was constructed, according to some records, it was 48 meters high, perching on the huge pillars. People were all suspicious until the evidence was found. In 2001, the base parts of the pillars that supported the hall were excavated at the precinct of the shrine. 

The original shrine was probably like the photo below. This scale model is displayed at the museum, as well as the excavated pillars.  

After visiting the shrine, why not have luch at Izumo soba, the local specialty?

How to get to Izumo Taisha:
At JR Izumo-shi Station, take a Ichihata bus bound for Taisha or Hinomisaki at bus stop No.1, and get off at Seimonmae or Izumo Taisha. Takes about 25-30 minutes from the train station. The bus comes every 30 minutes.

ここからは日本語で、簡単に。
From here, I'll write in Japanese.

出雲大社は最近縁結びの神様として注目されています。出会いを求める若い女の子たちが多く訪れます。
出雲大社　（いずもたいしゃ）　Izumo Taisha shrine
縁結び　（えんぶすび）　match-making
神様　（かみさま）　　god, deity
注目する　（ちゅうもくする）　to pay attention to～
出会い（であい）　encounter
求める　（求める）　to seek
若い　（わかい）　young
訪れる　（おとずれる）　to visit

出雲大社は最も古い神社の一つで、去年は60年に一度の改築の年でした。
最も（もっとも）　most
改築　（かいちく）　renovation

ご神体とよばれる「なにか」を社の外に出す儀式が行われて、大きな話題になりました。
ご神体（ごしんたい）　　holy obect
社（やしろ）　　shrine building
儀式　（ぎしき）　ritual
話題　（わだい）　topic of conversation

昔の出雲大社は高い柱の上に建てられていたそうです。
昔　（むかし）　ancient time
柱　（はしら）　pillers

みんな信じていませんでしたが、2001年に柱の土台部分が見つかって、本当だとわかりました。
土台　（どだい）　foundation
部分　（ぶぶん）　parts

出雲大社でお参りするには、二回お辞儀をして、4回手を叩き、最後に1回お辞儀をします。他の神社では手を叩くのは2回だけです。まちがえないでね。
お参り　（おまいり）　pray
お辞儀　（おじぎ）　bow
手を叩く　（たたく）　to clap hands
最後　（さいご）　at last
　
行く価値のあるすばらしい神社です。ぜひ機会があったら、行ってみてください！
価値　（かち）　value  (行く価値がある：worth visiting)
機会　（きかい）　opportunity　

Let's go to temple & shrines! ： Nezu Shrine (Tokyo)

Hi everyone!

If you are not particularly interested in Japanese traditional culture, almost all the shrines and temples may look the same, or similar, to you. Most of my students cannot even tell which one is temple and which is shrine.

I'm not blaming you at all. It is natural. I still remember an American guy said to me, "When I saw a gorgeous temple or shrine for the first time, I thought wow, it's great. But after visiting two or three, I was getting tired. They are the same anyway. Now I think you should not visit more than two temples or shrines on the same day."

Well, I agree. One per day is probably enough, but there are so many interesting shrines and temples worth visiting. Even today these religious places are considered as power spots. If you are a spiritual person, you may feel something.

Unfortunately I'm not very religious person and don't care about spiritualism either. Even so, I feel like visiting such places occasionally to wish happiness and health for someone, or for no special reason.

The other day, I visited the Nezu Shrine in Tokyo, well-known for the big festival that takes place in September. It is also famous for its azalea garden and many people come and see the flowers in April and May, but usually the shrine is very calm and quiet despite its historical value.

This is the torii gate of Nezu Shrine. Torii is built at the entrancence of the shinto shrine to mark a sacred precinct. If you see a structure like this, the place is not a Buddhist temple but a shinto shrine.

Shinto is Japanese indigenous religion that worships holy spirits or deities called "kami." In Shinto they say there are 8 millions of kami in this world, implying there are too many to count. It resembles Greek myth a little, but not all the shinto dieties take human forms. In many cases they are the spirits of ancestors, or even just concepts important to people such as fertility and prosperity, therefore invisible.        

The main shrine building of Nezu Shrine was built at the present location in 1706 by order of the fifth Tokugawa shogun Tsunayoshi. 

The deity enshrined there is Susanoo no Mikoto, the rowdy god of  storm. According to the myth, Susanoo is a brave hero who successfully killed Yamata no Orochi, the eight-forked serpent which was devouring villagers. Many ancient warlords worshipped this deity and prayed for the victory in wars. It is believed today that you'll be protected from evil spirits after visiting this temple.

This is the image of Suranoo no Mikoto. Looks a little like a hippie though...

Actually, while vast urban area in Tokyo was burnt down by the Great Tokyo Air Raids in 1945, this shrine miraculously survived, and it has been designated as the nation's important cultural property.  Some people say the shrine was able to keep off  bad luck by the protection of the deity.

If you want to be protected from evil and disasters, why don't you buy a charm at the shrine? 

This "Romon" or two-story gate with a roof is also the country's important cultural asset.

In the precinct, there is another smaller shrine called Otome Inari, where Uka no Mitama no Mikoto (what a long name!), a god of crops and commerce, is enshrined. At Inari shrines, a pair of fox figures are placed, instead of komainu (guardian dogs).

.

As many merchants who worship this god of commerce have offered torii gates, some Inari shrines have a vermillion tunnel called Senbon Torii (thousands of torii gate) like this. Very mysterious looking...

1-28-9 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
tel: 03-3822-0753
5min. from Nezu or Sendagi station on the subway Chiyoda Line, or Todai-mae station on the subway Nanboku line.

ここからは、日本語で。
From here I'll write in Japanese.

みなさん、こんにちは。

もし日本の伝統的な文化にあまり興味がなければ、寺と神社の違いもわからないですよね。

伝統的　でんとうてき　traditional
文化　　ぶんか　culture
興味（きょうみ）がある　　be interested in
寺　てら　　Buddhist temples
神社　じんじゃ　shinto shrine
違い　　ちがい　difference

日本には見るべき寺や神社がたくさんありますので、これから時々紹介していきます。

見るべき　（みる～）　should　see
時々　ときどき　　occasionally
紹介（しょうかい）する　　to introduce

今日は東京にある根津神社をご紹介。9月に行われる祭りと、４～５月に満開になるつつじの庭で有名ですが、普段はとても静かです。

根津神社　　ねづじんじゃ　　Nezu Shrine
行われる　　おこなわれる　　to take place
満開　　まんかい　　to be in full bloom
つつじ　　azalea
庭　　にわ　　garden
有名　　ゆうめい　　famous
普段　　ふだん　　usually
静か　　しずか　　quiet

根津神社が今の場所に建てられたのは1706年、将軍徳川綱吉の命令によるものでした。

場所　　ばしょ　　location
建てられる　　たてられる　　to be constructed
年　　～ねん　year
将軍　　しょうぐん　　shogun
徳川綱吉　　とくがわ　つなよし　name of the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

奉られている神さまは嵐の神、スサノオノミコトです。神話によると、スサノオは頭が8つある蛇を退治した英雄です。その強い力で災難からお参りした人を守ってくれるそうです。

奉（まつ）られている　　enshrined
神（かみ）さま　　deity
嵐　　あらし　　storm
蛇　へビ　　serpent
英雄　　えいゆう　　hero
災難　　さいなん　　disasters
お参（まい）りする　to visit shrines
守（まも）る　　to protect

根津神社内には、乙女稲荷という別の神社があります。赤い鳥居がトンネルのように並んでいて、面白いです。

乙女稲荷　　おとめいなり　　the name of the shrine
赤い　あかい　　red
鳥居　とりい
面白い　　おもしろい　interesting

How to distinguish shinto shrines from Buddhist temples

Hi everyone! 

I'm often asked by my students, "What is the difference between shrines and temples?" "How do you know which is which?" 

Good questions! Temples are, needless to say, for Buddhism, and shrines are the holy places of shinto, or Japanese native religion that worships sacred spirits called "kami" gods.

Ancient Japanese believed that there are 8 million kami (it actually means "myriads") residing in this world, in both animate and inanimate objects, natural phenomena or even concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers, rocks, storms, fertility and prosperity. Humans also become ancestral kami to protect their descendants. Some kami have human-like forms, while most of them are invisible forces. 

Shrines are the dwelling place of "kami" and people visit there to pray for good fortune or just thank kami for their peaceful daily lives.  

The most symbolic structure of shrines is a 鳥居 torii gate, which marks the approach and entrance to a shrine. It comes in various colors, sizes and materials. The photo below shows a blue torii of Kanda Shrine. 

You go through the blue stone torii gate, walk about 20-30 meters, and reach the entrance of the shrine (the photo below).

This is the main shrine (photo below), where some holy objects that represent kami are stored, but no one is allowed to see them.

The day we visited, a wedding ceremony was being held.

The two people facing back are a bride and a groom in traditional kimono costumes. The young girl in the middle is "miko",  a shrine maiden. 

Another symbolic objects in shrines are "komainu," a pair of guardian dogs or lions, often found on each side of a shrine's entrance or near the inner shrine. 

Look at the photos below. They are the komainu of Atago Shrine in Minato-ku, Tokyo. One of them opens its mouth saying "あ　a, "  the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, while the other closes the mouth as if it pronounces the last letter "ん　n", representing the beginning and the end of all things. In some shrines, they are foxes rather than dogs.

Today's useful expression: しゃしん　を　とっても　いいですか。Shashin o tottemo iidesuka?

May I take photos?

At shrines you'll have more chances to see people in kimono, but it would be nicer to ask for their permission before taking photos of them. 

*If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me. Also, I'd appreciate if you correct my grammatical & vocabulary errors. Thank you!