Nezu Shrine in Tokyo. #Shinto #Japan

Today we got lost on a mountain road but ended up at a beautiful temple I've always wanted to visit. Katsuō-ji (勝尾寺) in northern Ōsaka Prefecture is primarily associated with the Shingon sect, and might go back to Kūkai or earlier, but it also incorporates Daruma (Bodhidharma, who transmitted meditation practices from India to China that in Japan became Zen Buddhism). Yet it is more like folk religion in Japan when people pray to Daruma to achieve their goals. As a testament, innumerable Daruma dolls have been left to decorate Katsuō-ji. The temple is photogenic and, untypical of Japanese architecture that blends with nature, more flashy in colors that appeal to Asian and other tourists. Similarly, chanting of the Heart Sūtra and other Buddhist scriptures is amplified, so the experience is more exciting than contemplative. Having a Shintō shrine in the Buddhist temple, however, is a syncretic practice harking back to Kūkai.

#Japan #Osaka #religion #temple #Buddhism #Shinto
@religion

I forgot to publicize my post last month about Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto's famous Shinto shrine!

Stone foxes in fancy red bibs, torii of all sizes, and yes, shrine cats. The shrine is incredibly popular but the higher up the montain you climb the quieter it gets--and the more expensive the drinks are in the vending machines.

https://rinsemiddlebliss.com/posts/2025-02-14-fushimi-inari-taisha/

Hiked along the slope of the Eastern Mountains of Kyōto (東山), first up to the little-known Himukai Daijingū (日向大神宮), a little Shintō shrine whose grandiose name borrows from the ancient and most-revered Ise Jingū after which its architecture is modeled. Then to the iconic Zen Buddhist temple Nanzenji (南禅寺), and along Philosophy Road (哲学の道) to the Silver Pavilion Ginkakuji (銀閣寺). Then as now there was a shortage of silver, even to the Ashikaga Shōguns, so the pavilion was never gilded, but with its similarlity to the Golden Pavilion Kinkakuji and topped by a phoenix, it is nevertheless charming. Sakura cherry blossoms at their best all along the way, with other spring flowers like magnolia and early-blossoming purple azaleas, made for a long and aesthetically pleasing hike.

#Japan #Kyoto #mountains #spring #sakura #cherry #blossoms #magnolia #azalea #flowers #Shinto #shrine #Buddhism #Buddhist #temple #hiking #architecture #phoenix #photos #photography

@religion

The room is coming together in quiet harmony.
It’s a soft blend of a 書斎 (shosai) — a space for thought, a 瞑想室 (meisōshitsu) — a space for stillnesa and meditation, and a 神仏の間 (Shinbutsu no Ma) — a space for reverence.

A few Chinese touches rest gently alongside Japanese forms.

I simply call it my Zen Den—a place to sit, to study, to reflect, and to simply be.

South of Kyōto City, the major Shintō shrine closest our house is Nagaoka Tenman-gū (長岡天満宮), associated with the presence of the statesman-scholar Fujiwara Michizane (菅原道真) over a thousand years ago in the Heian Period. He was not the only case of being exiled wrongly by the Imperial court, followed by natural disasters, interpreted as the work of his angry ghost, then being deified as the Shintō kami Tenjin (天神) to supplicate his spirit. Thus the shrine is also called Nagaoka Tenjin (長岡天神). Students facing high-stakes exams have traditionally prayed at the many Tenjin shrines to this god of learning. Today, the large shrine grounds provide a place to walk and commune with nature as well as to worship and to hold hopeful events. Now is peak cherry blossom season, so here are four scenes where I often go for contemplative hikes.

Publications on Japan: https://japanned.hcommons.org/japanology

#Japan #Kyoto #Shinto #shrine #spring #cherry #blossoms #nature #hiking #photos #photography

@religion

https://www.europesays.com/1971080/ Japanese Shrine Protests Assassin’s Creed Shadows as ‘Utterly Disrespectful’ #Assassin'sCreed #Assassin'sCreedShadows #europe #Games #HyogoPrefecturalShintoShrines #HyogoPrefecture #ItatehyouzuShrine #japan #shinto #ubisoft #vandalism #yasuke

City: Ena, Japan
Tourist attraction: Takenami Shrine

Do you prefer sightseeing tours that are on foot or by bus?

Get the most out of your travel to Ena: https://visitsights.com/sightseeing-tours/Japan/Ena

#Japan #Sights #Sightseeing #PlaceOfWorship #Religion #Shinto #Travel #Ena #Amenity

https://www.alojapan.com/1227850/at-japans-hottest-festival-crowds-threaten-to-smother-the-flames/ At Japan’s hottest festival, crowds threaten to smother the flames #buddhism #festivals #kurama #KuramaFireFestival #Kyoto #KyotoTopics #Shinto #shrines #temples #tourism #京都 #京都府 Kurama, Kyoto Pref. – Embers spark into the night like thousands of fireflies. The aroma of burning pine wafts through the cold air as men clad in not much more than a rope around their loins and shoulder pads carry 80-kilogram burning taimatsu pine wood torches thr…

Sugawara no Michizane, who died OTD in 903, is regarded as an excellent poet and is today revered in #Shinto as the god of learning, Tenman-Tenjin https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/japan/shinto-buddhism/?s=mb #travel #Japan

I've been taking care of our older son, who is in his mid-30s. You might think it would be the opposite with his old man, but this is Japan, and unconditional love can appear one-sided. He is an IT manager in Tōkyō and can work mostly from home, or from our home. Since he has been living in such an urban environment, I took him on a nice nature course in northern Kyōto City from Kitaōji along the Kamo River quite a distance north, to the great shrine Kamigamo Jinja, and then to the Kyōto Botanical Garden (京都北部の北大路駅↬鴨川沿い↬上賀茂神社↬京都府立植物園). In all we went over 12,000 steps, and our son also conked out when we got back.

Publications on Japan: https://japanned.hcommons.org/japanology

Kitano Tenman-gū (北野天満宮) in northern Kyōto City is a major Shintō shrine combining national treasure architecture and plum blossom viewing at its best in these photos. Please enjoy the humor of the last one.

1) the torii gate to enter the sacred space. 2) Pink plum blossoms. 3) Mini-shrine to a kami god. 4) Caught in the act ... of sniffing plum blossom fragrance. Some Japanese people do it, too, really!

#Japan’s PM Ishiba condemns France’s #Ubisoft new Assassin’s Creed video game over cultural disrespect of #Shinto shrine

“Early previews of the game, set during the Sengoku, or Warring State period of 15th and 16th century Japan, have drawn criticism over allegations of historical inaccuracy and cultural insensitivity.” #gaming

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3303172/japanese-pm-ishiba-condemns-assassins-creed-video-game-over-cultural-disrespect-shrine?utm_source=rss_feed

Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto. #DailyInari #Shinto #ToriiTuesday #kitsune #Japan

Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto. #DailyInari #Shinto #torii #Japan

'Shinto Priestess (Miko) Dancing at a Shrine' - Suzuki Harunobu, 1766 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). #JapaneseArt #ukiyoe #Shinto

Today's "I'm laid off and bored" project.

Figured a torii gate for my desk would be really nice. So why spend $10 and buy one when I could 1) Pinch the skin between my thumb and finger between a hammer and chisel. 2) Make a mess everywhere. 3) Aggravate my lower back pain by bending over chiseling. 4) Realize how much of a pain in the ass cutting a mortice in a round dowel is.

Thankfully wood filler exists.

Photo 1: Red and white plum blossoms in the huge Imperial Palace park in north-central Kyōto City.

2. A gate to the inner precincts of the Kyōto Imperial Palace where the Emperors used to live for around a thousand years.

3. One of the Shintō shrines in the palace grounds, with bamboo, camellias, and white plum blossoms. The Imperial family is an integral part of the indigenous Shintō religion, with the Emperor a kind of deity identified with the nation and its lifestyle rhythms traditionally, such as through rituals for a bountiful rice harvest.

4. Close-up of pink plum blossoms. In the transition from winter to spring, the weather is often rainy, cloudy, or hazy, and the darker varieties of plum blossoms do not stay fresh for long after flowering, so it is difficult to get a clear photo like this, especially with a mobile phone. I do edit the frame to get closer and larger.

Photo 1: kawazu-zakura (河津桜), an early blossoming variety of cherry blossoms, which I found at a little-known site in Yodo (淀) in southeastern Kyōto Prefecture.

2: the largest gorintō (五輪塔) in Japan, representing five elements of the universe.

3-4: Iwashimizu Hachiman-gū (石清水八幡宮) is a major Shintō shrine in southeastern Kyōto Prefecture. It has exquisite architecture, many stone lanterns, and covers a large forested hill, a pristine environment for hiking.