Shinto shrine

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Shinto
Beliefs Kami List of deities Polytheism Animism/Animatism Mythology Sacred objects Sects and schools
Major kami Amaterasu Ame-no-Uzume Inari Izanagi Izanami Susanoo Tsukuyomi
Important literature Kojiki (c. 711 CE) Nihon Shoki (720 CE) Fudoki (713–723 CE) Shoku Nihongi (797 CE) Kogo Shūi (807 CE) Kujiki (807–936 CE) Engishiki (927 CE)
Shinto shrines List of Shinto shrines Ichinomiya Twenty-Two Shrines Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines Association of Shinto Shrines Shinto architecture
Practices Festivals Ritual dance Music Ritual purification Ritual incantations Kannushi Miko
See also Religion in Japan Glossary of Shinto Syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism Edo neo-Confucianism Ko-Shintō State Shinto Kokugaku Nippon Kaigi Mythical creatures History Secular Shrine Theory
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A Shinto shrine (神社, jinja, archaic: shinsha, meaning: "place of the god(s)")^[1] is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, the deities of the Shinto religion.^[2]

The honden^{[note 1]} (本殿, meaning: "main hall") is where a shrine's patron kami is/are enshrined.^[2][3] The honden may be absent in cases where a shrine stands on or near a sacred mountain, tree, or other object which can be worshipped directly or in cases where a shrine possesses either an altar-like structure, called a himorogi, or an object believed to be capable of attracting spirits, called a yorishiro, which can also serve as direct bonds to a kami.^[4] There may be a haiden (拝殿, meaning: "hall of worship") and other structures as well.

Although only one word ("shrine") is used in English, in Japanese, Shinto shrines may carry any one of many different, non-equivalent names like gongen, -gū, jinja, jingū, mori, myōjin, -sha, taisha, ubusuna or yashiro. Miniature shrines (hokora) can occasionally be found on roadsides. Large shrines sometimes have on their precincts miniature shrines, sessha (摂社) or massha (末社).^{[note 2]} Mikoshi, the palanquins which are carried on poles during festivals (matsuri), also enshrine kami and are therefore considered shrines.

In 927 CE, the Engi-shiki (延喜式, literally: "Procedures of the Engi Era") was promulgated. This work listed all of the 2,861 Shinto shrines existing at the time, and the 3,131 official-recognized and enshrined kami.^[5] In 1972, the Agency for Cultural Affairs placed the number of shrines at 79,467, mostly affiliated with the Association of Shinto Shrines (神社本庁).^[6] Some shrines, such as the Yasukuni Shrine, are totally independent of any outside authority.^[7] The number of Shinto shrines in Japan is estimated to be around 100,000.^[8]

Since ancient times, the Shake (社家) families dominated Shinto shrines through hereditary positions, and at some shrines the hereditary succession continues to present day.

The Unicode character representing a Shinto shrine (for example, on maps) is U+26E9 ⛩ SHINTO SHRINE.

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