Quiz

I don’t usually watch Japanese tv but I happened to turn it on the other night, and lo and behold there was a quiz about shrine etiquette.  A curious coincidence.

The quiz was intended to prepare people for Hatsumode (New Year), and in true Japanese fashion it was all about the correct form.  Belief in the kami was never mentioned or considered: it was irrelevant.  Nor was the word ‘Shinto’ ever used; the ideology was irrelevant also.  It was simply about how to behave correctly when you visit a shrine.  Situational ethics, not faith, is the guiding principle.

Here’s the quiz that was put to the studio guests (who didn’t get them all correct, by the way).  I’ll post them here for people to mull over and put up the answers in a separate post.

1) What is the correct way to pass through a torii at the entrance to a shrine?

2) What should you be careful about when walking down the sando (entrance path to the shrine)?

3) When you wash your hands at the wash-basin, which is the correct order to wash them?

4) When you throw your money into the offering box, should you throw more according to whether you have a lot of things to ask the kami?

5) When putting your hands together to clap, should they be exactly the same height or should one extend beyond the other?

6) When praying, what should you tell the kami apart from your name and what you want?

7) Finally, what does a shimenawa rope around a tree indicate?