Feb 3 is Setsubun and a time for throwing beans at demons. (Beans represent vitality, demons represent evil spirits that cause illness and ill fortune.) The event takes place at shrines, temples and in people’s … Read the rest
Category: Japanese culture (Page 1 of 19)
A month has passed since New Year, so I was surprised to find Shimogamo bustling with visitors despite the cold of a 7C afternoon. There has … Read the rest
Previously Green Shinto reported on plans for the establishment of a hokora shrine at Manla, Phoenecia in NY state. In an interview about the project, Fukiko Ostensen spoke of the origin of the project and how it was tied to … Read the rest
News has come of an exciting new project on the American mainland, which will certainly be of interest to Green Shinto readers and may even be inspirational for those considering their own shrine (hokora) projects. Watch this space … Read the rest
This is the concluding excerpt from a book to be published by Stone Bridge in Novemer 2023 entitled Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan. It concerns the kamikaze museum at Chiran, on the way between the most southerly manned … Read the rest
This is part of an ongoing series about travelling the length of Japan by train, and consists of passages with a Shinto or spiritual flavour. They are extracted from a longer book version due to be published by Stone Bridge … Read the rest
The small town of Shimabara has an unmanned station, yet the town boasts two major attractions. One is a castle, and the other a samurai district. In its heyday the district boasted 690 … Read the rest