Over the weekend I was able to visit Lake Nojiri, 20 km north of Nagano on the border with Niigata. It’s in a beautiful setting, about 3 by 2 km in size and with a backdrop of mountains over which … Read the rest
Category: Shrine visits (Page 20 of 21)
Today is August 15, which is the day of Japan’s surrender in WW2. It is also the day that in recent years government ministers have visited Yasukuni to pay respects to the war dead (including 14 Class A war criminals … Read the rest
What happened to Amaterasu when she was banished from the imperial palace? It’s an intriguing question that goes to the heart of the imperial connection and the mythical descent from the sun goddess.
Some time ago I made a trip … Read the rest
A Mighty Megalith
Small but potent is how you might describe Koshikiiwa Jinja. It’s not one of Kansai’s famous shrines. Located on a hill at Korakuen, it’s an appendage to the grander Nishinomiya Shrine and enshrines the same deity: hence … Read the rest
In May 2005 I visited the two main Oomoto bases, their spiritual centre at Ayabe and the admin and training centre in Kameoka. My main impressions? Devotion, elegance, and money. Let me explain.
Ayabe was hosting a festival, and … Read the rest
On Sunday I went with the Japan Foundation to visit two places of note on the hills to the north of Kyoto – Kibune Shrine and Kurama Temple. The former is famous as one of the oldest and most venerable … Read the rest
Omiwa (also Miwa Shrine) is one of Japan’s oldest and most respected. It is unusual in having no honden, for its goshintai (spirit body) is the mountain itself.
There is a special atmosphere as one enters into the woods … Read the rest