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Harmony With Nature
Shinto - ˇ§the way of the kamiˇ¨ - is rooted deeply in pre-historic
Japanese religious and agricultural practices. The term kami can
refer to Japanese mythological deities, but also can mean divinity
manifested in natural objects, places, animals, and even human
beings. Shinto rituals and celebrations stress harmony between
deities, man, and nature - a key feature of Japanese religious
life and art to the present time.
Reflecting the understanding that the kami resides in nature,
Shinto shrines were traditionally near unusual ˇ§concentrationsˇ¨ of
nature such as waterfalls, caves, rock formations, mountain tops,
or forest glens. Rather than buildings, shrines of the earliest
age were sacred precincts such as mounds, groves, or caves.
Rituals were held outdoors, among natural surroundings, with no
particular structure for them. For example, the foremost ritual of
Shinto priests, the purification (harai) was done with natural
water sources such as waterfalls, hot springs and rivers.
Early Shrine Design
The earliest constructed Shinto shrines suggest the form of single
dwelling houses in ancient times and were in fact intended to
house ancestral spirits who would be given food offerings. This
pre-historic Japanese ancestor worship was incorporated into the
Shinto practice of enshrining deities named in the Kojiki and
historical heroes as kami.
The kami can be divided into two main categories: kami of natural
phenomena (the object kami) and kami of mythical or historical
people (the active kami). Shrines were erected to house both kinds
of kami and accommodate rituals and celebrations intended to
maintain harmonious unity between the deities and man. The
location of a shrine represented the legendary settlement of that
shrineˇ¦s kami. The resident kami might be represented by symbols
or sanctified objects. Under the influence of Buddhism, kami can
also, though more rarely, be represented by statues
Like the earliest Japanese dwellings, the shrines were made
entirely of wood. For walls, no clay or mud was used, nor was
plaster or mortar. Poles set in the ground supported a thatched
roof and walls. Thatching consisted of either the barks of the
Japanese ˇ§hinokiˇ¨ or miscanthus or thin wooden plates, and the
ridges of roofs are made of wood in the shape of a box. The roofs,
which shed Japanˇ¦s heavy rainfall, are built up in a delicate
curve from strips of Hinoki bark and then trimmed. The forked
timbers on the roof are called chigi. The short logs lying
horizontally across the ridge of the roof are called katsuogi.
Architecture in Japan began with Shinto Shrines, simple
rectangular structures with upright wooden supports, pitched
gables and crossbeams covered with deeply thatched rice straw. The
sacred grounds upon which they are built are called jinja.
The shrine itself is enclosed with a surrounding wall and is
accessed through a torii gate, often painted bright red and
composed of two simple pillars with two horizontal lintels, which
marks the passage from the mundane world into the realm of the
transcendent.
Inside the enclosure, a water trough called a temizuya is
provided for purification before entering the main sanctuary,
called the honden, which houses the shintai, the
sacred image of the resident kami. Only shinshoku, Shinto
priests, are allowed into the honden. Other visitors are
restricted to an ante-room called the haiden.
Shinto shrine usually face toward the south, or sometimes
east, but never north or west. They are built of wood from hinoki
trees, a variety of Japanese cypress, and are often surrounded by
groves of sakaki trees (cleyera ochnacea), a kind of broadleaf
evergreen that bears large black berries.
Offerings of food and other gifts are often made to the resident
kami as a gesture of gratitude or supplication by priests and
visitors, who summon the resident kami by clapping their hands and
tugging on a thick rope attached to a bell. Many ceremonial rites
are held in honor of the agricultural seasons, and the drone of
Shinto priests can often be heard as they chant their sutras in
homage to the presiding kami.
Shrines are highly sacred places and therefore one should always
maintain an attitude of reverence and respect when on the
premises. Assuming an air of humility and transcendence also helps
heighten the experience of your shrine or temple visit.
Shrine Complexes
As Shinto became more established in Japanese society, people
needed more convenient access to worshipping the kami, and shrine
complexes were built within villages and cities. More convenient
methods of conducting rituals were adopted and led to the
introduction of the shrine complex with ceremonial buildings in
addition to the hall enshrining the kami.
By medieval times the Shinto architecture developed a shrine
complex surrounded by a fence entered through a sacred arch or
torii. The complex included a main hall for worshipers (haiden), a
smaller kami hall (honden) and a ritual landscape. Worshippers in
the haiden directed their prayers to the honden, which housed a
specific kami symbolized by a sacred object from Japanese
mythology such as a mirror or sword.
The landscape design
of a proper shinto shrine complex
Torii
Shinto shrine compounds are entered by passing beneath a torii. A
torii is a wooden gate without a door, often painted red. Its
origin is assumed to be the simple gate of the early shrine
fences. When the fences were removed, the torii remained as a
ceremonial entrance. The torii has become a symbol representing
Shinto practices and a popular icon for Japan. This gate is
constructed of two uprights, usually leaning gently inwards, with
one or two crosspieces on top.
The shrine entrance
is almost invariably marked by a torii.
After passing beneath the torii one
enters the ritual landscape. Conceived as a religious space
invoking harmony between man the natural universe, each shrine's
landscape is unique and reflects the kami enshrined there.
Sando
The sando is a pathway leading from outside the shrine compound to
the front of a structure for worshippers. The sando functions as
more than a path for circulation; it is also a religious
composition, preparing the minds of people for sacred worship. A
sando is usually lined with an avenue of trees or otherwise marked
in order to be distinguished from regular pathways.
Frequently the sando crosses a pond or stream with a sacred bridge
called a shinkyo. This crossing symbolizes the purification of
mind. In some cases, the shrine pathway is marked with stone
stairways and lined with stone lanterns.
Ruins of sando
(pathway) at Syonan Jinja from different angles; covered by wild
grown vegetation
At the end of the sando, somewhere
close by you will find a water basin with bamboo dippers. To
purify yourself, pour water over your fingers, then into a cupped
hand to rinse your mouth; spit into the gutter below. The water of
these fountains is used for purification. You are supposed to
clean your hands and mouth before approaching the main hall.
Purification basin
Purification rituals using salt, water and fire are part of Shinto
and Buddhist practices. Every Shinto shrine provides water for
washing the hands and rinsing the mouth before approaching the
shrine.
1. A typical Shinto
Purification through; 2. Ruin of such a purification through at
the ruin of Syonan Jinja
There are two Japanese myths
associated with purification rituals. The first is the myth of the
god Izanagi no Mikoto, who follows his consort Izanami no Mikoto
to the Netherworld. After he sees her in a state of decomposition,
he returns to the world and purifies himself in a stream.
Cleansing his left eye gives birth to the solar divinity Amaterasu
Omikami. Cleansing his right eye gives birth to the lunar divinity
Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, and cleansing his nose gives birth to the
storm divinity Susanoo no Mikoto.
Two of these children are associated with purification in a second
myth. After rampaging through the palace of his sister Amaterasu,
the divinity Susanoo is forced to make recompense by offering up
goods and having his beard cut and nails pulled off.
Kamainu
At the entrance of the shrine, pairs of guardians dressed in
country robes and bearing arms protect the shrine in some proper
shrines. Often you will also find statues of lion-dogs, or Nio
gods borrowed from Buddhist temples, whose thunderous expressions
are supposed to repel evil rant than scare backsliding
worshippers. Another distinguishing feature are ropes of twisted
straw (shimenawa) tied round a tree or rock or strung across the
shrine building itself to indicate the presence of a kami. This
pair of guardian dogs or lions, which are called Komainu, often
found on each side of a shrine's entrance. In the case of Inari
Shrines, they are foxes (see picture) rather than dogs.
Such guardian statues
are no longer seen at the ruin of Syonan Jinja
The Kami Sanctuary (Honden) and Worship Hall (Haiden)
Depending on the shrine's architecture style, the main hall (honden)
and offering hall (haiden) are two separate buildings or combined
into one building. The main hall's innermost chamber contains the
shrine's sacred object, while visitors make their prayers and
offerings at the offering hall.
If the two halls (honden and haiden) are separated, the honden
which is also known as the Kami's Sanctuary is the most exclusive
part of the Shrine Complex - the space which houses the shrine's
kami. Sometimes the Kami Sanctuary is closed to the public and
only priests are allowed to enter in order to complete the
ceremonies and purification required. In the heart of the honden
is a symbolic object which contains the kami's numinous spirit
(called the go-shintai).
Typical design of
Honden or Haiden (main or offering halls)
In case of the active deities,
prayers and food are offered before the kami's sanctuary (honden)
in the inner temple. However, for the kami of natural phenomena,
prayers are offered at the gate or at the outer temple. In ancient
times they were offered on the open ground. Later, the Japanese
introduced worship halls (haiden) facing the sanctuary to serve
this functions.
In the case of some special shrines, such as the Great Shrine of
Ise, prayers are offered by both priests and layman sitting on the
ground outdoors where a temporary structure is built for offering
prayers.
But at Syonan Jinja,
the worship halls are flattened to ground zero; only some stone
ruins remained
The worship hall is traditionally
built of unpainted wood under a thatched roof, though there are
plenty of variations. All, however, are fairly modest in scale.
Even the Grand Shrine of Ise, marking Japan's sacred core, is by
no means of imposing building.
You cannot go inside the worship hall, either, but have to be
content with peering in from the entrance. Not that there is much
to see. Just an offering table in front of the secret inner
chamber, a sacred wand sporting zig-zag paper strips, and perhaps
a mirror. This last symbolizes the absolute purity of the kami and
the true faith of the worshipper reflected in its surface. A
mirror cannot lie.
So what does the worshipper do? First they throw a few coins in
the offertory box and then wake the gods by yanking on the
bell-rope. They are then ready to pray: the basic ritual consists
of two bows and two claps, followed by the prayer and a couple of
bows to finish.
People visit shrines in order to pay respect to the kami or to
pray for good fortune. Shrines are also visited during special
events such as New Year, setsubun, shichigosan and other
festivals. New born babies are traditionally brought to a shrine a
few days after birth, and many couples hold their wedding
ceremonies there.
There can be a variety of additional buildings such as the
priest's house and office, a storehouse for mikoshi and other
auxiliary buildings. Cemeteries, on the other hand, are almost
never found at shrines, because death is considered a cause of
impurity in Shinto, and in Japan is dealt with mostly by Buddhism.
The architecture and features of Shinto shrines and Buddhist
temples have melted together over the centuries. There are several
construction styles, most of which show (Buddhist) influences from
the Asian mainland. Only a few of today's shrines are considered
to be built in a purely Japanese style. However, you can find the
following common objects at Japanese Shinto shrines:
Stage
Stages for bugaku dance or theater performances can be found at
some shrines.
Typical design of a
theater stage
Ema
Shrine visitors write their wishes on these wooden plates and then
leave them at the shrine in the hope that their wishes come true.
Most people wish for good health, success in business, passing
entrance exams, love or wealth.
Typical design of Ema
Omikuji
Omikuji are fortune telling paper slips found at many shrines and
temples. Randomly drawn, they contain predictions ranging from
daikichi ("great good luck") to daikyo ("great bad luck"). By
tying the piece of paper around a tree's branch, good fortune will
come true or bad fortune can be averted.
Typical design of
Omikuji
Shimenawa
A shimenawa is a straw rope with white zigzag paper strips (gohei).
It marks the boundary to something sacred and can be found on
torii gates, around sacred trees and stones, etc. A rope similar
to the shimenawa is also worn by yokozuna, the highest ranked sumo
wrestlers, during ritual ceremonies.
Shimenawa are used to mark a sacred precinct. They are
traditionally believed to ward off evil and sickness. At New
Year's days even in the modern ones, people hang them over
doorways or the front bumper of cards.
Typical design of
Shimenawa
Other Ceremonial Spaces
As Shinto developed, other special buildings were added to the
shrine complex to accommodate the different rituals. These
include:
- sanctuary (shinden)
- prayer hall (noritoya)
- offering hall (heiden)
- worship hall (haiden)
- culinary hall (shinsenjo)
- abstinance hostel (sanrojo)
- shrine office (shamusho)
- washing place (shozuya)
- exorcism place (haraijo)
- votive picture repository (emaden)
- Kagura dance platform (kaguraden)
- treasure repository (homotsuden)
- shrine fence (mizugaki)
Guiding thoughts in Japanese Aesthetics
Naturalness - Gardens and any aesthetic object should be natural.
Design with the intention of marking your creation look as though
it had grown that way by itself. Simple objects which will fit in
with the natural surroundings.
Odd numbers - When placing elements in a composition, use odd
numbers such as one, three and five. This will better result in a
sense of natural asymmetry.
The triangle - Compositions such as groups of stones, branches on
a tree, etc. can be judged based on how easily one may draw an
imaginary triangle between any three elements.
Asymmetry - Balanced symmetry, as humans devise it, does not exist
often on nature. Therefore, it is better to make designs
asymmetrical if one wishes to create an impression of naturalness.
Brevity - "Less is more" This idea is most evident in Zen gardens,
where a single stone may encompass the idea of an entire mountain
or island. Remove what is unnecessary, and the composition will be
strengthened.
Wabi and Sabi - Two of the hardest concepts of Japanese aesthetics
to express in western language, generally they are wabi; "subdued
taste", "austere", and sabi; "rustic simplicity", "mellowed".
These terms were created by the Tea masters of the sixteenth
century.
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