Concept
Shintai
Related concepts (17)
Kamidana
god/spirit-shelf are miniature household altars provided to enshrine a Shinto . They are most commonly found in Japan, the home of worship. The is typically placed high on a wall and contains a wide variety of items related to Shinto-style ceremonies, the most prominent of which is the , an object meant to house a chosen , thus giving it a physical form to allow worship. are most commonly small circular mirrors, though they can also be jewels, or some other object with largely symbolic value.
Kanjō
Kanjō in Shinto terminology indicates a propagation process through which a kami, previously divided through a process called bunrei, is invited to another location and there re-enshrined. Kanjō was originally a Buddhist term and later entered Shinto vocabulary. A kanjō was the request of the Buddha's sermon with a sincere heart, and later came to mean the urging of a buddha or bodhisattva to remain in this world to preach and save other human beings.
Gongen
Honji suijaku A 権現, literally "incarnation", was believed to be the manifestation of a buddha in the form of an indigenous kami, an entity who had come to guide the people to salvation, during the era of shinbutsu-shūgō in premodern Japan. The words 権化 and 化現 are synonyms for gongen. 権現信仰 is the term for belief in the existence of gongen. The gongen concept is the cornerstone of the honji suijaku theory, according to which Buddhist deities choose to appear to the Japanese as native kami in order to save them, which is based on the Mahayana Buddhist notion of upaya, "expedient means".
Yorishiro
A 依り代/依代/憑り代/憑代 in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called kami, thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. Yorishiro are used during ceremonies to call the kami for worship. The word itself literally means "approach substitute". Once a yorishiro actually houses a kami, it is called a shintai. Ropes called shimenawa decorated with paper streamers called shide often surround yorishiro to make their sacredness manifest.
Shimenawa
lit. 'enclosing rope' are lengths of laid rice straw or hemp rope used for ritual purification in the Shinto religion. vary in diameter from a few centimetres to several metres, and are often seen festooned with —traditional paper streamers. A space bound by typically indicates a sacred or ritually pure space, such as that of a Shinto shrine. are believed to act as a ward against evil spirits, and are often set up at a ground-breaking ceremony before construction begins on a new building.
Meoto Iwa
Meoto Iwa, or Married Couple Rocks, are a kind of rock formation seen as religiously significant in Shinto. They are a subtype of Iwakura rock. According to Shinto, the rocks represent the union of the creator kami, Izanagi and Izanami. The rocks, therefore, celebrate the union in marriage of man and woman. The most famous pair is the pair at Futami Okitama Shrine in Futami-ura, two rocky stacks off the coast from Ise, Mie, Japan. They are joined by a shimenawa (a heavy rope of rice straw) and are considered sacred by worshippers of the shrine.
Honden
In Shinto shrine architecture, the honden, also called shinden, or sometimes shōden as in Ise Shrine's case, is the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined kami, usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue. The building is normally in the rear of the shrine and closed to the general public. In front of it usually stands the haiden, or oratory. The haiden is often connected to the honden by a heiden, or hall of offerings.
Iwakura rock
Iwakura refers to the belief in rocks as Yorishiro containing Kami in ancient Shinto. It also refers to the rock itself, which is the object of worship. Nature worship, also known as spirit worship or animism, is a type of base faith that has been present in Japan since ancient times. This form of worship revolves around the belief in gods and spirits that reside in nature. In Shinto rituals, gods are said to have descended from shintai, a rock, and the yorishiro, called himorogi, was made the center of the ritual, symbolizing the divine power of the gods.
Himorogi
Himorogi in Shinto terminology are sacred spaces or altars used to worship. In their simplest form, they are square areas with green bamboo or sakaki at the corners without architecture. These in turn support sacred ropes (shimenawa) decorated with streamers called shide. A branch of sakaki or some other evergreen at the center acts as a yorishiro, a physical representation of the presence of the kami, a being which is in itself incorporeal.
Shinto shrine
A Shinto shrine is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, the deities of the Shinto religion. The honden (本殿, meaning: "main hall") is where a shrine's patron kami is/are enshrined. 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.