Tag - shinto

 
 

SHINTO

Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 11, 2017
In financial straits, shrines turn to luxury property development
Shinto elders at the centuries-old Unesco World Heritage Site of Shimogamo Shrine upset neighbors when they bulldozed a swath of old Kyoto forest to build an apartment complex with units selling for more than $2 million apiece.
Japan Times
JAPAN / AT A GLANCE
Jan 5, 2017
A new year, a new prayer, and hopefully luck
New Year's Day is not just the first day of the year in this country — it has a special meaning.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2017
2017 rings in across Japan as shrine, temple throngs pray for good year
As people across Japan celebrated the turn of the year, they flocked to shrines and temples Sunday morning for their traditional hatsumode pilgrimage to make a fresh start on New Year's Day.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Voices / FOREIGN AGENDA
Jul 3, 2016
Western media cherry-pick facts and phalli to fit the 'no vagina' narrative in Japan
In Western media coverage of Megumi Igarashi's case, a commonly expressed view has been that Japanese society suppresses vaginal art while celebrating all that is penile. This view is untenable.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 26, 2016
Abe's pro-Shinto motives in spotlight with choice of G-7 opening ceremony venue
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe looked satisfied as he met top leaders from the Group of Seven countries at the gate to a giant Shinto-style wooden bridge.
JAPAN / Politics
May 25, 2016
Abe treads fine line in Ise Shrine tour as Shinto religion faces challenges
Ise Shrine is considered one of the holiest sites in Shinto, a faith whose rituals have been woven into Japan's culture for centuries.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
May 4, 2016
Foreign priests find a spiritual home in Shinto
Though few and far between, a handful of non-natives are blazing a trail in Japan's ancient native faith.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 1, 2016
Spirits and turnout high as New Year's crowds throng to shrines and temples
People wishing to make a fresh start on New Year's flocked to major shrines and temples across the archipelago Friday morning in the annual ritual known as hatsumode (first visit of the year).
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 24, 2015
Meiji Shrine: grounds to ring in the year
As a relatively new place of worship, established less than a century ago in 1920, Meiji Shrine was originally based around the concept of wakonyu014dsai — a belief that treasured the Japanese 'soul,' while still embracing influences from the West. Its unusual omikuji, therefore, is not the only unique feature of the shrine.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Dec 24, 2015
Getting the year's first prayer in
Whether we are Buddhists, followers of Shintoism or atheists, the first thing many Japanese do on ganjitsu (New Year's Day) is go to their local shrine or temple for hatsumōde, a symbolic first visit of the year. If it's not done on Jan. 1, it will likely happen shortly after.
BUSINESS / Japan Pulse
Aug 6, 2015
Smart absolutions: Send off your sins with just one click
The two-step method to purification.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 12, 2014
Abe's base aims to restore past religious, patriotic values
As Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promises voters a bright future for Japan's economy, key parts of his conservative base want him to steer the nation back toward a traditional ethos mixing Shinto myth, patriotism and pride in the ancient Imperial line.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / JAPAN LITE
Nov 26, 2014
Seeking Japan's gods and nobles in roots, stone and moss
If you've had a hankering to go hiking with Shinto deities, why not try the Kumano Kodo trail in Wakayama Prefecture?
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Sep 19, 2014
Aichi mountains provide dramatic setting for terra-cotta amphitheater
In the mountains of Mihama, Aichi Prefecture, a curious art space is emerging. Ceramics artists Ximena Elgueda and Steven Ward are building "The Mountain Plaza," a terra-cotta amphitheater.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / TELLING LIVES
Jun 10, 2014
Blue-eyed Austrian finds calling at shrine
Walking through the torii, or gateway, to the quiet and serene Konnoh Hachimangu Shrine in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward — minutes away from the hustle and bustle of Shibuya's main "scramble crossing" — and being welcomed by a blond and blue-eyed Shinto priest seems almost surreal.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives
Jan 17, 2014
Fortune, fame or betrayal? It's all in the omikuji
All Japanese shrines have omikuji (fortune-telling sticks) — just like all McDonald's have fries.
CULTURE
Jan 1, 2014
Lucky food, charming decorations and visiting deities: welcoming the new year with history and tradition
Wearing kimono, getting together with family and friends, and not working for the first three days of a new year. Shogatsu, or New Year's, is when Japanese generally work less than the rest of the world.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2013
Back to the future: Shinto's growing influence in politics
Immaculate and ramrod straight in a crisp, black suit, Japan's education minister, Hakubun Shimomura, speaks like a schoolteacher — slowly and deliberately.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2013
Resisting the historical deniers
Shin Kawashima recalls his heart sinking with the reelection of Shinzo Abe. A specialist in Asian diplomatic history at the University of Tokyo, Kawashima has spent years trying to narrow the gap between Japan and China's strikingly different interpretations of wartime history. The election could undo...
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 23, 2013
Re-engineering Shinto
Japan's ancient, indigenous religion, premodern Shinto, was considered one of the world's least dogmatic, laidback belief systems. Many of its earthy, animist rituals were tied to a love of nature and tradition, anchored around festivals and ceremonies honoring kami (gods) found in all aspects of life....

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