Praying at a shrine

Although Shintoism is the most important religion of an important ally with 140 million people, I have been taught de facto nothing about it during my 13 years at school, being taught religion in each of these years. Is it too close to pagan in the eyes of conservative Catholics? Is it to peaceful in the eyes of monotheistic teachers? We don't know, nevertheless the religious system in Japan is very interesting. Shintoism makes up about the greatest part of Japanese religion with Buddhism taking the rest. About one percent of Japanese are Christians, most of them Catholic.
Unlike in countries dominated by the monotheistic religions, none of the religions is exclusive. This means you can be both Shinto and Buddhist. You do not have to pay a monthly fee or be a formal member, you can just decide by yourself what meets your spiritual needs and belief. In many tradition and customs a large overlap between the two religions can be seen. While Buddhism reached Japan from China about 1500 years ago, Shintoism is the traditional Japanese religion. Being close to nature is characteristic for Shintoism. Many millions of deities are worshipped. They can be rather abstract like the gods of the Nordic Mythic or be the spirits of deceased persons or elements of nature, for example trees.

When I go to Tokyo I frequently visit the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Here, the Meiji emperor is embodied. He modernized Japan and opened it to the Western countries. So this shrine is not only one of the two most important shrines in Tokyo, but is especially important for foreigner who feel some relation to Japan. Before coming in front of the main hall seen above, you walk through a huge dense forest in the middle of Tokyo. It was created in voluntary work by the people after the death of the emperor and despite of this is a very natural forest which recreates itself. As in every larger shrine, you pass several gates and sometimes also some bridges.

The street leading through the forest is very wide. This is needed on the New Year's Days, when several million people pray at the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Before coming to the main hall, you also wash your hands and mouth having the meaning to clean yourself. Being clean and free from evil is very important.

As it was my first visit to a shrine in the new year, I took five yen coins with me. You always pay before you pray. Please remember that there is not tax or member fee for this religion, so the shrines finance themselves out of donations, a problem for smaller shrines. For students, giving a 10-Yen coin is a good choice. At the first visit you pray for luck in the coming year. As 5 is the number for luck, you choose five Yen coins for this occasions. On midnight between Dec. 31st and Jan 1st a rain of coins can be seen. For this occasion and the many visitors, the donation box is replaced by a something that looks like a swimming pool and reaches from the one tree to the other.

Many people collect their 5-Yen coins in the last month(s) of the year. Its difficult for rich people to collect an appropriate amount in 5-Yen coins, so you could see them throwing 5000 yen bills or bundles of bills somehow related to the number of 5.
After giving the money, you pray. To get the attention of the deities you clap your hands twice. Also don't forget to pay respect by bowing towards the shrine.
You can buy a such a wooden plate and writing your prayer on it. It is collected by the priests the next morning and included in their prayers.

Another famous activity is Omikuji to see the forecast of your fortune. You shake a wooden box and draw a random stick out of it. The number on the stick is related to the short letter which tells you your fortune. Be careful, it can be bad or even a curse! But don't worry, of course there is a solution, you can knot it around another nearby tree to get rid of it. Although I like Shintoism very much, I'll probably never understand Omikuji.

After the visit to Meiji Jingu Shrine you can relax at the meadow on the way to the Meiji Jingu Treasure Museum. The next photo show the sake barrels which are enshrined to be offered to the souls of the former emperor and his wife every year.