Shinto
Torii gates, how to pray, omamori charms, ema plaques and shrine visits.
73 entriesTap a title to open the full entry: three lengths of English explanation, the questions people actually ask, ready-made phrases and audio.
Essential（18）
- Martial ArtsEssential sumo no shiomaki相撲の塩まきthe handful of salt a sumo wrestler throws onto the ring before a bout
- Annual EventsEssential matsuri祭りa local festival
- Annual EventsEssential hatsumode初詣the first shrine visit of the year
- FolkloreEssential omikujiおみくじfortune slips at shrines
- Seasons & NatureEssential Fujisan to shinko富士山と信仰Mount Fuji and mountain worship
- PlacesEssential Itsukushima Jinja厳島神社the shrine built over the sea, with a torii gate standing in the water
- PlacesEssential Fushimi Inari Taisha伏見稲荷大社the Kyoto shrine with thousands of vermilion torii gates up a mountain
- PlacesEssential Meiji Jingu明治神宮the Tokyo shrine set in a forest that was planted from nothing
- ShintoEssential omamoriお守りa protective charm from a shrine or temple
- ShintoEssential sando参道the approach to a shrine
- ShintoEssential sanpai no saho参拝の作法the two bows, two claps, one bow routine
- ShintoEssential chozuya手水舎the water pavilion where you rinse your hands before praying
- ShintoEssential jinja to tera no chigai神社と寺の違いhow to tell a Shinto shrine from a Buddhist temple
- ShintoEssential Shinto神道Japan's indigenous way of relating to spirits in nature and ancestors
- ShintoEssential mikoshi神輿the portable shrine carried through the streets at a festival
- ShintoEssential torii鳥居the gate at the entrance to a shrine
- ShintoEssential mushukyo無宗教saying you have no religion while keeping its customs
- ShintoEssential saisen賽銭the offering you throw in
Standard（29）
- Martial ArtsStandard yabusame流鏑馬archery from a galloping horse
- ClothingStandard shiromuku白無垢the all-white kimono a bride wears at a traditional Japanese wedding
- Annual EventsStandard dondo yakiどんど焼きthe mid-January bonfire for New Year decorations
- Annual EventsStandard kagami biraki鏡開きbreaking open the New Year rice cakes
- Annual EventsStandard kadomatsu門松the pine and bamboo arrangement placed at the door for the New Year
- FolkloreStandard kitsune to Inari狐と稲荷why shrines are guarded by foxes
- FolkloreStandard hamaya破魔矢the arrow you buy at New Year
- Home & LivingStandard kamidana神棚the household Shinto altar
- Life EventsStandard omiyamairiお宮参りa baby's first shrine visit
- Life EventsStandard shichi-go-san七五三the festival for children aged seven, five and three
- Life EventsStandard shinzenshiki神前式a Shinto wedding
- PlacesStandard Nikko Toshogu日光東照宮the shrine where Tokugawa Ieyasu is enshrined, covered in carvings
- ShintoStandard oharaiお祓いritual purification
- ShintoStandard Ise Jingu伊勢神宮the central shrine of Shinto
- ShintoStandard ema絵馬a wooden plaque you write a wish on
- ShintoStandard Gion Matsuri祇園祭the month-long Kyoto festival that began as a rite against plague
- ShintoStandard tamagushi玉串the evergreen sprig offered at a rite
- ShintoStandard goshinboku御神木the sacred tree in a shrine precinct
- ShintoStandard komainu狛犬the guardian pair at a shrine
- ShintoStandard Izumo Taisha出雲大社the shrine where the gods gather
- ShintoStandard shinshoku and miko神職と巫女shrine priests and shrine maidens
- ShintoStandard shinto to shizen神道と自然the animism at the heart of Shinto belief
- ShintoStandard sohonsha and bunsha総本社と分社head shrines and their thousands of branch shrines
- ShintoStandard jichinsai地鎮祭the ceremony held before building on a piece of land
- ShintoStandard shimenawa注連縄the sacred rope
- ShintoStandard chinju no mori鎮守の森the grove that surrounds a shrine
- ShintoStandard Tenmangu天満宮と学問の神shrines of the deity of learning
- ShintoStandard Nihon shinwa日本神話the myths in Japan's oldest books
- ShintoStandard yakubarai厄払いthe shrine rite performed in an unlucky year of life
Advanced（26）
- ConceptsAdvanced kotodama言霊the belief that spoken words carry power
- ConceptsAdvanced yaoyorozu no kami八百万の神the eight million gods
- Annual EventsAdvanced ebisu koえびす講the merchants' festival for the god of business
- Annual EventsAdvanced nagoshi no harae夏越の祓the midsummer purification
- Annual EventsAdvanced hatsuuma初午the February day for the fox shrines
- Annual EventsAdvanced niinamesai新嘗祭と勤労感謝の日the harvest rite behind a public holiday
- FolkloreAdvanced shichifukujin七福神the seven lucky gods
- Seasons & NatureAdvanced sangaku shinko山岳信仰worship of mountains
- PlacesAdvanced Kumano Kodo熊野古道the old pilgrimage routes through the mountains south of Osaka
- ShintoAdvanced goshuin御朱印a calligraphic seal stamped at a shrine or temple
- ShintoAdvanced kokka shinto国家神道the state administration of shrines from 1868 to 1945
- ShintoAdvanced sakaki and tamagushi榊と玉串the evergreen branch offered in Shinto rites
- ShintoAdvanced ujigami and ujiko氏神と氏子the local guardian deity and its parishioners
- ShintoAdvanced shikinen sengu式年遷宮rebuilding the shrine every twenty years
- ShintoAdvanced shago社号why shrines are called jingu, taisha or jinja
- ShintoAdvanced shugendo修験道the mountain ascetic tradition and its yamabushi
- ShintoAdvanced norito祝詞the formal prayer read by a priest
- ShintoAdvanced kagura神楽dance offered to the gods
- ShintoAdvanced jinja no kenchiku神社の建築how to read the buildings of a Shinto shrine
- ShintoAdvanced shinbutsu shugo神仏習合the long blending of Shinto and Buddhism
- ShintoAdvanced kannazuki神無月the month the gods are away
- ShintoAdvanced kamisama no kazoekata神様の数え方why Japanese counts gods with the word for pillar
- ShintoAdvanced shinsen and naorai神饌と直会the food offered to a deity and the meal shared afterwards
- ShintoAdvanced hachimangu八幡宮shrines of the warrior deity
- ShintoAdvanced reitaisai例大祭a shrine's own most important annual festival
- ShintoAdvanced misogi禊purifying yourself with water