Lion Dogs

The komainu, 狛犬、are the mythical leonine creatures at the entrance or flanking the approach to a shrine. Typically, that on the left displays fangs bared and is known as 阿形 (agyou)、while its companion opposite, with maw closed, is called 吽形 (ungyou). The pair protect the shrine's sacred precincts from evil spirits. Deer, foxes, wolves, and fowl may also perform the function. The 狛犬 are pictured with カリン、or Chinese quince; as offerings? Karin are inedible, though the fruit is used to flavor liquor. The banners read 学問の神様. 菅原道真公（すがわらのみちざねこう-name later changed to Tenjin-sama, 天神様) has been revered as the god of scholarship since the Heian Period (794-1185). As the neighborhood is home to a primary school, three high schools (including Takahashi Rumiko's alma mater), and Niigata University's School of Medicine, 天満宮 (of which there are 12,000 in Japan), is most convenient for students sweating their exams and in need of academic inspiration and encouragement.

Nagano Soba: Uzuraya, Tokakushi

I visited Tokakushi Shrine in Nagano last weekend. Uzuraya (opposite the main gate at 中社, the central of Togakushi's three shrines) served up the best soba I've ever had.

Shrine Offering: 供え物

Clearly a feast day or festival is to be celebrated for the deity enshrined here. Offerings include sake, apples, bananas, daikon, and konbu. Such votive offerings are called sonaemono。

A Roadside Shrine

A more common sight in Japan than even the ubiquitous convenience store is the roadside shrine (Yes, I know, a most bold assertion). Such shrines come in all manner of upkeep and repair. I pass numerous wayside shrines on my commute, most of them tidy and of weathered, untreated wood, and lacking in any ornament or statement of artistic originality.


 Not so this shrine.

The shrine, with its figure of Jizo, bell pull, flowers, and general appearance, is not unlike others I pass on the ride to school.  However, the artist/ builder has let himself go on the "pediment" (What is this part of the shrine called, by the way?), writhing, serpentining figures and all. 

Jizo is the protector of travelers, women in childbirth, and children. According to Buddhist thought, the souls of children who die during childbirth or at a young age are sent to sai no kawara , a dismal place where they must erect piles of stones, which are promptly scattered by demons. Someone has erected such a pile here. 

A "Sumiyoshi" Shrine

Osaka City's Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine complex contains a nice example of the sumiyoshi style.  Note the crossed beams (chigi) at the ends of the roof and those perpendicular to the ridge, called katsuoki,  the latter deriving their name from the Japanese word katsuo, meaning "bonito".  

A "Nagare-tsukuri" Shrine

Most of the shrines in Japan are built in the "Nagare-tsukuri" style.  The distinctive feature of such shrines is the uneven length of the two roof sections, the front being somewhat longer than the rear.


Minehonsha, situated atop Mt. Oyama (3003 m) in Toyama Prefecture, is an example of the nagare style. 

A "Hie-zukuri" Shrine

Check out the curves of the Niigata Great Shrine, located across the street from my house in downtown Niigata City.  The shrine is a fine example of the "Hie" style of Shinto architecture. 

Japanese Shrines: You've Seen One, But You Haven't Seen Them All

Shinto shrines may look alike, but there are numerous architectural styles.  The above is the main hall at Izumo Oyashiro in Shimane, a famous example of the Taisha Style.

Bits and Pieces: the Chigi and Katsuokiｉ

Ever wonder what the ornamental crossbeams atop the roofs of shrines were called?  Probably not, but for what it's worth, they are chigi （千木）．The beams placed parallel to each other, at right angles to the ridge of the roof, are called katsuoki (鰹木）． Both function to strengthen the structure. The great shrine in Shimane prefecture, Izumo Taisha, offers noteworthy examples of the two features. 　

The Gohei

Gohei are the sacred cuttings of folded white paper attached to the shimenawa. Note that the gohei alternate with the pendent tufts of straw. As with the shimenawa, I refer to the erudite Lafcadio Hearn for more on the subject: "The origin of the paper cuttings (gohei) ... is likewise to be found in the legend of the Sun-goddess; but the gohei also represent offerings of cloth anciently made to the gods according to a custom long obsolete."

The Shimenawa

The shimenawa is the twisted rope hung from the main gate, suspended above the holy font or the entrance to the main hall, or wrapped around sacred trees or other objects at Shinto shrines. It may be a thick, hempen plait, as in the lower photo, or a few strands of twine, as in the upper. Of the shimenawa Lafcadio Hearn has this to say:"(I)t represents the straw rope the deity Futo-tama-no-mikoto stretched behind the Sun-goddess Ama-terasu... after Ame-no.., the Heavenly-handstrength-god, had pulled her out" [of the ground]. Depending from the shimenawa are tufts of rope signifying the roots that clung to the mythical original, which was made of grass.