On Thursday we visited Hiraoka Shrine, in Higashi-Osaka City just outside of Osaka. Hiraoka is a Shinto shrine dating back to 3 B.C., though the shrine buildings themselves have been rebuilt numerous times.
Shinto is Japan's native religion. The earliest Japanese writings about Shinto do not refer to a unified "Shinto religion", but rather to practices associated with harvests and other seasonal events. Shinto is characterized by the worship of nature, ancestors, polytheism and animism. It is a religion in which actions and ritual, rather than words, are of the utmost importance.
A Shinto Shrine is typically built to house a kami, or spirit. Ritual purity plays an important role in the practice of Shinto; the first ritual enacted in visiting a shrine is the passage through the torii, or gate which marks the division between the spiritual and the material world.
We were able to participate in a blessing during our visit to Hiraoka Shrine. The ritual involved the playing of a flute by the priest and a dance by one of the shrine attendants; we each approached a small altar, where we placed a branch, clapped twice, briefly bowed our heads, and clapped once more. The ceremony concluded with a ritual sip of sake. Unlike many monotheistic religious practices, Shinto typically does not require professing faith to be a believer or a practitioner.
At most shrines it is also possible to purchase a fortune. My fortune indicated good luck (although the way the translator said it, it was more like "ok luck). Kasey's fortune was "big luck" so she kept it; I tied mine onto the lines outside the main hall, following tradition.
Haiku #5
water tastes so sweet
from bamboo dippers resting
on moss covered stone
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