Shrine・・・
Shrine are called called jinja or kamu-yashiro.
Shrines are ritual facilities based on the Shinto faith.
Shinto is a religion unique to Japan that emerged naturally from the lives and culture of the Japanese people that has continued since the Jomon period.
It is a faith that respects nature, respects the yaoyorozu , worships ancestral spirits, and places importance on rituals.（Yaoyorozu (8 million)' appearing in the expression 'Yaoyorozu no Kami' is an example of a large number.)
The idea of the yaoyorozu(8 million gods) is that gods and spirits reside in all things in the universe.
(The name 8 million gods comes from the sheer number of gods, including the gods of the sea, the gods of the mountains, the gods of the wind, the gods of rain, the gods of food, clothing and shelter, the gods of occupation, great men who have devoted themselves to their country, great men with outstanding talents, and the spirits of ancestors who watch over the future of their descendants.)
There are about 80,000 shrines under the jurisdiction of the Association of Shinto Shrines in Japan.
If you include shrines not under the Association's jurisdiction, there are about 120,000 shrines in Japan.
New Year's visits to shrines, festivals, matchmaking, Shichigosan(in Japan, a gala month for children of three, five, and seven years of age), prayers for success in exams, etc. are Shinto religious ceremonies.
These Shinto religious ceremonies are integrated into the lives of Japanese people as part of their daily habits and rites of passage.
In Shinto, purification of the mind and body, called "misogi" or "harae," is important.
Japanese people believe that when they are purified by the "harae" performed at shrines, they no longer dwell on bad relationships and events from the past, their sins and misfortunes are removed, and they are restored to a new, pure mind and body.
It is said that gods are easier to understand in old words than in modern words.
For this reason, the priest prays to the gods in old words called Yamato-kotoba on behalf of ordinary people.
Shinto also believes that gods reside in everything, even words, as in the 8 million gods.
In other words, it is believed that "beautiful and correct words bring about good things, while ugly and foul words cause bad things," and that the content of words becomes reality in the form of kotodama, so norito prayers are expressed in neat, elegant and beautiful content.
Kegare（Impurity）...
Impurity is things like bad relationships and events from the past, sins and misfortunes.
Restoring purity of mind and body by removing impurities from the body.
Festivals...
A way for gods to interact with people.
There are two types of festivals: festivals and rites.
A festival is a festival performed only by priests.
B festivals are festivals performed with the expectation that they will be seen by spectators.
