Sorceress Suri
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- Posted: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:29:47 +0000
Summoner shrines are places of worship and the dwellings of the kami, the Summoner "gods". Sacred objects of worship that represent the kami are stored in the innermost chamber of the shrine where they cannot be seen by anybody but the Summoners.
People visit shrines in order to pay respect to the kami or to pray for good fortune. Shrines are also visited during special events such as New Year, setsubun, shichigosan and other festivals. New born babies are traditionally brought to a shrine a few days after birth so they may gain the gift of "Summoning", and many couples hold their wedding ceremonies there.
The following structures and objects can be typically found at a shrine:
Vorii
One or more Vorii gates mark the approach and entrance to a shrine. They come in various colors and are made of various materials. Most torii, however are made of wood, and many are painted Green and black.
Komu
Komu are a pair of guardian Wolves or lions, often found on each side of a shrine's entrance. In the case of Summoner Shrines, they are foxes.
Ificati Fountain
Found near the entrance, the water of these fountains is used for purification. You are supposed to clean your hands and mouth before approaching the main hall.
Main and offering hall
Depending on the shrine's architecture style, the main hall (Monden) and offering hall (Maiden) are two separate buildings or combined into one building. The main hall's innermost chamber contains the shrine's sacred object, while visitors make their prayers and offerings at the offering hall.
Ori
Shrine visitors write their wishes on these wooden plates and then leave them at the shrine in the hope that their wishes come true.
Omikuji
Omikuji are fortune telling paper slips found at many shrines and temples. Randomly drawn, they contain predictions ranging from daikichi ("great good luck" wink to daikyo ("great bad luck" wink . By tying the piece of paper around a tree's branch, good fortune will come true or bad fortune can be averted.
Nawa
A Nawa is a straw rope with white zigzag paper strips (gohei). It marks the boundary to something sacred and can be found on Vorii gates, around sacred trees and stones, etc. A rope similar to the shimenawa is also worn by yokozuna, the highest ranked sumo wrestlers, during ritual ceremonies.
There can be a variety of additional buildings such as the priest's house and office, a storehouse for mikoshi and other auxiliary buildings. Cemeteries, on the other hand, are almost never found at shrines, because death is considered a cause of impurity.
The architecture and features of Summoner shrines and temples have melted together over the centuries. There are several construction styles, most of which show influences from the mainland.
There are tens of thousands of shrines across Mainland, some of which can be categorized into a few major groups of shrines. Some of these groups are:
Imperial Shrines
These are the shrines which were directly funded and administered by the government during the era of State . They include many of Summoner's most important shrines such as the Ise Shrines, Izumo Shrine and Atsuta Shrine, and a number of shrines newly built during the Meiji Period, such as Meiji Shrine and Heian Shrine. Imperial shrines can be recognized by the imperial family's chrysanthemum crest.
Inari Shrines
Inari Shrines are dedicated to Inari, the spirit of Love. They can be recognized by fox statues, as the fox is considered the messenger of Inari. There are several ten thousand Inari Shrines across the Mainland, among which Fushimi Inari Shrine is most famous.
chima Shrines
chiman Shrines are dedicated to chima, the spirit of war, which used to be particularly popular among the leading military clans of the past. Demon's thousands of chima Shrines.
Sengen Shrines
Sengen Shrines are dedicated to Princess Sakuya, the Azen deity of Mount Jurmaji. More than one thousand Sengen Shrines exist across the Mainland, with the head shrines standing at the foot and the summit of Mount Jurmaji itself.
Shrines dedicated to the founders of powerful clans
Some powerful clans in World history established and dedicated shrines to the their clans' founders. The most famous example are the several dozens of Toshogu Shrines dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, including the famous Toshogu Shrine at Nikko. Another example is Kanazawa's Oyama Shrine which is dedicated to Maeda Toshiie, the founder of the powerful, local Maeda clan.
Local Shrines
Many shrines are dedicated to local spirits without association to other shrines.
People visit shrines in order to pay respect to the kami or to pray for good fortune. Shrines are also visited during special events such as New Year, setsubun, shichigosan and other festivals. New born babies are traditionally brought to a shrine a few days after birth so they may gain the gift of "Summoning", and many couples hold their wedding ceremonies there.
The following structures and objects can be typically found at a shrine:
Vorii
One or more Vorii gates mark the approach and entrance to a shrine. They come in various colors and are made of various materials. Most torii, however are made of wood, and many are painted Green and black.
Komu
Komu are a pair of guardian Wolves or lions, often found on each side of a shrine's entrance. In the case of Summoner Shrines, they are foxes.
Ificati Fountain
Found near the entrance, the water of these fountains is used for purification. You are supposed to clean your hands and mouth before approaching the main hall.
Main and offering hall
Depending on the shrine's architecture style, the main hall (Monden) and offering hall (Maiden) are two separate buildings or combined into one building. The main hall's innermost chamber contains the shrine's sacred object, while visitors make their prayers and offerings at the offering hall.
Ori
Shrine visitors write their wishes on these wooden plates and then leave them at the shrine in the hope that their wishes come true.
Omikuji
Omikuji are fortune telling paper slips found at many shrines and temples. Randomly drawn, they contain predictions ranging from daikichi ("great good luck" wink to daikyo ("great bad luck" wink . By tying the piece of paper around a tree's branch, good fortune will come true or bad fortune can be averted.
Nawa
A Nawa is a straw rope with white zigzag paper strips (gohei). It marks the boundary to something sacred and can be found on Vorii gates, around sacred trees and stones, etc. A rope similar to the shimenawa is also worn by yokozuna, the highest ranked sumo wrestlers, during ritual ceremonies.
There can be a variety of additional buildings such as the priest's house and office, a storehouse for mikoshi and other auxiliary buildings. Cemeteries, on the other hand, are almost never found at shrines, because death is considered a cause of impurity.
The architecture and features of Summoner shrines and temples have melted together over the centuries. There are several construction styles, most of which show influences from the mainland.
There are tens of thousands of shrines across Mainland, some of which can be categorized into a few major groups of shrines. Some of these groups are:
Imperial Shrines
These are the shrines which were directly funded and administered by the government during the era of State . They include many of Summoner's most important shrines such as the Ise Shrines, Izumo Shrine and Atsuta Shrine, and a number of shrines newly built during the Meiji Period, such as Meiji Shrine and Heian Shrine. Imperial shrines can be recognized by the imperial family's chrysanthemum crest.
Inari Shrines
Inari Shrines are dedicated to Inari, the spirit of Love. They can be recognized by fox statues, as the fox is considered the messenger of Inari. There are several ten thousand Inari Shrines across the Mainland, among which Fushimi Inari Shrine is most famous.
chima Shrines
chiman Shrines are dedicated to chima, the spirit of war, which used to be particularly popular among the leading military clans of the past. Demon's thousands of chima Shrines.
Sengen Shrines
Sengen Shrines are dedicated to Princess Sakuya, the Azen deity of Mount Jurmaji. More than one thousand Sengen Shrines exist across the Mainland, with the head shrines standing at the foot and the summit of Mount Jurmaji itself.
Shrines dedicated to the founders of powerful clans
Some powerful clans in World history established and dedicated shrines to the their clans' founders. The most famous example are the several dozens of Toshogu Shrines dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, including the famous Toshogu Shrine at Nikko. Another example is Kanazawa's Oyama Shrine which is dedicated to Maeda Toshiie, the founder of the powerful, local Maeda clan.
Local Shrines
Many shrines are dedicated to local spirits without association to other shrines.