Shintô Shrines in Japan – Architecture & Photos

 Shrine / Schrein / 神社 jinja  宮 gû, miya  神宮 jingû  大社 taisha  社 yashiro

Explore Shintô shrines in Japan through the photography of Hartmut Pohling. The archive documents shrines, shrine architecture and Shintô sites throughout Japan, from historic complexes to many lesser-known shrines. Japanese shrines represent an important part of the country’s architectural, religious and cultural heritage.

A shrine is the place where the gods (kami) of Japan´s indigenous religion, Shintô, are worshipped. On the site of the Shintô shrine, which is surrounded by a fence marking the holy area, there are various side halls next to the main shrine (honden), where the priests celebrate their rituals, offer sacrifices to the faithful and invoke the Shintô deities. The “Great Shrine of Ise” is at the top of the hierarchy of shrines. In Ise shrine the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythical ancestor of the tennô (“emperor”), is worshipped.