If you were to exit the train station at Sengakuji Station, Tanagawas district, Minato-ku, Tokyo, come out, walk down the street and cross it on your way to Sengakuji (Sengku Temple), you would pass a concrete building that at first would look very much like just another modern building. Then you would take a second look and realize it was a Shinto temple.
The temple is the Kurumachi Inari Shrine, a shrine which enshrines Inari Okami, the deity associated with foxes, rice, household wellbeing, financial prosperity, and general prosperity.
Fountain for ceremonial cleaning. Tradition dictates washing one's hands and rinsing one's mouth out.
The main sanctuary. The Deity is enshrined behind the door.
Side view of the sanctuary.
Interesting photos. When I think of eastern religions, it's usually either Buddhism or Hinduism. I think those are the two that seem most popularized in American anyway.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, those are by far the largest. Shinto is very much a religion of Japan; in a way, by being Japanese you are "part" of it. It has expanded somewhat beyond Japan's borders.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto
Really enjoy these brief visits of your travels TB, especially Japan. Noticed the tall buildings surrounding the shrine.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nylon12! Brief is true in this case; I barely had a full day between three for this set of photos.
DeleteThis shrine is in the middle of a city, as you point out. I even think the last two times I went I did not realize it was a shrine.