); torii at Itsukushima (AllPosters.com); torii at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo (GFDL).Shinto is the native religion of Japan and Shinto shrines (Japanese: jingu) are the dwelling places of the kami. Kami are gods or spirits that represent objects or concepts like trees, rivers, the sun, rocks, food, and fertility.
Humans also become kami after they die, and are revered as ancestors by their surviving family. Important people, like emperors, are revered as kami by many.
In Japan and Japanese communities around the world, people visit Shinto shrines to pay their respects to the kami, to pray or request a favor, and to celebrate festivals and life events.
Each shrine contains a sacred object representing the kami, which is not normally viewed by anyone. During festivals the kami is taken out in procession to show it the outside world.
The most well-known architectural aspect of the Shinto shrine is the torii, a symbolic gate that marks the entrance to the sacred area surrounding the shrine. The most sacred shrines in Shinto are those at Ise Jingu.
There are thousands of Shinto shrines in Japan. Below is an index of some of the most notable, listed by city.
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