Japan: Inaba Shrine

Another Gifu site we visited was the Inaba Shrine. This is one of the most prominent Shinto shrines in Gifu, particularly for New Year's celebrations.

In this blog post and all that follow, please take any of my comments about Japanese culture, religion, or other practices for what they are--the well meaning observations of an ignorant tourist who has spent very little time in the country. I'm sure there is much I misunderstood, misremembered, or simply got wrong. The mistakes are all mine, not our hosts'.

Speaking of my own ignorance, there is a Buddhist temple immediately at the base of the Inaba Shrine. There is a lot of overlap between Buddhism and Shintoism in Japan--both in terms of architectural style and religious/cultural practice. It is entirely possible that I may have mixed up photos or information between the two. Sumimasen. (If you want the simple explanation of this ubiquitous Japanese word, it's an apology. If you like to geek out on linguistics, then you will enjoy this more in-depth explanation of sumimasen.)


The Inaba Shrine was first built at this location in the 1500. There have been ongoing additions and renovations over the past 500 years, as this is a living shrine and not just a historical site. The shrine holds sacred relics and is typically not open to the public, although it is occasionally opened on special festival or holy days.


Visitors can purchase these ema, small wooden cards on which to write a prayer, blessing, or request. The ema are then hung up in the shrine until a specific day, when they are burned. Many (all?) of them are burned on or around the new year, with the intention of clearing away the previous year's emotional and spiritual clutter to have a clean start to the new year. (I'm not sure whether that is typical of all Shinto shrines, or specific to this one, where the New Year's celebration is a big deal.) The ema are hung in designated places, which are often associated with particular deities or spirits who offer specific types of blessings. For example, at one famous shrine popular with foreign tourists, Kevin pointed out a spot for prayers to a deity associated with good vision and eye health. Many non-Japanese-speaking tourists had written general statements of thanks or wishes for happiness or success--prayers not likely to be granted, unless they were hoping for clear vision to recognize happiness or success when it crossed their path.


A view of the shrine's entrance from the top of the stairs, with Gifu in the background. You can see the gate, which is an important feature of Japanese architecture. You can also see lots of bare cherry trees. I gather that we were in good Japanese company on the quest for blooming cherry trees.

This waterfall is noted as the shrine's "power spot." I'm a little fuzzy on what exactly that means, but as best I understand, this is a place of especially powerful spiritual energy. Chikako told us that Sedona, Arizona is a popular destination for Japanese tourists because it is an extremely potent power spot.

The girls enjoyed following Chikako's example in various practices, including kneeling here and banging these sticks together. (I'm sure there is a more accurate and respectful term than "sticks." Sumimasen.) The fountain where you ritually wash your hands before entering the shrine was also a big hit; Hazel especially enjoyed being allowed to drink from the water dippers.
 

Stones for remembrance. I wonder what makes this practice resonate across so many cultures.

These Torii gates mark the approach to a Shinto shrine.

Note the rope with the zig-zag paper strips. This marks the boundary to something sacred and can be seen all over Shinto shrines. If you look closely, you'll be able to find it in several of these photos.

This is a zoomed out view of where the girls were standing in the previous picture. It was a lovely spot...

 ...but our girls were most excited about the fact that it was a good vantage point for seeing turtles.
 

This is the view from the parking lot, at the base of the entrance to the shrine. Behind the buildings, you can see the rise of Mt. Kinka (also known as Mt. Inaba, hence the name of the shrine). I don't think it showed in the previous photos, but the entire shrine is set into the side of the mountain, which adds to the beauty of the setting.

Like the shrine, the Buddhist temple is only opened on special occasions. I believe this temple at the base of the Inaba Shrine is only open to the public once every 7 years. With our eyes adjusted to bright sunlight, we couldn't really see anything when we looked into the dark temple. However, Aaron's camera was able to capture this picture of the holy items inside the temple.