Yorishiro

File:Yuki Shrine - giant Sugi.jpg

A classic : a giant tree, or

A in Shinto terminology is an object capable of attracting spirits called , thus giving them a physical space to occupy during religious ceremonies. are used during ceremonies to call the for worship. The word itself literally means "approach substitute". Once a actually houses a , it is called a . Ropes called decorated with paper streamers called often surround to make their sacredness manifest. Persons can play the same role as a , and in that case are called or .

History

and their history are intimately connected with the birth of Shinto shrines. Early Japanese culture did not have the notion of anthropomorphic deities, and felt the presence of spirits in nature and its phenomena. Mountains, forests, rain, wind, lightning and sometimes animals were thought to be charged with spiritual power, and the material manifestations of this power were worshiped as , entities closer in essence to the Oceanian concept of mana. Village councils sought the advice of and developed the , tools that attracted acting like a lightning rod.

were conceived to attract the and then give them a physical space to occupy to make them accessible to human beings for ceremonies, which is still their purpose today. Village council sessions were held in a quiet spot in the mountains or in a forest near a great tree, rock or other natural object that served as a . These sacred places and their gradually evolved into the shrines of today.

The first buildings at shrines were likely just huts built to house some . A trace of this origin can be found in the term , literally meaning "deity storehouse", which evolved into (also written with the characters ), one of the earliest words for a shrine. Most of the sacred objects found today in shrines (trees, mirrors, swords, ) were originally , and only later became themselves by association.

Common

File:Meotoiwa.jpg

Two : Meoto Iwa, the Husband-and-Wife Rocks

The most common are swords, mirrors, ritual staffs decorated with paper streamers called , comma-shaped beads called , large rocks ( or , and sacred trees. are often considered to dwell in unusually-shaped rocks or trees, or in caves and earth mounds. can also be persons, in which case they are called .

Trees

Because of the emphasis on nature in Shinto, are often natural objects like trees. Significantly, in ancient Japanese texts the words and were sometimes read as ("sacred place"), but also sometimes read as ("grove" or "forest"), reflecting the fact that the earliest shrines were simply sacred groves or forests where were present.

Part of the reading disparity may have been due to the confusion between similar characters and . Many shrines still have on their grounds one of the original great , a great tree surrounded by a sacred rope called . Now such trees have become divine by association, and no longer simply represent a .

Shinto altars, called – typically just square areas demarcated with (Cleyera japonica) at the corners supporting sacred border ropes () – feature a branch of erected at the center as a .

Iwakura rocks are also common. An is simply a rock formation where a is invited to descend, and is therefore holy ground. With time, through a process of association, the itself can come to be considered divine. Archeological research in Japan confirms these sects to be ancient. In shrines, even today stones considered to be related to the shrine's are used to make food offerings to the .

Similarly an is a stone altar or mound erected as a to call a for worship. The concepts of and are so close that some suggest the two words are in fact synonymous.

In homes

File:Maneki-neko-ja.jpg

A is supposed to attract the of luck

are most numerous in people's homes. During the New Year's holidays, people decorate their entrances with , which are the of the new year's . , plaques of wood or pieces of paper (similar to an ) representing the , are hung above the door. There are who dwell in the toilet () and in the well (). The lives in the oven, and its function is to protect the house from fires.

Other common are the small altar called and the , which is an altar for the dead. ( were originally meant just for Buddhist worship, but now often contain also spirit tablets called , which are used to recall the spirits of one's dead ancestors). In shops one often sees clay cats with a raised paw called , or rake-like bamboo objects called supposed to attract good business.

See also

• Anito
• Balete tree
• Glossary of Shinto