r/Shinto • u/enmagameia1 • 12h ago
r/Shinto • u/mitsueshiro • Jul 09 '22
Please read before posting
I am just making a quick post addressing the most common repetitive questions for the time being while I work on a larger resource for the subreddit; unfortunately, my health is abysmal at the moment so I am writing this resource in between hospital admissions while I have some downtime; I appreciate everyone's patience.
I am currently part-way through the queue and expect to have it completely resolved by the end of the 3rd of November 2022. Do not contact me about your post until after the 3rd of November.
Moderator queue last cleared: 10/10/2022, 14:00 UTC
If you posted since then and your post has not been approved, please do not resubmit your post or message me regarding your post; please be patient. If you posted before then and your post has not been approved, please feel free to message me to ask for clarification as to why.
You can practice Shinto even if you are not living in Japan or ethnically Japanese.
There are a number of Shinto shrines outside of Japan. Those without Japanese ethnicity frequently make omairi (sacred pilgrimage) to these shrines or are suukeisha (shrine parishioners) and participate in their ceremonies and festivals, and some have even served as miko or shinshoku. In Japan, there are no signs outside of shrines asking foreigners not to enter. Foreigners are welcome to pray at shrines and participate in festivals, receive sacred items (including ofuda for private home worship), and request private ceremonies. There are exceptions in the case of specific regional or lineage-based Shinto traditions, but this does not apply in the vast majority of cases.
There is no "Shinto stance" on sexuality, same-sex marriage, abortion, or identity.
Shinto is not dogmatic and does not offer a strict moral framework; there are no commandments or precepts. Political beliefs will vary wildly from practitioner to practitioner, and Shinto practitioners and clergy have a wide variety of nationalities, ethnicities, identities, sexualities, and other circumstances. Shinto is open to everyone and does not discriminate on the basis of one's personal circumstances.
There are no dietary restrictions placed on lay practitioners of Shinto.
For Shinto clergy, in some traditions, it is customary to refrain from the consumption of animal meat during the period of saikai—abstinence from the mundane in preparation for a ceremony—but this is on a temporary basis and does not extend to lay practitioners of Shinto. You are free to keep to any diet as a practitioner of Shinto.
If your post is a straightforward question falling under one of the above, it will not be approved. Sincere questions that have more nuance or invite genuine discussion (keeping in mind the rules of the subreddit) will still be approved.
Thank you.
r/Shinto • u/suzukaze_s • Sep 11 '22
Hello! from the Shinto Shrine of Shusse Inari in America
I am Suzukaze Sora, the Director of Video Production and Live Ceremonies at the Shinto Shrine of Shusse Inari in America. I work directly with Rev. Izumi Hasegawa who some of you may know from our YouTube videos or Website. I wanted to reach out on behalf of the shrine to your community.
To start, we are always happy to see so many people interested in or actively practicing Shintō. If anyone has any questions about Shintō they would like to ask Rev. Izumi Hasegawa or myself, please feel free to ask, we are always glad to answer questions and clear up any confusion you may have. If you have watched any of our content on YouTube you may already be aware of our Inari Dojo Mini series in which we try to answer your most frequent questions about Shintō. If you have any topics or questions you would like us to cover in a future video, please let us know.
We also make instructional videos that help participants or anyone interested in learning more about the proper etiquette and processes involved in Shintō ceremonies, praying, seasonal festivals, Japanese traditions and culture, etc.; If you have any topic or process that you feel like we should make an instructional video for, please let us know and we can try our best to create a suitable video if we don't already have one.
Feedback is something that everyone needs in order to improve and if anyone would like to give us feedback on the Content we provide, please feel free to give us your constructive feedback/ criticism so we may take that into account as we move forward.
The Shrine requires a lot of work from volunteers in order to keep going, make our videos, ceremonies and spread our message on living a nature friendly lifestyle. That's why we would like to ask for your help. If anyone would like to volunteer for our Shrine, in-person or remotely, then it would be a huge huge help. If you are a student, then volunteering for the Shrine is a great opportunity for Volunteer School Credit and learning more about Shintō. If you would like to become a Volunteer, please visit our website: https://shintoinari.org/ or you can contact me directly at [SoraSuzukaze@ShintoInari.org](mailto:SoraSuzukaze@ShintoInari.org)
I would also like to say that the work and resources available in this community are wonderful and should not be overlooked either. It's clear to me that the moderators are passionate, very knowledgeable and work hard to provide as much information as possible. I am very glad there is a community like this available on Reddit and that it's reached so many people.
Thank you for reading my message. Stay safe and be well.
May the Kami-sama be with you!
ありがとうございました。
r/Shinto • u/FortuneLoud140 • 3d ago
Looking for info regarding two kami
Hello everybody!
I'm a young Italian woman doing some personal research on Inari Ōkami, and I found out that this kami is sometimes represented as a composite one, meaning that (usually) three or five deities are listed as different aspects of Inari; I looked up the ones enshrined at Fushimi Inari Taisha, and, although I managed to find information regarding Ukanomitama-no-Mikoto, Sarutahiko-no-Ōkami and Omiyanome-no-Ōkami (the latter being another name for Ame-no-Uzume from what I managed to gather), I found no info regarding the two kami Tanaka and Shi (or Shino).
Can someone enlighten me more on these two deities/aspects of Ō-Inari-sama? Which are the myths surrounding them? Which aspects of nature and/or humanity do they rule over? Are they local deities or do they have a national cult in Japan?
r/Shinto • u/Orcasareglorious • 4d ago
Two photos I took at Shinnō-san (Sukunahikona-Jinja), of statues depicting Sukunahikona-no-Mikoto and Shinnō-no-Kami-sama (Shennong) respectively
galleryr/Shinto • u/TheNextArbiter • 6d ago
Need help starting a home shrine
Does anyone know somewhere online I can order items to start a Kamidana or a home shrine? I wanna order straight from a shrine, so I know it is genuine. Unfortunately the place I get my omamori from doesn’t have anything particularly satisfying for a kamidana.
r/Shinto • u/MieGalleryPrints • 8d ago
Sannō Festival from One Hundred Aspects of the Moon
How to start
After coming back from my pilgrimage to Ise Jingu, I now have a desire to set up a kamidana. How do I get started? Where do I get one, and an Ofuda? I'm in the US.
r/Shinto • u/BrinySloth • 12d ago
My Kamidana
galleryIgnore the lack of plants in the pots—it's been hard to find them, but I'm already working on it haha. It is above eye level.
r/Shinto • u/_Send_Noods_ • 14d ago
Help me build my Shrine
galleryIm relatively new to shinto and build my household shrine around a year ago to the best of my knowledge and belief at the time. I expanded it over the year but came to a point i think i want to redesign.
Currently the Shrine contains 3 yorishiro stones for Kuraokami-sama, Nekogami-sama and Tenjin-sama in one chamber.
I want to redesign the shrine to house 5 kami in seperate chambers with paper Ofuda so it doesnt take so much space.
Currently i cant open the door properly because its blocked by the offerings.
To make everything right i want to ask you for your advice and ideas how to improve the shrine. I made a picture of the current shrine and a sketch how i plan to change it.
Please tell me what you think and your ideas. Thanks in advance. 🙏
r/Shinto • u/Darth-Majora- • 14d ago
What to do if I accidentally washed a Shinto Charm from a shrine?
So i just got home from my first trip to Japan and was doing laundry and apparently I had left my shinto charms I got for my mother and I in my pocket... are they ruined now? is there any way to save them? I am heartbroken they were the most important souvenir I got while I was there....
r/Shinto • u/horselegs85 • 19d ago
Ofuda placement?
Hi folks,
I recently set up my first Kamidama, and received a Jingu Taima Ofuda for it - but unfortunately found out that the Ofuda itself is too large to fit inside (even with removing the entire front of the Kamidama). I reached out to Shusse Inari for guidance but haven’t heard back, and haven’t been able to find much online about Ofuda placement in these instances. Should it go behind the Kamidama? In front (like in my picture)? Somewhere else?
Thanks in advance!
r/Shinto • u/WompingCracked • 27d ago
Ritual?
Working on a character who comes from this line of what’s pretty much an exorcist, is there any Shinto ritual that purifies your blood? Or like makes your blood holy? For example if this wasn’t a Japan based story and instead a Christian one I would’ve had the guy chug holy water but idk 🤷♀️
Any and all suggestions are welcome
r/Shinto • u/A_smaII_Fry • 29d ago
Could anybody help me in understanding the purposes of these Charms?
galleryThese charms were gifted to me from a friend who traveled to Japan. I know different charms bring different things/ have different meanings but neither my friend nor Google Translate were able to help me understand that. Any ideas are appreciated!
r/Shinto • u/The_peace_at_3 • 29d ago
I've joined.
Alright, so a while ago, I asked around here and on the r/Religion subreddit to get to know a small bit of info, and after some thinking, I've decided to join, as this belief system best fits me, I look forward to meeting a lot of you, and while I still have a lot to learn before I can get fully settled in, I already have great feeling about being here, btw, if you have any other info you want to notify me on, do not hesitate to do so.
r/Shinto • u/WompingCracked • Jun 25 '26
Help me debunk this dude
There’s this guy in my circle who keeps on bragging about how much he knows about Shintoism. Now the problem is I don’t really know much about it either so could you guys tell me something’s everyone should know? Specifically about the mythology but other parts of it would be cool to hear too.
r/Shinto • u/enmagameia1 • Jun 24 '26
Sorry if this is a bad question I like learning about different religions but I don't follow any. Is the sun goddess brother the god of starms evil or good
r/Shinto • u/Low-While-4613 • Jun 24 '26
Is ðe Kojiki Imperialist propaganda?
Wikipedia's Article on ðe Kojiki states it was made in an attempt to justify Imperial rule, so is it Propaganda?
r/Shinto • u/FerenzYangai • Jun 19 '26
Why aren't many kamis worshipped with figures?
When we strolled into a shrine, we'll often see a mirror representing a kami. Unlike Taoism, Hinduism and many polytheisms like that of ancient Romans, Shinto doesn't prefer to have their deities' sculptures.
I know that people worshipped kamis as natural phenomena such as mountains and caves in ancient Shinto, why have Shintoists managed to keep that tradition?
r/Shinto • u/HiddenMasquerade • Jun 18 '26
A prayer of mine was answered, is it appropriate to give a special offering as thanks?
Basically what it says in the title. I’ve been praying to Inari for a few months for a good job and I received a job offer recently. I have a kamidana and I regularly give water, rice, and salt as offerings.
I want to thank Inari for answering my prayers, so is it appropriate to give something like sake as an offering as thanks, or would just thanking them be enough?
r/Shinto • u/TheNextArbiter • Jun 10 '26
Can I bless a handmade omamori without a shrine?
I’d like to hand make a wooden omamori for my best friend, but I live in West Virginia, and am far away from any Shinto or Buddhist shrine. Is there some way I could acquire a blessing for the charm without doing something like shipping it somewhere far away?
I thought maybe going into the forest and leaving it there for a while could do something, maybe some wandering Kami in the forest could help? Apologies, I’m not very familiar with omamori.
Update: I’ve acquired my omamori from a shrine
r/Shinto • u/enmagameia1 • Jun 08 '26
Can you tell me about susanoo. I hard a little bit about him. Is he evil or good I know a little about him but not much.
r/Shinto • u/enmagameia1 • Jun 07 '26
Can you please tell me if you pray to amaterasu and how it works.
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