Natalia Ciuchta

Fushimi Inari Shrine (Fushimi Inari Taisha) is an important Shinto shire. It is located in southern part of Kyoto. It is famous for the thousands vermilion torii gates, which surround the paths behind the temple. The paths lead into the forest of the sacred Mount Inari. The temple is the most important of several thousands of shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. We can see there many of fox statues. The reason of this is that foxes are thought to be Inari’s messengers. The foxes often hold the key in their mouths. They symbolize the keys to the granaries. At the very back of the shrine's main grounds is the entrance to the torii gate-covered hiking trail. It starts with two compact, parallel rows of gates called Senbon Torii ("thousands of torii gates"). The gates along the trail are are donations by individuals and companies whose names and dates of donation you will find inscribed on the back of each gate.The cost starts around 400,000 yen for a smal...

The Japanese tea ceremony, Chanoyu, is a choreographic ritual unique to Japan that features preparing and serving green tea-Matcha. The ready infusion is served together with traditional Japanese sweets to balance with the bitter taste of the tea. During this ceremony preparing tea means pouring all one's attention into the predefined movements. The whole event is not about drinking tea. It is about aesthetics, preparing a bowl of tea from one's heart. The host of the ceremony always performs every movement and gesture with a thought about guests. Even the placement of the tea utensils is considered from the guests' viewpoint, especially the main guests called the Shokyaku. Everything is done in a traditional clothing.   A full-length ceremony takes about 4 hours and includes a meal and two servings of tea. In Zen philosophy, the tea ceremony is a spiritual process during the participants remove themselves from the mundane world, seeking harmony and inner peace. Pla...

Shinto is a major religion in Japan alongside Buddhism and it does not have a founder. The literally meaning of Japanese word "Shinto" is "the way of the gods". Also, Shinto has sacred scriptures like the sutras in Buddhism or the Bible in Christianity. The Shinto gods are called "kami" and they are represented as sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life like wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers etc. Humans become kami after they die. The number of Shinto's gods is about 8 million or even more because everything that is unusual like a really big tree can be a god. The most important "kami" is the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. One of the Shinto myths says that her great-grandson was the first emperor of Japan. Sun Goddess Amaterasu. The most important and sacred shrine – Ise Jingu. This shire is dedicated to Goddess Amaterasu. sources: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2056.html h...