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David Chart

The Future of Gokoku Jinja

The Gokoku Jinja (護國神社) are, as I have mentioned before, local jinja enshrining the war dead. Basically, there is one per prefecture, but there are some prefectures without one (including Kanagawa, where I live, and Tokyo), and others with two or more, so there are 52 in total. These jinja are all members of an association, and the August 4th issue of Jinja Shinpō included a long round-table interview with the chairman and two vice-chairmen of the association: Revd Izumi, chief priest of Hyōgo-ken Himeji Gokoku Jinja (兵庫縣姫路護國神社), Revd Takenaka,… Read More »The Future of Gokoku Jinja

Praying for Peace

The July 28th issue of Jinja Shinpō had an article about prayers for peace in Shimanë Prefecture, on the Japan Sea coast of western Japan. These were organised by a group bringing together twenty Shinto jinja and Buddhist temples in the historic Izumo Province (出雲国), which forms the eastern part of the contemporary prefecture. About 150 people gathered at Izumo Ōyashiro (出雲大社) on 22nd June. The group was set up to bring people together across the lines of religion and denomination, to show the world the importance of a “wa”… Read More »Praying for Peace

Remembering the War

Today, 15th August 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Japan. (In Japan, the war is held to have ended on the day when Shōwa Tennō made a broadcast speech announcing, with masterly understatement, that the war had “taken a turn not necessarily to Japan’s advantage”.) This is a major event for the Shinto establishment. There has been a series of articles in Jinja Shinpō, one a week for the last year, introducing individuals enshrined in each prefectural Gokoku Jinja (護國神社), the local jinja… Read More »Remembering the War

Silk for Sacred Treasures

In the Shikinen Sengū (式年遷宮) at Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮), the rebuilding of the sanctuary buildings gets almost all of the attention. There are a couple of reasons for this, I think. One is that the sanctuary buildings are the only part that visitors can see — although even their visibility is limited. The other is that almost all of the traditional rituals that happen before the transfer itself are connected to rebuilding the sanctuaries, including the ones I have already described on this blog. This indicates that it was always… Read More »Silk for Sacred Treasures

More on Tree Transport

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the delivery of the sacred timber to Isë Jingū (伊勢神宮). However, the July 21st issue of Jinja Shinpō (神社新報) devoted its entire back page to more details of what happened along the way, so I am going to write about it again. There were a lot of matsuri involved. The earlier article covered what happened in Nagano, the starting point for one set of timber. That truck then made its way through Aichi Prefecture, where there were fourteen events and ceremonies along the… Read More »More on Tree Transport

Reasons for Optimism

A few weeks ago, a reader left a comment noting that I was optimistic about the future of Shinto. This is true, and there are reasons for that, despite all the problems at Jinja Honchō, the shortage of priests, and the declining population of Japan. I should be clear that I do not think that every jinja in Japan will survive into the future. Indeed, I know they will not. Some have already been merged, and there was an article in Jinja Shinpō a few years ago about a group… Read More »Reasons for Optimism