One day, I went to a shrine with my friend Kieko; it was located in her hometown. Almost immediately she climbed the stairs to complete the ritual of ringing the bell, tossing a coin, clapping twice, saying a prayer and bowing twice. I asked her to explain it to me and she told me that the noises call the attention of the gods to her prayer. As I asked her more questions about her religion, she couldn't really answer me. For example, we all waited outside the shrine for an hour while the elders went inside. I asked her what they were doing but she wasn't sure.
It seemed that most of the people weren't there for religious reasons only, it was a place where one could meet the neighbors. The shrine appeared to be more of a gathering place for the community, a type of glue that held generations together through one common bond.
2 comments:
Your first photo is interesting. What is the name of the shrine and where is it? Does it have its own web site?
I don't follow what you are saying in your second paragraph - is there a missing word?
Your friend certainly illustrates what we were discussing in class about the religious practices of young Japanese people. You might have mentioned the Reader article and/or the Bestor film we saw abut the community functions of shrines.
The Shrine's name is Hachiman Jinja(八幡神社. It is located in Terashima, Kakegawa-city, Shizuoka(寺島、掛川市、静岡. It isn't a very large shrine so it doesn't have web-site.
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