Shinto shrine

A Shinto shrine (jinja) in America, written from the small Japanese American shrines that survive in Hawaii, such as Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha–Dazaifu Tenmangu, the Izumo Taishakyo Mission and Hilo Daijingu, most of them branches holding a divided spirit of a head shrine in Japan. There are very few: about seven in Hawaii, down from some sixty before the war, a priest-led shrine in Los Angeles, and a handful of small independents; Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America closed its Washington grounds in 2023, and its kami went to British Columbia. A shrine is not a congregation. People come one by one through the day, pass under the torii, rinse at the chozuya, drop a coin in the offertory box, bow twice, clap twice and bow, and go; some buy an amulet, hang an ema, or book a prayer. A small core of supporters comes to the monthly rite, the tsukinamisai, on the 1st and the 15th, and hatsumode brings thousands over the first three days of the year. There is no sermon and no weekly service: the shrine's week is its open hours, and its rites are the monthly rite and the festivals.The money comes per service: the offertory box, amulets and talismans from the shrine office, prayers (kito) for a newborn, a bad-luck year or a new business, the 7-5-3 rite in November, blessings of houses, building sites and cars, and weddings before the kami; supporters belong to a sukeikai and pay dues. Death is kept away from the shrine, so funerals are held at a Buddhist temple. One priest, the guji, trained and ranked in Japan and here on a religious-worker visa, usually keeps a shrine with a spouse in the office, and losing the priest can close it; a few Hawaii shrines are kept by volunteers alone. Each shrine is an independent nonprofit with a lay board: no American shrine was found to belong to the Association of Shinto Shrines. Practice varies from shrine to shrine (Kotohira keeps its monthly rite on a Sunday, Izumo on the 10th), and much here is unverified.

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it and what sets its faith apart; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Shinto
Its words	shrine, shrine, haiden; the chief priest leads the ceremony; the address; Sunday; the norito
Worship	image focus, reserved, moderate formality (0.67 of 1); seated on pews
Music	organ discouraged; gospel organ discouraged; piano discouraged; choir discouraged; band discouraged; brass discouraged; handbells discouraged; song leader discouraged
The room's sound	no strong preference
Its year	shinto; full observance; fasts none
Leans	neutral on moral questions, neutral on economic ones
Polity	congregational; leaders come by call; property local
Leaders	one leader, full time, trained by seminary; marriage any
Belonging	low commitment, none discipline, admitted by board
Giving	tithing not emphasised; collected by dues, boxes; also amulets
Way of life	alcohol permitted, dress casual, sabbath relaxed, no funerals

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Every day	8:00 am to 5:00 pm	Shrine visits (open hours: people come when they like, one by one, 5% as often in a day as to a main service, and stay 15 minutes; visitors who don't belong come too, 2.5 times a week's newcomers each day; it plays quickly)	the laity	expected

Leader: none needed: the laity lead every service, so no chief priest is missed.
No funerals: a member's funeral is held elsewhere, with no fee, and no funeral rites are kept here.

Rites

Kitō (on request, +0.02 to those there, $100 from the household, asked for 1 times a year by a household, 30 minutes): A prayer service for one person or family before the kami: the priest purifies them and offers a norito prayer for their wish (safety in a bad-luck year, success, health, a safe birth), and they offer a sprig of sakaki. They take home an amulet or a talisman, and give the shrine the offering it asks.
Shichi-Go-San (on request, +0.03 to those there, $120 from the household, asked for 0.15 times a year by a household, 20 minutes): "Seven-five-three": children of three, five (boys), and seven (girls) are brought to the shrine in their best clothes in the days up to 15 November, to thank the kami for their health and pray for their growth. The priest prays for each, and the child takes home chitose-ame, long sticks of candy for a long life.
House blessing (on request, +0.02 to those there, $200 from the household, asked for 0.1 times a year by a household, at home (45 minutes and half an hour's journey each way)): The priest goes to a new house, or ground about to be built on, to purify it and pray to the kami for those who will live there: a small altar is set up, offerings are made, and salt, water, and the haraegushi wand are carried through the rooms. The family gives a larger offering than for a prayer at the shrine.
Car blessing (on request, +0.01 to those there, $50 from the household, asked for 0.25 times a year by a household, 15 minutes): A new car is driven to the shrine, and the priest purifies it in the car park and prays for the driver's safety on the road; a traffic-safety amulet goes on the mirror.
Shinto wedding (shinzen kekkon) (on request, +0.02 to those there): A couple marries before the kami in the haiden: the priest purifies them and those with them, reads the norito announcing the marriage to the kami, and the couple share three sips from each of three cups of sake (san-san-kudo), read their vows, and offer tamagushi; the families drink together to join. The bride often in white kimono, the groom in black; a miko may dance. The couple gives the shrine an offering.

Joining

Joining: a content regular is received as a supporter after about 4 weeks.
Joining age: 18.
Kinds of belonging: sukeikai members (votes, may hold office); worshippers; received by its board.
What it means: being received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home at each of its great days (at most once a month) for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the offering, by dues, and boxes. With no plate passed, members give a tenth less at the boxes than they would into one, and visitors give nothing at the service.
Tithing isn't emphasised: people give 10% less.
Dues: each November member households take up their dues, about 35% of what they could give (±15%), with the chance a pledge would be made (0.9 × engagement), and pay them monthly, nearly always; regulars who haven't joined pay none.
Amulets: each visit to open hours buys amulets (charms, incense, fortune slips), about $4 a visit and half as much again on a feast day, once there's an amulet counter.
The box at open hours: each visit puts about $2 in it.
The week's offering: with no main service, a household that belongs gives what it would at one at its first visit of the week.
Rites asked for: households book 4 rites at the prices it lists, from $50 to $200 (below), members half as often again as regulars; the fees go to the prayer offerings line, in place of a flat stipend.
Fundraisers: any it allows (below).
Owed above: nothing.

The chief priest, the staff, and who decides

How the chief priest comes: advertised and called: the board of directors votes.
Paid: full time; housed by the congregation.
Candidates: scarce: two apply, and a search takes four months longer; trained at seminary; women among them (about a third); most married; the spouse has a recognized part (+0.01 to everyone after each service).
Tenure: settled, then may be called elsewhere; a son or daughter succeeds at once.
Ranks: Chokkai, Gonseikai, Seikai, Meikai; a candidate holds one by skill, and rises with the years.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational chief priest ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Chief priest ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate chief priest ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Miko (shrine maiden) ($8,000–$18,000; always a woman; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Shrine secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Negi (assistant priest) ($30,000–$48,000 + $12,000 benefits, full time; leads worship; performs the rites families book; cares for 40 more)
Its boards: the board of directors (deciding, over everything).
Renovations: The board of directors votes, consulting the chief priest.
New construction: The board of directors votes, consulting the chief priest.
Calling a leader: The board of directors votes.
Who votes: sukeikai members, 16 and over.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Aikido dojo, Children's festivals, Supporters' association, Taiko group.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Autumn festival, Booth at the bon dance, Mochitsuki.
Shared fundraisers it may hold: Auction, Bake sale, Bingo night, Car wash, Casino night, Raffle, Rummage sale, Shrine festival.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Dance classes, Japanese cultural classes, Parties and receptions, Wedding receptions.
Auxiliaries: Fujin-kai.
Outreach: none of its own: it doesn't seek converts, and newcomers come as the neighbourhood and its standing bring them.
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A blessing in another state, A funeral at the shrine?, A wedding for strangers, Cameras at the haiden, No one to follow the priest, The land and the last supporters, The same religion?.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A recruiter asks for the hall.

What the building needs

required Purification basinVisitors rinse their hands and mouth at the chozuya to purify themselves before they pray.
required Kami altarPrayers and offerings are made before the altar of the kami in the hall of worship, the haiden.
required Offertory boxA visitor rings the bell, drops a coin in the offertory box, bows twice, claps twice and bows again.
required ToriiThe torii marks the passage from the everyday world into the kami's precinct.
expected Amulet counterThe shrine office sells amulets, talismans for the home altar and fortunes: much of what keeps a shrine.
expected Ema rackVisitors write their wishes on wooden plaques, ema, and hang them for the kami.
expected HondenThe kami dwells in the inner sanctuary, the honden, behind the hall: closed, and entered only by the priest.
discouraged Drum kitA band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Upright pianoA piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Pipe organAn organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.028; Modern synagogue +0.046; Gurdwara +0.052; Japanese temple +0.056; Islamic +0.05; Shinto shrine +0.05; Chinese temple +0.044; Dravidian temple +0.038; Nagara temple +0.038; Thai temple +0.038; Jain marble +0.032; Gothic +0.026.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: in its season, the kadomatsu is worth up to ±0.027 (missing it, the minus); out of season, nothing is called for.
The address lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the chief priest's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
Open hours: a visit counts a quarter as much as a main service: the building and its worship room, and, for visitors, whether anyone welcomed them. People come at the hour that suits them, the retired twice as often, those of working age half as often on a weekday from nine to five; a visiting household that comes only to open hours takes six visits, not three, to settle in.

How each address lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
Care for Creation-0.02
Faith & Family-0.02
Faith of Our Fathers-0.02
Healing for All-0.02
Interfaith Understanding-0.02
Reading Scripture in Context-0.02
Resisting Temptation-0.02
Swords into Ploughshares-0.02
Welcome the Stranger-0.02
Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.03
Radical Inclusion-0.03
Sanctity of Life-0.03
Social Justice Call-0.03

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	+0.333
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Row of chairs	0
Liturgical furniture
Columbarium niches	+0.333
Honden	+0.5	expected The kami dwells in the inner sanctuary, the honden, behind the hall: closed, and entered only by the priest.
Kami altar	+0.5	required Prayers and offerings are made before the altar of the kami in the hall of worship, the haiden.
Lectern	no fit
Mediation seat	0
Mitama altar	0
Offertory box	+0.5	required A visitor rings the bell, drops a coin in the offertory box, bows twice, claps twice and bows again.
Pulpit	no fit
Music
Drum kit	-1	discouraged A band and drum kit do not belong in this tradition's worship.
Electronic organ	-1
Grand piano	-1
Hammond organ	-1	discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Handbell table	-1
Kagura instruments	0
Pipe organ	-0.333	discouraged An organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Sound system	-1
Taiko	0
Upright piano	-1	discouraged A piano doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Decor
Banner	0
Ema rack	+0.5	expected Visitors write their wishes on wooden plaques, ema, and hang them for the kami.
Eternal flame	no fit
Great dome	+0.333
Memorial plaque	no fit
National flag	0
Shimenawa	0
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	-1
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Amulet counter	+0.5	expected The shrine office sells amulets, talismans for the home altar and fortunes: much of what keeps a shrine.
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Pillar	+0.333
Projection screen	0
Shoe rack	0
Vestment cabinet	+0.333
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Kadomatsu	0
Kagura stage	0
Komainu	0
Playground	no fit
Purification basin	+0.5	required Visitors rinse their hands and mouth at the chozuya to purify themselves before they pray.
Shade tree	no fit
Torii	+0.5	required The torii marks the passage from the everyday world into the kami's precinct.

Sources

Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii, Wikipedia (link)
Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America, Wikipedia (link)
Tsubaki Grand Shrine closure, Unseen Japan (May 2023) (link)
David Chart, Shrine Shinto Confronts Internationalisation, Part One (2010) (link)
Green Shinto, Hawaii, revisited (link)
Shinto Shrine of Shusse Inari in America (link)
Hawaii Kotohira Jinsha–Hawaii Dazaifu Tenmangu, History (link)
How to become a kannushi, Gakken Kids Net (link)
Rituals and Symbols, Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii (link)
Events, Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii (link)
Blessings, Izumo Taishakyo Mission of Hawaii (link)
Kito request forms, Shusse Inari (link)