PRAYER
Torii Gates
Torii is not just a landmark. It is a barrier that separates the secular world (everyday life) and the sacred realm (sacred area), and it is a spiritual switch.
When we pass through the torii gate, we straighten our clothes, bow once, and walk along the edge of the approach. While this is a greeting, it also serves as a spiritual switch to leave behind social titles and distractions, and step into the garden of God as a naked soul.
The reason why we walk along the edges of the approach to the shrine, rather than in the center, stems from our respect for the space in which the center is the path for the gods.
The Mirror
What is enshrined behind the door of the main shrine in the innermost part of the shrine is not a glittering Buddha statue or idol, but often a single mirror. Rather than seeing the image of God, worshipers face their own reflection in the mirror.
This expresses the essence of Shinto: ``God does not reside in the distant sky, but resides in your heart.'' As the wordplay suggests, if you remove the ``ga (ego)'' from the Japanese word ``kagami'' (mirror), it becomes ``kami'' (god), and shrines are places where people can abandon their egoism in front of a mirror and regain their pure self (divinity).
OTENTOSAMA
Even outside of shrines, there are beliefs that underpin the discipline of the Japanese people. That is "Otendo-sama (The Sun)". From an early age, Japanese people are taught strictly, ``Even if no one is looking, Otendo-sama is watching!'' You can fool humans and the law, but you can't fool the sun (the god of nature) in the sky. This teaching creates an inner surveillance camera in the heart of each Japanese person. It is only in a place where you don't have to worry about anyone's eyes that you act in a way that is consistent with your conscience.
This mentality of ``Being right when no one is looking'' may be the root of Japan's public safety, where wallets are delivered to police boxes and there are relatively few riots even during disasters.
Eternal Youth
Once every 20 years, Ise Grand Shrine renovates its main shrine building and holds a ``Shikinen Sengu'' ceremony to honor the deity. This is the prayer of Tokowaka, who seeks to maintain holiness forever by keeping the space clean and fresh. In contrast to the West, which tries to preserve ``materials'' forever, Japan deliberately uses perishable wood and rebuilds buildings regularly, thereby ensuring that the ``skills'' and ``spirit'' of shrine carpenters are passed on to the next generation in perfect form. Buildings are always new, but their essence remains the same since time immemorial. The dismantled wood is not thrown away, but is "reused" at shrines across the country. It can be said to be the wisdom that weaves eternity by circulating prayer, technology, resources, and everything else.
THE EMPEROR
The Japanese Imperial Family is the oldest existing royal family in the world. It is said to be a "miracle" in human history that one family line has continued without exception for 126 generations and over 2,000 years, from the age of myths to the present day. The core of our work is not to rule by force, but rather to ``pray'' to God as descendants of Amaterasu Omikami for the peace and good harvest of the people.
Even though the people in power changed, Japan remained undivided for more than 2000 years because the Emperor remained the same as the person we prayed to. Its very existence is part of Japanese history itself.
