Name: Japan: Where Gods Aren't Gods and Worshipers Aren't Religious (Shinto Explained)
Uploaded: 2020-03-21T08:41:35.000Z
Duration: 22 min 2 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Past simple

Hello World. If you've ever been to Japan or watched anime or dramas,

You might have come across gates like these.

They're torii, which are the entrances to jinja

and jinja are sacred spaces and the seats of kami.

OK, so those are three new terms to learn.

happens to write just a little bit about Shinto traditional practices.

And before you start furiously typing in the comments

about why I chose to interview some random British dude about Shinto,

Chāto-san is actually a naturalized Japanese,

works as the English translator for Jinja Honchō,

and writes extensively about Shinto on his blog Mimusubi.

OK, so, the torii is the gates that you see all over the place

why don't we go inside and have a look around.

Sure, I think one question that viewers might have

is can anyone off the street just walk on in?

Yeah, you don't need an appointment to go and visit a jinja

and you can just go in as you're going past.

So, the torii marks the outer boundary of the sacred space.

So this is a good place to straighten your tie and get ready to go in.

Most people bow slightly before they pass through the torii.

It's a natural way to express respect for the kami.

they have a playground where kids are playing.

And another one seems to be popular with office space workers where they go there for their lunch break,

Right, inside the sacred space you have to show respect for the kami,

but playing and eating are not necessarily disrespectful.

and some larger jinja ask you not to eat inside to avoid the litter.

If you're at the jinja to pay respects to the kami,

You follow the sacred path, sandō in Japanese, up to the sanctuaries.

The custom is to walk along one side, rather than up the center.

Some people say that's because the center is reserved for the kami.

I've actually made a video about how in Japan, you usually walk on the left-hand side,

just like when you're driving, you drive on the left-hand side.

When you're at a jinja, does that same general rule apply?

If the jinja's not really busy, it doesn't really matter which side you walk up.

If the jinja is busy, you just follow the flow of people.

the handrail is at the center of the stairs,

which makes it natural to walk on one side or the other.

So one thing that seems to be a common feature is climbing up stairs.

It's true. A lot of jinja are built on higher ground.

I think it's to do with the separation of the kami and the sacred space.

So a lot of jinja do have a flight of stairs up to the sanctuaries.

Fortunately these days, almost all jinja have another way to get there.

At this one, you can go along the road over there, and come in at the back through the car park.

And right here, we're actually at a water station.

So purification, called "oharai" or "misogi", is a very important part of Shinto.

And you're definitely supposed to purify yourself before you go and pay your respects to the kami.

that if you don't purify yourself, they would prefer you not to come at all.

It's like taking your shoes off before you go into a Japanese home. You're not supposed to bring dirt in with you.

Now, I wouldn't like to say that taking your shoes off before you go into a home is part of Shinto,

So, to purify yourself, you take the ladle in your right hand.

Pour a little over your left hand to rinse it.

And use the remaining water to rinse the ladle, before you put it back.

That's interesting, because, you did it really nicely.

I've noticed that not everyone does it just in the same manner that you did?

Right, the official way to do it is a little bit complicated,

and not all the Japanese people remember it.

As long as your rinse both hands and your mouth, and you don't put your mouth to the ladle,

that's good enough to keep the priests happy.

- So, another torii, so I normally bow again. - OK.

And you don't have to do that if there's a whole tunnel of torii though.

OK, that's good to know, because I've seen those tunnels of torii,

and I always thought, like do you have to bow at each one?

Um... OK, we've washed up, what do we do next?

Well, next, we go to the prayer hall, which is just over there

So, people normally pay their respects just in front of the prayer hall,

where there's a box for offerings and often a bell with a rope.

You shake the rope to ring the bell, and you throw your offering into the box.

It really doesn't matter which order you do that in.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Japan: Where Gods Aren't Gods and Worshipers Aren't Religious (Shinto Explained)

practice

matter

spectacular

treat