Kushida-jinja (櫛田神社) (Fukuoka, Japan – June 2013)

Posted on October 28th, 2021 under Japan. Tags: fukuoka, gohei, kushida jinja, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, omikuji, shimenawa, shinto. Comments Off on 櫛田神社

Posted on March 29th, 2017 under Japan. Tags: gohei, meiji jingu, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, shimenawa, shinto, Tokyo. Comments Off on 明治神宮

Shinto (神道) priest @ Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社)

Posted on October 23rd, 2014 under Japan. Tags: gohei, miyajima, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, people, shimenawa, shinto. Comments Off on Miyajima Shinto Priest

Morning prayer service in a Buddhist temple (Fudoin on Koyasan)

I have witnessed many Shinto and Buddhist rituals, but my night on Koyasan was my first experience actually participating in one (other than carrying the omikoshi during a Shinto procession). The night I was there the shukubo had two other parties of gaijin and three or four parties of native Japanese. We all attended the prayer service led by the young Buddhist monks in the morning. Although you didn’t need to speak or understand Japanese to participate, I was the only one of the gaijin who did more than watch. Maybe the others were Christian and felt like they would be betraying their faith. In any event, it felt good to do more than just watch for once.

Posted on July 8th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: buddhist, fudoin, gohei, koyasan 高野山, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600. Comments Off on Time for church

Meiji Jingu (Tokyo, Japan)

Posted on April 8th, 2014 under Japan. Tags: gohei, meiji jingu, Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR G lens, Nikon D600, shimenawa. Comments Off on Shimenawa (Shinto rope) @ Meiji Jingu