Pray Japanese Movie

[Eunice Beady]

Justhow exactly do you pray at a shrine?2023/10/11 06:54 I've been looking up guides for praying at Shinto shrines in Japan and while they get the basics right, they all seem to differ regarding the finer details.

For example some guides say you should ring the bell before the monetary offering, but some say you should do it afterwards. Some guides say your hands must be straight when praying but others mention the right hand should be lower than the left.

While all the guides recommended using a 5-yen coin, some mention that any old coin will do while others say to avoid so-and-so coin as it may be bad luck.

At least a few of the guides mentioned bowing after the temizuya ritual and finally one of the guides mentioned providing your name and address during your pray, something not even the guides from the official tourism organization mentioned.

Is there any truly 100% correct way for praying at a shrine? I don't wanna make a laughing stock in front of locals but the inconsistencies between guides just makes me very worried!by Sergio (guest)

Re: Just how exactly do you pray at a shrine?2023/10/11 07:43 As Uji says, there is no 100% strict way - you are way over thinking things.

Shines (and temples) are a great way of getting rid of 1 and 5 yen coins, but many people offer with 100's and even 500 yen coins.

I have seen the offset-hand option when praying, and it is a nice touch, but a tiny detail.

Also, some major sites include simple guides on the order/number for the ritual (Meiji shrine for example).

No one will make fun of you if you do things slightly differently.by JapanCustomToursrate this post as useful

Re: Just how exactly do you pray at a shrine?2023/10/11 08:11 It is also nice to know that lots of Japanese people are confused about how to pray. It is not even rare to hear people clap at temples...

by Ujirate this post as useful

Re: Just how exactly do you pray at a shrine?2023/10/11 08:50 It is not even rare to hear people clap at temples...

Well, I don't know about other people, but clapping hands at buddist temples would be one thing that would make people's heads turn here in Japan.

And back to the question, yes, details differ depending on the shrine. A lot of times, the procedure is written on a board at the spot (often in Japanese language, but also often with illustrations).by Ucorate this post as useful

Then in walked two elderly gentlemen, unescorted and looking lost. They were dressed in suits and ties, as though they were presenters, but no one was there to greet them. Software Guy and I stepped into the vacuum and asked if we could help.

At this he had my full attention. Although I was raised in a non religious interfaith adoptive family, fourth generation unaffiliated on the Jewish side, though we stopped celebrating Passover when I was five and Grandma Paula Kriegman died, I was (and am) transported by religious and spiritual topics. I waited for him to continue.

Ito-san, Software Guy, and I understood Japanese. Ito-san and Mr. Less shared la langue Franaise. They invited Software Guy and me, by turns, to say something in Japanese, then Ito-san interpreted it simultaneously into French as Mr. Less interpreted the French immediately into English. The multi-step transformation took a second or less. We were in language-geek heaven.

The first is that religion is the container for our spirituality. It provides a community with which and within which to practice our spirituality. We have used its vessel of liturgy to resist centuries of attempted erasure of our ceremonies/rituals, backstories/ legends, and offerings/communal service.

The third idea is that spiritual practices inhabit multiple religions; they can transcend their religious containers and we can code-switch between them. When I learned about the blanket- wrapping ceremony held at a pow-wow to welcome back adult indigenous adoptees, I enfolded the image with that of the tallit, the prayer shawl, over which I recite the blessing for ba-tzittzit. The feeling of comfort and inclusion is the same.

I feel a solidarity with those struggling to come back from dispossession; I have tried to pursue tzedek by raising awareness among child welfare audiences about the history and implications of the landmark law, the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (the ICWA), that helped me find my father. I have given tzedakah to several organizations that mounted its defense in the U.S. Supreme Court. The public is familiar with notorious Indian boarding schools in North America but not the statistic that held through the 1970s prior to passage of the ICWA, that a quarter to a third of all children on reservations were removed for adoption and most placed in non-indigenous families.

One friend who is also part-indigenous and adopted into a family with no indigenous heritage, told me she prays in a manner she learned after reuniting with her Passamaquoddy birth-father: burning sage smudge before hiking her ancestral Wabanaki hills in Maine.

The incense smoke carries her and my prayers upwards with or without words: Native American and Jewish ancestors understood this. But this is not the full answer to the question, what language do I pray in?

There are broad labels for events like the Babylonian Exile, the Destruction of the Second Temple, and the Holocaust that may have imprinted intergenerational trauma on one side of my family. On the other side there are also the Trail of Tears, Wounded Knee, and federal policies of child removal which represent the grim shared experience of Native American and Jewish histories: physical and cultural genocide.

Infamously, the U.S. 7th Cavalry, which may have been nursing resentments for their defeat under Custer by an alliance of three tribal nations, opened fire on an encampment of children, women, and mostly elderly men near a bend in the Wounded Knee River, where Ghost Dancers congregated. Hundreds were buried at Wounded Knee in a mass grave.

Then, by what language, I am no longer asking what literal language like my halting Hebrew or Tsalagi Gawonihisdi. Now my answer is that I pray in a cultural language. It is fluent in historic indigeneity to Jerusalem and Israel for my Jewish lineage, and to the Old South of Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina where I have cousins from my Cherokee lineage (and possibly some Choctaw).

Still, sometimes I pray with a wink to a companionable trickster because we are celebrants of successful resistance to erasure. Mostly I pray in a portable spirituality tied to nature and people right here in exile with me. This is the cultural language I pray in.

throw a few coins into the Saisenbako (a wooden box) quietly. The amount of the money is not important, just do what you think is appropriate. However 5 yen or 50 yen is considered to be numbers with good luck.

Clap twice means that to push out your two hands, put the palms together, put the left hand a bit higher than the right hand (left hand representing god, right hand representing yourself), move your two hands to a distance almost equal to the width of your shoulder, clap your hands for twice. After clapping your hands for twice, put your palms together once again make the pray. Drop your both hands.

Before praying at shrines, you need to purify yourself with clear water that is prepared at Chozuya. It is a water pavilion that can be found at any shrines where you can purify your mouth and hands. Here are the basic steps to follow;

While dressing in traditional attire is not a requirement for any shrine, some take the opportunity to do so when visiting some of the larger shrines. In these locations you can often feel connected to Japanese culture and history, and wearing kimono can elevate that experience. The most common way is to rent a kimono so that you can enjoy your time at the shrine while not worrying about carrying around any luggage or bags. Check it out!

Once you enter the shrine ground, it is considered as a sacred place that is separated from our world. Torii is a symbolic gate that plays a role to separate the two different worlds. Some people bow in front of it to show their respect as they pass through it.

If you want to follow more detailed rules strictly, there is one that even Japanese people forget sometimes. The main approach (called Sando in Japanese), a pathway that connects the Torii gate to the main shrine, is believed that the God passes through the center of it. So visitors have to walk on either side!

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There are many people in Japan who still get confused about what to do when visiting shrines and temples. While the prayers given at a shrine and temple may be similar, they each have their own procedures. Here is a quick and simple explanation on what to do at each place when praying.

If you would like to learn about shinto offerings, please read "What are Shinto Offerings?" and you may also be interested in reading "Omamori: A Guide to Japanese Amulets". Those interested in zen experiences in Japan may find the following article helpful: "Zen Experiences: A Guide to Temple Stays in Japan".

*Although many temples do not allow the general public to ring the bell, if there is a notice permitting this, feel free to do so. It is meant to get the attention of the gods and inform them you have come to visit.

Place your palms together and bow once at a 45 to 90 degree angle. At this time, offer your prayers. There is no hand clapping at temples as compared to shrines. After you are done with your prayers, bow lightly before leaving the main hall.

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