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2006-01-02
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2006's start - Hakusan jinja, Niigata, Japan
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2006's start - Hakusan jinja, Niigata, Japan

"a group of people standing in front of a red sign"

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Comments for: 2006's start - Hakusan jinja, Niigata, Japan
TommyT Report This Comment
Date: January 02, 2006 04:00AM

After congratulations I went "Hatsu-moude" to Hakusan Jinja (Hakusan Shinto shrine), one of famous Shinto shrine in Niigata city. There are terrible traffic jam ONLY famous Jinja's circumference. People were jamming too...
...But...Bus was quite empty...??? Now Japan is private automobile's society.

"Hatsu-moude" is one of Japanese new year day's event. Visit a Jinja and pray new year's happy or lucky or hope etc.
Vistit a Jinja from new year day's eve (Dec. 31) to new year's day (Jan. 1) say "Ninen-mairi" or "Ninen-moude" (Two years visit).
"Ninen"="Two years", "moude" and "mairi" = "Visit a Jinja"

[Jinja (Shinto shrine)]
From Wikipedia. ( [en.wikipedia.org] )

A jinja is a Shinto shrine and its surrounding natural area. In common usage, jinja often refers to the buildings of a shrine. Unlike a church or a mosque, a jinja traditionally has neither characteristics of a chapel nor a place for propagation; its sole purpose is for the enshrinement and worship of a Kami. In recent centuries, especially significant kami have come to be enshrined throughout Japan.

It is believed that a jinja had originally been only a temporary shrine constructed for a periodical matsuri at a sacred place such as a mountain or cave. This was because it had been believed that kami would move around as much as any animal, and could not be confined. Okinawa's Utaki retains some of these beliefs.

However, after a permanent shrine called a Shaden was built, it was reasoned that a kami would take residence inside a jinja. Some believe that the practice of constructing shaden is from Buddhism; even today, many jinja from ancient times do not have shaden, but only a place to pray while looking out to a sacred place or a specific area which must not be entered.

etc...

About [Japanese Shinto], please read here.
[en.wikipedia.org]