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Throughout the year, there are many Shinto holidays and festivals that are celebrated in shrines all around Japan and the world. These holidays help to give structure to the year and provide space to practice Shinto traditions.
Oshogatsu (January 1) – This is the Shinto New Year Festival. New Year is an incredibly important time for people who follow Shinto. Starting from December, and sometimes stretching as far as February, there are many parties and rituals held for people to rid themselves of the previous year’s impurities and pray to the kami for a successful year ahead.
Setsubun (February 2 - 4) – In the old Japanese calendar, this festival in early February marks the end of winter. People at home throw beans to expel bad fortune and encourage good. Shinto priests wear traditional costumes and hold a procession of purification for those who visit the shrine.
Haru Matsuri – There are many spring festivals in Japan that coincide with the traditional planting season for rice. These include prayers for a successful harvest and can involve Shinto priests performing purification rituals on the many people who come to take part in the festival.
Natsu Matsuri – A collective term for the various summer festivals held all over Japan, usually between July and August. Traditionally, they were held to pray for the protection of the harvest, to ward off disease, or to worship the kami.
Nagoshi no Harae (June 30) – Held on the last day of June, this festival takes place for the purification of agricultural workers. The purification ritual used in this festival includes the people walking through a sacred ring of rope made of miscanthus reeds.
Aki Matsuri – Autumn festivals in Shinto take place during the harvest season between September and November. During this festival, people come together to offer thanks for the incoming harvest.
Niiname-sai (November 23) – On the 23rd of November, the first cuttings of the harvest are offered at shrines. This festival is very old and incredibly important, with the Emperor of Japan and other leaders giving the offerings every year. It coincides with the national holiday of Labor Thanksgiving Day.
Source: https://www.twinkl.com/teaching-wiki/shinto
The purpose of this portal is to bring together in one place a variety of information about Shinto for those who want to learn about this Japanese traditional religion. It is operated by the Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University, Japan.
The Encyclopedia of Shinto Online, an English translation of Shinto Jiten edited by the Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics and published by Kobundo in 1994.
Glossary
An online version of a booklet that provides a brief exposition of selected terms related to Shinto. This was compiled for the convenience of participants in the IXth International Congress for the History of Religions.
Glossary of Shinto Names and Terms
This hypertext glossary is intended to assist readers of the IJCC's online publications by providing plain-English translations and descriptions of basic Shinto names and terms.
Books and Papers
Articles in Translation 双方向論文翻訳
A database containing translations from foreign languages into Japanese and vice versa of research papers on Shinto and Japanese religion.
Contemporary Papers on Japanese Religion
This series is a collection of studies on Japanese religion translated from Japanese into English. Topics include "Matsuri: Festival and Rite in Japanese Life," "New Religions," "Folk Belief in Modern Japan," and "Kami."
Cultural Identity and Modernization in Asian Countries
Proceedings of the Kokugakuin University Centennial Symposium, "Cultural Identity and Modernization in Asian Countries" held in 1983. The symposium explored the possibilities of applying the concept of kokugaku toward new programs of contemporary research and increase academic and cultural exchange with other Asian countries.
Globalization and Indigenous Culture
Based on the accounts of an international symposium, "Globalization and Indigenous Culture" sponsored by IJCC in 1996, as part of its activities undertaken to commemorate the Institute's fortieth anniversary.
Religion in Modern Asia Newsletter (online)
Online newsletters published by IJCC from 1992 to 1998 with the aim of encouraging and promoting the timely exchange of information regarding religion and belief systems in modern Asia among scholars and researchers.
Pictures
Images of Shinto: A Beginner's Pictorial Guide
This website is a pictorial guide to Shinto intended to familiarize beginners with the religion. By clicking on the pictures beginners can access information on terms of Shinto.
Nijūnisha (The 22 Shrines) Image collection 二十二社写真データベース
This database holds photos of Shinto shrines. Currently available for public view are photos of the Nijūnisha (二十二社, the "Twenty-two Shrines" patronized by the imperial court during the Heian period).
Ichinomiya Image Collection 一宮写真データベース
This database comprises images of Shinto shrines. Currently available for public view are images of Ichinomiya from throughout Japan(一宮, literally: the "first shrine" regarded as the tutelary shrine for the entire province).
Chronological Tables
Chronological Supplement in Encyclopedia of Shinto
A translation of the chronology appended to Shinto Jiten (Encyclopedia of Shinto), which was compiled and edited by IJCC. The entries are divided into four categories: "Institutions/Laws," "Shrines/Organizations," "Personalities/Texts," and "Society."
A Brief Chronological Table of Shinto History
This chronological table is an appendix of EOS. It is beta version, and still is under development.
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