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Hundreds attend COVID-modified New Year's Shinto blessing

January 1, 2021

Hundreds received a New Year's blessing at Dajingu Temple of Hawaii n Nu'uanu on Friday morning. KITV4's Diane Ako was part of the ceremony - dressed as a "miko" or traditional priestess - helping sweep out the bad luck, and hopefully welcome in good fortune for 2021.

Reverend Akihiro Okada thanked the people who braved the slightly inclement weather and the pandemic to come out, and noted that they must really be interested in boosting their luck in the new year. "They have a lot of spirit. I can't believe people are still coming with this difficult situation...

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Sumo Coming — Well Almost — to Tokyo Olympics

February 4, 2020

Sumo is coming — well, almost coming — to the Tokyo Olympics.

Knowing it may have the world’s attention, the Japan Sumo Association and local Olympic organizers are planning a sumo tournament on Aug. 12-13, just days after the Olympics end.

The event was announced on Tuesday and is designed to bring more attention to the Japanese sport. It will be part of a local cultural festival and will take place at the Ryogoku Kokugikan arena, sumo’s spiritual home in east Tokyo.

Event organizers say the tournament will give visitors from overseas an opportunity to...

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Shintō in Boston

Though there are significant Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean immigrant communities in Greater Boston, East Asian traditions such as Confucianism, Daoism, and Shintō are difficult to survey as there are very few religious centers. These traditions are deeply imbedded in the unique history, geography, and culture of their native countries and are often practiced in forms that are not limited to institutional or communal settings.

Shintō

The Shintō tradition is deeply linked with the Japanese land and people. Spiritual...

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Thousands receive good luck Shinto blessing for new year 

January 2, 2020
About 5,000 people headed to a Nuuanu Shinto shrine on New Year's Day for a popular cultural tradition. They had a priest gives them blessings for the new year, and they could also buy good luck charms to keep that luck going through the year.
Organizers say the crowd was bigger than usual at the Daijingu Temple of Hawaii. Our Diane Ako volunteers there as a priestess or "miko" and spent part of the...
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Tsubaki Grand Shrine

Tsubaki Grand Shrine is located in Japan’s Mie prefecture, 300 miles west of Tokyo. It is one of the oldest Shinto Shrines in Japan, with a 2000 year history. The Tsubaki Grand Shrine is the first Shinto organization to have sent priests to the United States to maintain a shrine.

Tenrikyo

Tenrikyo, literally “the Religion of Heavenly Truth,” is a Japanese new religion with a strong Shinto orientation. It is based on a series of revelations received by Nakayama Miki (1798-1887), who was possessed on several occasions by Tenri-O-no-Mikoto, the creator god of the universe. After her death, Nakayama is believed to have ascended to the higher regions, from where she continues to guard over the religion. Her home in Tenri City is regarded as the center of the universe.
Inoue, Nobutaka, Ito Satoshi, Endo Jun, and Mori Mizue (eds.). Shinto: A Short History. New York City: Routledge, 2003.

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