“Female Kami” (circa 900s; Heian period, 794–1185), Japanese cypress with traces of color, 20 x 15.4 x 9.4 inches, Museum Yamato Bunkakan, Nara, Japan; designated Important Art Object (photo courtesy ...
In Japan, it’s customary to start off the new year be going to a Shinto shrine to pray for good fortune in the new year. While many are thought to convey a vague blessing of overall prosperity, some ...
In thousands of Shinto shrines across Japan last week, sober-faced girls in white robes and vermilion skirts practiced the stately postures of the ritualistic Kagura dance. Musicians wearing eboshi ...