Page:Shinto, the Way of the Gods - Aston - 1905.djvu/237

Rh his devotions, and a stage for the sacred pantomimic dance. A number of smaller shrines (sessha or massha) dedicated to other Gods are usually to be seen within the enclosure. No accommodation is provided for the joint worship of the congregation of believers, which is indeed exceptional. The individual worshipper stands outside in front of the shrine, calls the attention of the deity by ringing a gong provided for the purpose, bows his head, claps or folds his hands, puts up his petition, and retires. A large box stands conveniently for receiving such small contributions of copper cash as he may make.

In many shrines more than one deity is worshipped. These are called ahi-dono no kami, that is to say, deities of a joint shrined They may, like Izanagi and Izanami, have some mythical connexion with each other or they may not. The Yengishiki enumerates 3,132 officially recognized shrines. Of these 737 were maintained at the cost of the Central Government. Some had permanent endowments of lands and peasants. Many minor shrines existed in all parts of the country. The shrines are classed as great and small, the respective numbers being 492 and 2,640. They differed in the quantity of offerings and in the circumstance that in the former case the offerings were placed on an altar and in the latter on the ground. Thirty-six shrines were situated in the palace itself. The most important deities worshipped here were eight in number, comprising five obscurely differentiated Musubi, the Goddess of Food, Oho-miya-no me, and Koto-shiro-nushi. There were also several Well-Gods, a Sono no Kami, a Kara no Kami (Korean God), a Thunder-God, a pair of sake deities, and others of whom little is known.

In enumerating the officially recognized shrines through- out the rest of the country the Yengishiki unfortunately, in the great majority of cases, does not name the God, but only the locality where the shrine was situated, as when we speak of Downing Street, meaning the collective