#Miwa Torii

[crazyfox-archives]

A large torii gate along the way to Ōmiwa Jinja Shrine (大神神社) in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, with sacred Mount Miwa (三輪山) looming in the background

Photo by Saigen Jiro on May 2, 2019

[my-plastic-life]

Japanese Summer Festival, part 1

(PART 1 due to a limit on number of photos per post)

Wow, more than a month since my last post! I'm slacking! But I have a good excuse - I was working on a HUGE project. This is my biggest scene to date. It's so large it won't fit in my usual diorama cube box. This was on my coffee table, and for an example of scale, that table measures 48" wide by 26" deep. And it was all covered LOL

It's still technically summer, and in Japan, summer festivals are a very popular pastime. I've wanted to create an actual festival scene for a while, and I finally took the plunge this year. My husband used his Glow Forge to create the little food stalls, and I created the rest. The awnings, booth covers, prices, signs, posters, floor, walls, etc. are all made by me. I also painted the silver on the booths. They're technically still a bit under scale compared to real life stalls, but I was basing my measurements off actual props I had, most of which are Re-Ment. There are even a few Re-Ment festival sets, so I had to use those! And next year I plan to add even more stalls - but I'll have to alternate what's on display since I think I'm at my limit of what will fit on that table LOL.

So here we go, a 1/6 scale Japanese summer festival! We've got lots of food street stalls (yotai) and a few popular games, and all the girls are wearing kimonos (a popular tradition).

Looking down the street toward the stairs leading to more fun (through a real torii gate!):

Overview:

Looking down the street toward the shrine:

Cold drinks are important to beat the heat!

Miwa is watching Kiku try her hand at yo-yo fishing:

Kiku is yo-yo fishing. In this game, you're meant to use a hook attached to a paper rope to pick up a water balloon. The balloons are filled with air and water, and they're called yo-yos because of the bouncing effect they have. This game can be difficult due to the rope being made of paper and the balloons are in the water.

Miwa has a popular snack - a tornado potato - along with the popular Ramune drink:

She got one! Any balloons that you successfully pick up with the hook can be kept.

Goldfish scooping. This game requires you to use a small wand called a poi to try to catch goldfish. The poi's net is made of paper, which makes the game tricky because of the water. The game is over once the paper in the poi breaks. However, people will often get to take one of each fish home after trying even if they don't actually catch them.

Aika is watching the goldfish scooping game, carrying a bag of cotton candy:

Superball fishing. This game is like the goldfish scooping game, only the prize is super balls. I made these little tubs myself. The Re-Ment sets had the yo-yo fishing and goldfish scooping, but no superballs. So I took the measurements of those tubs, used TinkerCAD to create two boxes made to the same size, and 3D printed them. I then used some of the Miniverse resin (the recalled stuff, lol) to fill the tubs in layers, and I used beads without holes (they exist!) to make the super balls. I'm very pleased with how they turned out!

Takoyaki stand. Takoyaki is a bite-sized, ball-shaped dumpling made from batter and grilled, then filled with octopus, tempura, pickled ginger, and green onion:

A definite favorite in the summer - the shaved ice stand (kakigori). Similar to shaved ice in the U.S., with the Japanese variant, blocks of ice are shaved into fine flakes using special machines, then topped with flavorings like strawberry or melon syrup, sweet matcha (strong green tea) sauce, sweetened beans, or condensed milk.

Fuka got a variety of flavors on her kakigori! Yum! Meanwhile, Lycee is preparing to make some more - she'll use the little machine to grind that block of ice to shave it down into edible pieces:

Look closely at the lady below in the blue kimono and you'll see that she's tucked in a traditional uchiwa (hand fan) into the obi (belt) of her kimono. These fans are a must for summer festivals to help beat the heat, as well as add a more traditional look to the yukata (kimono).

Choco banana and candy apple stand. These treats are also popular - they're your traditional candy apple on a stick, and also chocolate-covered bananas on a stick covered in sprinkles.

Cotton candy stand. Another popular treat for festival-goers of all ages. The container on the counter features fortune sticks inside, and you're meant to reach in and pull one out. You then tell the miko (shrine priestess) what fortune you got on the stick, and she will give you a paper that explains your fortune.

Japanese cotton candy bags frequently feature popular anime or pop culture characters on them. I made these bags by using small jewelry bags, cutting off the Ziploc sealer, placing cotton balls inside (almost all festival cotton candy I've seen has been white), then sized down pictures of characters, printed them out on clear sticker paper, and stuck them on the bags. I'm very pleased with how they turned out!

[tenjin-no-shinja]

Torii

The Origins of Torii

There are two kinds of Sandō (road that approaches the shrine), a road that comes from a town or city and continues to the shrine, and the road from the entrance of the shrine to the Haiden (Prayer Hall) • Honden (Main Hall). Both are sacred roads in which visitors walk, and mikoshi are carried along the path. Therefore in order to demarcate the sacred land, torii, koma inu, stone lanterns, etc… are placed. Koma inu, and stone lions will be discussed later on, here is where torii are being discussed. In fact the origin of Torii is not clear. From extant examples and paintings in picture scrolls, it is known that a similar type of torii existed in the 12th century, but it is not known when and for what purpose they were built.

Why are there so many different types of Torii?

The present torii gate functions as a symbolic gateway, indicating that the area inside (beyond) the gateway is sacred ground. It also serves as a warning that any disrespectful behavior beyond the gate will result in punishment. Another feature of torii gates is that there are many types. It is said that the shape of the torii may have indicated the type of kami, but this is not certain. The form can be broadly classified into the Shinmei type and the Myojin type. While the Shinmei type is simple, the Myojin type is highly decorative and sometimes painted in vermilion. This may be related to the fact that Myojin-style torii are often erected at shrines of common people’s beliefs, as they have a strong sense of Shinto/Buddhist syncretism.

Parts of a Torii Gate

笠木 Kasagi

Cap Piece that covers the top of a Torii

島木 Shimagi

Long horizontal timber above the columns on a Torii, right below the Kasagi

台輪 Daiwa

The single piece placed where the columns meet the Shimagi, believed to prevent rot from setting in from the top of the pillars

額束 Gakutsuka

The plaque that holds the name of the shrine

楔 Kusabi

Wedges/Lynchpins

貫 Nuki

Lower horizontal timber, traditionally does not pierce the columns, and in Shinmei style torii, is said to be round

柱 Hashira

The two vertical columns leading up to the horizontal bars

藁座 Waraza

Reinforcement for the Daīshi at the bottom of the torii

台石 Daīshi

Stone pedestal at the bottom of torii

亀腹 Kamebara

White plaster bun-shaped mounds used to reinforce support base stones.

Varieties of Torii

神明系 Shinmei Style

Image Sources: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4

黒木鳥居 Kurogi Torii

Made from logs where the outer bark is still attached. Seen at shrines like 野宮神社 Nonomiya Jinja.

鹿島鳥居 Kashima Torii

The lower cross bar is quadrilateral (instead of rounded), and sticks out past the pillars holding the torii up. Seen at shrines like 鹿島���宮 Kashima Jingū.

神明鳥居 Shinmei Torii

The pillars, top crossbar and lower crossbar are all rounded. See at shrines like 神明宮 Shinmeigū.

伊勢鳥居 Ise Torii

The upper crossbar is pentagonal in shape. Seen at shrines like 伊勢神宮内宮・外宮 Ise Jingū Naikū • Gekū and 熱田神宮 Atsuta Jingū

明神系 Myojin Style

Usually these have the cap piece called a Kasagi while Shinmei do not

八幡鳥居 Hachiman Torii

The edge of the top bar is slanted. Seen at shrines like 岩清水八幡宮 Iwashimizu Hachimangū.

台輪（稲荷）鳥居 Daiwa (Inari) Torii

Below the upper crossbar are Daiwa (see above definition). Seen at shrines like 伏見稲荷大社 Fushimi Inari Taisha.

春日鳥居 Kasuga Torii

Less warping of the cap piece and upper crossbar (fairly flat). Seen at shrines like 春日大社 Kasuga Taisha.

両部鳥居 Ryōbu Torii

Has smaller support columns attached to the main pillars. Seen at shrines like 厳島神社 Itsukushima Jinja, and 氣比神宮 Kehi Jingū.

中山鳥居 Nakayama Torii

The same as a Myōjin Torii, except the lower crossbar doesn’t stick out. Seen at shrines like 中山神社 Nakayama Jinja.

Image Sources: 1 , 2

明神鳥居 Myōjin Torii

Both the upper and lower crossbars have warping (meaning they’re more curved). Seen at shrines like 神田明神 Kanda Myōjin.

山王鳥居 Sannō Torii

Above the Kasagi, there is an extra part called the Gasshō, which is a triangular shaped piece. Seen at shrines like 日吉大社 Hiyoshi Taisha.

三輪鳥居 Miwa Torii

To the sides are smaller support torii. Seen at shrines like 大神神社 Ōmiwa Jinja.

Translations of this page

[annikavelde]

{.794.}

.:ANATOMY:. Head: LeLutka - Ceylon Body: Ebody - Reborn Hair: VCO - Sarina Horns: Vermilion - Damaged Horns

.:CLOTHING:. Outfit: MIWAS - Shibari Qipao *NEW* @ Equal10

.:SCENE:. Portal: Egosumaii - Fire Torii Portal past gacha Tree: Anc - Sakura Trees Flowers: Anc - Spider Lily Sakari Pose: Mirinae - Vivi *NEW* Kawaii Project

[japanicus-nerdus]

Photos: Road to the Divine

This is the trailhead to the top of Mount Miwa, Nara Prefecture. Omiwa Shrine is one of the oldest shrines in Japan. There is no enshrinement building/honden at this shrine. Mount Miwa itself is the honden. Instead of the typical wooden gates, torii, Omiwa shrine uses 2 poles with sacred rope/shimenawa hanging between the 2. This is thought to be the older form of the torii. Mount Miwa is…

[multiverseofmischief]

Torii Gates, Home, Magic - Lily for Ginrai

Ginrai smiles, and nuzzles Lily affectionately. "Thank you, my dear."

Hachi and Miwa however, gag at the sight of their parents being affectionate with each other.

[southkoreaandjapan]

Toba, Japan

July 1, 2023. (Oh - I am always behind!)

We left Tokyo on the Shinkansin bullet train headed to Nagoya. The train had many stops but each time we would pull out of the station and GO! The ride was amazingly smooth and the seats were roomy and of course everything was clean - and I mean CLEAN!

The Japanese people are very polite and bow to each other upon meeting or greeting and before leaving. The conductor would enter the car and bow then before he left the car he would turn face us and bow before exiting.

Mark said an unplanned good-bye to his cane as he exited with all our luggage but without the cane. We had only 50 minutes to get our food (bento boxes) and get to our next train - so it didn't cross his mind until too late. (No worries - he has a new one with a much prettier handle.). The store we visited to buy our lunch has shelf after shelf of bento options.

In Nagoya we exited the Shinkansin and boarded an "express" train to Ujiymada. This express train is part of the general transportation system and we used our subway pass to access this train. This part of the trip also had many stops and we enjoyed seeing the countryside - something that could be kinda' nauseating at 190 mph. The train was smaller but just as clean.

Our new location is mountainous, lush and very different from the massive city of Tokyo. We are seeing little villages, lots of rice fields and many tiny little cemeteries. Cremation is standard practice here so the cemeteries are compact but the headstones impressive.

A bus was awaiting our arrival and we boarded it and traveled about 30 minutes to the Ise Grand Shrine. The Torii gate designates a sacred area with a shrine where believers can go to pray. The Torii Gate in front of this park was HUGE

The Naiku and the Geku shrines dedicated to the Shinto kami,  Amaterasu, kami of the sun. We visited Naiku.

The Shinto shrines were beautiful and they were in this gorgeous park with forested with ancient trees. There are specific mid year rites that take place on June 30 and July 1 - so the place was hopping. Shinto is not a religion but a more of philosophy. Shintoists believe that there are spirits in everything called "kami" - some good and some bad. When a Shintoist goes to the Shrine he prays that the bad spirits will be diminished and the good spirits will guide his life and the lives of people he loves

Here is the buzz about this shrine from the website: "Around 2000 years ago the divine Yamatohime-no-mikoto, daughter of the Emperor Suinin, set out from Mt. Miwa in modern Nara Prefecture in search of a permanent location to worship the goddess Amaterasu, wandering for 20 years through the regions of Omi and Mino. Her search eventually brought her to Ise, in modern Mie Prefecture, where she is said to have established Naikū after hearing the voice of Amaterasu saying "(Ise) is a secluded and pleasant land. In this land I wish to dwell." Before Yamatohime-no-mikoto's journey, Amaterasu had been worshiped at the imperial residence in Yamato, then briefly at Kasanui in the eastern Nara basin. When Princess Yamatohime-no-mikoto arrived at the village of Uji-tachi, she set up fifty bells to designate the area as enshrined for the goddess Amaterasu, which is why the river is called the Isuzu, or "fifty bells".

This is also amazing....  (lifted right from the Ise Grand Shrine website)

"The old shrines are dismantled and new ones built on an adjacent site to exacting specifications every 20 years at exorbitant expense, so that the buildings will be forever new and forever ancient and original. The present buildings, dating from 2013, are the 62nd iteration to date and are scheduled for rebuilding in 2033. The twenty-year renewal process is called the Shikinen Sengū. This happens all over - not just here - FYI. (There will not be a test on this...)

The team which builds the shrine is typically formed around a few factors. Since many of the building techniques haven't changed since the creation of the Ise Shrine, the workers who are hired to build the shrine must be skilled in specific techniques. Power tools are not allowed within the area of the shrine, which means that skilled artisans and carpenters known as miyadaiku are necessary in the construction process. The unit of workers is also organized around relative skill levels, and less experienced workers will work on smaller tasks than more experienced workers. The importance of hiring specifically local artisans has decreased throughout time, for the pool of available miyadaiku has thinned out."

Me again...There are festivals celebrating many steps of the dismantling and rebuilding. Finding the correct materials is a process that begins 40 years before as some of the materials must be aged. Fascinating! This process may be used for other shrines - but none were mentions - just this one.

This is my pic and it looks foggy - BUT it was so hot and muggy that I couldn't wear my glasses and even my phone lens were fogged. PHEW! But despite the fog - can you imagine taking this down!?!??!

Despite the beauty of the place - it was here that someone could have made a comedy video about me and Mark.

This park is big and the paths are gravel - which are hard to walk on for everyone - but for someone who using a cane it is even harder. For someone using a cane who has lost his cane - a flipping nightmare. BUT - they have free wheelchairs - and WHAT?!?!? - they are electric. OMG!! LUCKY US!

So Mark and Jay get wheelchairs - BUT the damn control is in the back and it is a joystick. Carol, Jay's wife, got the hang of it immediately - but I couldn't - AND to make things worse I started laughing and laughing and laughing. I couldn't go straight to save my life and poor Mark looked like he was riding a bucking bronco. Finally he could take it no more and got out and used it for balance and drove it himself. I tried several more times -and there were times I did OK - but... OMG!!! Anson took a turn and gave Mark a better ride - but by the time we needed to get back on the bus , Mark was thrilled to have that adventure in the rearview mirror. We all have our strengths and using a joy stick is not mine! Sorry Mark!

On to our next adventure...

We arrived in Toba and although I should have known it by looking at the map - I didn't realized it was a seaside resort.

Even more surprising was how large and beautiful each of our rooms were. Anson's room had a beautiful deck overlooking a rock garden and our room overlooked the ocean and a small harbor. The photo below on the right is from our room and from the left is from Anson's room. SWEET!!!

We are staying at the Todaya Hotel which houses a several restaurants. I will say that the food was not only edible art but also delicious. They also have onsens (public baths) in many flavors: Single private - small groups or the big party size - which is outdoors. The boys tried most of them. OF COURSE we had to dress in our yukatas to get ready for the big soaking relax in your birthday suit!

Anson-san in his first onsen - private, please. No photos in the places your share!

Most of our group was in to it!!

We are having a great time in Japan.

Stay tuned!

[tanuki-kimono]

Torii (sacred gates found in shinto shrines) variations, a great illustrations by @amei_yade. Shown here are the following styles - but more exist!

Shinmei family (= straight upper lintels)

Shinmei Torii (神明 鳥居)

Ise Torii (伊勢 鳥居)

Kashima Torii (鹿島 鳥居) 

Kasuga Torii (春日 鳥居)

Kuroki Torii (黒木 鳥居)  

Myojin family (= curved upper lintels)

Myoujin Torii  (明神 鳥)

Nakayama Torii (中山 鳥居)

Inari Torii (稲荷 鳥居)

Ryoubu Torii (両部 鳥居)

Miwa Torii (三輪 鳥居) 

Usa Torii (宇佐 鳥居) 

Nune Torii (奴禰 鳥居) 

Sannou Torii  (山王 鳥居)

Karahafu Torii (唐破風 鳥居)

[gojo-x-reader]

Not So Special Now

Relationship(s): F!Reader x Gojo Satoru

Warnings: canon-typical violence

Tags: fluff (at the end), reader-focused

AO3 Link: here

Words: ~4k

Request: “hello there, i love ur soulmate and marriage life hc 🥺 can you make scenario/hc/drabble whatever u prefer where his fem/gn so is also a sorcerer and gets hurt/injured on a mission? thank you!”

“Are you sure you’ll be fine?” Your boyfriend, Satoru, asked you. His hands were on your biceps, giving it a worried, yet comforting squeeze.

“Yes, Satoru,” you answered, a little annoyed at how he was treating you. It’s been several years since either of you were in high school; this wasn’t your first mission.

“I can’t help but worry, you know. It’s your first ever special grade assignment.”

“Just because I’m not the same rank as you, Mr. Special Grade, doesn’t mean I’m weak. Besides, there are two others going so I’m not doing this alone.”

“I know, I know.” Satoru pressed his lips gently onto your forehead, then gazed into your eyes lovingly. In a rare instance while on the job, his blindfold was replaced with dark sunglasses. You reached up to shift them down, allowing you to gaze into his bright blue eyes. They were breathtaking no matter how many times you saw them. You moved your hands from his glasses to his shoulders, forcing him down so you could reach up to leave a chaste kiss on his lips.

“I’ll see you tonight,” you promised.

The two of you embraced one more time before you joined your other group members for the mission. You turned back and waved at him as the three of you entered the car to be driven to the location for your mission.

“Sure wish Gojo-san was coming with us,” one of them mused. “He could handle this mission single-handedly and we could just stay home.” He sighed deeply, then put in headphones and stared out the window.

“Why isn’t he taking this mission?” your other group member asked. She stared at you, eager to know.

You had just met these two today (not even knowing their names, except that they were both Grade 1 sorcerers like you) and you weren’t sure how well this mission would go. “Well,” you began, “for one, he works best alone. Second, Satoru fights best when he’s away from civilians.” 

The girl hummed, then crossed her arms in thought. The three of you awkwardly rode in silence for about five minutes, before the girl grabbed your arm suddenly. “Soooo, how long have you been dating Gojo Satoru?” She asked eagerly. There was something about her that seemed familiar, but you just couldn’t put your finger on it.

You weren’t sure why this was any business of someone you just met, but you decided to indulge her to hopefully make this awkward car ride, well, less awkward.

“Two years, almost three,” you answered. The two of you had known each other since high school, but it wasn’t until almost four years ago that you had reconnected after you moved back to Tokyo, and almost three years ago when you started dating. To this day you still had no clue why he would get a crush on you over all people. There were much prettier girls he had spent more time with, why you?

“Annnnd? A ring soon?” She gushed, gripping your arm harder.

You shrugged. Satoru and you had discussed marriage at some point, but both of you were busy at the moment, especially with Ryomen Sukuna being somewhat revived into the world. While Yuuji was still technically “dead” to others, Satoru had trusted you enough to tell you about how his student had pretty much been revived from the dead. On your days off, you often visited your boyfriend and helped out with Yuuji’s training regime. He was a nice kid, despite his circumstances and being thrown into the jujutsu world suddenly.

The girl let go of your arm and got out her phone, furiously typing to someone. “Oh, my little sister won’t be happy to hear about this.”

“Little sister?”

“Yeah, my sister Momo goes to Kyoto. She’s pretty close with another girl, Kasumi, who I consider almost like another younger sister. She was super excited to meet Gojo-san a week ago. She’s like a superfan of him or something. I like to indulge her sometimes. I think she even made a fan club for Gojo-san or something. Anyways, Momo, even though she’s friends with Kasumi, she often gets annoyed with her talk about Gojo-san.”

You vaguely remember Satoru mentioning a girl from Kyoto that asked him for a picture. It wasn’t exactly a rare occurrence for your boyfriend to be asked to take pictures with, from the jujutsu world or from civilians; he had devastatingly good looks, so you couldn’t blame any of the people who asked for pictures. Besides, you knew his heart belonged to you and you only, so you were fine with others recognizing his allure.

“Oh, Kasumi’s calling me,” the girl said. She answered her phone, only for a younger voice to scream over the speaker. It was loud enough that you could hear it. Your teammate held her phone away from her ear.

“What do you mean he has a girlfriend?”

“Oh, come on Kasumi. You know how handsome he is. Besides, he’s like, what, twenty-eight? Twenty-nine?”

“Twenty-eight, twenty-nine in December,” you confirmed.

“Way too old for you, ma’am,” the girl relayed to Kasumi.

“I don’t like him like that , Sumi-san! I j-just really admire him, okay! W-Who wouldn’t? World’s strongest jujutsu sorcerer in all.”

“Mhm. Anyway, I’ve got a mission today with the said girlfriend of Gojo Satoru. Want me to get you an autograph?” Sumi joked.

“...Could you?”

You let out a tiny laugh. This girl was funny, so you decided to humor her and leaned toward the phone. “One autograph for Kasumi?”

“M-Miwa Kasumi!” the voice on the phone squeaked out. She told you what kanji made up her name as you rummaged for a scrap piece of paper and pen from your bag. You made out the autograph, laughing a bit as you handed it to Sumi.

After you told her you signed an autograph for her, Kasumi said goodbye, hanging up the phone before Sumi could reply goodbye back. She seemed embarrassed about the ordeal.

“You were right, she seems like a good kid.”

“Kasumi is nice. She really balances out how serious my little sister Momo is,” Sumi responded.

For the rest of the car ride, you and Sumi chatted. Apparently, this was also her first Special Grade mission, as well as her first mission after graduating from Kyoto. Their other group member was also from Kyoto; he was two years Sumi’s senior. His name was Takahashi Daisuke. She didn’t know much about him since he tended to keep to himself. But she did know this wasn’t his first Special Grade mission. That relieved you substantially since you were nervous about this mission (as much as you didn’t want to admit to Satoru).

Eventually, the roads transformed from paved to just dirt. The driver turned onto a road on a hill, then began briefing the three of you on your mission. This was a Special Grade, suspected to be awakened by a Sukuna finger. This was just based on speculation, since the last Special Grade to pop up was from a Sukuna finger as well. The Special Grade had taken over an abandoned shrine, supposedly terrorizing the local village just down the hill (which had been evacuated just hours before). As the driver parked the car, the three of you exited the car. The air was crisp, with a distinct chill in the air. You could sense a particularly strong cursed energy in the premises, on par with Satoru’s cursed energy. You shuddered; this was not going to be an easy task.

The driver placed a curtain around the area, the sky darkening. It only made the situation seem even more grave. There was something in your gut telling you to run, not from being scared of the Special Grade, but because something bad was going to happen.

Sumi grabbed a wand from her belt. Her family was a pretty small sorcerer family on her mother’s side, as she had told you in the car. She and her sister have cursed techniques similar to “witches”; hers involved spells while her sister’s involved levitating a broom, among other objects.

Your cursed techniques, however, involved nature. There was a reason why you were selected specifically for this mission; the shrine was in the middle of the forest, the perfect place for you to go wild. Cities like Tokyo were incredibly constraining for you to use your cursed techniques, so you almost exclusively were assigned missions out in the country where nature was plentiful.

Neither you nor Sumi knew what Daisuke’s cursed technique was, but you assumed it was pretty strong considering he had been on missions with Special Grades before.

The mission started off fine. The three of you approached the shrine. It wasn’t particularly impressive, nothing that you would expect to house a Special Grade curse. The stone torii at the entrance was standing tall, unbothered by neither age nor the moss and vines growing on it. The shrine itself, however, was crumbling. One of the pillars holding up the roof was destroyed, so the roof was lopsided. The shimenawa knots were cut in half, the ends completely frayed. Definitely not a good sign.

After crossing the torii , you felt the Special Grade’s presence. It was overwhelming, unlike anything else you had experienced before. It possessed near-equal amounts of cursed energy as Satoru, but unlike your boyfriend, it held malicious intent within its cursed energy. To your left, Sumi was shaking. You held out a shaky hand onto her shoulder and squeezed. While you yourself didn’t feel confident about this mission now, you had a duty as the oldest member of the group here to be strong, for their sake.

The shrine began to shake, then the roof was suddenly blown off. You used your cursed technique to form a barrier of tree roots that erupted from the ground. Slabs of wood hit the roots, then bounced off. After the rain of wood subsided, you controlled the roots back into the ground in their original position.

You finally got a good look at the Special Grade curse. It was humanoid, but only in form. Its flesh was midnight blue, with eyes covering every centimeter of its body. Great, it had no blind spots. The curse had no apparent mouth, yet you were able to hear it let out an intimidating roar.

Daisuke made the first strike. He quickly pointed a handgun at the Special Grade and pulled the trigger. Out came a burst of his own cursed energy instead of a bullet. The blow just grazed the Special Grade enough for it to let out a screech of pain. Interesting, so this was his cursed energy. You wondered if it was limited to guns, or if he could apply it to a bow as well and use his cursed energy for arrows. You’d have to ask him later after this mission was completed.

It was apparent after Daisuke revealed his cursed technique that all of you were primarily distance fighters. There wasn’t much Sumi could do if her cursed technique focused on spells through her wand apparatus and Daisuke seemed to only have a gun on him. So, that meant you had to switch to a melee approach.

You weren’t the biggest fan of hand to hand combat. You weren’t very strong, preferring to assist from a distance. Recently, Satoru has been helping you learn new ways of fighting in close quarters. You decided to take the risk and make an attempt at using this still relatively new technique. You reached out your hands, summoning leaves from the trees. They surrounded your fists like boxing gloves, your cursed energy reinforcing the leaves to be almost as hard as the bark from the trees they came from.

You sprinted toward the Special Grade, preparing to land a blow. As you reared back for a punch, the Special Grade disappeared from in front of you. Then you felt a blow land on your back and you were sent through the forest until a particularly thick tree stopped your projectile body. Luckily, you reacted quickly enough to reinforce your front with cursed energy. If it wasn’t for your quick thinking, you probably would’ve been knocked out immediately.

You picked yourself up from the ground, but the world was spinning. You leaned against a tree to collect your thoughts and rest a bit. The Special Grade was insanely fast and had no blind spots. You were panicking; this was well out of your skillset. Perhaps Daisuke was right; Satoru should’ve joined in on this mission. But you knew that wasn’t possible, as he also had his own Special Grade mission to handle today.

You brought a hand up to your face and gave yourself a hard smack. This was no time to doubt yourself or panic. You had two comrades out there fighting a Special Grade curse alone. There was no doubt that the Special Grade would notice you if you tried to rejoin the fight, at least on the ground. Your best bet would be to get the high ground; there would be fewer eyes on the top half, so the chances of you being noticed would be less than if you arrived by foot.

Okay, you had an idea. Now, to get an idea of how the fight was going. You kneeled down to the ground and placed your hand onto the ground, closing your eyes. You sent a minimal, hardly detectable pulse of cursed energy toward the fight through the ground. From what nature informed you, the fight was mostly one-sided in favor of the Special Grade. Daisuke was pretty beat up, and Sumi wasn’t in good shape either.

You got up then hurriedly began climbing the nearest tree. As you climbed up, you manipulated the bark to form grooves for you to place your hands and feet on. As you reached a decent height, you created a bridge with the overlapping tree branches sturdy enough for your weight. You sprinted across the bridge, ignoring your double vision. You definitely had a concussion, but now was not the time for you to worry about that. You didn’t wanna lose your comrades on this mission. Not again.

You wiped the tears that were threatening to fall from your eyes. In your final year of Tokyo High, your two classmates were killed right before your eyes on a mission. You escaped out of pure luck, but was determined to get stronger to avenge their deaths. If you let those two die… well, then, that meant you hadn’t gotten strong enough to protect anyone else.

Once you were just out of sight range of the cursed spirit, you closed your eyes to sense the battle again. Sumi was sitting on the ground, back to a tree as she watched the fight between Daisuke and the Special Grade. She was barely conscious, and it seemed like she had lost a lot of blood. You had an idea, but in order for it to work, you needed her help.

Using thin vines, you sent a message within her sight: I am still alive. I’m going to trap the Special Grade curse with branches. Use a fire spell on it when it’s bound.

All you could hope was that she was able to read the message and had enough cursed energy to cast the spell. You began moving branches from distant trees close to the Special Grade, as fast as possible without your cursed energy being detected. Once they were close enough, you waited for the right moment.

As Daisuke finally landed a hit with his cursed energy, moving the curse to the center of the shrine remnants, you launched your attack. The branches extended as fast as you could make them move. The hit Daisuke landed had temporarily slowed the Special Grade, enough for your branches to immobilize it. As the branches gripped the curse, Sumi sent a fire spell toward it, just as planned.

The branches (and the cursed spirit) caught on fire. But something was wrong; normally, you could extract cursed energy from a curse with your cursed technique to exorcise, but that wasn’t happening. Was it resisting? You felt a tug on the branches.

Without thinking, you acted on your own. You re-equipped the leaves cursed technique, as you jumped from the trees above. As gravity brought you closer to the Special Grade, you reared back to prepare the punch you had wanted to introduce it to earlier. As your fist landed on the curse, you allowed the leaves to leave your fist, sending it into the curse’s body. The leaves caught on fire before they entered the curse, imploding it.

So, you managed to exorcise the Special grade. But, doing so took all of your cursed energy and you had no more left to cushion your fall. Luckily, you managed to adjust your fall so that you slid on your stomach parallel to the ground instead of falling headfirst. It still hurt, and you definitely broke a few ribs doing that.

You somehow had enough energy to turn yourself onto your back, looking up at the starry night sky as the curtain was released. Your first Special Grade mission. Everyone lived and you exorcised it without Satoru’s help. Ha. He would be so proud of you.

You began to fall into unconsciousness right as you felt familiar arms lift you up.

When you woke up, you were in Shoko’s infirmary. There was a thin blanket covering your bottom half. Suddenly the events came back to you.

You sat up, gasping for air. Where were Sumi and Daisuke?

“You might want to lay back down,” a familiar voice told you. “Shoko healed you, but the pain might still be there.”

You did as the voice said, laying back at the elevated position you woke up in. You look over and blinked a few times, seeing your boyfriend sitting in a chair next to your bed. He was in his work uniform, including his blindfold. You winced as you felt a pain in your chest; Satoru was right, there still was residual pain.

“I exorcised a Special Grade,” you croaked.

“I know. I’m proud of you.” He grabbed your hand and squeezed it, giving you a soft smile, showing off his tiny dimples. His smile quickly turned to a frown as he lectured, “However, what you did was risky and crazy.”

“Aren’t you the one who says that jujutsu sorcerers have to be crazy to survive?” you argued.

“Yes, but there’s a difference between crazy and throwing your life away.”

“You saw that?” you asked, much more awake than you were a few seconds ago.

“I hurried as fast as I could with my own mission to come assist you if you needed. I got there right as you pulled that stunt of yours.”

You pulled your hand from his and placed your face in both of your hands, embarrassed that he saw you launch yourself from several meters high, use up all of your cursed energy, then make a hard landing onto the ground.

“How’s the other two?” you asked, refusing to move your face from your hands.

“Alive and doing well. You’re the most beat-up out of everyone.”

You removed your hands, clasping them together in your lap. “Thank goodness…”

“There wasn’t a Sukuna finger either,” Satoru reported to you. “The villagers’ fear of the shrine must have caused it to grow to a Special Grade. Now, come on. Shoko said you could come home once you woke up.” Satoru stood up, then scooped you up from the bed. You screamed in protest, now wide awake.

“Wha--Put me down!”

“No can do, honey. Doctor’s orders. Nothing strenuous for the next week.”

“Satoru, I don’t think walking counts as strenuous!”

He smiled his signature shit-eating grin, then gave you a kiss on your forehead. No fair, he knew forehead kisses were your weakness. You melted into his arms at how tender his kiss was, now docile and less likely to argue with him.

In a flash, he teleported the two of you to his apartment, setting you on the bed in front of him. After placing you on the bed, he yanked off his blindfold and began rummaging through his dresser, looking for a set of his clothes for you to wear. He tossed the shirt and pants toward you, not even bothering to turn around while you changed. You’d been together for so long (or at least, it felt like a long time) that there wasn’t anything particularly embarrassing about changing in front of each other.

You winced while lifting your hands up to take off your shirt, so Satoru was by your side in an instant, helping you take off your shift without much pain. He even helped you out of your bra and put on his shirt.

“You don’t need me to help you with the pants, do you?” he teased.

“I think I can handle it on my own,” you replied, standing up and shuffling out of your pants. Satoru’s pants were much too long for you, so you had to roll not only the waistband but also the cuffs so that they didn’t constantly drag on the ground. Not like you minded doing that; there was just something about his clothes that was infinitely more comforting than your own, and he knew that more than anyone else.

As you adjusted the pants, Satoru left the bedroom to head toward the kitchen, no doubt to start cooking some of your favorite foods. You laid down on your shared bed, happy to be home. It was a long day (Days? How long were you even unconscious?) and you were glad to have such a caring boyfriend, even if he was being a little annoying about this.

About an hour later, Satoru came into the bedroom with a tray of food. He wouldn’t let you even touch the chopsticks, insisting on feeding you food because he didn’t want you to “strain yourself.” You thought he was just being a little too overprotective, but you allowed him to feed you anyway. The look of satisfaction on his face was just too cute for you to deny him this tiny pleasure.

After dinner, you immediately wanted to go to bed. Satoru quickly ate his portion of dinner then changed out of his work clothes into something much more comfortable to sleep in. He joined you under the covers, using his cursed energy to turn off the lights. You felt his arms gently snake their way around your waist, pressing you into his front. You sighed in contentment; he was warm, but not too warm.

After a few seconds of silence, you piped up, “Satoru?”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for taking care of me. I love you.”

He placed a gentle kiss on your neck, just behind your ear. “Anything for you, my love,” he breathed onto your neck. You could feel him smiling gently. “Maybe we should just get married.”

You grumbled something, not even quite sure what you said or even what he said completely. Before sleep overtook you, you mumbled out one last final “I love you,” incredibly happy to be in your boyfriend’s arms at the moment.

[momomuchin]

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[crazyfox-archives]

Hibara Jinja (檜原神社), a branch shrine of Ōmiwa Jinja Shrine (大神神社) in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, held by shrine lore to be the original pre-Ise location where the sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami (天照大御神) was worshipped by the semi-legendary imperial princess Toyosukiirihime no Mikoto (豊鍬入姫命), both of whom are thus enshrined here

Image from a booklet acquired at the shrine September 21, 1996

[studentofshinto]

Introduction to Shimenawa and Torii

And now I can finally get to what I wanted to talk about when I started my last info dump, the entrance to a Shinto Shrine. The Entrance to a Shinto Shrine is almost always marked by a Torii gate. But not always. Sometimes the entrance will be marked by a pair of lone posts, post connected by a Shimenawa rope, or a pair of trees linked with a Shimenawa rope. At the moment it would seem these are also referred to as torii when used to mark the approach of a shrine even though these gateways would not be recognizable as torii by most outside of Japan. The rope is usually made from rice straw, but can be made of hemp and even plastics. https://www.japanvisitor.com/japanese-culture/shimenawa

The use of plastic is a fairly modern practice. Rice and hemp will last about three years as I recall, depending on the environment, where plastic can last decades. The reason for using rice has nothing to do with a shortage of rice straw and everything to do with a shortage of people who know how to make the straw ropes. In early times rope might be used to mark out a property line. In order to distinguish between a property line and a sacred space straw tassels or paper strips (shide), or a combination of the two would be used. The shide are those little zigzag strips. The number and placing typically depends on the size and length of the rope as well as the custom of a given shrine and it’s intended use. The Shimenawa with shide is used for purification as well as marking out a sacred space. Plots of land will be marked with shimenawa prior to use, shimenawa can be used on torii, to encircle trees, mark out processional lanes, provide purification in shopping arcades, they may be used in the home for purification on new years, and placed in front of the household Shinto shrine known as a Kamidana. Oh, and if it’s available for sale on line it’s for primarily decoration use. The number of shide attached to the Shimenawa for home use will typically be three to four, but that’s not a hard and fast rule only a recommendation as an especially large shimenawa for home use could have up to five while a small one may only fit two. Recommendations regarding the placement of tassles and shide may be shrine specific as well. Shide can be displayed either in front of tassels or between. A quick online image search will show you that shide are normally attached between the tassels by most shrines but may also be placed directly in front of the tassels. Shimenawa come in a seemingly endless variety which each shrine having their own preferences. https://www.nippon.com/en/views/b05204/

From Wikipedia, a New Years decoration attached in place of the usual shide. By katorisi - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3323326 When used specifically for New Year’s festivities the Shiminawa may be displayed with oranges, fern, pine branches, and other festive ornamentation.

Keep in mind that there are two types of household shrines, the Shinto Kamidana and the Buddhist family alter.

Shimekazari (注連飾り) is a special type of Shimenawa that is looped.

The torii depicted is one I made, the Shimekazari on it came from the Portland Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon. The entire arrangement was for New Years in 2018.

And now onto the Torii. Torii are nowhere near as endless in variety as shimenawa are. In deed there seems to be only about a dozen basic design shapes if we discount the wide verity of garden decor all claiming to be torii. As for the origin of torii, I’m inclined to think that the Japanese Torii originated independently to be influenced by Chinese design and aesthetics.  

The most basic torii is the Shinmei torii. To build one you need two posts with a shimenawa stretched between also known as a chūren, or three logs and a board. Two logs for the upright, one log stretched across the top, and the board fitted between the uprights just a little lower than the top log, called a nuki. The Ise torii adds a section to protect the top crosspiece. This is the roof of the structure and called a kasagi. The entire top section is referred to as the Kasagi when it’s all one piece, otherwise that top section includes the Kasagi and the shimaki. Next in line is the Kashima torii, followed by Kasuga, Hachimon, and the Mihashira torii.

The Tōhafu torii seems to be it’s own unique style demonstrating both traditional and Chinese influences.

The Mihashira torii also known as the mitsubashira torii and sankaku torii. This torii is unique in that it has three posts, three nuki, and three kasagi. Only one is publicly accessible that I’m aware of, it has a cairn at its base as well. According to Janus: records also state that the three pillars symbolize the heavens, earth and mankind. There is also a reference in the record which asserts that this torii had a connection with Nestorianism, Keikyou 景教, an ancient Christian sect which thrived for about 800 years in the Near East and Central Asia. It is possible that the three-pillared torii may have had a Christian connotation. http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/m/mihashiratorii.htm

For this reason the three-pillared torii has become rather controversial and has been denounced world wide by the very community who now clamor for everything Shinto. Looking on the internet I found at least two sites that look to be accessible but I have yet to verify this. Whether or not the possible connection to Nestorianism is real is immaterial. To practice Shinto is to accept all faiths, consider all possibilities, and to strive to live in harmony. It is only the destructive habits and teachings that are to be challenged and set aside.

After these we start seeing torii that show Chinese influence with upturned ends on the kasagi. These are the Myōjin family of torii wich include the basic Myōjin style, the Nakayama, Daiwa also known as the Inari torii, Ryōbu, Miwa, Usa,Nune, Sannō, and Hizen. Each having it’s unique differences.

Torii can be made of just about anything. Wood is the most popular, followed by stone and then iron. Some notable torii is the large speaker torii in Kamiyama, Tokushima, the Grecian inspired torii made by Kyoto artist Doumoto Insho which stands in the now abandoned Oiwa Jinja, the Motoki Torii which is a massive stone carved torii, the Otorii at Kumano Hongū Taisha which is 33.9 meters tall and 42 meters wide and the largest in the world, floating torii of Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima, and finally I’m going to conclude this list with the One legged torii of Nagasaki. The one legged torii of Nagasaki is a survivor of the atomic blast and has become a sacred sight in its own right.

Image from Pinterest. Original source unknown.

One final note before this gets way too long. Expect to find torii and even shrines in unusual places if you ever get a chance to go to Japan. I will admit that I myself have yet to have the opportunity, but I’ve scoured the internet long enough to know that urban sprawl has on occasion completely enveloped shrines. In many ways I am lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest where there is a shrine even though I can’t go to it right now. I am hopeful that 2021 turns out better than the previous year.

I ran across the term chūren just as I was getting ready to post and found the above infographic that has most of the basic styles. Finding good solid info from reliable sources can be difficult. The practice of search engines to decide it knows better by delivering what it wants as apposed to what we are actually searching for can make some searches near impossible. The internet is also full of blogs written by people who just discovered the “New Faith” [face palms]. Yes, I actually saw someone referring to Shinto as a new faith. Um, no, it’s hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years old.

What I want for you as the reader is to have the tools to be able to do informed research of your own. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of others. Be weary of anyone who is dogmatic in their thinking. And finally, always remember that Shinto is a culturally sensitive tradition with many facets. If it’s not of Japanese origin, it’s probably not part of Shinto and shouldn't be mixed.

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[riteblade]

✧ ◜ 神の門番 . ╱ gatekeeper of god . ◞

nanami , being the vice kidō chief , boasts a high spiritual pressure that is considered captain class . she is a kidō master and her fighting style almost exclusively revolves around that ( meaning she almost never uses her zanpakutō . ) it is not like most traditional ones , it is an all white tantō with light pink prayer beads wrapped around it . she keeps it hidden at all times .

SHIKAI COMMAND : ascend (  昇る / noboru ) , gatekeeper of god (  神の門番 / kami no monban ) . 

she drives the blade into the ground and it explodes into a massive cloud of vibrant pink reiatsu . 

a miwa style torii appears behind her that is several stories high , covered in seals and wrapped in chains weighing it to the ground . below is the basic shape of the gate .

her shikai possesses three abilities called keys and they have to be used in order . 

first key ( 最初の鍵 / saisho no kagi ) , unholy regalia (  不浄なレガリア / fujōna regaria ) . with this key , the seals burn off of the gate and form a cursed ring around the opponent . all this does is knock the opponent’s speed down by 1 / 4 th of their natural ability .

second key (  第二の鍵 / daini no kagi ) , holy range (  聖なる範囲 / seinaru han’i ) . using this key , the chains unravel from the gate and dig into the ground until they are no longer visible . boosts the users perception of energy / presences , improving accuracy and aim . basically a sensory stat boost .

third key (  第三の鍵 / dai san no kagi ) , judgement (  判定 / hantei ) . the final key causes the gates to glow , a pillar of light crashes down onto the opponent , dealing mid-high damage depending on their strength . this ability can only be used three times before nanami must deactivate her shikai or activate her bankai . )

BANKAI COMMAND : holy touch (  聖なるタッチ / seinaru tatchi ) .  mostly a stat booster . three black rings appear on each wrist . when the first ring vanishes , the effects of the first key cease to exist . the same process happens when the second ring goes away . when she is down to her third ring , that will mean the gate is almost closed , signaling the limit of her bankai . this process can take any amount of time and is usually dependent on how much energy she expels and has three abilities . 

left hand of god (  神の左手 / kami no hidarite ) . a ever winding and chasing white arm emerges from the gate . it is a seal with a goal to immobilize any part or all of an opponent and will act without nanami’s control once summoned . 

right hand of god (  神の右手 / kami no migite ) .  a second arm emerges from the gate , much stronger than the first one to assist in the trapping process . 

heavenly applause (  天の拍手 / ten no hakushu ) . one hundred light hands shoot out from the portal of the gates , slamming flat against all directions of the opponent , the sound is reminiscent of thunder . this is a final strike and will cause her third ring to vanish and her bankai abilities to subside . 

essentially , her zanpakutō allows her to use kidō in conjunction with it’s unique abilities . it is a powerful spirit and without an understanding of kidō , she would have never been able to master it . she did not attempt to achieve shikai until she was admitted into the kidōshu and it took her 25 years just to work through the three keys and another 7 to use them all at once with enough control and power to withstand live combat . she worked hard for this , to say the very least .

[windermeresimblr]

I also have made an approximation of a miwa torii. The lake it sits on is...still a work in progress; I’m not good at terrain paint, so it’s going to take me some time to become satisfied with it. 

[superiorminds]

[1st place] Kumano Hongu Taisha (Wakayama): 33.9m

[2nd Place] Omiwa Jinja (Nara): 32.2m

Nara’s Omiwa Jinja is said to be the oldest shrine in Japan. It does not have a main shrine, though, as the towering Mt. Miwa behind the shrine is believed to house its deity. This shrine’s enormous torii measures 32.2m in height, making it the second largest torii in the country. It was built in 1984 in celebration of a visit by Emperor Showa and the 60th year of his reign. A lot of people are shocked to see how massive this gate is, so if you ever visit Nara, this shrine is a must-see!