Shrine culture revival

1990s-present · Japan (Japan)

From the 1990s the shrines found new publics. Young visitors came in growing numbers for festivals, for the calligraphy of shrine stamps collected in goshuin books, for weddings and blessings in shrine form, and for the forests and festivals of local shrines newly valued as heritage. Jinja Honchō promoted the shrine as the heart of its community, and the rebuilding of shrine halls and the return of lapsed festivals marked the decade. The revival is cultural before it is doctrinal: the kami are honoured as the form of belonging itself.

Tagged: Revival Jinja Shinto Shinto

The Event

Date
1990s-present (approximate)
Era
Postwar Jinja Shinto; Standard periodization of Shinto history
Location
Japan; today Japan
Traditions
Shinto
Streams
Jinja Shinto

Connections

Primary Sources

  • The publications and shrine registers of Jinja Honchō.

Secondary Sources

  • Hardacre, Helen. Shinto: A History. Oxford University Press, 2017.
  • Breen, John, and Mark Teeuwen. A New History of Shinto. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.

Provenance: HIST-0916; confidence 0.85; accessed 2026-10-28.

Related on This Site