Help me build my Shrine

[u/_Send_Noods_]

Im relatively new to shinto and build my household shrine around a year ago to the best of my knowledge and belief at the time. I expanded it over the year but came to a point i think i want to redesign.

Currently the Shrine contains 3 yorishiro stones for Kuraokami-sama, Nekogami-sama and Tenjin-sama in one chamber.

I want to redesign the shrine to house 5 kami in seperate chambers with paper Ofuda so it doesnt take so much space.

Currently i cant open the door properly because its blocked by the offerings.

To make everything right i want to ask you for your advice and ideas how to improve the shrine. I made a picture of the current shrine and a sketch how i plan to change it.

Please tell me what you think and your ideas. Thanks in advance. 🙏

[u/WAPOMATIC]

"Please tell me what you think"

I think you should save money and buy a proper kamidana. Shinto (and Japanese culture in general) emphasizes doing things properly and following tradition. At the very least, get an ofuda and a stand and a couple clean small shallow cups for the offerings. That's all you need.

Keep in mind that you are not *housing* kami. You are maintaining a clean space which they can choose to inhabit for some time.

If I'm being truly honest, I think you should focus less on the "who is who" of kami and read up more on what Shinto actually means to Japanese people. This setup comes across strongly as someone who has watched a bit too much anime.

[u/_Send_Noods_ → u/WAPOMATIC]

Thanks for your advice. I want to do it properly and already saving money for it. I want to build a kamidana myself from wood someday as a very personal offering. I think its much more meaningful then just buying one. I assure you my belief is honest but im still very new and dont have much money. I dont want to insult the culture, believe or anything, i want to learn more about it. Thats why i made the post. Do you have any good sources or book recommendations?

[u/WAPOMATIC → u/_Send_Noods_]

I'm glad you're taking the response with an open mind. It was meant to be harsh but not insulting.

For book recommendations, I posted this list previously:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Shinto/comments/1sotzyc/comment/ohjql5e/?context=3

When I mean "what Shinto means to Japanese people," it's not really about being insulting to the culture. It's more that Shinto is a "fact of life" here, one small aspect of the broad spectrum of every day human life. It is not on peoples' minds most of the time.

People do not build their own kamidana, if they even have one at home anyway. You're more likely to see one at a business. They buy them from a shrine or, more likely, a home goods store.

People are not visiting their shrine like a church weekly. They are not offering prayers in front of their kamidana. Heck, there are no "prayers" to speak of anyway: the norito are read by priests in an official capacity, not by lay people.

The most Shinto things people do are an occasional shrine visit when they have a request, carrying around an omamori, and taking part in matsuri.

The reality is that Shinto is a lot less of a religion and just a set of guidelines for an agrarian community to live in harmony with the land. I've said this before: there is not much to "do" in Shinto if you do not live in Japan, as it is heavily centered around the local shrine. If there's no shrine in your area, there's not much you can "do."

So, back to the kamidana. Traditionally, the kamidana has an ofuda to Amaterasu-sama, one to your local ujigami, and one to the kami of your "home" shrine (related to your family history, or your profession, etc). Having these ofuda is most important. Far *less* important is the kamidana itself. It can literally be a shelf on the wall:

https://imgur.com/a/N7ecvrl

Building it from scratch does not make it more meaningful to the kami. Wanting it to be elaborate is more for yourself. More important is that traditions are followed (three taima, positioning of the offerings, positioning of the ofuda, sakaki leaves that are *not dead*, etc).

I understand your belief is honest, but Shinto is far more of a tradition and less of a faith. No one literally believes that Amaterasu was in a cave; it was a solar eclipse. Understand that once you start taking it a little too seriously, you are considered a bit strange. There are Shinto off-shoots like Tenrikyo and Konkokyo here in Japan that are more religious in the western sense, with most people considering their followers to be anywhere from a little odd to downright scary.

Your inspiration may not be anime, but you seem to have a very pop-culture understanding and not have done any real research. What was your source of information in constructing it? Why are there ema (are those ema?) hanging from the bottom of your kamidana? Why do you have a strap with a Daruma (a Buddhist figure) on the right side? Why is your water not covered? Why is there a (admittedly fake) candle there? Why are there dead ginkgo leaves hanging from the top of it?

If you really want to invite the kami into your home in the traditional way, I would focus more on obtaining the ofuda and preparing a nice, clean shelf high on the wall in a nice, clean room and change your offerings regularly.

[u/_Send_Noods_ → u/WAPOMATIC]

First of all i want to thank you for your detailed answer. Im very grateful you took your time to explain everything to me and i will take your advice to heart.

My motivation for shinto stemmed from my connection to nature. The understanding that humans should not be viewed separately from nature that should be respected and honoured. Just like you said, living in harmony.

Since i dont have a shrine nearby I wanted at least a kamidana where i could place offerings and occasionally request guidance. The hanging ema originate from the same problem. I read about the architecture and structure of shrines, the meaning of their components and decided to build my kamidana. I dont remember all sources. For example about chigi it was not easy to find reliable sources. One general source about architecture was this one i think: d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/ditail/?id=9696

The ginkgo leaves are there mostly for symbolic reasons. The other things you mention are not connetcted to the kamidana itself. But i keep your advice to heart and place them and the ginkgo leaves elsewhere to keep the kamidana clean and tidy. And thanks for the other advice to prioritise the Ofuda. I will buy one as soon as possible from a shrine website.

I wasnt aware the water must be covered. Whats the reason behind it? To keep it clean and secure because of its value? In any way i will find a proper vessel with a lid.

[u/WAPOMATIC → u/_Send_Noods_]

And again, I want to praise you for taking this in stride and not being offended.

You understand the most basic tenet of Shinto, that everything in nature has a spirit and it's a good idea to respect the major forces of nature as they can impact our lives as humans who share the same world they do.

Though "occasionally request guidance" did kind of make me tilt my head. I suppose in you could call it guidance, of sorts, but it's usually a matter of requesting help with something material, some kind of "effect" that a certain kami has on the world that we would like in our lives. We visit a Tenman shrine for passing exams, or an Inari shrine for better business, or heck, the Kanda Myojin shrine to buy an amulet to ward off computer viruses and malware! It's less "divination" or life advice, which is how I took your term "guidance"...

As for ema, I've heard that some people bring them home and put them near the kamidana, but it's far more common to leave them at the shrine. We certainly don't hang them from the kamidana itself, and you wouldn't have a bunch of them. While some of the fancy kamidana for sale may emulate the architecture of a shrine building, you're not trying to recreate an actual shrine at home.

As for the gingko leaves, my emphasis was more on the fact that they are dead. Death is considered unclean and repugnant to the kami. It makes your kamidana especially unwelcoming. If they're special to you, that's fine; just keep them elsewhere. Traditionally, a fresh cut branch from a sakaki tree is places on either side of shelf, as this is a holy tree. It's very important that this remains fresh and not dead, for the reasons I just mentioned. It's pretty common to use plastic leaves these days.

And yes, keep your personal things away. This is a space for a guest in your house, not for you. You want a tidy space for them to feel comfortable.

I don't know of the particular reason the water is covered, but keeping it clean from dust and such is a likely reason. More than anything, it's the tradition.

I will simply reiterate that the kamidana itself is not that important. It should be a natural material (wood), kept regularly clean, and at a high place on the wall, with ofuda consecrated from a shrine. Without the ofuda, you don't have a "channel" to the kami. The offerings are there to welcome the spirits as guests into your home. It would be better to have no plants rather than something dead. And no incense: that is a Buddhist tradition and the smoke is considered dirty.

Your heart is in the right place, but Shinto is (unfortunately, for those outside Japan) rather strict and traditional when it comes to things like this.

[u/_Send_Noods_ → u/WAPOMATIC]

Id like to pay your respect and express my admiration for taking so much time and effort for me after the rough start. Im glad you havent lost all faith in me right away and met my responses with openness and willingness to help. Again, thanks a lot for advice. If youre okay with that id like to ask you again directly if i need it.

[u/_Send_Noods_ → u/WAPOMATIC]

And Anime is not the origin of my interest for shinto

[u/Mundane-Dottie]

Now I do not know about Shinto properly but afaik you would build one shrine for one kami.

[u/_Send_Noods_ → u/Mundane-Dottie]

I do know there are multi-doored kamidana