Hundreds of people gathered Sunday at a Buddhist temple in downtown Tokyo, eagerly stretching their hands to catch the dried ...

Shimane Prefecture draws visitors to Izumo Taisha, a shrine where Shinto deities gather to determine future connections.

Dozens of people soaked and splashed themselves in painfully icy cold water on Saturday in a pool at a Tokyo shrine, adhering to Japanes ...

SHIMOSUWA, Nagano -- A rare Shinto "porridge ritual" to predict the state of society ... porridge ritual at Suwa Taisha's Shimosha Harumiya shrine in Shimosuwa, Nagano Prefecture, Jan. 14, 2025.

Mostly half-naked men with just white loincloth around their hips and several women in white robes joined the annual cold endurance ritual at the Kanda Myojin, a Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo.

Japan’s annual ritual of “mame-maki,” or bean-throwing, at Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and homes sees people marking “setsubun,” the last day of the winter in the Japanese lunar ...