{"id":11933,"date":"2021-01-14T10:00:49","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T01:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/?p=11933"},"modified":"2021-03-01T14:26:32","modified_gmt":"2021-03-01T05:26:32","slug":"icc-participant-report-exploring-meiji-jingu-in-its-100th-year-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/news-en\/2021\/01\/14\/11933\/","title":{"rendered":"Participant Report: Exploring Meiji Jing\u016b in its 100th year"},"content":{"rendered":"
Dorothy Detabali (Philippines)
\nM.A. Student
\nGraduate School of Asia Pacific Studies<\/h6>\n
\"\"<\/a>

(photo by Author)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the year 2020 nears its end, many people are in dire need of a mental health break from isolating and being cooped up at home.\u00a0<\/span>When ICC announced\u00a0<\/span>that it was organizing a field trip<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>Meiji\u00a0<\/span>Jing\u016b<\/span>\u00a0in Shibuya<\/span>, I signed up<\/span>\u00a0to have a much-needed change of pace.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It turned out to be a refreshing experience to join<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>outdoor activities and meet new friends in the \u201cnew normal<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>To ease any worries about the coronavirus, we were required to submit health check forms, take our body temperature, wear masks at all times, and disinfect our hands regularly. The open grounds of Meiji Jing\u016b also made it very easy for everyone to practice social distancing.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We were welcomed by our<\/span>\u00a0tour guide<\/span>\u00a0outside Harajuku station on a bright Saturday morning. He\u00a0<\/span>was a Shinto priest<\/span>\u00a0who graduated from\u00a0<\/span>Waseda\u00a0University.<\/span>\u00a0We learned about the\u00a0<\/span>basics of Shinto not as a religion, but as a way of life.\u00a0<\/span>Meiji\u00a0<\/span>Jing\u016b<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>is a shrine<\/span>\u00a0dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress\u00a0<\/span>Sh\u014dken<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>in 1920.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The major<\/span>\u00a0political, economic, and social change<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>during the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Meiji period resulted in Japan\u2019s modernization,\u00a0<\/span>so it was only fitting\u00a0<\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0the Japan<\/span>ese\u00a0<\/span>people<\/span>\u00a0wanted to honor\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>heir Imperial Majesties\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>spirit or\u00a0<\/span>kami<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>in the capital<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>As a sign of national solidarity, about<\/span>\u00a0100,000 trees from all over\u00a0<\/span>the country<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>were<\/span>\u00a0donated to create an\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>eternal forest<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0surrounding the shrine.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our guide explained the proper etiquette<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for visiting a Shinto shrine, such as bowing in front of the<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>torii<\/span><\/i>, cleansing our hands, and praying at the Shrine<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>One of the highlights of the trip was writing down our aspirations and gratitude on wooden tablets called\u00a0<\/span>ema<\/span><\/i>, which some participants did in their own languages<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our visit was also serendipitous because Meiji Jing\u016b just celebrated its centennial festival in November 2020. We were gifted with a commemorative bottled tea that was made exclusively for this fete<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>It was truly amazing to stand in a sacred space that has witnessed and endured a great deal of history, while continuing to be a<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>cultural treasure<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a hundred years later. Even in a pandemic, the Shrine welcomed droves of people who came to visit, pray, and celebrate life\u2019s milestones. As much as the Shrine venerates the divine, it also celebrates our humanity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I left Meiji Jing\u016b<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>with a deeper appreciation and respect for Japanese culture, and a renewed sense of hope and calm despite the current situation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Cleansing hands (ICC)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Writing ema tablets (ICC)<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dorothy Detabali (Philippines) M.A. Student Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies   As the year 2020 ne […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,97],"tags":[116,94],"class_list":["post-11933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-other-en","tag-event-report-en","tag-general-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11933"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11940,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11933\/revisions\/11940"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waseda.jp\/inst\/icc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}