Happy New Year from Japan! ⛩🎇🐴🎍明けましておめでとうございます！今年も宜しくお願い致します🌌

Mixed fruit and vegetable offerings for today's monthly ceremony🙇🏻‍♂️

I finished preparing 60 Goshinmai (Sacred rice pouches) for the December month and New Years season 🙏🏼 When I finished, I humbly requested they be blessed by Kami-sama🙇🏻‍♂️

Today I helped to clean up, set the altar space, and officiated a Kamidana installation and Fushimi Inari Taisha Ōmitama enshrinement today at a friend’s home ⛩🌾 Inari Inari Faith Inari Okami Shinto Torii Kamidana shrine foxes Japan Japanese religion

Some reflections today on a series I finished and I adored!

Today, October 22nd, 2025, marks 10 years serving as a priestess and toritsugi mediator! I am eternally grateful for these past 10 years and I pray for many more years to be able to serve Kami-sama and people!🙇

Yesterday, I mailed out sacred items to Germany, Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Australia, and USA. It's nice to see Shinto and Konko Faith growing around the world. ☺️☀️

As a mixed Japanese Shinto shrine maiden + a fantasy writer myself, I've seen many non-Japanese anime/cyberpunk fans trying to write their own stories. Some of them do a ✨great✨ job. Others... not so much. So, let's unpack how you can be a better writer, especially if you're borrowing from Shinto.⛩️

Happy Tanabata! 🎋🌌💫

Your local shrine maiden here with a friendly reminder to please not rely on ChatGPT as a source for knowledge on Shinto ChatGPT can’t discern between sources that are legitimately verifiable or not in English, so relying on it to explain the more delicate, detailed aspects of Shinto is unwise

The awesome @kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social was referenced for her help with the Religion for Breakfast’s series on Shinto. She literally has a PhD studying Shinto and gave a presentation at Kokugakuin University about it. youtu.be/qlKeVY_FsVg?...

The torii irl:

Found the perfect omamori (strap type) for #torii fans at Kogane Shrine 金神社 in Gifu! ⛩️😍 #お守り #神社巡り #神道 #Shinto

Nice to meet you, my name is Olivia! I'm a licensed Shinto priestess of the Konko Faith, currently working at @yokosukakonko.bsky.social Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]🌿 (Photo is when I was graciously able to officiate a wedding in Scotland, and my shrine)

Some old photos of the offering of Kibimai sacred dance at our shrine over 50 years ago! Not sure the exact dates, but more to come. ✨☺️

Even if you can't afford a big Kamidana, or acquire sacred items or materials from Japan just yet - I think it's good to start from the heart and have even just a space you can focus your prayers. This was my very first Kamidana from 2011, just a little alcove in my bookshelf!

京都御苑での厳島神社の水彩絵を描いた。 Watercolors I did of Itsukushima Shrine at the Kyoto Imperial Gardens.

Preparing for the Spring Grand Ceremony at our parent shrine ☺️🌸

And did I mention that the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies is open access for FREE? You are welcome to submit a related manuscript for consideration! We publish monographs and edited volumes too. 😗 @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social

面白い祠に通り合わせた。矛の形があった。 An interesting hokora I came across. It has a spear motif

The cherry blossoms in bloom!🌸

Waiting at the okekkai (barrier seat between Kami-sama at the altar and the worshippers side for toritsugi mediation)

Photos from Spring Grand Mitama Ceremony yesterday at @yokosukakonko.bsky.social shrine 🌸💐 I'm very thankful to everyone who made it and even those who could not join us we prayed for them and their loved ones!

Yesterday's Spring Grand Mitama Ceremony at the shrine 🌸💐 we are very thankful to everyone who made it!

Our mascot Oni-chan helped yesterday too to greet worshippers!

Yesterday's cemetery visit and grave cleaning as part of the traditional Spring Equinox memorial to the ancestors and those who have gone before us 🌸🙏🏼 this time, we cleaned up all of the pebbles in front of the grave too. It was such a peaceful and warm day

Today is March 5th in Japan, which means it’s Miko day (巫女の日)! Not an official holiday, but definitely observed by those who practice or are interested in Shinto. Why March 5? Because of the play on words! 3 can be read as “mi” (三) 5 can be read as “ko” (五) As a Miko, I love today!

Opening the Mitama altar doors for tomorrow 🙏🏼

Preparation of the offerings for tomorrow's Spring Grand Mitama Ceremony! 🌸

Around the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, the Sun will set with the light shining directly on Kami-sama's altar, and it's always so beautiful to see! 🌸

This may not be exactly Shinto related, but I feel valuing someone based on their heart, morals, and desire to be a better person in spite of inevitable mistakes - will always be more important than valuing someone based on their worldly achievements, image, or perception from others.

Our shrines Setsubun altar ! 👹🫘 In Konko Faith one of the Kami-sama we honour is Konjin-sama, who was said to be such a fierce Kami-sama like an oni. But even with such fierceness means also such great power, and so we should have reverence for even the rough sides of nature.

"But Kaitlyn, where can I read about alcohol and global Shinto?" 🥃 I got you, friend. 😎 works.hcommons.org/records/czj7... 1/🧵

始祖(火神・軻遇突智カグツチ)とその系譜(經津主神フツヌシ)🔥⚔️

【諏訪大明神】 お正月は義実家でしたので初詣はお諏訪さまでした。早く鹿の国観たい🦌

【天苗加命】 經津主神の御子神で香取連の祖。摂社・又見(またみ)神社には、香取・鹿島・枚岡(春日大社の神神)の御子神がお祭りされております🌱

I pray and hope, and will do all I can to support Kami-sama so that everyone facing difficulties, suffering, and turmoil in their heart can feel healing, safety, and a newfound sense of strength and hope to keep walking forward each day.

I feel deeply Shinto is a practice that can help heal the world, both from an individual and broad sense for all that is around us. The more that can be known about it, I feel very thankful as it may be able to help someone in their life. When we feel strong, we can make good changes in the world

I was browsing the Shinto-related articles on English Wikipedia and I just wanted to express a huge thank you to all the people who've contributed to them! They have improved amazingly over the last 5-10 years and I saw recently even art of the various Kami-sama has been added!

Happy New Year !! 🥂🎊🎉🗻🍆🦅🌌 あけましておめでとうございます!

Some photos from today’s ceremony! It was my honor to serve for the year end ceremony at the shrine ⛩️✨

Today I attended Tsurugaoka Hachimangu's Gochinza Kinen Sai 御鎮座記念祭 "Shrine Foundation Ceremony" where "Gochinza" 御鎮座 is the term for Kami-sama to rest and dwell upon a place. It was my first time attending as a Suukeisha of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu!

I had a wonderful time yesterday with friends listening to my friend Dr. Ugoretz's (@kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social) presentation on the Globalization of Shinto at Kokugakuin University! I really hope she'll get more opportunities to do this presentation or similar presentation on the topic elsewhere!

I’m on around 3pm!

Tomorrow we are hosting a small Winter yakitori and bonfire gathering with some new and longtime friends of the shrine ☺️I took some time to clean up the garden .. it's not perfect but I'm really happy with it!

I cannot share many photos, but I attended and observed for the first time a Konko Faith and Shinto style Wake today for one of our long, long time parishioners. He always took the most beautiful photos during our shrine's ceremonies. It was a beautiful service.

Today is our first of the month ceremony! A worshipper kindly offered fresh daikon, sweet potatoes, bananas, and leeks! 🍠

I was in Hakone for a few days and on the last day I attended a ceremony of Tamadare Jinja! (Fron Hakone Jinja) It was to give thanks to Kamisama for the blessing of the clear waters we drink, bathe, and clean with.After the ceremony we were able to partake in the spring water too. It was so lovely!

But sometimes I dream of the far away and fanciful… #Sketching

Today's preparations for the mid-monthly ceremony ☺️ (月次祭 Tsukinamisai or 月例祭 Getsureisai) the oranges /mikan were all harvested from our mikan tree in the shrine garden! 🍊