Robyn Lebron About 80 percent of Shintō shrines in Japan belong to the Shrine Association, which was founded in February 1946 The heart of the shrine is periodic rituals, spiritual events in parishioners’ lives, and festivals All of this is organized by priests who are both spiritual conduits and administrators Shintō does not have weekly religious services Some may go to the shrines during the month at their convenience and on the occasions of rites or festivals, which take place at fixed times during the year Shrines are private institutions, and are supported financially by the congregation and visitors The more well known shrines may have festivals that attract hundreds of thousands25 including the spring festival, autumn or harvest festival, an annual festival, and the divine procession, and especially the New Year’s season New Year’s Day is an important time for shrine visitation Protective talismans, amulets, etc., that were obtained from a given shrine during the course of the previous year are returned to the shrine and burned In turn, the pilgrim will receive new ones; these will most likely be taken home and placed on one’s personal shrine in order to ensure a prosperous and healthful new year Matsuri (Festival or Festivals): Because of all the blending of various faiths over the centuries, there are now approximately 2,500 festivals in Japan Some will be only observed by certain groups, and some observed by all of Japan Because of the quantity and variation, there will be only a brief overview in this chapter The annual schedule of matsuri seems to have been set early in the history of Japan The original purpose of a matsuri (to learn what a kami had to tell) was gradually changed to the one-way request to the worshiped made through prayers At the beginning of a year, matsuri are observed to pray for and celebrate in advance over a good harvest In spring, the start of an agricultural season is reported to kami in matsuri The summer matsuri is a prayer for stamping out noxious insects, and the autumnal matsuri is designed to be a thanksgiving affair The Divine Procession usually takes place on the day of the annual festival, and the kami is carried on the shoulders and transported through the parish ~ 296 ~