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Happy and proud to find myself included in Paul J. Scalise’s “Ten Writers to Read Before Your First Japan Trip.” It can be found on his facebook feed.

As of today, October 13, the number of Unique visitors to my site has increased by 147% over the last thirty days; the increase in Page views was 206%. On September 21, more than 700 people visited my site. For me this is a large number and I would very much like to know why you are interested in my site and what you think I could do to improve it. Any suggestions or comments would be most welcome. Thank you.

Japan’s spiritual landscape is rich and varied, but few traditions capture the imagination quite like Shinto. This indigenous faith, with its deep reverence for nature and kami (spirits or gods), offers a unique window into how the Japanese seek blessings and protection. As someone fascinated by the subtle interplay between culture and spirituality, I found myself drawn to the many ways Shinto blessings in Japan manifest—both in grand ceremonies and quiet, personal rituals. U

I have spent the last two days in Kyoto, visiting a total of nine shrines. Seven of them are off the beaten track and relatively unknown. The two relatively well-known ones are Kenkin Jinja in Kita-ku and Gotonomiya Jinja in Fushimi-ku: neither of them were overrun by sightseers though. The visitors were mostly individuals and small groups of Japanese. Of the seven relatively unknown ones, only one, Issai Jinja in Fushimi-ku, was not interesting: some of the others were very

I have substantially upgraded my “How Many Kami in Japan?” page. While the upgrade is still far from complete, the page is already much...

I have now identified 65 divine favours. A large number of them are asking for family-related happiness: family well-being, family...

It turns out that I have restarted this blog with a mistake. I said that 御利益 is read as “gorieki”: in fact, and thank you to my good...

It’s some since I added anything to this blog, time to start again. I have started listing the divine favours (御利益, gorieki) along with...