Another of the most common of the Shinto emblems is a slim wand of unpainted wood, called _Gohei_, to which strips of white paper--originally they were of cloth--are attached. These are thought to attract the deities, and are held in great veneration.
Leaving the principal shrine, and proceeding to make the tour of the grounds, the visitor comes, in turn, to the buildings where the business arrangements of the temple are transacted, and where the priests, in some cases, reside; to smaller shrines and oratories; to cisterns for the purpose of ceremonial ablution, &c. Sometimes, also, at the more important temples is found a long covered platform, called the _Kagura-do_, where, on festivals and special occasions, a number of girls--those I saw at Nara were still quite children--perform the _Kagura_, or sacred dance. The dancing is in honour of the divinity to whom the temple is dedicated; and commemorates a supposed incident of the mythological period. In the grounds of Shinto and Buddhist temples alike are frequently found numerous stone-lanterns, erected by way of votive offerings, and lighted on any great occasions.
It has already been remarked that Shintoism has nothing corresponding to our public worship; but every morning and evening the priests--whose office seems held in no particular sanctity, and who are at liberty, at any time, to adopt a more secular calling--perform a service before the altar, vested in white dresses, somewhat resembling albs and confined at the waist by a girdle. The service consists of the presentation of offerings and of the recital of various invocations, chiefly laudatory. The devotions of the people are remarkable for their brevity and simplicity. The worshipper, on arriving at the shrine, rings a bell, or sounds a gong, to engage the attention of the deity he desires to invoke; throws a coin of the smallest possible value on to the matting within the sanctuary rails; makes one or two prostrations; and then, clapping his hands, to intimate to his patron that his business with him is over, retires--it not being considered necessary to give to the petition any verbal expression. The making of pilgrimages, however, still occupies a prominent place in the Shinto system, and though of late years the number of pilgrims has considerably decreased, long journeys are still undertaken to the great temple of the sun-goddess at Ise--the "Mecca of Japan,"--and other celebrated shrines. The chief object of the pilgrimage is the purchase of _O-harai_, or sacred charms, which can only be obtained on the spot. These, when brought home, are placed on the _Kamidana_, or god-shelf--a miniature temple of wood, found in every Shinto house, to which are attached the names of various patron deities, and the monumental tablets of the family. His purchase of the O-harai completed, the pilgrim betakes himself to the enjoyment of the various shows and other amusements provided for him in the neighbourhood of the temple.