ISE, Japan — Deep in the forests of the Japanese Alps, Shinto priests keep watch as woodsmen dressed in ceremonial white chop their axes into two ancient cypress trees, timing their swings so that ...

Editor’s note: Pacific NW magazine’s weekly Backstory provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the writer’s process or an extra tidbit that accompanies our Mainstory. This week’s Mainstory explores how ...

Why are there Buddhas hidden in some Shinto shrines? Why do temples and shrines often share the same grounds? These sacred spaces have a compelling history. Keep an eye out for common features at ...

ISE, Japan — Every two decades for the last 1,300 years, Ise Jingu, Japan’s most revered Shinto shrine, has been knocked down and rebuilt from scratch. The massive, $390 million demolition and ...

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. TOKYO (AP) — Almost weekly Momo Nomura makes ...

THE LARGEST AND most active Shinto shrine in the mainland United States, and arguably the North American continent, is not in Seattle. Nor is it in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose or any other ...

Rising copper prices in Japan are reportedly fuelling a surge in thefts targeting the nation’s sacred Shinto shrines whose metal roof plates are being stolen and resold. Even remote sites are being ...

Deep in the forests of the Japanese Alps, Shinto priests watch as woodsmen, clad in ceremonial white, fell two ancient cypress trees. Their axes strike from three precise directions, timed with ...

Deep in the forests of the Japanese Alps, Shinto priests keep watch as woodsmen dressed in ceremonial white chop their axes into two ancient cypress trees, timing their swings so that they strike from ...