While I was researching images for my Mount Fuji painting I found myself getting sidetracked into reading about the traditions and history of the area around the famous peak. In particular the details of a temple or shinto shrine. The ritual of visiting these locations is intricate and fascinating… so I felt compelled to create my own little illustrated ‘story’, picking out a few of those details and trying to bring them to life on the page.
A Shinto shrine (神社, meaning: “place of the gods”) is a structure whose main purpose is to house one or more kami (spirit). Its most important building is used for the safekeeping of sacred objects, and not for worship.