Animated Pictograms

Fun and easy-to-understand presentation of historical culture and traditional customs that are uniquely Japanese.

  • VISIT TO TEMPLE / SHIRINE
  • BOWING
  • POUNDING RICE CAKE
  • HAILING A CAB / TAXI
  • TAKING A BATH
  • WATER ABLUTION
  • TEA CEREMONY
  • RHYTHMIC CLAPPING AT CELEBRATIONS
  • RIDING THE TRAIN
  • WINNING MOVES IN SUMŌ
  • AWA DANCE FESTIVAL
  • Coming Soon

About The Project

EXPERIENCE JAPAN PICTOGRAMS were developed to provide visual support for tourists in Japan.
For more information about the objectives and design concept of the project, please click here.

Request

If you would like us to create new PICTOGRAMS for you or have other requests, please contact us here.

IZUMO GRAND SHRINE

出雲大社[IZUMO-TAISHA]

Izumo Taisha is located in Izumo, Shimane Prefecture, a city considered to be “the home of gods.” There are no records of exactly when the shrine was built, but some believe that it is as old as the land of Japan created by Ōkuninushi no Kami, the main deity enshrined at Izumo Taisha. Ōkuninushi is said to have begot many children and thus is also well known as the matchmaking god. There is a sense that things here are larger than life. The huge straw rope called Ōshimenawa measures 13 meters in length and weighs 5.2 tons. It is claimed that the original Honden (main hall) was 48 meters high (as high as a 15-story building), soaring like a holy shrine in the sky. The pink spots in front of the hall represent where the original pillars rested.