An (Shinto)

A hakkyaku-an carrying a tamagushi

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Shinto
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Kami Ritual dance Ritual purity Polytheism Animism Japanese festivals Mythology
Shinto shrines
List of Shinto shrines Ichinomiya Twenty-Two Shrines Modern system of ranked Shinto shrines Association of Shinto Shrines Shinto architecture
Notable Kami
Amaterasu Sarutahiko Ame no Uzume Inari Izanagi Izanami Susanoo Tsukuyomi
Important literature
Kojiki (ca. 711 CE) Nihon Shoki (720 CE) Fudoki (713-723 CE) Shoku Nihongi (797 CE) Rikkokushi (8th and 9th centuries CE) Kogo Shūi (807 CE) Kujiki (807 to 936 CE) Engishiki (927 CE)
See also
Religion in Japan Glossary of Shinto List of Japanese deities Sacred objects Japanese Buddhism Edo Neo-Confucianism Koshintō Mythical creatures
Shinto portal

The an (案) is a small table, desk or platform used during Shinto ceremonies to bear offerings. It may have four, eight or sixteen legs; the eight-legged variety, called hassoku-an or hakkyaku-an (八足案, 八脚案, lit. "eight-legged table"), is the most common.

See also

• Glossary of Shinto, for an explanation of terms concerning Shinto, Shinto art, and Shinto shrine architecture.
• Basic Terms of Shinto, Kokugakuin University, Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Tokyo 1985

References

• "An". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Tokyo, Japan: Institute of Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University. 2006. Retrieved 2007-08-07. 
• Picken, Stuart (1994). Essentials of Shinto: An Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 369. ISBN 0313264317.