Shrine in Japan explains its rules for photos and dancing

Fukushima Hachimangu is a shrine^*1 in Yame, a city in Fukuoka Prefecture in the south of Japan. On September 11, 2026, the shrine put a message on its website. The message explains what the shrine thinks about dancing and about taking photos and videos on its grounds^*2.

The shrine does not ban^*3 all dancing, photos and videos. It has a problem only when people do not think about others. For example, some people block the way of other visitors or stop a ceremony^*4. Some stay in one place for a long time. Others make loud noise or do dangerous things.

The shrine says it does not judge people by their country or by who they are. It also does not matter if they want to post on social media^*5. The shrine looks only at what people really did.

Visitors do not usually need to ask before they take photos to remember their visit. The same is true for a short dance video and for photos or videos for their own social media. But they must not get in the way of other visitors.

Some people need to talk to the shrine first. These are big groups, people who use tripods^*6, speakers or drones^*7, and people who film to make money.

On September 15, the shrine added a new note. It said it had taken down some videos to protect the safety and privacy^*8 of the people in them. The shrine said its basic rules have not changed.

1. *1 shrine: a place in Japan where people go to pray
2. *2 grounds: the land around a building that belongs to it
3. *3 ban: to say that people must not do something
4. *4 ceremony: a special event with fixed actions, like a prayer event at a shrine
5. *5 social media: websites and apps where people share photos, videos and messages
6. *6 tripods: stands with three legs that hold a camera
7. *7 drones: small flying machines with a camera, moved by a person on the ground
8. *8 privacy: keeping things about yourself away from other people's eyes