Shintoism

Shinto at a glance
• The essence of Shinto is the Japanese devotion to invisible spiritual beings and powers
called kami, to shrines, and to various rituals.
• Shinto is not a way of explaining the world. What matters are rituals that enable human
beings to communicate with kami.
• Kami are not God or gods. They are spirits that are concerned with human beings - they
appreciate our interest in them and want us to be happy - and if they are treated properly
they will intervene in our lives to bring benefits like health, business success, and good
exam results.
• Shinto is a very local religion, in which devotees are likely to be concerned with their local
shrine rather than the religion as a whole. Many Japanese will have a tiny shrine-altar in
their homes.
• However, it is also an unofficial national religion with shrines that draw visitors from
across the country. Because ritual rather than belief is at the heart of Shinto, Japanese
people don't usually think of Shinto specifically as a religion - it's simply an aspect of
Japanese life. This has enabled Shinto to coexist happily with Buddhism for centuries.
Shintoism: Beliefs
 Kami

• Shinto is based on belief in, and worship of, kami.

• The best English translation of kami is 'spirits', but this is an over-simplification
of a complex concept - kami can be elements of the landscape or forces of nature.
• Kami are close to human beings and respond to human prayers. They can
influence the course of natural forces, and human events.
• Shinto tradition says that there are eight million kami in Japan.
 Concepts of Kami
• Shinto belief includes several ideas of kami: while these are closely related, they are not completely
interchangeable and reflect not only different ideas but different interpretations of the same idea.
• Kami can refer to beings or to a quality which beings possess.
• So the word is used to refer to both the essence of existence or being-ness which is found in everything, and to
particular things which display the essence of existence in an awe-inspiring way.
• But while everything contains kami, only those things which show their kami-nature in a particularly striking
way are referred to as kami.
• Kami as a property is the sacred or mystical element in almost anything. It is in everything and is found
everywhere, and is what makes an object itself rather than something else. The word means that which is hidden.
• Kami have a specific life-giving, harmonizing power, called musubi, and a truthful will, called makoto (also
translated as sincerity).
• Not all kami are good - some are thoroughly evil.
 Kami as 'God'
• The idea that kami are the same as God stems in part from the use of the word
kami to translate the word 'God' in some 19th century translations of the Bible into
Japanese.
• This caused a great deal of confusion even among Japanese: the Shinto theologian
Ueda Kenji estimated in 1990 that nearly 65% of entering students now associate
the Japanese term kami with some version of the Western concept of a supreme
being.
• The next section shows that kami are actually very different from the Western
concept of God.
 Kami as beings
The concept of kami is hard to explain.
Shintoists would say that this is because human beings are simply incapable of forming a
true understanding of the nature of kami.
To make understanding easier kami are often described as divine beings, as spirits or
gods. But kami are not much like the gods of other faiths:
• Kami are not divine like the transcendent and omnipotent deities found in many
religions.
• Kami are not omnipotent.
• Kami are not perfect - they sometimes make mistakes and behave badly.
• Kami are not inherently different in kind from human beings or nature - they are just a
higher manifestation of the life energy... an extraordinary or awesome version.
• Kami do not exist in a supernatural universe - they live in the same world as human
beings and the world of nature
 Kami as beings (continued)

Kami include the gods that created the universe, but can also
include:
• The spirits that inhabit many living beings
• Some beings themselves
• Elements of the landscape, like mountains and lakes
• Powerful forces of nature, like storms and earthquakes
• human beings who became kami after their deaths
• The term kami is sometimes applied to spirits that live in things, but
it is also applied directly to the things themselves - so the kami of a
mountain or a waterfall may be the actual mountain or waterfall,
rather than the spirit of the mountain or waterfall..
• Three types of kami are particularly important:
• Ujigami, the ancestors of the clans: in tribal times, each group
believed that a particular kami was both their ancestor and their
protector, and dedicated their worship to that spirit
• Kami of natural objects and creatures, and of the forces of nature
• The souls of dead human beings of outstanding achievement
Beliefs
 Coexistence with other Religions
• Today many Japanese mix Buddhism and Shinto in their lives;
something that can't be done with more exclusive religions
like Christianity or Islam. About 83% of Japanese follow Shinto, and
76% follow Buddhism (1999 figures).
• Although early Christian missionaries were hostile to Shinto, in more
recent times it was seen by some Christians as so different from their
own faith that they were willing to allow Japanese Christians to
practice Shinto as well as Christianity. (For example, a Vatican
proclamation in 1936 allowed Japanese Catholics to participate in
Shinto ceremonies, on the grounds that these were merely civil rites of
"filial reverence toward the Imperial Family and to the heroes of the
country".
 Purity in Shinto

• Purity is at the heart of Shinto's understanding of good and evil.

• Impurity in Shinto refers to anything which separates us from kami, and from musubi, the
creative and harmonizing power.
• The things which make us impure are tsumi - pollution or sin.
Human beings are born pure
• Shinto does not accept that human beings are born bad or impure; in fact Shinto states that
humans are born pure, and sharing in the divine soul.
• Badness, impurity or sin are things that come later in life, and that can usually be got rid of
by simple cleansing or purifying rituals.
The causes of impurity
• Pollution - tsumi - can be physical, moral or spiritual. 'Tsumi' means much the same as the
English word 'sin', but it differs from sin in that it includes things which are beyond the
control of individual human beings and are thought of as being caused by evil spirits. In
ancient Shinto, tsumi also included disease, disaster and error. Anything connected with death
or the dead is considered particularly polluting.
 Beliefs about the Universe
• Shinto does not split the universe into a natural physical world and a supernatural
transcendent world. It regards everything as part of a single unified creation.
• Shinto also does not make the Western division between body and spirit - even spirit
beings exist in the same world as human beings.
Visible and invisible worlds
• Shinto does distinguish between the visible world (kenkai) and the invisible world
(yukai), but the invisible world is regarded as in some way an extension of the everyday
world, and not a separate realm.
Kami and the universe
• Kami provide a mechanism through which the Japanese are able to regard the whole
natural world as being both sacred and material.
• Kami include gods and spirit beings, but also include many other things that are revered
for the powers that they possess. Oceans and mountains are kami, so are storms and
earthquakes.
History
 Divinity of the Emperor

• Many cultures have attributed divinity or significant spiritual gifts to their rulers.
The rulers of ancient Egypt and Rome were treated as gods, and medieval kings
(including England's Henry VI) were regarded as having the ability to cure
diseases with the royal touch.
• The Japanese concept of the divinity of the Emperor is often misunderstood by
Westerners. Neither the Emperor nor most of his people ever thought that the
Emperor was a God in the sense of being a supernatural supreme being.
• From the 6th century onwards it was accepted that the Emperor was descended
from the kami (in this context gods), was in contact with them, and often inspired
by them.
• This didn't make him a god himself, but rather imposed on him the obligation of
carrying out certain rituals and devotions in order to ensure that the kami looked
after Japan properly and ensured its prosperity.
 History (continued)

Status of the Emperor in Japanese history

• For most of Japanese history, the Emperor's status as the direct descendant of the founding
kami was not reflected in his political power.
• Until the Meiji restoration the Emperor had little power, and was a largely unknown and
ceremonial figure. Japan was actually run by feudal noblemen, and the Emperor lived in
seclusion, and sometimes in actual imprisonment.
The Emperor after the Meiji restoration
• It's been suggested that the divinity of the Emperor was one of the central tenets of the Meiji
restoration but this isn't true; none of the official Meiji documents actually declare that the
Emperor was kami or god.
• The divine status of the Emperor did become a general assumption during World War II, but
as a vital element of the Japanese patriotic understanding of themselves as a nation rather
than a theological reality.
• Other teachers referred to the Emperor as being worshipped as a god, without ever saying
that he was god.
• The Emperor as akitsu mikami
• During the 1930s there were some who taught that the Emperor was akitsu
mikami ('manifest god') a human being in which the property of kami nature
was perfectly revealed, but they qualified this by saying that the Emperor was
neither omniscient or omnipotent.
• However the Emperor's qualities of kami nature together with his direct
descent from Ameratsu, the highest of the kami, made him so superior that the
Japanese thought it entirely logical that people should obey the Emperor and
worship him – but it did not make him God in the Western sense.
• The end of divinity
When the Emperor gave up his divinity on the orders of the USA, in the Imperial
rescript of 1 January 1946, he in fact gave up nothing that he had ever had, but
simply restated an earlier traditional set of beliefs about the Imperial family.
 Shinto and nationalism
• Shinto cannot be separated from Japan and the Japanese, but in the late 19th and first half of
the 20th centuries Shinto became an established state religion, inextricably linked to the cause
of Japanese nationalism.
The link between Shinto and nationalism
• Shinto legend tells that the emperors of Japan are descended in an unbroken line from the first
Emperor, Jimmu Tenno, Amaterasu-Omikami's great-grandson. The native Japanese people
themselves are descended from the kami who were present at the founding of Japan.
• This story contains a very clear message that Japan is an old country, whose people are
descended from the founding kami, and an Imperial family with an unbroken line of descent
from Amaterasu herself. The Imperial family is older than the people of Japan, and descended
from a kami of higher rank.
• The political message of the story is that Japan is the way it should be, that its survival
depends on maintaining the relationship between the Emperor and his people, and that the
Emperor rules Japan because the gods want him to. Before the Meiji Restoration and the
creation of State Shinto, this story was just one myth among many, and not something crucial
to Japanese self-image.
• Religion and politics
• In the 6th century Buddhism was imported into Japanese religious life and
Buddhism and Shinto together began to play a part in Japanese government.
The Emperor and court had to perform religious ceremonies to make sure that
the kami looked after Japan and its people. A court liturgical calendar was
developed.
• Over the next few centuries Buddhist influence in government grew stronger.
The 17th century was dominated by state-imposed Buddhism (with many
Shinto elements) as a reaction against an outside threat posed by Christian
missionaries.
• Japanese civic religion in the 17th century still included elements of
Confucianism, while popular religion consisted mainly of Buddhism and
Shinto. There was a movement towards a purer Shinto during the next two
centuries, culminating in the Meiji Restoration towards the end of the 19th
century, when Shinto became the established religion of Japan for a time.
 Festivals

• Shinto festivals - Matsuri

• Oshogatsu (New Year)
• Seijin Shiki (Adults' Day)
• Haru Matsuri (Spring festivals)
• Aki Matsuri (Autumn festivals)
• Shichigosan
• Rei-sai (Annual Festival)
 Places
Shinto shrines
• A shrine (jinja) is a sacred place where kami live, and which show the power and
nature of the kami. It's conventional in Japan to refer to Shinto shrines and
Buddhist temples - but Shinto shrines actually are temples, despite not using that
name. Every village and town or district in Japan will have its own Shinto shrine,
dedicated to the local kami.
• The Japanese see shrines as both restful places filled with a sense of the sacred,
and as the source of their spiritual vitality - they regard them as their spiritual
home, and often attend the same shrine regularly throughout their lives. Shrines
need not be buildings - rocks, trees, and mountains can all act as shrines, if they
are special to kami.
• A large shrine can contain several smaller sub-shrines. Shinto shrines can cover
several thousand acres, or a few square feet. They are often located in the
landscape in such a way as to emphasize their connection to the natural world,
and can include sacred groves of trees, and streams.
• Various symbolic structures, such as torii gates and shimenawa ropes, are used to
separate the shrine from the rest of the world. Some major shrines have a national
rather than a local role, and are visited by millions of people from across Japan at
major festivals.
• Japanese people don't visit shrines on a particular day each week. People go to the
shrine at festival times, and at other times when they feel like doing so. Japanese
often visit the local shrine when they want the local kami to do them a favor such
as good exam results, a good outcome to a surgical operation for a relative, and so
on.
 Places (continued)
Yasukuni
• The most controversial Shinto shrine is at Yasukuni and honors 2.5 million Japanese soldiers,
including convicted war criminals such as former Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, who was
executed after World War II.
• Yasukuni - which means 'peaceful country' - was founded in 1869 under the orders of Emperor
Meiji and is dedicated to the souls of all those who have fallen in battle for Japan since that
time. Within the shrine the souls of the dead are worshipped rather than just remembered. They
are referred to as deities who have sacrificed their lives for the making of modern Japan.
• Surrounded by war banners and military regalia, they are venerated by the hundreds of
thousands of visitors who attend the shrine each year to pay homage to them.
Controversy over Koizumi's visits
• The 2001-2006 Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, sparked argument after argument
when he insisted on visiting the Yasukuni shrine every year.
• He refused to offer an explanation or stop visiting the shrine, causing tensions with China and
South Korea.
 Places (continued)
Itsukushima
• The main building of Itsukushima shrine, in the town of Miyajima on
Itsukushima Island, Hiroshima Prefecture, is believed to have been built in the 6th
century.
• The dramatic torii (gate) of Itsukushima is one of Japan's most popular tourist
attractions, and the view of the gate in front of the island's Mount Misen is
classified as one of the Three Views of Japan.
• At high tide, the torii appears to float on the water.
• Itsukushima is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Because the foundations are
underwater and the building is frequently battered by storms (including a major
typhoon in 2004); repair and maintenance is a continual process.
Shinto Worship
 Shinto Worship
• Shinto worship is highly ritualized, and follows strict conventions of protocol,
order and control. It can take place in the home or in shrines.
• Although all Shinto worship and ritual takes place within the patterns set when
the faith was centralized in the 19th century, there is much local diversity.
The spirit of Shinto worship
• In keeping with Shinto values, Shinto ritual should be carried out in a spirit of
sincerity, cheerfulness and purity.
• Shinto worship and the senses
• Shinto ritual is intended to satisfy the senses as well as the minds of those
taking part, so the way in which it is carried out is of huge importance.
Shinto ceremonies have strong aesthetic elements - the setting and props, the
sounds, the dress of the priests, and the language and speech are all intended
to please the kami to whom the worship is offered.
• Private and public worship
• Although Shinto worship features public and shared rituals at local shrines,
it can also be a private and individual event, in which a person at a shrine (or
in their home) prays to particular kami either to obtain something, or to
thank the kami for something good that has happened.
 Shinto Worship (continued)
Worship at home
•Many Japanese homes contain a place set aside as a shrine, called a kami-dana (kami shelf),
where they may make offerings of flowers or food, and say prayers.
•The kami-dana is a shelf that contains a tiny replica of the sanctuary of a shrine, and may
also include amulets bought to ensure good luck (or absorb bad luck). A mirror in the center
connects the shelf to the kami.
•If a family has bought a religious object at a shrine they will lay this on the kami-dana, thus
linking home to shrine.
Worship at a shrine
•There is no special day of the week for worship in Shinto - people visit shrines for festivals,
for personal spiritual reasons, or to put a particular request to the kami (this might be for
good luck in an exam, or protection of a family member, and so on).
•Worship takes place in shrines built with great understanding of the natural world. The
contrast between the human ritual and the natural world underlines the way in which Shinto
constructs and reflects human empathy for the universe.
• The journey that the worshipper makes through the shrine to the
sanctuary where the ritual takes place forms part of the worship, and
helps the worshipper to move spiritually from the everyday world to a
place of holiness and purity.
• The aesthetics (or to put it over simply, the 'look') of the shrine
contribute substantially to the worship, in the way that the setting of a
theatre play contributes significantly to the overall drama.
• Although Shinto rituals appear very ancient, many are actually
modern revivals, or even modern inventions.
 Rituals
Jichinsai - Ji Matsuri
• Jichinsai are ceremonies held before the construction of a building (business or private) in Japan.
The aim is to purify the ground, worship the local kami and pray for safety during construction.
Norito
• Norito are Shinto ritual prayers that are addressed directly to the kami during formal ceremonies.
They are recited by a priest on behalf of the worshippers. The norito are spoken in formal
Japanese phrases of great beauty.
• Shinto believes that certain words have spiritual power if properly spoken, and this style of
language is used because of a belief that using these 'beautiful', 'correct' words will bring about
good
• During the State Shinto period formal prayers were laid down by the government, but priests can
now use any appropriate prayers - or can compose their own.
• Norito include the yogoto, which is a blessing specifically for the preservation of the imperial
reign. The Nakatomi no yogoto is pronounced on the day of the emperor's accession to the
throne.
 Rituals (continued)
Typical ritual
The conventional order of events in many Shinto festival rituals is as follows:
• Purification - this takes place before the main ceremony
• Adoration - bowing to the altar
• Opening of the sanctuary
• Presentation of food offerings (meat cannot be used as an offering)
• Prayers (the form of prayers dates from the 10th century AD/CE)
• Music and dance
• Offerings - these are symbolic and consist of twigs of a sacred tree bearing of white paper
• Removal of offerings
• Closing the sanctuary
• Final adoration
• Sermon (optional)
• Ceremonial meal (this is often reduced to ceremonial sake drinking)
 Ethics in Shinto
•Note: Because Shinto coexists with Buddhism and Confucianism and their ethical
values, it's hard, and not very useful, to isolate the distinctly Shinto elements in
Japanese ethics. Confucian values in particular have inspired much of the
Japanese ethical code.
No moral absolutes
•Shinto has no moral absolutes and assesses the good or bad of an action or
thought in the context in which it occurs: circumstances, intention, purpose, time,
location, are all relevant in assessing whether an action is bad.
Good is the default condition
•Shinto ethics start from the basic idea that human beings are good, and that the
world is good. Evil enters the world from outside, brought by evil spirits. These
affect human beings in a similar way to disease, and reduce their ability to resist
temptation. When human beings act wrongly, they bring pollution and sin upon
themselves, which obstructs the flow of life and blessing from the kami.
Things which are bad
• Things which are usually regarded as bad in Shinto are:
• things which disturb kami
• things which disturb the worship of kami
• things which disrupt the harmony of the world
• things which disrupt the natural world
• things which disrupt the social order
• things which disrupt the group of which one is a member
Texts in Shintoism
 Texts

Shinto holy books

• The holy books of Shinto are the Kojiki or 'Records of Ancient Matters' (712 CE) and the Nihon-gi or
'Chronicles of Japan' (720 CE).
• These books are compilations of ancient myths and traditional teachings that had previously been
passed down orally.
• The Kojiki was dictated by Heida no Are to the scribe O no Yasumaro on the orders of the Emperor
Temmu.
The holy books are not exclusively Shinto
• The dates are very significant, since by the 8th century, when they were compiled, Japanese religious
life had received considerable input from Buddhism and Confucianism, both of which colored the
contents of these books.
Political purpose
• Some of the myths have a very clear political purposes. In a wide sense, they are intended to establish
the primacy of Japan and the Japanese over all other countries and peoples and in a narrow sense, to
give divine authority to the ruling classes of Japan, and to some extent to establish the political
supremacy of the Yamato clan over the Izumo clan.
Moral purpose
• The myths teach a number of truths:
• Japan and its people are chosen and special to the gods (kami)
• the kami have many qualities in common with human beings
• the kami are very different from God in the Western sense
• the kami have a duty to look after humanity
• humanity should look after the kami
• purity and purification are important if humanity is to thrive
• purification is a creative as well as a cleansing act
• death is the ultimate impurity