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Shinto – more detail

What do Shintoists believe?

Shinto has been Japan’s own religion for over 2000 years. It is more concerned with this world and life than with the afterlife, with the good of the community than of the individual, and with performing rituals than with doctrines and believing.

Unlike most other religions, Shinto has no real founder, no written scriptures, no body of religious law, and only a very loosely organised priesthood.

Shintoists believe in worshipping the natural world to establish communion, harmony and peace with its spirits and deities through prayer and ritual. In their view, moral and physical purity is a basic law.

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Shinto diversity

Shinto is a tolerant religion that accepts the validity of other religions. Indeed, Shinto worshippers regularly pay respect to other religions and their practices.

There are three, closely linked groups within the Shinto movement:

Shrine Shinto (Jinja Shinto)
Closest to the traditional form of Shinto and said to date back to prehistoric times. The term usually refers to the beliefs and rituals associated with the shrines that give their allegiance to the Jinja Honcho or Association of Shinto Shrines.

Sect Shinto (Kyoha Shinto)
Started in the nineteenth century and includes 13 major independent sects which are officially recognised by the Japanese government. The 13 sects, with their date of formal recognition, are:

  • Fusokyo (1882)
  • Izumo Oyashirokyo (1882)
  • Jikkokyo (1882)
  • Konkokyo (1900)
  • Kurozumikyo (1876)
  • Misogikyo (1894)
  • Ontakekyo, formerly known as Mitakekyo (1882)
  • Shinrikyo (1894)
  • Shinshukyo (1882)
  • Shinto Shusei-ha (1876)
  • Shinto Taikyo, known before World War II simply as Shinto (1886)
  • Taiseikyo (1882)
  • Tenrikyo (1908)

Folk Shinto
Traditional Shinto that was practised by ordinary Japanese people at their local shrines, and not institutionalised by various national reforms. Folk Shinto influences many of the rites of passage celebrated in Japan, together with agricultural and other festivals.

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How Shinto developed

Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion established around 500 BCE, possibly earlier. Its name comes from the Chinese words shin tao – the way of the gods. By the eighth century, it had established itself as Japan’s official religion, along with Buddhism.

Originally, Shinto was closely associated with Japan’s ruling family. This link was dissolved after the Second World War.

Unlike other religions, Shinto has no specific founder, no written scriptures, no body of religious law, and only a very loosely organised priesthood. Some people argue that Shinto expresses the Japanese way of looking at the world.

Four phases
The development of Shinto can be divided into four periods:

  • Before Buddhism arrives in Japan
  • Shinto and Buddhism combine in Japan
  • The Meiji reinterpretation of Shinto in the nineteenth century
  • Shinto post-World War Two

Shinto and Buddhism
Around 84% of people in Japan follow both Shinto and Buddhism.

The two religions share a basic optimism about human nature and the world, and they have developed alongside each other for centuries.

Many Shintoists regard the Buddha as another kami, while many Buddhists regard the kami as manifestations of various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Weddings are generally performed by Shinto priests; funerals by Buddhist priests.

Shinto is also significantly influenced by Confucianism.

Shinto leaders

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How Shintoists worship

Shintoists worship in shrines. There are around 80,000 shrines across Japan, many in areas of great natural beauty. Each shrine is dedicated to a specific kami who has a divine personality and responds to sincere prayers of the faithful.

To enter their shrine, worshippers pass through a torii. This is a ceremonial gateway comprising two wooden columns crossed by two beams and often painted red. The torii divides the shrine’s interior from the secular world.

All holy areas are marked off by plaited straw ropes, symbols of the divine presence.

As part of the Shinto prayer ritual, worshipers bow twice, clap their hands twice to make sure the kami is listening, bow once again and then, before praying, throw coins into a wooden box as offerings.

Music and dance
Kagura (kah-goo-rah), is a ritual dance accompanied by music called gagaku (gah-gah-koo). Gagaku is the traditional music of the Japanese imperial court. Together, kagura and gagaku help to provide a link between the kami and their worshipers.

Purification

For Shinto worshipers, purification is essential before offering a prayer and it is performed through an exorcism ritual called harai (ha-rah-e) – cleaning one’s body with water. In larger shrines, there are stone washbasins and visitors are required to rinse their mouth and hands before approaching the deity.

Kami

The term kami can refer to gods, goddesses, great ancestors, and all variety of spirits that inhabit the water, rocks, trees, grass, and other natural objects.

These objects are not symbols of the spirits. Rather, they are places where the spirits live. These places are regarded as sacred, and are usually encircled with a shimenawa – rope festooned with sacred white paper.

Shintoists believe the world is inhabited by numerous kami, a concept summed up in the Japanese phrase yaoyorozu no kami – ‘the eight million kami’.

The well-known Japanese scholar Motoori Norinaga defined kami as anything that is ‘superlatively awe inspiring’. As such, a kami can be good or evil, rough or gentle, strong or weak – and so on.

There are numerous Shinto demons (oni) and spirits (kappa) that must be appeased to avoid disasters and calamities. But there is no absolute split between good and evil. According to Shinto belief, all things have good and bad aspects.

In Shinto, there is no definitive standard of good and evil, no moral code. Things are as they are. Even the evil, bloodsucking kappa have some redeeming qualities. For example, the kappa is a skilled teacher in the art of bone setting and other medical practices.

Important books

Kojiki Record of Ancient Matters
Rokkokushi Six National Histories
Shoku Nihongi and its Nihon Shoki Continuing Chronicles of Japan
Jinno Shotoki A study of Shinto and Japanese politics and history, written in the 14th century.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 26th, 2010 at 1:53 pm and is filed under Shinto. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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