Practically Religious And Visiting A Shinto Shrine

Between decades there have been hundreds and hundreds of innovations and inventions that have been created to make the people’s lives better. But, cultures have changed as well. These changes have been shown by looking back at history through writing and stories passed down from one generation to the next. These stories have reflected how life has changed through the ages and the different lifestyles that people in the past have lived. From reading The Great Gatsby, and comparing the books culture to today’s age, there are multiple differences in then the two time periods.

Even now, disciples wearing white clothing -kimono for ascetic training, come and go there refer a part of culture (JNTO, 2014). The religious center of Japan is in Kiso, the area of Mt Ontake. For the domestic religious tourists, Leah pointed out that the Japanese concept of tourism for a trip from the pilgrimage, so for them, the most important place when they are visiting is the land of temples and other religious places (Leah, 2008). In the case of Mt Ontake can not be recovery to normal travel order in a short term, it can be expected that there would be a increase in other domestic important religious sites. For example, the tourist who was scheduled to visit this religious center in Kiso may choose to visit Tokyo's religious center instead.

Firstly, the traditions within Shintoism were important to help the Japanese people to connect with their ancestors and the nature around them. The word ‘Shinto’ itself means way of the gods. It is as old as the Japanese culture and was the only religion in Japan until the 6th century. According to the Shinto religion, there exists a basic life force called kami. 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. Due to their deep respect and love for nature and Japan itself, many shrines were set up in places of natural beauty. Followers went to pray here to receive good fortune and samurai would often go to the shrines to pray for victory before and after battle. Shinto’s traditions involved having a clean lifestyle. They washed and bathed everyday which made most of japan a fresh

Oscar Garza’s Hayao Miyazaki and Shinto: A Spiritual Connection employs the theory of structuralism, the idea of relating aspects of cultural practices and their

The nobles of Japan claim that they are the descendants of the five gods which Susanoo-Wo created. In Japanese art Amaterasu is seated with her other brother Tsukuyomi no Mikoto, who is the moon god. The cocks from the myth are associated with her and the rising sun. In Japan the Ise Grand Shrine is the most important Shinto shrine. It is dedicated to Amaterasu, and represented with three of her symbols. The cocks, the mirror, and a raven (who is believed to be her messenger.) The mirror is called the Yata no Kagami, held in the center of Japan at the Great Shrine at Ise. The mirror has been hidden for over a thousand of years but it is said to have eight sides which is also Shinto’s number of perfection.

Shinto and Buddhism are two different traditions that have flourished in Japan for hundreds of years. Generally, followers from one of the traditions tend to follow the guidance of the other as well, which makes the relationship between Shinto and Buddhism very rare in world religions. At first, when these two traditions contacted each other in ancient Japan, there was a lot of confusion, but eventually they were able to coexist. However, even though Buddhism and Shinto share similarities regarding flexibility and independence, there are more differences between them proven by Buddhism’s spread to ancient Japan, their contrasting practices and beliefs and the different outlooks on the afterlife.

There are many aspects of this world such as culture, technology, or art that have been influenced by other things. The way that things influence each other has allowed for new possibilities and ideals to be formed. Religion is no exception; there have been many instances where religions have influenced each other and blossomed due to new ideas being presented. A good example of this the relationship between the two religions: Buddhism and Shinto. Buddhism was brought into Japan during the early 6th century from Korea, and was later institutionalized as the state religion in the late 6th century by Prince Shōtoku. The Prince was a great patron of Buddhism and by having made it the state religion, it would help Buddhism spread. However, Japan was not without its own religion—Shinto—which had been there for many years prior to the arrival of Buddhism. With Buddhism gaining traction in Japan with the help of Prince Shōtoku, what then does it mean for the Shinto religion? However, Shinto was not long forgotten, which leads to the question: how did the two religions, Buddhism and Shinto, interact with each other when Buddhism arrived in Japan? In this essay, I will discuss how both Buddhism and Shinto were closely tied to each other in Japan, and how they would influence each other in different ways that allowed them to grow into new directions.

Technology has changed remarkably over the last one hundred years. First, the way that we use books has changed. Another way is the way we play games. The way we communicate with each other has changed drastically over the last century as well. At this rate, with technology growing every day, we can see the “new” technology that we have right now is already being replaced with something else that is “new.”

The twenty first century has been overcome with the over usage of technology, and this

Living in the 21st century is the most fortunate time to be alive. The age of innovation is here. Once impossible are now possible. Technology has never been this advance unlike in the Middle Ages where the people have gone back in history.

Ujigami belief is currently the most popular form of Shintō practices in Japan., After the 13th century ujigami was used in the sense of the tutelary kami of a local community, and all the members in the community were that kami’s adherents. Today, ujiko group consists of the majority of the residents in a given community.

deities act “harmoniously” with one another. Nature, in turn, is a vital part of both the spiritual world and the human world; “Japanese love and reverence for nature lies at the root of Shinto”. For many other religions, this is not the case. For Western religions, the “Creator and the created, and the human and natural realms” do not relate with one another immediately. The Shinto religion can again be seen acting in a more spiritual way than any other religion. The spirituality of Shinto and its people can be expressed further:

Every new year's day, I go to the Sakurai shrine, it is the sacred place to me. I don't have the particular religion in myself. However, in Japan, we are naturally familiar with the concept of animism, therefore though I don't have the concrete spiritual belief, I can accept the idea. According to Kitano et al., "In Japan, there is a traditional belief of the existence of spiritual life in objects or natural phenomena called mi (the god) and tama (the spirit). From the prehistoric era, the belief in the existence of sprit has been associated with Japanese mythological traditions related to Shinto. The sun, the moon, mountains and trees each have their own spirits, or gods. Each god is given a name, has characteristics, and is believed to have control over natural and human phenomena. This thought has continued to be believed and influences the Japanese relationship with nature and spiritual existence".

I decided to write about my visit to a Shinto Church as my cultural experience. The church I visited is called Izumo Taisha Mission of Hawaii. I had actually been to this church many times since I was a child to participate in Japanese cultural events, but I have little knowledge of what the Shinto religion actually practices. This is also the shrine where my family goes for our New Year’s blessing ritual. Since turning to Christianity, I still liked to attend the church’s events and New Year’s ritual, but other than that, I just didn’t have the desire to learn more about Shinto. Based on my fieldwork into the appearance, clothing, and rituals of Shinto, I theorize that Shinto is religion to focuses highly on keeping one’s body and soul pure and in good fortune through worship to multiple God’s.

The Shikoku Henro is a Buddhist Pilgrimage visiting eighty eight Buddhist Temples in Shikoku to commemorate one of the most famous Japanese Buddhist Monks - Kūkai as known as Kōbō-Daishi. This pilgrimage is a training bringing both physical and spiritual benefits to pilgrims through its intensive process. Nevertheless, due to the consequences of rapid modernization in Japan, cultural practices like Shikoku Henro are at threats of erosion because of the increasing concentration of Japanese people on fulfilling material life rather than enriching spiritual experience. Facing challenges of being eternally forgotten, Shikoku Pilgrimage needs a greater dynamic to continue preserving its quintessence. One of the possible solutions that were already implemented is giving birth to the “Omairingu” manga, anime and cosplay pilgrimage in attempts to reintroduce this holy practice in a more pop-cultural approach. However, the “Omairingu” concept is quite controversial among traditional pilgrims and pop-culture fans on how much is too much to deliver sacred images. For this controversy, this research will examine the cultural and economic impacts of “Omairingu” on the