Research Paper On Shintoism

Human search for meaning in Shinto is based off of their beliefs, rituals, origins and culture. There are four components that make up the Shinto human search of meaning, Simplicity, one with the world, peace within the world and the individual journey to self-discovery and potential. Simplicity refers to the lack of scripture, rules and expectations the individual to interpret hoe they are to live their lives. Peace with the world is to be what the individual interprets to be the best person they can have an optimistic approach to the world encouraging world peace and peace within themselves. One with the world refers to the immanent nature of the religion, the way the world is viewed individually contributing to their connection with the

Shinto is an ancient indigenous religion of Japan that is often considered Japan’s national religion. It certainly plays an important role in the lives of many, if not most, Japanese people, and it is closely tied to Japan’s national identity. Shinto has no known founder and no sacred texts or formal written doctrine, which makes it stand out from most of the other religions that we have studied about this semester. Central to the Shinto religion is the belief in the kami, which are considered spirits or gods; in fact, Shinto literally means “the way of the kami”. According to Shinto beliefs the kami permeate every area of nature and every human also contains a kami. In this sense the kami that each person has within them can be considered

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

Shintoism has four affirmations that should be followed in everyday life. The first affirmation is tradition and family must be honored above all. This is a great example of how Shintoism places a great importance on the community and not on one single person. It is also the reason why Japanese

Shinto has no orthodox cannon of sacred literature and has no explicit code of ethical requirements. It varies very differently from most religions in that aspect, however the Japanese people still believe in it as strongly as they have in ancient times. Shinto managed to survived even though it was disestablished in 1946, when the Emperor lost his divine status as part of the allied reformation of Japan (Shinto History 2009). It goes to show the true strength of faith that people had to continue with the religion even though everything was against

Shintoism is Japan native religion. In this religion, every living thing in nature, from the wind, animals, trees and even sound contain gods which are referred to as kami (1). The religion worships nature and arose by the desire to include human life in the great harmony manifested in the universe. They have shrines to honor the gods. While Shintoism contains the spirituality of the living, Buddhism contains the spirituality of the afterlife and soul. This is why these religions compliment each other so well. Bought over from Chinese culture was Confucianism, which is a code of ethic that also influenced the way Japanese lived their lives. As you place these religions together, the health of each individual determines if they are living a purified and meaningful life or if there soul has been tainted, unclean, and impure.

Kanetomo’s description of Honjaku-engi reveals that this type of Shinto was heavily influenced by the shrine traditions during that time. Based on Kanetomo’s definition of Honjaku-engi, I believe that this type of Shinto connects people with their spirituality through shrine rituals. By passing down the stories, secrets, and rituals of the Kami worshipped at the shrine, worshippers are able to connect the physical world with the spiritual world (Debary 352).

What are some things you should know about the Shinto religion? Well, Shinto means the way of the gods. Shintoism is a very old religion from Japan. It started around 1000 B.C.E. but many sources explain that we don’t know when Shintoism started to get recorded. Shinto is still a religion that at least five million people still practice. The followers of Shintoism believe that spiritual powers are in the natural world. They believe that "spirits" called kami live in natural

Shintoism is known as their first and official religion. No one really knows where the origin of Shinto came from but it impacted the development of historical Japan. A tradition that involves the Shinto shrine is after the birth of a baby, it is named after three days, then after about a month old, and the baby is brought to the Shinto shrine to officially become the member of the community. Shinto was also known as the way of the gods and those who worshipped Shintoism seldom asked about existing with the nature or who the world was formed. In Shinto, there was something known as kami, or god(s); though in some cases kami can also be translated into appearance- where it can be human, nature, or an unmovable object.

Shinto of Kami isn't god or gods. They're spirits which might be concerned with humans and admire our interest and need us to be happy and treated accurately. They'll intervene in our lives to carry benefits like fitness, business achievement, and excellent exam outcomes. Fisher, p. 224.

“Shinto practices include shrine visits; blessings done by priests at the shrines and in the community; participation in festivals and seasonal holidays, especially New Years; water purifications; and offerings and prayer at home shrines. Perhaps because of a lack of organizational structure, Shinto has generated an amazing variety of sects that often borrow from Confucianism, Buddhism, and even Christianity”. (Molloy 2008 p. 274-275)

As an ancient religion of Japan, Shinto was originally a combination of nature worship, divination techniques, and shamanism. Meaning "the way of the Gods", the origins of Shinto are not apparent in comparison to other religions, especially other Asian religions and beliefs. With no obvious founder, as well as original written scriptures and authentic laws, a number of theories exist about the origination of Shinto as a religion and its development across the Japanese lands. However, the significance of the religion has shifted the importance of discovering its origins to the religious influences that Shinto has embarked upon Japanese

I feel very similar about the Shinto religion, there are definitely fascinating aspects worth learning and thinking about. Japan is actually on my bucket list of countries I wish to visit one day. Since I have a lot of interaction with Asian people at work, it is very hard not to notice the Japanese "obsession" with cleanliness. In the past, I sometimes found their wearing of medical masks and other habits too extreme. However, if you dig deeper into their culture, religion, and history, you start realizing that it actually makes sense. Shinto as one of the major religions in Japan now provides an influential source of clean habits and purification practices. I think I even read that the Shinto gods do not like filth. For instance, you are

Many religions are popular within the Japanese culture. Two of the most influential religions, Shinto and Buddhism that help shaped a lot of Japanese values are Shinto and Buddhism, played a large role in shaping Japanese values. Numerous similarities and differences run between these two religions; nonetheless, the Japanese often believe in more than one religion at the same time. This is possible due to the polytheistic nature of most popular religions in Japan. It is not hard to say that religion is a big part of Japanese culture because a lot of religious beliefs can still be seen in their everyday lives.

One of the key aspects of Shinto, and an aspect that made it somewhat difficult for me to study in a more isolated context, is the flexibility of it. Unlike the Abrahamic religions, there is no strict religious doctrine or meticulous set of rules that governs the practitioners. Instead, it's much more a conceptual idea that carries with it various commonalities, specifically in terms of practices and a very nature-based system of deities (Religions of the World). Although, despite Japan's more isolated society, they did share certain ideas with other Eastern religions, such as a focus on the cosmos and harmony with nature and others (Return of the Gods).