Essay on Shinto Faith

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

I feel that Shinto is similar to Confucianism. There is an unequivocal accentuation in transit. The "to" some portion of the word is based of "do" which is the way. Shinto additionally is vigorously centered around nature. In japan that is really simple in light of the fact that in spite of contamination there is huge regular excellence. Indeed, even today the Japanese respect nature by making rock greenhouses and tea functions.

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

Toshio, Kuroda, et al. “Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion.” Journal of Japanese Studies, vol. 7, no. 1, 1981, p. 1.,

The supernatural powers and deities of Shinto are Kami. Kami are not Gods but spirits that intervene with humans that do not live in a separate dimension but in the same dimension as humans. Kami can take form of elements of nature such as rivers, mountains, storms and earthquakes but they were also the deities that created the universe as stated in their holy text. They can also be spirits that take the form of the living and the souls of humans that have demonstrated outstanding achievement (such as soldiers that gave up their lives for war, emperors and leaders) becoming Kami after their death. Kami are also the ancestors and protectors of human beings. Kami can also influence the course of nature and events of humans. They like the human

Shinto tradition has been the aboriginal native tradition responsible for the Japanese tendency to locate divinity in a nature population. According to Okano Haruko, author of Women and Sexism in Shinto, the woman’s role in the Shinto religion was that she was the medium of direct contact with the deity and announced the divine will to humankind. The realization of this will on earth was entrusted to the man. Thus priesthood was embodied in this male plus female relationship. However, in time the more dependent role that “magical elements” in the religion were the more important the woman’s role became. Little is known about Japan before the advent of writing, so piercing together women’s lives and contributions to early Japanese history is difficult. The traditional Japanese woman has evolved in response to the influences of the religion that dominated Japan of the times, roles of women in ancient Japan elicits inconsistencies primary due to

One of the first aspects of Shinto to look in regards to relations with Buddhism is the name itself; the meaning of the name “Shinto”

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.

The Japanese culture has been greatly influenced by its religions, and one of the most influential religions has been Shintoism. Shintoism has been dated back to 500BC, when the descendants of the sun goddess, Amaterasu-OmiKami, worshiped the gods and goddesses of Japan. Shinto means "way of the gods" and that represents what people who practice Shintoism believe in. Shintoism is a religion based on Japanese mythology, which is centered on a male god, Izanagi, and a female goddess, Izanami. These two gods were believed to have created Japan, which was thought to be the only land in the whole word. The two gods had two children, the sun goddess Amaterasu, and the storm god, Susanowo. These two gods fought over control of the people of

This is completely different from US religious beliefs in many ways. For one, all the religions practiced in the United States worship a specific god or gods. Another thing that’s completely different in Japan than in the US is that they are more accepting of different religions. The other religion that is widely practiced in Japan is Buddhism. Brought over by missionaries in 552 AD and emphasizes simplicity to beauty, devotion to study and severe self-discipline. All the concepts of both of these religions are not concepts that American religions emphasize. Religion is huge for the Japanese and in most houses Shintoism and Buddhism are both practiced and shrines are usually done of both religions. There are many other cultural customs in Japan that are different from those in the US.

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

The creation story for Shinto was recited orally for many decades, but was eventually written down and composed in the Kojiki. The origin tale of this religion all started with the formation of the Japanese islands. These islands were formed from two kami, the original male, Izanagi and female, Izanami. Out of left eye of Izanagi came the sun-goddess, Amaterasu, and from his nostrils emerged the storm god, Susa-no-wo. These two then started to cause a ruckus by fighting. Amaterasu was then worried and sent her grandson Jimmu Tenno, who became the first emperor to rule over the Japan. The Gods then ask the two original humans to complete the land that was now floating and drifting with the waves. In obedience, Izanagi and Izanami stood on the

All around the world, religion is a dominant idea for many cultures; exemplifying a certain way of life, serving as a basis for faith, and bringing charity to the world, religion is a extensive concept. For several cultures and countries religion may vary according to demographics, socio-economical class, and ethnicity. Main concepts of religion in Japan are natural and superstitious based. The leading religion in Japan remains Shinto, while other religions have come and go, interweaving themselves among the Japanese society.

The Japanese culture places high value in respect, family structure, ancestry, religious and spiritual beliefs, and health care practices. The two main religious practices in Japan are Buddhism and Shinto. As Tanabe (2010) explains, Shinto practices emphasizes cleanliness and purity and that spirit gods “kami” live among the elements of nature, in earthly natural forms like mountains, rivers, trees, and others. Japanese medicinal practice Kampo, which has roots in Chinese medicine (CM) was greatly influenced by the philosophical concepts of Yin and Yang and the theory of the five elements

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).