Shinto Research Paper

Shintoism: The Way of the Kami. Israel defines Kami as spirits that affiliate with natural objects such as the sun and the moon. In the opening of Buddha in the Land of the Kami, the narrator shares the historical background of the Kami, stating that a spiritual duo came down to Earth to stir up the sea waters, creating the archipelago of Japan. The sprits figure out reproduction and multiply, inhabiting the chain of Islands known as Japan. The narrators also mention the Kami in mountains, wind, grass and other natural entities. According to the film, spiritual rituals performed in earlier eras show continuity in Shinto shrines today. Israel explains that later, during the Asuka-Nara Period, The Yamato high courts establish a system that would monitor Shinto shrines. “The Yomato court developed a centralized

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.

Furthermore, Buddhist sutras were being chanted within the Shinto shrines. As time progressed, the practice of building shrines within Buddhist temples was more widespread and became known as jingu-ji (shrine and temple) system. The Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines also had red torii gateways placed in front of them. The assimilation of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines did contribute to the strong similarities between the two religious sites and was very prominent in Japan as opposed to China and India. Moreover, Shinto gods, buddhas, and bodhisattvas were worshipped alongside each other in the Shinto shrines of Japan. Furthermore, Shinto kami became manifestations of bodhisattvas and buddhas. Moreover, the strong similarities between the two religions led to Shinto priests adopting some Buddhist practices. As a result, the bond between Shinto and Buddhism became so close that it was difficult to tell them apart in

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

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).

In his 2001 journal article “Ise Shrine and a Modernist Construction of Japanese Tradition” of The Art Bulletin, Jonathan M. Reynolds examines the differing representation of the Ise Shrine through time, emphasizing on the changing cultural significance of the Ise after the second world war. Reynolds discussion of the Ise Shrine centers on its representation in texts and images. The texts and images in which Reynolds analyzes date as early as the 8th century with the Nihon Shoki, and as recent as the 20th century.

The Shinto faith is based on Japanese mythology. One of the most important mythological stories in the

At the heart of Shinto is a sensitivity to the mysterious powers of natures. Long ago islands Japanese people lived closely to nature, and Shinto as religion reflects that reality in its worship of the spirits who are believed to inhabit the natural world. It said on page 257, Shinto retains elements of shamanism, contact with nature spirits, and mysterious healing. Even though Shinto is an ancient religion, it still relevant today. Shinto goes wherever Japanese people lived. Even in America, Brazil and particularly in Hawaii, California and Washington. This is not a missionary religion, nor have the institutional structure to do missionary work. According on page 275, it said that Shinto is reminiscent of other indigenous religions. I believe

The Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine established in 1869 in Tokyo. It was constructed in order to honor and worship the soldiers who have died for their country in the Boshin Civil War that brought about the Meiji restoration and sacrificed their lives in the service of their emperor to build a firm foundation for Japan to become a truly peaceful country. For some Asian countries such as China and South Korea, which had been victims under Japanese imperialism and aggression in the first half of the 20th century, the shrine was built to commemorate Japanese war criminals in the World War II, and it has become a blatant symbol for Japanese wartime militarism from the

The travelling route includes a modern city of Osaka, the mountain temple of Koyasan and the Japanese Imperial Shrine at Ise in the southern part of the Kii Peninsula. Kumano Sanzan, the focal point of the pilgrimage, consists of three grand shrines: Hongu-taisha, Hayatama-taisha and Nachi-taisha. Kumano Kodo pilgrimage is religiously associated with Buddha and Shinto, which are two popular religions in Japan. Buddhism involves many different traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices in relation to teachings about Buddha. Buddhist ethics include six virtues – charity, observance of the precepts, patience, devotion, meditation, and wisdom. These doctrines are frequently found and depicted in the mountains along the Kumano route. For example, there are statues of Buddhas in the theme of death and rebirth where religious practices are

The 2 scriptures that I think most represent Shinto belief are Why Japan is Special and Festival of the Gates. The scripture, Why Japan is Special, shows that in Shintoism Japan is the center of creation and is the most important place in the world. Traditionally they thought that the Japanese were descendant from the sun goddess, therefore they are part divine “Sun Goddess left her descendants to reign over it forever and ever” (Why Japan is Special). In the scripture, Festival of the Gates, we can better understand the Shinto belief that Kami are all around us and that they affect things. People would pray to the good Kami to protect the palace from bad Kami as well as temporal beings. This belief that Kami play a direct role in a human's

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

The nature aspect of Shintoism is connected to the belief that kami exist within nature and hold the source of life. According to Rosemarie Bernard, author of Shinto and Ecology, the goal of Shintoism is to prevent the natural world from devolving into a state of chaos without disturbing the kami and nature. It is the goal of shintoists to maintain balance with the kami and natural world (Bernard). The way Shintoism achieved this balance was through a variety of forms of purification. These forms of purification purified areas designed for the kami. The houses designed for the kami are called yuniwa, which translates to purified yard or court, these houses are usually sacred enclosures with rocks placed in the center. However, yoshiro is designed with the purpose of manifesting the physical form of the kami while yuniwa is designed to welcome the kami to shrines. Shrines protect itself from outside forces through shimenawa. Shimenawas protected sacred areas by using a plaited straw rope that could be seen hanging from the front of a Shinto shrine. The ceremonies involving purification include the two concepts of seimei, translated it means clean and happy, and seichoku, translated means right

There are many traditions and practices that are preformed because Shinto still remains a very important part of Asian culture. Although it appears that Shinto is a form of Japanese religious practices, Shinto do not have founder and people everywhere are starting to become believers and members. There is a concept and the objective of the worship is communicated by the word “Kamigami”. Most westerners’ refer to it in English terms as

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.