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Shintoism in
Japan
SHINTO
• About 4 Million people practice Shinto
• Shinto – based on respect for forces of NATURE
and ANCESTOR worship
• Shinto is sometimes seen more as a way of life
rather than a religion by the Japanese due to its
long historical and cultural significance
• Shinto is a general term of the activities of the
Japanese people to worship all the deities of
heaven and earth.
• Established around 500 BCE
Shintoism, ethnic
religion unique to Japan
Importance of
natural features,
ancestors
State religion,
worshipping the
emperor
Coexistence with
Buddhism
Buddhist and Confucian Influences
•Buddhism is practiced side by side
with the ways called Shinto
•The Japanese often go to Shinto
shrines for life-affirming events and
to Buddhist temples for death rites
•Japanese Confucian scholars likened
the li to the way of the kami as a
means of social cohesion
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Founders and History
Place of Origin & Time-frame
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Shinto is
originated from
Miyajima, Japan in
593 CE.
The religion
enlarged in 1168
CE.
Foundation
•At the time of foundation:
• The Yamato dynasty consolidated
its rule over most of Japan.
•Divine origins were ascribed to the
imperial family.
•Shinto established itself as an
official religion of Japan, along with
Buddhism.
Founders & Important Figures
The most revered figure
in the Shinto religion is:
• Amaterasu (the daughter of
Izanagi & Izanami)
• She is the goddess of the sun
and is said to show people
their beauty and potential in
life.
• The flag of Japan is
representation of her
Key Beliefs and Practices of
Shintoism
Worship and Respect of Ancestors
Absolute loyalty to
family/ancestors is very
important.
Tradition and the family are
still important.
The main celebrations in
Shinto relate to birth and
marriage, through which
family traditions are
preserved.
The Four Affirmations
• Tradition and the family: Understanding that
family is the foundation for preserving traditions
• Love of nature: Holding nature sacred
• Ritual purity: Ritual bathing to spiritually and
physically cleanse yourselves before entering a
shrine to worship the kami. (In addition, festivals
are held twice a year to drive out pollutants or
impurities.)
• Worshipping and honoring gods and ancestral
spirits
Kinship with Nature
•Natural beauty and symmetry important in
Japan
•People organize their lives around the
seasons
•Mount Fuji honored as an embodiment of
divine power
•Reverence for nature expressed in the arts
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Kami
KAMI
• Shinto believes and tells of
the history and lives of the
"Kami" (deities).
• The word "Kami" is generally
translated "god" or "gods
• There are no concepts
which compare to the
Christian beliefs in the wrath
of God or the separation of
God from humanity due to
sin
• Natural objects and
creatures "food to rivers to
rocks."
•Kami‘high’ or
‘superior’
•The Kami can
be found in
anything from
rocks and
trees to
animals and
thunder.
•People of the Shinto religion
believe that spirits known as
Kami exist everywhere.
•Kami can be
explained in the story
of two deities, Izanagi
& Izanami.
KAMI
•Believers respected the Kami and
tried to win their favor through
prayer and offerings.
•The shared beliefs of the followers
of Shinto eventually helped unite
all of Japan.
Purity
Shinto rituals are composed of :
PURITY and POLLUTION.
Ritual purity
is critical for
the appeal to
the Kami to
be
successful.
Ritual impurity
can come
from things
such as
simply
bleeding due
to an act of
violence.
Importance of
Purity
• Shinto beliefs state that certain deeds, one might term evil,
lead the human mind and spirit towards impurity which
has negative effects on an individuals fortune and well
being.
• Purity is very important in Shinto and most rituals
performed by priest or regular person is to attain a state of
ritual purity to appeal to angry or disturbed Kami.
Misogi – Ancient and Modern
Misogi is ritual purification by standing under a waterfall.
©2011 PRENTICE HALL | Pearson Education, Inc. | Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Shrines and Ways of Worship
Shrines
• More than 100,000 shrines in Japan honoring the
kami
• Greatest number are dedicated to Inari, god of rice
• Earliest Shinto followers may have worshipped at
sacred trees or groves
• Later shrines complexes are marked by gate
frames, walls, or streams with bridges
• Visitors clap their hands, bow deeply, and try to
feel the kami within their hearts
©2011 PRENTICE HALL | Pearson Education, Inc. | Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Shinto Shrines
Followers build shrines to
specific kami.
When entering a shrine, you
pass through a tori gate.
This gate is the gateway to the
gods. It symbolizes leaving the
finite world for the infinite
world.
Inside the shrine, believers
wash hands and rinse out
mouths to purify themselves.
They pray, make requests, make
offerings, and perform sacred
dances.
Torii
• A formal gatelike structure
that marks a Shinto
sacred place or shrine.
• They come in various
colors and are made of
various materials.
• Most torii, however are
made of wood, and many
are painted orange and
black.
• Torii represents a
transition between the
finite world and the infinite
world of the gods.
Akumi Kanbe Shinmeisha (安久美神戸神明社), Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan
World Impact:
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Rarely seen outside Japan
Practised in small groups
worldwide
Fading religion
Japanese-Americans keep Shinto
traditions
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Practices almost extinct
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Influences modern society