Shintoism in Japan Essay -- Papers

Shintoism in Japan Shintoism is the indigenous and national religion of Japan. The word Shinto means the way of the gods. Shintoism is a nature worship based religion. Shintoism is a unique religion with its own concepts on deities, ethics and life. Shintoism is based on the beginning of the race when "the trees and the herbs had speech"(Underwood 16). At the beginning of the Earth, Shinto followers believed, that the animals acted and spoke like men. The religion does not directly deal with common religious themes of; problem of evil, man's consciousness of sin and his need for redemption. Shinto followers believe that spirits exist everywhere whether good or evil. The religion is unorganized worship of these deities. The name given to these spirits and deities are Kami. Kami is a key concept in Shintoism and is difficult to define. "All that is wonderful is God, and the divine embraces in its category all that impresses the untrained imagination and excites it to reverence or fear." (18) Objects of worship included: the sky, heavenly bodies, mountains, rivers, seas, trees, beasts, great fishes, reptiles and the process of reproduction in nature and humans. There are four historical written sources, which provide scholars with information on the beginnings of Shintoism. The first of these books is the Kojiki, which means records of ancient matters. The Kojiki was written in a combination of archaic Japanese and Chinese. The book was compiled in 712 CE by an emperor who feared that many variants may destroy the foundation of the monarchy. The book's principle aim was to demonstrate the divine origin of the ruling family and the foundation of the state. Some refer to this book as the "Bible of the Japa... ...lose connection with the state. Every Emperor in Japan's imperial lineage has served as both sovereign and priest. The Emperor was head of the Shinto faith as well as head of the nation. This in turn transferred down the ranks. The heads of the provinces were also head of Shintoism in that province. The head of each clan was the head priest for that particular clan. And the head of each family was the head priest of that family. And even today the priests of Japan's over 50 000 Shinto shrines are under state control. Shintoism is a uniquely Japanese religion. It is inseparable from the Japanese state and is critical in defining Japanese culture. Shintoism is a thriving religion as many people in Japan follow both the teachings of Shintoism and Buddhism without any difficulties. The religion stresses the importance for respect of nature and oneself.