SHINTOISM

J A PA N E S E R E L I G I O N

WRB_KIRSTINCRUZ
DID YOU KNOW?
RELIGIOUS
ACTIVITIES
JAPAN
“ WHAT IT MEANS
TO BE A SHINTO ”
SHINTO
 KAMI

S H I N TO D E I T I E S ; S P I R I T UA L E N T I T I E S
SHIMENAWA
 Sacred
scriptures?
KOJIKI
AMATERASU
NIHONGI
THINK…..
• How are practitioners of Japanese religion affiliated with Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples?
• What is the nature of kami in Japanese religion? How are they different from the gods of
other religions?
• Why is the practice of memorialization so important, and how is it accomplished?
• What is the difference between a kamidana and a butsudan, and why do some Japanese have
both?
• Why are some years of a person’s life referred to as yakudoshi, and what is the purpose of
yakudoshi rituals?
• Who is Jizo and what is his function in mizuko ceremonies?
• What is the understanding of afterlife in Japanese religion, and how important is it?
• Is it possible to practice Japanese religion without being part of a Japanese family?
WHAT IS THE UNDERSTANDING OF
AFTERLIFE IN JAPANESE RELIGION,
AND HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?
Death
Death
RITUALS TO ENSURE DEAD FINDS
PEACE IN THE OTHER WORLD
• Aim for purification, guidance, and enlightenment

CREMATION: to deal with impurities of the person’s

life/caused by his or her dead body
BUDDHIST PRIESTS CHANT PRAYERS and
SACRED TEXTS

7th DAY: “Kaimyo” (posthumous name)

WHAT IS THE NATURE OF KAMI IN
JAPANESE RELIGION? HOW ARE THEY
DIFFERENT FROM THE GODS OF OTHER
RELIGIONS?
WHY IS THE PRACTICE OF
MEMORIALIZATION SO IMPORTANT,
AND HOW IS IT ACCOMPLISHED?
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
KAMIDANA AND A BUTSUDAN, AND WHY
DO SOME JAPANESE HAVE BOTH?
 K AMIDANA
M I N I AT U R E H O U S E H O L D A LTA R S P R O V I D E D T O E N S H R I N E A
S H I N TO K A M I
 BUTSUDAN
I N J A P A N E S E H O U S E H O L D S , T H E B U D D H I S T F A M I LY A LTA R
YAKUDOSHI
19, 33, 37 YEARS OLD

UNL UC KY AG ES
WHO IS JIZO AND WHAT IS HIS
FUNCTION IN MIZUKO CEREMONIES?
 JIZO

P R OT E C TO R O F C H I L D R E N , WO M E N , A N D T R AV E L E R S
 MIZUKO
KUYO

TO H O N O R J I Z O ; F O C U S E S O N A D E C E A S E D F E T U S O R S T I L L B O R N C H I L D
IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRACTICE
JAPANESE RELIGION WITHOUT BEING
PART OF A JAPANESE FAMILY?
THE LINK BETWEEN SHINTO AND
NATIONALISM
• Shinto legend tells that the emperors of Japan are descended in an unbroken line from the first
Emperor, Jimmu Tenno, Amaterasu-Omikami's great-grandson. The native Japanese people
themselves are descended from the kami who were present at the founding of Japan.
• This story contains a very clear message that Japan is an old country, whose people are
descended from the founding kami, and an Imperial family with an unbroken line of descent
from Amaterasu herself. The Imperial family is older than the people of Japan, and descended
from a kami of higher rank.
• The political message of the story is that Japan is the way it should be, that its survival depends
on maintaining the relationship between the Emperor and his people, and that the Emperor
rules Japan because the gods want him to. Before the Meiji Restoration and the creation of
State Shinto, this story was just one myth among many, and not something crucial to Japanese
self-image.
CORE TEACHING
1946:
MILITARISTIC AND FASCIST
NATIONALISM OFFICIALLY ENDED

• After Japan’s defeat in World War 2, the emperor

publicly renounced the belief that he was the living
embodiment of Amaterasu
WHAT ARE BASIC BELIEFS IN
SHINTOISM?
TAKING PART IN RITUALISTIC WORSHIP AND
PURIFICATION IS THE ENTIRETY OF THEIR FAITH.
• Garnered CRITICISM as some like Shinto worship to a
performance rather than an act of devotion based on values and
beliefs
• “BBC: Critics of Shinto ritual make some of the following points: it seems
like a performance rather than a personal act of devotion to God.”
HOW IS THE ROLE OF SHRINES IN
SHINTOISM DIFFER FROM THE ROLE
OF CHURCHES IN OTHER RELIGIONS?