7 SHINTO KAMI
THE CHRONICLES OF
S H I N T O I S M
In English, the word Shinto can
sometimes be translated as "the
way of the kami"
Kami-worship was commonly seen as
part of Japanese Buddhism in
medieval Japan, with the kami
themselves being also viewed as
Buddhas.
Japanese devotion to unseen holy
forces and entities called kami, to
shrines, and to different
practices is the core of Shinto.
Shinto is not a way for the universe to
be explained. Rituals that encourage
human beings to connect with kami
are what matters. The Kami are
neither gods nor gods.
Shinto is a very local religion, in
which devotees are likely to be
concerned with their local shrine
rather than the religion as a whole.
Many Japanese will have a tiny
shrine-altar in their homes.
YOU’LL M E E T
I N J A P A N
KAMI
“WAY OF THE SPIRITS”
Amaterasu is the goddess of the sun, she is
a major kami and a central figure in Shinto.
Izanami and Izanagi Legend, has it that
NO
this god and goddess stirred the seas with a
spear, and the mud which dripped from the tip
MICHI
became the first island of Japan. Shintoism
Inari is the Shinto god of industry, prosperity,
finance, and agriculture.
Hachiman is the god of war and military arts,
helping to guide warriors on their way to
mastery.
Tenjin is the kami of education, literature, and
scholarship.
Raijin is the kami of thunder and lightning,
and Fujin is the kami of wind. Together, they
are the gods of storms and weather.
Benzaiten is a Shinto kami borrowed from
Buddhist belief and one of the Seven Lucky
Gods of Japan.

Beginning in the 18th century,
Shinto was revived as an important
national religion through the writings
and teachings of a succession of
notable scholars, including
Mabuchi, Motoori Norinaga,
and Hirata Atsutane. Motivated
by nationalistic sentiments that took
the form of reverence for Japanese
antiquity and hatred for ideas and
practices of foreign origin, these men
WHERE THE prepared the way for the
disestablishment of Buddhism and
T A L E U N F O L D
the adoption of Shinto as the
state religion
The name Shinto was developed Until the defeat of Japan in
In 1867 the shogunate was
for the native religion in the late World War II, these beliefs
overthrown, and the emperor was
6th century AD to differentiate it were of the utmost
restored to the head of the
from Buddhism and importance in assuring
government. According to revived
Confucianism, which had been popular support for the military
Shinto doctrine, the sovereignty of
introduced from China. Shinto was expansion of the Japanese
the emperor was exercised by divine
rapidly overshadowed by Empire.
right through his reputed descent
Buddhism, and in a previous state
from the sun goddess Amaterasu
of life, the native gods were
Omikami, who is considered the
commonly known as THE WAY
founder of the Japanese nation.
embodiments of Buddha.
Buddhist priests became Shinto OF THE
shrine custodians and founded
their own ornaments, images, and SPIRITS
ritual.
THE
CONTEMPORARY
S H I N T O
Before 1946 Shinto took two forms. Shrine
Shinto, a patriotic nationalistic cult,
identified with and financially supported by
the imperial Government. And Sectarian
Shinto, a general term for a number of
sects founded by private persons and based
on various interpretations of traditional
Shinto.
Before 1946 Shinto took two forms.
Shrine Shinto, a patriotic nationalistic
cult, identified with and financially
supported by the imperial Government.
And Sectarian Shinto, a general term
for a number of sects founded by private
persons and based on various
interpretations of traditional Shinto.
In the early 1990s more than 110
million Japanese participated in the
various Shinto sects, but those who
professed Shinto as their sole or major
religion numbered only about 3.4
million. The Shinto sects have
approximately 101,000 priests and
about 81,000 shrines.