Shintoism

By: Group 9
Shinto
Shintō, indigenous religious beliefs and practices of
Japan. The word Shintō, which literally means “the way
of kami” (generally sacred or divine power, specifically
the various gods or deities), came into use in order to
distinguish indigenous Japanese beliefs from Buddhism,
which had been introduced into Japan in the 6th century
CE. Shintō has no founder, no official sacred scriptures in
the strict sense, and no fixed dogmas, but it has preserved
its guiding beliefs throughout the ages.
A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves
around supernatural entities called the kami. The kami
are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of
nature and prominent landscape locations

The term Shinto derives from the combination of two

Chinese characters: shen ( 神 ), which means "spirit," and
dao ( 道 ), which means "way", "road" or "path".
"Shendao" (Chinese: 神道 ; pinyin: shéndào; lit. 'the
Way of the Gods') was a term already used in the Yijing
referring to the divine order of nature.
Symb
ols
Torii
The most recognizable symbols of Shintoism
are the majestic gates that mark the entrance to
Shinto shrines. Made of wood or stone, these
two-post gateways are known as “torii” and
show the boundaries in which a kami lives. The
act of passing through a torii is seen as a form
of purification, which is very important when
visiting a shrine, as purification rituals are a
major function in Shinto.
 Sacred
Scriptures
 Koji
The Kojiki ( 古事記 , "Records of Ancient Matters" or "An Account of Ancient

ki
Matters"), also sometimes read as Furukotofumi or Furukotobumi, is an early
Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and
semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese
archipelago, the kami ( 神 ), and the Japanese imperial line. It is claimed in its
preface to have been composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of
Empress Genmei in the early 8th century (711–712), and thus is usually
considered to be the oldest extant literary work in Japan.
 Nihon shoki
The Nihon Shoki ('Chronicle of Japan' and also known as the Nihongi) is
an official history of Japan which was written by a committee of court
scholars in 720 CE. It is a compilation of myths and legends concerning
the Shinto gods and episodes from the reigns of the early emperors. The
work begins with the story of the Creation and ends with the reign of
Empress Jito in 697 CE. Drawing on older sources from Japan, China, and
Korea, many of which are now lost, the text provides an invaluable insight
into the mythology, customs, and politics of ancient Japan.
 Worship and
observances
Shintō does not have a weekly religious service.
People visit shrines at their convenience. Some
may go to the shrines on the 1st and 15th of each
month and on the occasions of rites or festivals (
matsuri), which take place several times a year.
Devotees, however, may pay respect to the shrine
every morning.
Rituals
Although Shinto worship features public and shared rituals at
local shrines called ceremonial worshiping, it can also be a
private and individual event, in which a person at a shrine (or
in their home) prays to particular kami either to obtain
something, or to thank the kami for something good that has
happened.

Many Japanese homes contain a place set aside as a shrine,

called a kami-dana (kami shelf), where they may make
offerings of flowers or food, and say prayers.
 Hatsumiya
mairi
Hatsumiyamairi - first shrine visit
This is when a newborn baby is taken to a shrine (usually the
local one), to be placed under the protection of the kami. The
child then becomes a parishioner of the shrine. The ritual takes
place on the thirty-second day after birth for a boy and the
thirty-third day for a girl. Traditionally the baby was taken to
the shrine by its grandmother because the mother was thought
to be impure from childbirth, but nowadays the child is often
taken by the mother.
 Shichi-go-san
Shichi-Go-San ( 七五三 , lit. 'seven-five-three') is a
traditional Japanese rite of passage and festival day
for three- and seven-year-old girls, five-year-old and
sometimes three-year-old boys, held annually on
November 15 to celebrate the growth and well-being
of young children. As it is not a national holiday, it is
generally observed on the nearest weekend.
Seijin-shiki
Coming of Age Day or Adult's Day honors every person
that has turned 20 years old over the past year. When
young people reach twenty they officially become adults
in Japanese society and they now have responsibilities
as well as newfound liberties: such as being able to
drink, smoke, go to hostess bars, gamble and to
drive legally. The voting age was lowered from 20 to 18
in 2015.
Wedding Rites
A Shinto wedding is a small-scale affair involving the
couple, their family and their close friends. The bride
normally wears a white kimono with a white scarf. The
colour symbolises purity.
The ceremony begins with ritual purification. Next
prayers are offered for the couple to have good luck,
happiness and the protection of the kami. Then the
couple drinks sake - taking three sips each from three
cups poured by the miko (shrine maiden) - and the
groom reads words of commitment.
 Kami(gods)

The Kojiki recounts that the universe started with ame-tsuchi, the separation
of light and pure elements (ame, "heaven") from heavy elements (tsuchi,
"earth"). Three kami then appeared: Amenominakanushi, Takamimusuhi no
Mikoto, and Kamimusuhi no Mikoto.
Other kami followed, including a brother and sister, Izanagi and Izanami.
The kami instructed Izanagi and Izanami to create land on earth.
 Izanagi and Izanami then descended to Earth, where the latter gave birth to further
kami.
One of these was a fire kami, whose birth killed Izanami. Izanagi descended to yomi to
retrieve his sister, but there he saw her body putrefying.
Embarrassed to be seen in this state, she chased him out of yomi, and he closed its
entrance with a boulder.Izanagi bathed in the sea to rid himself from the pollution
brought about by witnessing Izanami's putrefaction.
Through this act, further kami emerged from his body: Amaterasu (the sun kami) was
born from his left eye, Tsukuyomi (the moon kami) from his right eye, and Susanoo
(the storm kami) from his nose.
Amaterasu Tsukuyomi Susanoo
(Sun kami) (moon kami) (Storm kami
 Beliefs and
At the core of Shintō are beliefs in the mysterious creating and harmonizing power (musubi) of
doctrines
kami and in the truthful way or will (makoto) of kami. The nature of kami cannot be fully explained
in words, because kami transcends the cognitive faculty of humans. Devoted followers, however,
are able to understand kami through faith and usually recognize various kami in polytheistic form.
Parishioners of a shrine believe in their tutelary kami as the source of human life and existence.
Each kami has a divine personality and responds to truthful prayers. The kami also reveals makoto
to people and guides them to live in accordance with it. In traditional Japanese thought, truth
manifests itself in empirical existence and undergoes transformation in infinite varieties in time and
space. Makoto is not an abstract ideology. It can be recognized every moment in every individual
thing in the encounter between humans and kami.
Purity is at the heart of Shinto's understanding of good and evil.
Impurity in Shinto refers to anything which separates us from kami, and from
musubi, the creative and harmonising power.
The things which make us impure are tsumi - pollution or sin.

Shinto does not accept that human beings are born bad or impure; in fact Shinto
states that humans are born pure, and sharing in the divine soul.Badness,
impurity or sin are things that come later in life, and that can usually be got rid
of by simple cleansing or purifying rituals.
 The causes of impurity
Pollution - tsumi - can be physical, moral or spiritual. 'Tsumi' means
much the same as the English word 'sin', but it differs from sin in
that it includes things which are beyond the control of individual
human beings and are thought of as being caused by evil spirits. In
ancient Shinto, tsumi also included disease, disaster and error.
Anything connected with death or the dead is considered
particularly polluting.
Thank You