DAOIC RELIGION-

SHINTOISM
 (MELC) MOST ESSENTIAL
LEARNING COMPETENCY
• Examine the brief history, core teachings, fundamental beliefs, practices, and related issues
of Shintoism.
 SHINTOISM
Shinto belief in Kami or spirit is reflected in the numerous
shrines they have built to honor the spirit which they believe can be
found in nature, and which still guide their everyday lives by giving
them good fortune and prosperity. In return, the Japanese people
must perform the necessary rituals to appease the spirits
surrounding them. Purification is a key concept of Shintoism, that is
why much of their rituals make use of water for cleansing purposes.
Ancestor worship is also an important aspect of Shintoism, as well
as showing reverence to forces of nature, and because Shintoism is
considered more as way of life than a religion.
The Torii Gate is the mostSYMBOL
common
symbol for Shintoism. It is sacred
gateway supposed to represent a gate
upon which a cock crew on the occasion
when Amaterasu emerged from the rock
cave and relighted the world. It marks
the entrance to a sacred space which is
the Shinto shrine. It represents the
transition between the world of humans
and world of the gods and goddesses.
(Ong, Jose 2016)
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
• Unlike other religions, it has no known founder nor god, and
it may be practiced with other religions such as Buddhism and
Taoism.
• The people of ancient Japan had long held animistic beliefs,
worshipped divine ancestors and communicated with the spirit
world via shamans; some elements of these beliefs were
incorporated into the first recognized religion practiced in
Japan, Shinto, which began during the period of the Yayoi
culture (c. 300 BCE – 300 CE).
• By the end of the Heian period (794-1185 CE), some Shinto kami
spirits and Buddhist bodhisattvas were formally combined to create a
single deity, thus creating Ryobu Shinto or ‘Double Shinto’.

• As a result, sometimes images of Buddhist figures were incorporated

into Shinto shrines and some Shinto shrines were managed by Buddhist
monks. Of the two religions, Shinto was more concerned with life and
birth, showed a more open attitude to women, and was much closer to
the imperial house. The two religions would not be officially separated
until the 19th century CE.
• By the mid-17th century, Neo-Confucianism was Japan’s
dominant legal philosophy and contributed directly to the
development of the kokugaku, a school of Japanese philology
and philosophy that originated during the Tokugawa period.
• Kokugaku scholars worked to refocus Japanese scholarship
away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and
Buddhist texts in favor of research into the early Japanese
classics.
• The Kokugaku School held that the Japanese national character
was naturally pure and would reveal its splendor once the foreign
(Chinese) influences were removed. The “Chinese heart” was
different from the “true heart” or “Japanese heart.”(Holton 1965)
• This true Japanese spirit needed to be revealed by removing a
thousand years of Chinese learning. Kokugaku contributed to the
emperor-centered nationalism of modern Japan and the revival of
Shinto as a national creed in the 18th and 19th centuries. (Hirai
2019)
 SACRED SCRIPTURES
• The Kojiki and Nihongi are considered as sacred scriptures
on Shinto, although they are not exclusively about Shinto; they
also contain extensive information on Buddhism and
Confucianism.
 KOJIKI

As one of the most important texts on Shintoism, Kojiki is

composed of three books: the first is the age of kami, which
narrates the mythology, while the second and third books discuss
the imperial lineage, narrating the events concerning the imperial
family up to the death of the thirty-third ruler, Empress Suiko.
The third book is concerned mainly with revolts and love stories
of successive rulers intertwined in a song-story format.
 NIHON SHOKI/NIHONGI
The Nihon shoki or Nihongi records the descent of the Yamato rulers of Japan
from the gods. It represents a combination of a political purpose with folklores and
myths. It is believed to have been completed around 720 C.E. and have become
significant in the restructuring of Japan by the Yamato rulers, even in the naming of
the country as Nippon. It was presented to the court during the reign of Emperor
Gensho and is considered as Japan’s first official history which was completed after
39 years and compiled by Jimmu Tenno’s third son, Prince Toneri, along with
numerous bureaucrats and historians. It is composed of 30 books, the first two of
which discuss the “age of the kami” while the remaining books chronicle the events
pertaining to the rulers up to the 41st emperor.
 The stories in the Kojiki and Nihongi provide the
Japanese people with a sense of pride, for these scriptures
narrate how their rulers were descended from the gods,
and how their race was descended from the gods as well.
Some would even interpret that the whole of humanity
descended from the two deities (Izanagi and Izanami),
thereby creating a sense of superiority among the
Japanese people.
 We can also see in the creation story the concept of
dualism in Shinto, as shown by Izanagi as the sky god,
and Izanami as the earth mother, as well as with
Amaterasu as the benevolent child and her brother Susa-
no-Wo-no-Mikoto as performing evil acts.
• The political legitimacy this myth provides the ruling
families of Japan as well as the sense of pride it provides
the Japanese people have made the Japanese people
develop a strong sense of nationalism.
 WORSHIP AND OBSERVANCES
• Unlike other religions, Shintoism has no weekly service; instead, people visit shrines at
their own convenience.
• Proper performances of rites and ceremonies are an important aspect of Shintoism. They
hold most of their rituals at the shrines, which they believe are the abode of the kami or
spirits.
• At first, shrines were normal things that can be found in nature such as mountains, rivers,
trees, rocks, etc., but later they built shrines dedicated to their deities. (Ong, Jose 2016)
• Such shrines are often wooden structures that feature the natural beauty of the
surroundings, which basically expresses Shintoism’s profound veneration of the
environment (for example, woods used in shrines are often left unpainted).
• For Shintoists, the performance of rituals will give them the blessings they expect from the
kami.
 SHINTO RITES OF PASSAGE
• Hatsumiyamairi (First Shrine Visit). Newborn children are taken to the shrine to seek
protection from the kami; traditionally, the newborn is taken by the grandmother because the
mother is deemed impure from childbirth; the ritual takes place on the second day after birth
for a boy, and third day for a girl;
• Shichi-go-san (Seven-Five-Three). Festival observed every 15th of November by boys of
five years and girls of three and seven years of age, who visit the shrine to give thanks for
the protection provided by the kami and to ask for their healthy growth.
• Adult’s Day (Seijin Shiki). Observed every 15th of January by the Japanese who had their
20th birthday the previous year by visiting the shrine to express gratitude to the kami (20
being the legal age of adulthood in Japan)
• Wedding Rites. Patterned after the wedding of Crown Prince Yoshihito and Princess Sado in
1900;
• Funeral rites. Since death is considered impure, most Japanese funerals are Buddhist in
nature; Shintoism’s funeral practices are called sosai. (Ong, Jose 2016)
 RITUAL PURIFICATION
(MEDITATIVE PRACTICES)
• The Japanese observe the misogi, or ablutions (the act of washing one’s body part or
part of it, usually for religious purposes) which are considered as very ancient ceremonies
performed after funeral ceremonies, when all members of the family go into the water
together to cleanse themselves in a purification bath.
• Another form of purification rites is the harai or exorcism (the expulsion of an evil spirit
from a person or place), performed usually by a priest by swinging a purification wand over
the people and the objects to be exorcised.
• Another is the imi or abstentions (the act of restraining oneself from indulging in
something), which are practices performed against impurity. (Ong, Jose 2016)
 TYPES OF WORSHIP
• At Home (kamidana)
Shintoists often place a small altar (“kami shelf”) inside their houses and this is where they perform the following
rituals: purification; offertory; clapping their hands to the kami (who, they believe, could see and hear what they are
doing); and offering of prayers. (Ong, Jose 2016)
• At Shinto Shrine
Shrine visits usually take the following steps: first, one is advised to behave respectfully and calmly (there are
prohibitions for the sick, wounded, or in mourning from visiting shrines because these people are considered impure).
Take the ladle at the purification fountain, rinse both hands then transfer some water to rinse one’s mouth, then
spit the water beside the fountain (one should not transfer the water directly from the ladle to the mouth or swallow
the water).
Then throw a coin at the offering box upon entering the offering hall, bow deeply twice, then clap hands twice,
bow deeply again, use the gong, and pray for a while. It is believed that using the gong before praying attracts the
attention of the kami.
 BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES

1. Kami Worship
 BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES

2. Concept of Pure and Impure

 BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES

3. Concept of Death
 BELIEFS AND DOCTRINES

4. De/ Virtue
 SELECTED ISSUES

Vehicle for Patriotism

Shrine Visits of Prime Ministers
 MATCH ME!
COLUMN A COLUMN B

1. Ancestor of the imperial family A. Age of Kami

2. First book of Kojiki B. Amaterasu-o-mi-

kami
3. Spirits C. Death

4. Worst form of impurity D. Hatsumiyamairi

5. First shrine visit E. Kami

DIRECTIONS: WRITE CORRECT AND APPROPRIATE SIGNIFICANT DETAILS
TO COMPLETE THE DATA RETRIEVAL CHART ABOUT SHINTOISM BELIEFS
AND DOCTRINES.

BELIEF AND DOCTRINES

1. Kami Worship  
 
 

2. Concept of Pure and Impure  

 
 

3. Concept of Death  
 
 

4. De/Virtue