Shintoism ppt.

1. Shinto: The Way of the Gods
Global History I: Spiconardi

2. Origins
• Animistic Religion
• Indigenous to Japan practiced nowhere else in the world
• Evidence suggests the religion surfaced in the 500s BC
• Unnamed religion until introduction of Buddhism and Confucianism
to Japan from China

3. Beliefs
• Kami  gods or spirits
– “from food to rivers to rocks”  spirits that relate to nature and
objects
• All things have spirits; both natural & manmade
– Guardian Kami  Protectors of particular areas and clans
– Kami of Exceptional People  former emperors

4. Beliefs
• Divine Origin
– Japan and its islands are believed to be the children of Izanagi-no-
mikoto and Izanami-no-mikoto
– The kami Amaterasu Omikami (Sun goddess)is the ancestress of
the imperial family
– Divine Right  All emperors were descendants of Amaterasu
(believed until US made Japan revoke that belief in 1946)

5. Beliefs
• The Four Affirmations
– Traditionandthefamily: The family is seen as the main preservers of tradition
– Loveof nature: Nature is sacred; to be in contact with nature is to be close to
the gods. Natural objects are worshipped as sacred spirits.
– Purification:Followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out
their mouth often.
• Evil exists in the form of uncleanness
– Wounds in battle, contact with dead bodies, illness, etc.
– "Matsuri": The worship and honor given to the Kami and ancestral spirits.

6. Impact on Japan
• 110 million followers of some aspect of Shinto
– Only 3.4 million solely follow Shinto
– Most mix Buddhism and Shinto
• Nationalism  loyalty to and pride in one’s people
– Japanese were divinely chosen
– “Land of the Rising Sun”
• Artwork  Origami  “paper of the spirits”
– Out of respect for the tree spirit that gave its life to make the paper, origami
paper is never cut.