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THE FOUR AFFIRMATIONS OF SHINTOISM

Shintoism • Tradition and Family

• Love of Nature
• Physical cleanliness
• Matsuri: festivals that
worship and honor the Kami

PHILOSOPHICAL CORE OF SHINTO EFFECTS OF SHINTOISM

1. Tradition and the family: The family is how Followers help unite
traditions are passed on all of Japan
2. Love of nature: Nature is sacred and to be Strong respect for the
close to nature I to be close to the gods. natural world in
3. Physical cleanliness: Keep your body clean. Japan
Hygiene is holy
Shrines built in places
4. "Matsuri“ Honor the gods and other spirits of natural beauty &
(i.e. ancestors) they appear Torii Gate is the entrance to a Shinto
shrine; the gate may be on land or
throughout Japan water

EFFECTS OF SHINTOISM
DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
• The influence of Shinto on Japanese
culture cannot be overestimated.
Estimated number of adherents:
• It is still very common for Japanese
to say, "Itadakimasu" before eating, 2.8 - 3.2 million followers
• the Japanese emphasis on proper
greetings can be seen as a
continuation of the ancient Shinto 40% of Japanese adults – around
belief in kotodama (words with a 50 million
magical effect on the world).

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ORIGIN
Shinto is the native spiritual practice of
Japan
Until the introduction of Buddhism (in 552
C.E.) to Japan it had no real name.

Buddhism and Confucianism have heavily

influenced Shinto.

ORIGIN ORIGIN

The Word “Shinto” means: • To practice Shinto, one must worship the
“kami”
- way of the Gods • Kami = spirits found in all living and
- Way of Kami nonliving things
• Kami control the forces the nature
• Attempt to win the favor of the kami
through praying, offerings, and visiting
shrines

BASIC BELIEFS
Shintoist believe in kami . A kami is a spirit which can
be of ancestors, gods, revered warriors, leaders,
forces of nature, demons, and all but the last Japanese
Emperor.

Most Kami protect people and sustain nature.

The most revered of these Kami is Amaterasu Omikami,

the sun goddess, who is the ancestor of the Imperial
family of Japan. The shrine to her is in the town Ise.

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SHRINE SHINTO

• Jinja (shrines) - Tens of thousands

located throughout Japan
• Torii – entry gate, separates
sacred from profane space
• kami-dana (god shelf) -
Household shrines
AMATERASU OMIKAMI’S SHRINE AT ISE

BELIEF

Purity is very important in

Shinto and most rituals
performed by priest and
laymen is to attain a state of
ritual purity (Misogi) to appeal
to angry or disturbed Kami.

BELIEF

• No founder, written scriptures

or religious law.

• Believers respect animals as

messengers of the gods.

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BELIEF TRADITIONAL SHINTO WEDDING PROCESSION

• Shinto is shrine-
centered and ritual-
centered; not book-
centered

SHINTO’S REVIVAL WORSHIP AND RESPECT OF ANCESTORS

• Shinto was so blended it had almost Absolute loyalty to family/

disappeared by the 8th century
• Tokugawa Regime (1600-1867)
• Military leaders and the Samurai
• to eliminate outside influence,
religions were pushed out (Except
Confucianism since it supported
military ethics)
ancestors is very important.
Tradition and the family are
still important.
The main celebrations in
Shinto relate to birth and
marriage, through which
family traditions are
preserved.

ORIGAMI Origami
• Origami = paper of the
-seen on
spirits
trees of
• This is a Japanese folk
shinto
art in which paper is shrines
folded into beautiful
shapes.
• They are often seen
around Shinto shrines
as offerings.

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CREATION STORY

After creating the first land out of nothing by

stirring up the oceans with a spear, two Kami,
Izanagi and Izanami, are said to have conceived
and given birth to the Japanese Islands.

The first children turned out badly and were

exiled, the second time, Izanami gave birth to the
“8 perfect islands” of Japan.

Their subsequent children became the

kami/respective deities for the Clans of Japan.

IZANAGI- AND IZANAMI: CREATED JAPAN RITUALS

1. As mentioned before purity rituals are

very important in Shinto.
2. Priests preside over purification
ceremonies for events such as the ground
breaking

3. The construction of most buildings in

Japan is preceded by a Shinto
Groundbreaking ceremony

SYMBOLS •The Torii Gate is a

SHINTO GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY
structure that marks a
Shinto Shrine. It
appears at the entrances
of Holy Places.

•Often painted red, the

Torii represents a
transition between the
finite world and the
infinite world of the gods.

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The most common tomoe emblem has Ikebana : The Art of

three flames. This reflects the threefold
division of Shinto cosmology, Japanese Flower
representing the earth, heavens, and Arranging
humankind.

The Tomoe, meaning circular or TOMOE

 Tallest  Heaven
turning, refers to the motion of the
earth.  Middle  Man
 Smallest  Earth
The emblem with two flames is used as
a kamon, or family crest, a device similar
to the coat of arms.

Pronunciation: TOH-MOH-AY

PERSON PURITY RITUALS MISOGI – ANCIENT AND MODERN

Personal purity rituals are refered to as

misogi.
Misogi can be performed by the layman
either with ritual prayers recited while
immersing one’s self in any body of cold
water or just by standing under a
waterfall.

EMPEROR HIROHITO’S TRADITIONAL SHINTO

THE AFTER LIFE FUNERAL PROCESSION

Every child born in Japan is added to the records of their

local shrine regardless of religious affiliation. This list
guarantees that when the individual dies they will become
a family kami (a.k.a. ujigami) and join their ancestors
and local community members who have passed before
them.
Those who die without their name on the list are called
water children and become restless and sometimes angry
ghosts, that make trouble for the living.

Names can be added to the list later in life and without

consent of the individual.

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EVERYDAY PRACTICE
SHINTO PRIESTS, PRAYERS, AND
SHRINE
1. Anyone can pray at a Shinto Shrine regardless of belief.
2. Walk to the Torii (chapel) and bow before entering.
3. Wash hands - left first, then right, sometimes feet,
then rinse mouth but water is not spit back into the
basin.
4. If there is a bell, one can ring it before prayers; its
customary to leave a small donation usually @ 5-10
yen;
5. normally there 2 bows, then 2 claps. On the second
clap, keep hands together in front of heart, give a
closing after prayers.

IMPORTANT TEXTS THE KOJIKI – RECORD OF ANCIENT MATTERS

1. While there is no central “holy book” definitively

describing Shinto tradition, there are a few widely
revered and respected texts:
2. The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters)
3. The Rokkokushi (Six National Histories)
4. The Shoku Nihongi and its Nihon Shoki
(Continuing Chronicles of Japan)
5. The Jinno Shotoki (Shinto and Japanese politics
and history) written in the 14th century

INTERESTING SHINTO FACTS THE PROBLEM FOR HUMANS

1. Being an active Shintoist does not prevent
one from belief in any other religion. (This
is common to many Asian regions where
pantheism or polytheism was common.)
2. Separation of Shinto from the state and
political life did not happen until World
War II. The last Emperor was forced by the
United States military to renounce his
divinity as a part of surrender.
3. The concept of Kami permeates Japanese
popular culture
• Alienation, estranged from the kami and
need communication
• Alienated from family, ancestors,
community, emperor thru failure to do
what’s expected
• Humans can become ritually unclean and
need purification
• Solution: reconciliation thru offerings,
prayer, heroic deeds, ritual suicide

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COMMUNITY

• Devotion to family and country

governs all conduct
• People are a part of something (family,
nation, etc.)
• Duty to sacrifice your selfish impulses
to good of the whole
• Groups govern your behavior and
consequences