Basic Beliefs

Followers of Shinto believe that the entire universe consists of Kami, supernatural gods
and spirits of nature, who are present in all aspects of nature, including trees, rivers,
rocks, even people. In Shinto, there are about 800 myriads of Kami, but only 200 of
them are worshipped. The belief that Kami are everywhere compels believers to treat
everyone with respect and care. Besides that, worshippers of Shinto ascertain that the
islands of Japan were created by the Kami, and the emperors and all people were the
descendents of these nature spirits. As a result, disciples of Shinto have a fanatical
loyalty to the chiefs or leaders, who they believed were wise with guidance from the
sacred Kami.
The Japanese also have a set of beliefs concerning death. Followers of Shinto have a
universal fear of death. They consider death as a source of unholy pollution. In the case
of a death, the deceased was buried immediately. The whole family of the dead
individual would bathe in water to cleanse themselves of death. After that, the home
would be abandoned, and a new one would be built. On a more extreme scale, if a
chieftain or emperor died, the whole capital would be abandoned, and then be
relocated to a new city. Since death is so feared, there is no rite of funeral in Shinto.
Instead, most funerals are handled by Buddhist rituals.

Festivals and Celebrations
Shinto has many festivals and celebrations. Most of them are equally important, but like
many other cultures, the New Year (Oshogatsu) is the most important.
Seijin Suki: Also know as "Coming of Age" day. It takes place annually on January
15, when Japanese who have just turned 20 in the previous year attend a shrine
for thanksgiving of adulthood.

Hatsumiyamairi: Translated into "first shrine visit." This is an occasion when a
newborn baby is taken to a local shrine to be placed under the protection of the
residing Kami. The child then becomes a parishioner of the shrine. Usually
newborn boys come to the shrine on the 32nd day after birth, and 33 days after
birth for girls. Traditionally, the grandmother takes the baby to the shrine, as the
mother is thought to be impure from childbirth. In modern times, the mother
takes the child.

Shichigosan: When children at the ages of 3-7 are taken to a shrine to celebrate
their aging of childhood.

Haru Matsari: The Japanese spring festival. It emphasizes on good luck in a
successful planting of crops, especially rice.

Rei-Sai: An annual, festival, its date pending on the date the local shrine was
created. Basically, Rei-Sai celebrates the birthday of the shrine.

Aki Matsuri: A festival that celebrates the annual harvest of rice and other crops.

Shinto Weddings: In a traditional style wedding, the couple is at first purified with
water. After that, they drink sake, and the groom reads the words of
commitment to the bride. In terms of dress, both the newlyweds wear a kimono.

A kimono traditional dress.
Kanushi: groundbreaking ceremonies for a new building to ensure its stability and
quality. Nowadays, Shinto priest perform purification and Kanushi rituals to new
cars and electronics on the assembly line before they are exported to other
countries.




A Kanushi groundbreaking ceremony.









Different Types of Shinto
Shrine Shinto: The most popular of all forms of Shinto. It holds a firm position
along Japan's history and is considered as the main flow of Shinto. Shrine Shinto
is commonly associated with summer festivals, good luck talismans and
groundbreaking ceremonies. Before the nationalization of Shinto, Shrine Shinto
was a series of disorganised shrines connected to Buddhist worship. After, Shrine
Shinto was systemized and utilized for patriotism. After Shinto nationalization
was disbanded in 1946, by General Douglas MacArthur, the mantle of organizing
shrines went to the Association of Shinto Shrines, overseeing about 80000
shrines all over the world.
Imperial Household Shinto: The official worship practiced by the Imperial Family
of Japan. There are 3 shrines in the Imperial Palace, for example The Ancestral
Spirits Shine, and Sanctuary of the Kami.
Folk Shinto: based on a series of numerous but disorganized beliefs in deities and
divinities. Forms of worship in divination, spirit possession, and shamanism.
Contains elements from Buddhism and Confucianism, but most rites come from
ancient Japanese traditions.
Sect Shinto: a term used in the 1980s to distinguish state-owned shrines from
traditional worship. Followers of Sect Shinto do not practice in a shine. Instead,
they worship in meeting halls, auditoriums, and rented rooms. Sect Shintoists
typically pray to mountains, for example Mount Fuji, practice a form of
Confucianism, and abstain from connecting with mainline Shinto.
Koshinto: Means "Old Shinto." This refers to practicing a form of Shinto before it
was affected by Buddhism form mainland Asia.





Shinto Religious Symbols
Ofuda: Religious talismans
Omamori: personal good luck charms
Daruma: Round, paper dolls in which recipients set goals on them and try to
accomplish.
Dorei: earthenware bells used to pray for good fortune.
Humaya: paper arrows used to represent the fight between good and evil.
Inuharuto: paper dogs used to induce and bless successful births.




Dorei earthenware bells.








Shinto Afterlife
Shinto families use Buddhism rites in handling funerals, since death is considered
pollution in Shinto. The Japanese version of an afterlife is very similar to the Greek
Hades: a dark, damp underground realm with a river separating the living and the dead.
The general description of it is very gloomy. However, some ancient Japanese scrolls
also mention a heaven-like place where heroes and people who do wonderful things in
their life go when they die. The Japanese name for the afterlife is yomi, meaning "land
of the dead."






Political and Social Roles of Shinto
In about 1870 CE, the Meiji Dynasty implemented what would become known as the
Meiji Restoration, when the Shinto religion was combined with the country to make
State Shinto. As a result, the emperor and government would go to shrines not only to
pray to kami, but also pray for peace and the welfare of the nation (matsuri-goto). A
motto of state officials was "Shinto ceremonies and political affairs are one and the
same." A bit lower down the chain, villagers still prayed to kami for unity in the state
and the health of the emperor. Priority to teaching of religion in schools was given
purely to Shinto, despite the Japanese constitution of 1889. Besides that, a majority of
national holidays reflected on Shinto festivals. The "Great Promulgation Movement"
refers to when the emperor was revered as a kami, from 1869 to 1884. The government
also brought back "National Shrines" which were government funded and held some
sort of national significance. Some example of national shrines were the Six Sanctuaries.



One of the National Shrines: The Keta Taisha.

Foundation of Shinto
Shinto is too old to know the specific founder, like Jesus Christ of Christianity or
Gautama Buddha of Buddhism, but it is well-known that Shinto is associated with the
prehistoric religious practices of the Japanese people. However, it was officially
recognized as a religion in 660 BCE. Obviously, it originated in the Japanese Islands.
Creation Myth
The Japanese believe that two kami, Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto, were
tasked by the myriad gods to create the Japanese Islands. They were given a spear in
which they used to stir the water, and when water dripped off the end, an island was
created. After a while they bore offspring, the other 8 Japanese islands.
Extra Facts
Shinto has no sacred books, no teachers, so saints, and no well-defined
pantheon.
The word "Shinto" actually comes from the Chinese word shin tao, meaning "the
way of the kami."
About 3-4 million people in the world worship Shinto.
Shinto does not require followers to profess their faith, so anyone practicing a
Shinto rite is counted as a believer, making it hard to count the exact amount of
worshippers.
The Christian God, Islamic Allah, and Hindu gods are considered Kami for the
purpose of the Shinto faith.
Shinto is the 15th largest religion in the world.