 | Religion in Japan: Encyclopedia II - Religion in Japan - Shinto
Religion in Japan - Shinto
Main articles: Shinto, and [[{{{2}}}]], and [[{{{3}}}]], and [[{{{4}}}]], and [[{{{5}}}]]
Shintoism is one of Japan's largest religions and is the native religion. It originated in and is almost exclusive to Japan. Shintoism originated in prehistoric times, as a religion with respect for nature and in particular certain sacred sites. These sites may have originally been used to worship the sun, rock formations, trees, and even sounds. Since each of these things was associated with a deity this resulted in a complex polytheistic religion. The deities in Shintoism are known as Kami-sama and Shinto itself means 'the way of the Kami'. Worship of Shinto is done at shrines. Especially important is the act of purification before visiting these shrines.
Shinto as an indigenous religion has no holy book, no founder, and no canon. The Nihongi and Kojiki, however, contain a record of Japanese mythology.
Shinto began to fall out of fashion after the arrival of Buddhism, but soon, Shinto and Buddhism began to be practised as one religion. On sites of Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples were built, and people began to adhere to both.
Before 1868, there were three main forms of Shinto: Shrine Shinto, the most popular type; Folk (or Popular) Shinto, practised by the peasants; and Imperial Household Shinto, practiced by the imperial family.
But soon, in the 18th and 19th centuries, people began to form independent Shinto sects, which were very radical and some even monotheistic, such as Tenrikyo. These were soon known as the Shinto Sects, or the New Religions.
After the Meiji Revolution in 1868, Shinto and Buddhism were forcefully separated. The Emperor Meiji made Shintoism the official religion, creating a form of Shinto known as State Shinto, which merged Shrine, Folk, and Imperial Household Shinto together. Sect Shinto was seen as radical and separated from Shintoism. Under Meiji, Japan became a moderate theocracy, with shrines being controlled by the government. Shinto soon became a reason for Japanese nationalism. After Japan took over Korea and Taiwan, State Shintoism became the official religion of those countries as well.
During World War II, State Shinto was the only legal religion, and Christians and radical Buddhists were persecuted, as well as Sect Shintoists. However, many people were still adherents of both State Shinto and Buddhism.
When the Americans occupied Japan in 1945, the shrines were taken away from the government, and State Shinto was abolished. Shrine, Folk, and Imperial Shinto became separated. The Sect Shinto distanced itself from mainstream Shinto.
Today, most Japanese adhere to Shrine Shinto, and also to Buddhism.
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Shinto", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
