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Shinto A selection of articles related to Shinto: Shinto (神道 Shintō) (sometimes called Shintoism) is a native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. It has polytheistic and pantheistic elements. It involves the worship of kami, which can be translated to mean gods, spirits of nature, or just spiritual presences Shinto - Early History. The earliest origins of Shinto are lost to history, but it seems to have been established by the late Jomon period. A number of theories about the ancestors of today's Japanese people exist See this and more articles and videos below.

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Shinto - Shinto (Japanese) [from shin god + to, tao way, path]

The way of the gods; applied to the popular religion in Japan prior to Buddhism. Japan was considered to be the land of the gods -- a conception current among nearly all ancient peoples, each one of which looked upon its own land as the land of the original divine incarnations -- and the ruler (mikado) as the direct descendant and actual representative of the sun goddess (Tensho Daijin). Spiritual agencies were attributed to all the processes of nature, and a reverential feeling inculcated toward the dead. Hero worship took the direction in the prevalent belief that noble-minded warriors should be exalted nearly to the position of demigods.

The shrines or temples were of simple construction, without adornment or statuary, the outstanding characteristic being the tori or gateway always present before a temple. The gateway was erected as a perch for the fowls offered to the deities, but the tori came to be regarded as an offering to the deities themselves, hence as many as desired might be erected in the vicinity of a temple.

There is much that is distinctly elevating and beautiful in the ancient Shinto religion, especially the emphasis laid upon spiritual influences permeating the universe, so that everything that was, is, or will be, and everything that happens, is in the last analysis the production of spiritual influences. It was a religion notably without the ceremonial trappings of many other religious systems, for simplicity in all things was a particular teaching of Shinto itself.

Shintoism - (Shen-Tao “the way of the gods. ”) Ancient polytheistic religion of Japan that focuses more on Japanese Culture, traditions, attitudes and ideology rather than a system of doctrines or code of ethics.

The roots of the movement are obscure, but it eventually developed into the idea that Japan, unlike other countries, was uniquely fathered by the god Izanami, whose consort, the goddess Izanagi, gave birth to the Japanese islands. Consequently the concept evolved that Japanese people are divine and superior to other humans.

In one form of the religion, State Shintoism, the Japanese emperors were seen as infallible descendants of the gods. Today devotion centers around public shrines and home altars dedicated to ancestors and gods. The sun goddess Amaterasu is the chief deity worshipped, and a belief in kami, a form of spiritism, is also maintained.

Paleopaganism - A general term for the original polytheistic, nature-centered faiths of tribal Europe, Africa, Asia, the Americas, Oceania and Australia, when they were (or in some rare cases, still are) practiced as intact belief systems.

Of the so-called “Great Religions of the World,” Hinduism (prior to the influx of Islam into India), Taoism and Shinto, for example, fall under this category, though many members of these faiths might be reluctant to use the term.

Some Paleopagan belief systems may be racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. There are billions of Paleopagans living and worshiping their deities today.

See Mesopaganism and Neopaganism.

Izanagi And Izanami - Izanagi and Izanami (Japanese) In Shintoism, the primordial male and female ancestors of humanity, who begot the first god of earth, Tenshoko doijin.

"These ''gods'' are simply our five races, Isanagi and Isanami being the two kinds of the ''ancestors,'' the two preceding races which give birth to animal and to rational man" (SD 1:241). This heavenly pair was said to have created Japan from drops of brine.

In - In (Japanese) Equivalent to the Chinese yin; in Shintoism, the feminine principle of matter or earth, impregnated by Yo (the heavens), the male ethereal principle, and then precipitated into the universe. She forms the first ethereal, sexless objective being, and with him produces the seven divine spirits who emanate the seven creation.

Ancestor Worship - The belief inherent in some religions, such as Shintoism, that asserts the continued existence of the deceased and the influence that the living descendants have upon their existence. Descendants have an obligation to support their ancestors through their actions and reverence.

Tenshoko Daijin - Tenshoko Daijin or Ten Sho Dai Jiu (Japanese) The Shinto sun goddess, the first of the five generations of so-called earthly deities -- two of which generations are yet to be evolved forth -- these seven in their turn following the seven earlier generations of heavenly deities.

Animism - The belief that everything (including inanimate objects) is alive with soul or spirit, a conviction pervasive among most indigenous (tribal/pagan/shamanistic) faiths, including Hinduism, Shintoism and spiritualism.

Yo - Yo (Japanese) The male ethereal essence or substance of Shinto cosmogony, which in conjunction with In, the female essence, produces manifestation. Equivalent to the Chinese yang.

Isu - Isu (Tse)

-no-gai-no-kami (Japanese) In Shintoism, the male aspect of the duality appearing in the fourth creation. (SD 1:217)

Kuni-toko Tachi-no-mikoto - Kuni-toko Tachi-no-mikoto In Japanese Shintoism, the first man (SD 1:241)

ARTICLES RELATED TO Shinto

* Encyclopedia II - Ritual purification - Shinto

Misogi is a Shinto practice involving purification in a waterfall or other natural running water. ...

* Encyclopedia - Shinto

Shinto (神道 Shintō) (sometimes called Shintoism) is a native religion of Japan and was once its state religion. It has polytheistic and pantheistic elements. It involves the worship of kami, which can be translated to mean gods, spirits of nature, or just spiritual presences. Some kami are local and can be regarded as the spirit or genius of a particular place, but others represent major natural objects and processes, for example, Amaterasu, the Sun goddess. The word Shinto was created by combining two kanji: ... Including:

Shinto - History

Shinto - Definition of Shinto

Shinto - Practice and teaching of Shinto

Read more here: » Shinto: Encyclopedia - Shinto

Videos - shinto

Shinto Muso Kenjutsu bunkai

Shintoism

Shintoism Music credit goes to Naruto: Shippudden soundtrack.

Mystical Spirit 3 - Hindu, Buddha, Shinto and Beyond

This program explores and links some of the great pantheistic spiritual traditions of the world including Hinduism, Buddhism and...

Shinto Muso Ryu Jo

The jo Kata of Shinto Muso ryu demonstrated by the Aijokai (Aichi jo group) in front of Nagoya Castle on May 5th, 2006.

* Encyclopedia II - Shinto - History

Shinto - Early History. The earliest origins of Shinto are lost to history, but it seems to have been established by the late Jomon period. A number of theories about the ancestors of today's Japanese people exist. These theories range from hypotheses of migration from central Asia or Indonesia that are accepted by most scholars to fringe speculation that even links the Japanese ...

* New Age Spiritual Dictionary on Shinto

Shinto
(Japanese) "Way of the Gods", Way of life, devoted to nature and ancestral spirits

(See also: Shinto, Body Mind and Soul )

For more dictionary entries, see » Shinto Dictionary

* The Way of Kami in Japanese Thought - Shintoism

Shinto: The Way of Kami in Japanese Thought
Japanese culture has been influenced by two spiritual traditions, Shinto or Shintoism and Buddhism. Shinto is Japan's ancient indigenous religion which evolved over hundreds of years.

When Buddhism took roots in the sixth century Shinto existed more as a way of life, realised by the people in their natural surroundings, rather than as an organised religion. Shinto shaped both the spiritual as well as material aspects of Japanese lifestyle. Japanese culture, psyche and ethos are so closely intertwined with Shinto that it can be called the national religion.

* Encyclopedia - Yasukuni Shrine

Yasukuni Shrine (literally "peaceful nation shrine") is a controversial Shinto shrine located in Tokyo, Japan dedicated to the spirits of soldiers who died fighting on behalf of the Japanese emperor. The name of the shrine was originally written 靖國神社 (Yasukuni Jinja). But with the designation of the jōyō kanji, the name is now written in the simplified 靖国神社. As of October 2004, its Book of Souls lists the names of 2,466,532 Japanese and former colonial soldiers (mostly Korean and Taiwanese) kille ... Including:

Yasukuni Shrine - External link

* Encyclopedia II - Yasukuni Shrine - Controversy

The shrine honors as kami the spirits of those who have fought on behalf of the emperor, regardless of whether they died in combat. Still, about 1,000 of the enshrined spirits were POWs executed for war crimes during World War II. The main criterion for enshrinement for war dead is that a person should be listed as having died while on duty (including death from illness or disease) in the war dead registry of the Japanese government. The Japanese government lists all executed A, B, and C class war criminals as such for technical reaso ...

* Encyclopedia II - Magatama - Origins

Current belief states that magatama originated in the Asian continent and spread through Korea, where they are known as kokkok. No site of magatama production has been found in the Asian continent, including neighboring China, Manchuria, and Siberia. Additionally, kokkok are indistinguishable from their Japanese contemporaries, a fact which supports the theory that the beads originated in Japan. However, there are many examples of kokkok in Korean art [1], and since the preponderance of archaeological evidence shows that Korean artifa ...

* : Buddhism - Schools of Buddhist philosophy

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived in what is now Northern India and Nepal between 566 and 483 BCE. Buddhism spread throughout the ancient Indian sub-continent in the five centuries following his death. It continued to spread into Central, Southeast, and East Asia over the next two millennia. With approximately 708 million followers, Buddhism is a major world religion whose adherents are called Buddhists. Buddhist denominations are historically categ ... Including: Buddhism - What is a Buddha? Buddhism - Origins Buddhism - Principles of Buddhism Buddhism - The Four Noble Truths Buddhism - The Noble Eightfold Path Buddhism - Practices of Buddhism Buddhism - Refuge in The Three Jewels Buddhism - The Five Precepts Buddhism - Meditation Buddhism - Buddha-dhatu Buddha-Principle, Buddha-nature Buddhism - Other principles and practices Buddhism - Vegetarianism Buddhism - Buddhist religious philosophy and branches Buddhism - Buddhism after the Buddha Buddhism - Principal schools of Buddhist philosophy Buddhism - Scriptures Buddhism - Relations with other Eastern faiths Buddhism - Buddhism in the modern world Buddhism - Buddhism and the West Buddhism - Buddhism Buddhism - Related systems and religions Buddhism - References and Links Buddhism - References Buddhism - Footnotes Buddhism - External links

* : Buddhist art

Buddhist art originated in the Indian subcontinent in the centuries following the life of the historical Gautama Buddha in the 6th to 5th century BCE, before evolving through its contact with other cultures and its diffusion through the rest of Asia and the world. A first, essentially Indian, aniconic phase (avoiding direct representations of the Buddha), was followed from around the 1st century CE by an iconic phase (with direct representations of the Buddha). From that time, Buddhist art diversified and evolved ... Including: Buddhist art - Aniconic phase 5th century - 1st century BCE Buddhist art - Iconic phase 1st century CE – present Buddhist art - Northern Buddhist art Buddhist art - Central Asia Buddhist art - China Buddhist art - Korea Buddhist art - Japan Buddhist art - Tibet and Bhutan Buddhist art - Vietnam Buddhist art - Southern Buddhist art Buddhist art - Burma Buddhist art - Cambodia Buddhist art - Thailand Buddhist art - Indonesia

A Wisdom Archive on Shinto