Introduction to Shintoism

Shinto is Japan's native belief system and predates historical records. It literally means “the way
of the gods.” The many practices, attitudes, and institutions that have developed to make up
Shinto revolve around the Japanese land and seasons and their relation with the human
inhabitants. Expressions of Shinto beliefs toward nature include the recognition of a divine spirit
(kami) in venerable old trees, large mountains, and tall waterfalls, as well as celebrations of the
highlights of each season. (This reverence is often expressed by the placement of a small
shrine next to the natural element being celebrated or garlanding it with a white rope.)
Traditionally, Shinto also involves purification rites and customs to overcome the polluting
effects of death and decay. However, Shinto does not espouse a moral code, lacks religious
scriptures, and does not conceive of a life after death.

Shinto Imagery
The earliest sacred items associated with Shinto practices are the mirrors, swords, and jewels
found in ancient burial sites. It was not until the arrival and influence of Buddhism, with its long
tradition of producing anthropomorphic representations of Buddhist deities, that statues and
paintings of Shinto divinities started to be produced, around the eighth century. Without
scriptural descriptions of the appearance of kami, early craftsmen of Shinto images depicted
them as men and women in secular, courtly costumes and attitudes. Traditionally, these icons
were hidden from the view of practitioners, kept in closed inner sanctuaries of shrines, and
venerated from the outside.

Shintoism Beliefs and Holidays

Shintoism, the oldest Japanese religion, centers around nature, worshiping ancestors, and kami
— sacred powers in the cosmos that are worshiped in shrines. This animistic and polytheistic
faith believes in the sanctity of all living beings, from humans and animals to trees and oceans.

Shintoism doesn’t have founders, prophets, gods, or any major texts outlining its beliefs. Its
influence is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture, emphasizing purity, harmony, fertility,
solidarity, reverence for nature, and the belief that the souls of the dead can impact the living.

Beliefs
1. Shintoism is polytheistic, meaning it believes in many gods.
2. Shintoism is animistic, meaning it believes that spirits are present in all living beings.
3. Shintoism believes that the spirits of the dead remain close to the living.
4. Shintoism believes that the dead can become kami.
5. Shintoism believes that purity is essential for spiritual well-being.

Practices
1. Shintoism involves rituals to maintain harmony between nature, humans, and the kami.
2. Shintoism involves purification rites, such as ritual washing and bathing.
3. Shintoism involves festivals, called matsuri, to honor ancestors.
4. Shintoism involves kagura dances, rites of passage, and other rituals.
History
1. Shintoism was influenced by Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.
2. Shintoism was separated from Buddhism as the state religion of Japan after World War
II.

Important Shinto Holidays

1. Nara Yamayaki - On the Fourth of January, the grass of the Naga hillside is burned by
people wearing warrior costumes to celebrate the resolution between two local temples.
This signals the beginning of Spring.
2. Kasuga Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival - Held in March to honor the Kasuga shrine, this
festival features ritual dances and music
3. Kanda Matsuri - Taking place in May, floats filled with dancers and portable shrines are
paraded throughout Tokyo to honor deities or kami at the Kanda shrine. It
commemorates the victory at the Battle of Sekigahara. It’s celebrated in odd-numbered
years.
4. Sanno Matsuri - Occurring in Mid June in even-numbered years, this festival honors the
nation’s new rulers. The Shinkosai, a procession that begins and ends at the Hie-jinja
Shrine, weaves throughout Tokyo for nearly nine hours.
5. Gion Matsuri - Throughout the entire month of July, Kyoto celebrates Gion Matsuri with
large floats accompanied by musicians. It started as a purification ritual during a plague
outbreak, which people believed was caused by spirits.
6. Aomori Nebuta Matsuri - Taking place in early August, this summer festival features
paper floats of famous people along with singing and dancing. It’s believed that its
origins come from the parade float figures used to attract enemies to the front of the
battlefield.
7. Chichibu Yomatsuri - Each December, Chichibu deities are celebrated with parades
followed by fireworks.

FAQs
a. What are the major holidays of Shintoism?
- Some of the major religious holidays in Shintoism include Matsuri and Rei-sai.
Matsuri, which means festival or holiday in Japanese, encompasses a wide
range of celebrations dedicated to various kami (deities or spirits). Rei-sai is a
grand festival often held at Shinto shrines to honor a specific kami, featuring
rituals and ceremonies that strengthen the bond between the kami and the
community.
b. What do Shinto festivals celebrate?
- In the spring, they celebrate a bountiful harvest while the fall festivals thank the
deity for the past season’s crops. In summer, they pray for a safe season without
misfortune or disasters. These festivals reflect the deep connection Shintoism
has with nature and the cycles of the year, embodying gratitude and reverence
for the kami.
c. What are some of the major beliefs of Shintoism?
 - The main beliefs of Shinto include respect for nature and one’s family and the
importance of being pure. Shintoism emphasizes living in harmony with the kami
and the natural world, highlighting the sacredness of all life. Ritual purification, or
misogi, is a key practice, symbolizing the cleansing of impurities and the renewal
of the spirit.
d. What isn’t allowed in Shintoism?
- Anything that would disturb kami or the harmony of the world is prohibited. This
includes acts that pollute the environment, disrupt social order, or violate moral
principles. Shinto practices encourage mindfulness and respect in interactions
with both the natural world and fellow humans to maintain balance and purity.

● Shintoism believes in kami (神), which can be considered gods, spirits, or

divine forces. However, the concept of kami is different from the gods in
monotheistic religions like Christianity or Islam.
● Kami are not omnipotent, all-knowing creators like the God in Abrahamic faiths. Instead,
they are divine spirits that exist in nature, ancestors, and even historical figures.
● Kami can be both good and bad, bringing blessings or misfortune depending on how
they are treated. Some kami are major deities, like Amaterasu (the Sun Goddess) or
Susanoo (the Storm God), while others are tied to local places, like a mountain spirit or a
river kami.
● Unlike some religious traditions that emphasize a strict hierarchy of deities, Shinto kami
are more fluid and can exist in different forms and places at the same time. So yes,
Shintoism believes in kami, which can be understood as gods, but they are different from
Western religious gods in their nature and function.

Nature and Varieties

● Shintō consists of the traditional Japanese religious practices as well as the beliefs and
life attitudes that are in accord with these practices. Shintō is more readily observed in
the social life of the Japanese people and in their personal motivations than in a pattern
of formal belief or philosophy. It remains closely connected with the Japanese value
system and the Japanese people’s ways of thinking and acting.

● Shintō can be roughly classified into the following three major types: Shrine Shintō, Sect
Shintō, and Folk Shintō. Shrine Shintō (Jinja Shintō), which has been in existence from
the beginning of Japanese history to the present day, constitutes a main current of
Shintō tradition. Shrine Shintō includes within its structure the now defunct State Shintō
(Kokka Shintō)—based on the total identity of religion and state—and has close relations
with the Japanese Imperial family. Sect Shintō (Kyōha Shintō) is a relatively new
movement consisting of 13 major sects that originated in Japan around the 19th century
and of several others that emerged after World War II. Each sect was organized into a
 religious body by either a founder or a systematizer. Folk Shintō (Minzoku Shintō) is an
aspect of Japanese folk belief that is closely connected with the other types of Shintō. It
has no formal organizational structure nor doctrinal formulation but is centred in the
veneration of small roadside images and in the agricultural rites of rural families. These
three types of Shintō are interrelated: Folk Shintō exists as the substructure of Shintō
faith, and a Sect Shintō follower is usually also a parishioner (ujiko) of a particular Shintō
shrine.

Early Clan Religion and Ceremonies

● In ancient times small states were gradually formed at various places. By the middle of
the 4th century ce, a nation with an ancestor of the present Imperial Household as its
head had probably been established. The constituent unit of society at that time was the
uji (clan or family), and the head of each uji was in charge of worshiping the clan’s
ujigami—its particular tutelary or guardian deity. The prayer for good harvest in spring
and the harvest ceremony in autumn were two major festivals honouring the ujigami.
Divination, water purification, and lustration (ceremonial purification), which are all
mentioned in the Japanese classics, became popular, and people started to build
shrines for their kami.

● Ancient Shintō was polytheistic. People found kami in nature, which ruled seas or
mountains, as well as in outstanding men. They also believed in kami of ideas such as
growth, creation, and judgment. Though each clan made the tutelary kami the core of its
unity, such kami were not necessarily the ancestral deities of the clan. Sometimes kami
of nature and kami of ideas were regarded as their tutelary kami.

● Two different views of the world were present in ancient Shintō. One was the three-
dimensional view in which the Plain of High Heaven (Takama no Hara, the kami’s world),
Middle Land (Nakatsukuni, the present world), and the Hades (Yomi no Kuni, the world
after death) were arranged in vertical order. The other view was a two-dimensional one
in which this world and the Perpetual Country (Tokoyo, a utopian place far beyond the
sea) existed in horizontal order. Though the three-dimensional view of the world (which
is also characteristic of North Siberian and Mongolian shamanistic culture) became the
representative view observed in Japanese myths, the two-dimensional view of the world
(which is also present in Southeast Asian culture) was dominant among the populace.

Early Chinese Influences on Shinto

● Confucianism, which originated in China, is believed to have reached Japan in the 5th
century ce, and by the 7th century it had spread among the people, together with
Daoism and yin and yang (harmony of two basic forces of nature) philosophy. All of
these stimulated the development of Shintō ethical teachings. With the gradual
centralization of political power, Shintō began to develop as a national cult as well.
Myths of various clans were combined and reorganized into a pan-Japanese mythology
with the Imperial Household as its centre. The kami of the Imperial Household and the
tutelary kami of powerful clans became the kami of the whole nation and people, and
 offerings were made by the state every year. Such practices were systematized
supposedly around the start of the Taika-era reforms in 645. By the beginning of the
10th century, about 3,000 shrines throughout Japan were receiving state offerings. As
the power of the central government declined, however, the system ceased to be
effective, and after the 13th century only a limited number of important shrines continued
to receive the Imperial offerings. Later, after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the old
system was revived.

Asuka & Nara Periods (552–794 CE) – Early Institutionalization

● Buddhism’s Introduction (552 CE) led to interactions between Shinto and Buddhism.
● The Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE) were compiled, recording Shinto myths
and legitimizing imperial rule through divine ancestry.
● Jingikan (Department of Divinities) was established to oversee Shinto rituals,
integrating it into state governance.
● Syncretism (Shinbutsu-Shūgō) began as Shinto and Buddhism merged, with kami
(Shinto deities) identified as manifestations of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

Kamakura Period (1185–1333 CE) – Rise of Samurai and Syncretism

● Shinto adapted to the rise of the samurai class, with warriors seeking divine protection
from kami.
● Shinbutsu-Shūgō deepened, as Buddhist temples managed many Shinto shrines.
● Ise Shrine (dedicated to Amaterasu) gained importance as the spiritual center of Japan.
● Kamakura Buddhism (e.g., Zen, Pure Land) influenced Shinto beliefs, emphasizing
personal devotion and spiritual discipline.

Muromachi Period (1333–1568 CE) – Emergence of Yoshida Shinto

● Yoshida Kanetomo developed Yoshida Shinto, a systematized form of Shinto that
sought independence from Buddhism.
● Ritual purity and direct kami worship gained more emphasis.
● Buddhism and Shinto remained deeply intertwined, but Shinto began to assert its
unique identity.

Azuchi-Momoyama Period (1568–1615 CE) – Political Utilization of Shinto

● Oda Nobunaga & Toyotomi Hideyoshi used Shinto to legitimize their rule.
● Shrines and temples played roles in consolidating power, with Hideyoshi enforcing state
control over religious institutions.
● The idea of Shinto as a unifying national ideology started taking root.
Edo Period (1615–1858 CE) – Rise of Confucian Influence & Kokugaku
(Nativism)
● Neo-Confucianism dominated intellectual thought, influencing Shinto ethics and
governance.
● Kokugaku (National Learning) Movement led by scholars like Motoori Norinaga
sought to separate Shinto from Buddhism, emphasizing Japan’s unique spiritual
heritage.
● Shinto shrine rituals became formalized, and samurai increasingly incorporated
Shinto ethics.
● The Tokugawa Shogunate supported Ise Shrine as a national pilgrimage site,
reinforcing Shinto’s connection to imperial legitimacy.

Meiji Period (1868–1912) – State Shinto & Separation from Buddhism

● Meiji Restoration (1868) established State Shinto (Kokka Shintō) as the official
ideology to unify Japan.
● The government separated Shinto from Buddhism (Shinbutsu Bunri), abolishing
Buddhist-Shinto syncretism.
● The Emperor was declared a living kami, reinforcing divine rule.
● Shrine Shinto was systematized, and many shrines were state-controlled.
● Folk Shinto practices persisted, but state policies prioritized nationalistic
interpretations.

Taisho Period (1912–1926) – Continuation of State Shinto & Early

Nationalism
● State Shinto remained dominant, but there was greater religious freedom due to
Taisho’s democratic reforms.
● Shinto was increasingly linked to nationalism and militarism, laying foundations for
its role in World War II.
● The influence of Western ideas led to growing intellectual debates about Shinto’s role in
modern society.

Showa Period (1926–1989) – War, Disestablishment, and Revival

● Pre-WWII: State Shinto was aggressively promoted as part of wartime nationalism.
Soldiers were expected to die for the Emperor as a divine figure.
● Post-WWII (1945): The Shinto Directive (1945) by the U.S. occupation abolished State
Shinto and separated religion from government.
● Modern Shinto transitioned to a private spiritual practice, with shrines focusing on
community and cultural traditions.
● The postwar period saw a revival of folk Shinto and new religious movements
based on Shinto teachings (e.g., Tenrikyo, Omoto-kyo).