1. Shintoism in Japan

2. SHINTO About 4 Million people practice Shinto
Shinto – based on respect for forces of NATURE and ANCESTOR worship
Shinto is sometimes seen more as a way of life rather than a religion by the Japanese due to its long historical and cultural significance
Shinto is a general term of the activities of the Japanese people to worship all the deities of heaven and earth.
Established around 500 BCE 

3. Shintoism, ethnic religion unique to Japan
Importance of natural features, ancestors
State religion, worshipping the emperor
Coexistence with Buddhism

4. Buddhist and Confucian Influences
Buddhism is practiced side by side with the ways called Shinto
The Japanese often go to Shinto shrines for life-affirming events and to Buddhist temples for death rites
Japanese Confucian scholars likened the li to the way of the kami as a means of social cohesion

5. Founders and History

6. Place of Origin & Time-frame
Shinto is originated from Miyajima, Japan in 593 CE.
The religion enlarged in CE.

7. Foundation At the time of foundation:
The Yamato dynasty consolidated its rule over most of Japan.
Divine origins were ascribed to the imperial family.
Shinto established itself as an official religion of Japan, along with Buddhism.

8. Founders & Important Figures
The most revered figure
in the Shinto religion is:
Amaterasu (the daughter of
Izanagi & Izanami)
She is the goddess of the sun
and is said to show people
their beauty and potential in
life.
The flag of Japan is
representation of her

9. Key Beliefs and Practices of Shintoism

10. Worship and Respect of Ancestors
Absolute loyalty to family/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.

11. The Four Affirmations
Tradition and the family: Understanding that family is the foundation for preserving traditions
Love of nature: Holding nature sacred
Ritual purity: Ritual bathing to spiritually and physically cleanse yourselves before entering a shrine to worship the kami. (In addition, festivals are held twice a year to drive out pollutants or impurities.)
Worshipping and honoring gods and ancestral spirits

12. Kinship with Nature Natural beauty and symmetry important in Japan
People organize their lives around the seasons
Mount Fuji honored as an embodiment of divine power
Reverence for nature expressed in the arts

13. Kami

14. KAMI
Shinto believes and tells of the history and lives of the "Kami" (deities).
The word "Kami" is generally translated "god" or "gods
There are no concepts which compare to the Christian beliefs in the wrath of God or the separation of God from humanity due to sin
Natural objects and creatures "food to rivers to rocks."

15. Kami- ‘high’ or ‘superior’
People of the Shinto religion believe that spirits known as Kami exist everywhere.
The Kami can be found in anything from rocks and trees to animals and thunder.
Kami can be explained in the story of two deities, Izanagi & Izanami.

16. KAMI
Believers respected the Kami and tried to win their favor through prayer and offerings.
The shared beliefs of the followers of Shinto eventually helped unite all of Japan.

17. Purity

18. Shinto rituals are composed of :
PURITY and POLLUTION.
Ritual impurity can come from things such as simply bleeding due to an act of violence.
Ritual purity is critical for the appeal to the Kami to be successful.

19. Importance of Purity
Shinto beliefs state that certain deeds, one might term evil, lead the human mind and spirit towards impurity which has negative effects on an individuals fortune and well being.
Purity is very important in Shinto and most rituals performed by priest or regular person is to attain a state of ritual purity to appeal to angry or disturbed Kami.

20. Misogi – Ancient and Modern

21. Misogi is ritual purification by standing under a waterfall.
©2011 PRENTICE HALL | Pearson Education, Inc. | Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

22. Shrines and Ways of Worship

24. Shrines More than 100,000 shrines in Japan honoring the kami
Greatest number are dedicated to Inari, god of rice
Earliest Shinto followers may have worshipped at sacred trees or groves
Later shrines complexes are marked by gate frames, walls, or streams with bridges
Visitors clap their hands, bow deeply, and try to feel the kami within their hearts
©2011 PRENTICE HALL | Pearson Education, Inc. | Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

25. Shinto Shrines Followers build shrines to specific kami.
When entering a shrine, you pass through a tori gate.
This gate is the gateway to the gods. It symbolizes leaving the finite world for the infinite world.
Inside the shrine, believers wash hands and rinse out mouths to purify themselves.
They pray, make requests, make offerings, and perform sacred dances.

26. Torii
A formal gatelike structure that marks a Shinto sacred place or shrine.
They come in various colors and are made of various materials.
Most torii, however are made of wood, and many are painted orange and black.
Torii represents a transition between the finite world and the infinite world of the gods.
Akumi Kanbe Shinmeisha (安久美神戸神明社), Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan

27. World Impact: Rarely seen outside Japan
Practised in small groups worldwide
Fading religion
Japanese-Americans keep Shinto traditions
Practices almost extinct
Influences modern society