1. Shinto

2. Location
Founder/Origin
Japan
No one
500 BCE CE

3. Sects/Branches Holidays Holy Texts Clothing Shogatsu Matsuri Obon
January
Obon
Matsuri
Spring Festival
“Haru Matsuri”
Harvest/Autumn Festival
“Aki Matsuri”
Shrine Shinto
Sect Shinto
State Shinto
Folk Shinto
Holy Texts
Nihongi
Kojiki
Clothing
Women wear kimonos

4. Nature of/Relationship with Gods
Creation Myth
World was fluid, turbulent, formless chaos
Izanagi (male) and Izanami (female) created the world
Amaterasu
Sun goddess from whom first Japanese emperor descended
Nature of/Relationship with Gods
Celestial deities
Worship kami

5. Hierarchy/Women Holy Cities/Today Supernatural Beings Mount Fuji
Most sacred
Shrine
Mostly in Japan
4 million
Emperor at the top
Women are inferior to men, but can be clergy
Supernatural Beings
Kami
Some benign and some demonic
Divinities of clans, essences of geographical features
Oni
Animal spirits
Ancestral spirits

6. Basic Beliefs Rituals/Customs/ Rules Family, clan, solidarity
Group is more important than the individual
Reverence for nature and beauty
Rules are necessary to govern human behavior
“The Way of the Gods”
Omiyamairi
Birth ritual
Venerate ancestor spirits (Ie)
Personal and ritual purity
Obedience to Emperor
Wash before entering shrines
Creation of miniature family shrines

7. Salvation/Afterlife Save face Obey emperor
No emphasis on reward/punishment
“Soul” of deceased exerts an influence on the living before merging with kami ancestors