2. SHINTOISM (SHINTO) A religion of 600 BC - 1945 AD.
MAKOTO NO KOKORO (or MAGOKORO)
TSUNAGARI
AMATERASU AND KAMI
MIRROR (major Symbol)
SHINTO AND THE JAPANESE SPIRIT
Japanese Miracle
A “Melting pot” civilization

3. ** Rising Sun** to Japan the sacred country of the
Welcome
to Japan
the sacred country of the
** Rising Sun**
The Sacred Land of KAMI

4. JAPAN is slightly smaller than California
Total population: 127,417,244 (July 2005 est.)
Ethnic groups
Japanese 99%,
others 1% : Korean 511,262,
Chinese 244,241,
Brazilian 182,232,
Filipino 89,851,
other 237,914.
Note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to Brazil (2004)

5. Japanese religions 1. CHRISTIANS: 0.7% (about 1%): 1 to 2 million.
2. observe both Shinto and Buddhism: 84%
3. other religions: 16%
(including Christianity and Confucianism)
Today, about 1 to 2 million Japanese are Christian
(about 1% of Japan's population). Most of them live in Western Japan where the
missionaries' activities were greatest during the 16th century.

6. Historical development of Shintoism: three phases
1) 6th century BC-6th Century AD: SHINTO’s rise
2) 6th century AD - 16th/19th century:
Buddhism and Confucianism dominate,
Shinto declines
16th century: Christianity enters Japan provoking a reaction that will generate the return to Shinto as State Religion
3) 19th - mid-20th century:
Shinto becomes again the official religion
(Progressive Revival of Shinto 16th-18th century)

7. Historical development of Shintoism: three phases
1) 6th century BC-6th Century AD: development of SHINTO
660 B.C: Jimmu Tenno (first emperor of Japan) and rise of Shintoism
5 C.E: Japanese build the first national Shinto shrine at ISE.
285 C.E: Confucianism arrives in Japan
C.E : Buddhism introduced in Japan
595 C.E: Buddhism proclaimed state religion of Japan
6th century C.E:
* Name Shinto given to the religion.
(In confronting Confucianism and Buddhism,
Shinto is given a name as a specific religion).
* Confucianism and Buddhism flourish.
Japan combines all the three religions as important components of
Japanese identity.
C.E: completion of Shinto Chronicles.

8. During these periods,Buddhism and Chinese Culture dominate in Japan.
2) 6th century AD - 19th century (Buddhism and Confucianism dominate, Shinto declines)
285 C.E: Confucianism arrives in Japan
C.E : Buddhism introduced in Japan
595 C.E: Buddhism proclaimed state religion of Japan
C.E: completion of Shinto Chronicles.
6th-16th century C.E: Buddhism dominates
: Buddhism and Chinese Culture dominate in Japan
16th-17th (and 3rd-6th) century: Confucianism dominates
16th century A.D.: Christianity introduced in Japan
: Japanese leaders Confucianize Japan
HEIAN Period ( ); KAMAKURA period ( ); MUROMACHI period ( )
During these periods,Buddhism and Chinese Culture dominate in Japan.
*TOKUGAWA period ( ): Shinto revival
:Communists suppress Confucianism and all other religions in China
3) 19th - mid-20th century: Shinto official religion (Progressive Revival of Shinto 16th-18th century)

9. 3) 19th - mid-20th century: Shinto official religion
Progressive Revival of Shinto 16th-18th century
*TOKUGAWA period ( ): Shinto revival
19th century: Revival of State Shinto under the Meiji:
Shintoism as the only official religion
20th century (December 1945): State Shinto and the Emperor himself are abolished. The emperor loses his power to govern and the Shinto foundational myth of divine Emperor is destroyed.
21st century the rise of Asian Power (Japan, China, India)

10. 1549 C.E: Francis Xavier, Catholic missionary, in Japan
1585 C.E: Matteo Ricci, Catholic Missionary, in China
1854 C.E: U.S. Commodore Perry forces Japan to trade with the West
1868: Emperor MEIJI ascends to the throne and transforms Shinto into the national religion, and put Shinto shrines and priests under government control. A campaign of persecution of Buddhism was launched: Their temples were closed, estates seized, and priests persecuted.
This State Shinto will come to an abrupt end in 1945.
1945: Japan surrenders in World War II; Shinto disestablished.
On December 15, 1945, four months after the end of World War II, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, the supreme commander of the Allied forces of occupation, ordered the Japanese to abolish State Shinto. He imposed the separation between the Japanese State and Shintoism, and forced the Emperor to declare to the Nation that he was not divine.
Thus in a statement that came as a terrible shock to the nation, the emperor denounced
1. The concept of divine emperor, and
2. The notion that the Japanese are a superior race destined to rule the world.

12. SHINTOISM
600 BC AD.
SHINTO THE RELIGION OF PURE HEART
Here are ten key points to know on Shinto:

13. SHINTO AND THE JAPANESE SPIRIT
Japanese Miracle
A “Melting pot” civilization

14. SHINTO THE RELIGION OF PURE HEART
Here are ten key points to know on Shinto:

15. 1. The Essence of Shinto religion:
MAGOKORO (Good Heart)
TSUNAGARI (Harmony)
Shintoism has two fundamental characteristics:
- A religion of MAKOTO NO KOKORO or MAGOKORO (Heart of truth, pure heart, good heart)
- A religion of TSUNAGARI (harmony)

16. 2. Foundation - Shinto has no founder
- No official scriptures, like Islam or Christianity
However,
Origin: 7th/6th century B.C.
* Unification of Japanese people, beginning of imperial dynasty and Japanese civilization and history.
660 B.C: Jimmu Tenno (first emperor of Japan)
And rise of Shintoism
5 C.E: Japanese build the first national Shinto shrine at ISE.
C.E: completion of Shinto Chronicles.

17. 3. Sacred Texts:

18. SHEN-DAO (Chinese): way of the Kami
3. The name SHINTO:
SHEN-DAO (Chinese): way of the Kami
KAMI NO MICHI (ancient Japanese name)

19. 4. The concept of God: KAMI: concept of God 4. AMATERASU: Central Kami
* Mount FUJI.
* IZANAGI+IZANAMI, wife: first couple of Kami
5. JIMMU TENNO: first divine Emperor

20. IZANAGI>Amaterasu >Nihingi >Jimmu Tenno ! (line of emperors)
SHINTO CREATION MYTH
IZANAGI (+IZANAMI, wife): first couple of Kami
=>Amaterasu (daughter of Izanagi)
=>Ninigi (grand son of Amaterasu)
=>Jimmu Tenno (great grand son of Ninigi; first legendary human emperor)
=> all other Japanese emperors

21. IZANAGI (husband) + IZANAMI(wife): first pair of Kami
They descended from Heaven along a rainbow bridge and created the eight great islands of Japan.
Many kami were born to the couple
But when the fire Kami was born, Izanami, the mother, was killed by the flames.
IZANAGI washed his left eye: AMATERASU (SUN-Kami) is born
washed his right eye: TSUKIYOMI (Moon-Kami) is born
washed his nose: SUSANOO (Valiant Raging Male Kami)
Jimmu Tenno, the first emperor of Japan descended directly from Amaterasu
Amaterasu sent her grand son NIHINGI to rule the earth

22. In the beginning times, the kami of the earth were unruly; so from time to time heavenly kami were sent down to pacify and subdue them.
Finally Amaterasu decided to send down her descendants to rule the land;
Ninigi descended to the peak of Mount Takachiko to inaugurate kami rule on earth.
Amaterasu gave Ninigi the 3 symbols of divine rule:
1. The mirror
2. The sword
3. the myriad curved beads

23. 6. KOJIKI and NIHON-GI or NIHON SHOKI: Sacred Texts
7. Land, People, Emperors: Sacred!
8. MAKOTO NO KOKORO: goal of the religion

24. 9. JIN SHIN JYUTSU
(Traditional Medicine, among others like Shiatsu…)
Has its foundation in the KOJIKI
Popularized in the West by MARY BURMEISTER, a Japanese American who studied in Japan with master JIRO MURAI
Her residence: BURBANK, then ARIZONA

25. 3. the myriad curved beads
10. Twenty Key concepts and symbols:
1. The mirror
2. The sword
3. the myriad curved beads
=> Symbols of divine rule; connected with the worship of Amaterasu

26. 10. Twenty Key Concepts 4. MATSURI; 5. MISOGI; 6. ISE; 7. TORII;
8. SHIMENAWA;
9. JINJA;
10. NOH
11. Gagaku

27. 10. Twenty Key Concepts 12. SHINTO 13. KAMI 14. KAMIKAZE 15. KAMIDANA
16. SAMURAI;
17. BUSHIDO;
18. KOJIKI
19. NIHON-SHOKI
20. MAKOTO NO KOKORO

28. Jinja: a Shinto shrine
Kamidana: a shelf or home altar for the veneration of Kami
Torii: a gatelike structure that marks a Shinto sacred place.
Shimenawa: Twisted rope, marking a sacred spot
Misogi: a ritual of purification that involves standing under a waterfall
Bushido: military devotion to a ruler, demanding loyalty, duty, self-sacrifice; an ideal promoted by State Shinto

30. I. Foundation
- Shinto has no founder
- No official scriptures

31. SACRED TEXTS 1. KOJIKI ("Records of Ancient Matters")
2. NIHON-GI, or NIHON SHOKI
("Chronicles of Japan")
these two books are regarded in a sense as sacred books of Shinto.
They were written in AD. 712 and 720, respectively, and are compilations of the oral traditions of ancient Shinto. But they are also books about the history, topography and literature of ancient Japan.

32. Historical development of Shintoism: three phases
538 A.D.: Buddhism enters into Japan
: Buddhism and Chinese Culture dominate in Japan:
HEIAN Period ( )
KAMAKURA period ( )
MUROMACHI period ( )
During these periods,Buddhism and Chinese Culture dominate in Japan. Kukai ( ) founds the Shingon school of Japanese Buddhism
*TOKUGAWA period ( ): Shinto revival

33. I. The Name:
1. SHINTO or KAMI NO MICHI
The term "SHINTO" sometimes is called "KAMI NO MICHI"
SHINTO is a word taken over from Chinese (SHEN-DAO = "way of spirits") to designate the indigenous religious practices of Japan
KAMI NO MICHI means "the way of the Gods"

34. II. DOCTRINE
Characteristics of Japanese religion
1. The concept of the sacred/God: Kami (Nature of God)
2. The essence of religion (Magokoro)
3. The world and the Sacred Nation
4. cyclical approach to history: Shinto does not have the concept of the last day; there is no end of the world or the history.

35. KAMI:SHINTO CONCEPT OF GOD Kami are the native Japanese deities
At the core of Shinto are beliefs
in the mysterious creating and harmonizing power (Musubi) of Kami
and in the truthful way or will (Makoto) of Kami
The nature of kami cannot be fully explained in words because kami transcends the cognitive faculty of man.

36. KAMI: CONCEPT OF GOD
In Shinto mythology, the physical world and the numerous deities who inhabit it were created by a primordial couple:
The most important KAMI are:
1. the moon goddess
2. A male earth god
3. And his sister, the sun goddess called
AMATERASU.

37. MIRROR and its religious meaning
Shinto shrine often display mirrors as symbols of Amaterasu.
The symbolic meaning of the mirror:
The mirror is free from dust and capable of reflecting images with natural clarity.
Thus it symbolizes the Shinto ideals of
purity and brilliance.
For this reason too, Shinto shrines are traditionally located in bright, sunny areas.

38. Mirror: crucial religious symbol
In earliest myths, distressed by impertinence and rudeness from her brother, Amaterasu hid in a cave.
Then the world fell in darkness.
Other Kami gathered offerings, put on entertainments, and attracted her with a mirror.
Then Amaterasu restored light to the world.
At that point the reformed earth god and his ally, the Kami of Izumo prefecture, blessed the people of the islands of Japan.

39. A grand son of Amaterasu, having received training from the gods and blessings from the Izumo kami, was designated the divine ruler of the nation, and he established the chief shrine of Amaterasu on the seashore at ISE, with a mirror as her symbol.
Thus most Shinto shrines include a mirror, where devotees can honor the sun goddess.

40. The Shinto Pantheon is headed by AMATERASU, the kami of the sun,
Credited for having aided in the
- creation of the country of Japan
- and with being a progenitor of the royal family.

41. Other Kami exist in profusion
Some are associated with the natural forces of wind, thunder, lightning, and rain;
Some are thought to dwell in natural objects such as mountains, rivers, trees, and rocks.

42. Some are ancestral spirits,
And some dwell in certain animals such as cows and foxes.

43. KAMI: concept of God Kami are the native Japanese deities
At the core of Shinto are beliefs
- in the mysterious creating and harmonizing power (Musubi) of Kami
- and in the truthful way or will (Makoto) of Kami
The nature of kami cannot be fully explained in words because kami transcends the cognitive faculty of man.

45. The essence of Religion:
MAGOKORO (Good Heart)
TSUNAGARI (Harmony)
Shintoism has two fundamental characteristics:
- A religion of MAKOTO NO KOKORO (good or pure heart)
- A religion of TSUNAGARI (harmony)

46. A religion of MAKOTO NO KOKORO:
MAKOTO NO KOKORO (heart of Truth)
or MAGOKORO (true heart): sincerity, pure heart
Man is Kami's child and should behave as a man of true heart
because KAMI is truth and responds to truthful prayers
A religion of TSUNAGARI:

47. - Kami are the native Japanese deities
- Identity between the State and Religion
- Like the Chinese, the Japanese value harmony in nature and in human society.
- Japan has borrowed many religious ideas and practices from the chinese
- cyclical approach to history: Shinto does not have the concept of the last day; there is no end of the world or the history.

48. Shinto rituals
- Japanese rituals seek communication with the Kami who order and animate the world.
- The Japanese world is considered as a world of dynamic, delicately balanced, and often unpredictable forces.

49. 1. Shamanic Rituals
This ritual involves communicating with the Kami by falling into a trance.
The Kami is considered to possess the Shaman, or Miko, and to animate her body, speaking through her mouth. While the Shaman falls into a trance, an interpreter is usually present in order to question the Kami when it "descends."
Shamanic ritual is often used in crisis situations to consult the Kami before taking important decisions:
- decision about war,
- to understand the cause of misfortune, earthquake, epidemic, and other natural disasters.

50. 2. Matsuri
- The word “Matsuri” means "celebration"
- Matsuri are usually scheduled according to a regular ritual calendar of yearly and monthly rites. They are done to ensure continued order in the cosmos and to call the Kami to descend to the shrine buildings.
- Matsuri are basically rites of hospitality (analogous to inviting honored guests to one's home). Kami are entertained, offered food and drink, and praised or flattered, and promises are made to them.

51. - The priests undergo purification rituals like bathing, eating special foods, and abstaining from sexual intercourse to prepare themselves for the presence of the kami. Then the kami who dwell in heaven, must be called down to the ceremony.
- Once present, the kami are given offerings of food and drink, such as rice, sake, or fish. Music, dancing, and praises are also offered.

52. Next the priest dips a branch of the sacred SAKAKI tree, a kind of evergreen, in holy water and waves it over the assembly, sprinkling all with the kami's blessings.
- Finally, a meal of the food offered to the kami is eaten by the priests and others.

53. 4. Men and Women
Many shinto myths show that women were associated with:
- blood (particularly birth blood),
- chaos,
- death,
- and other polluting negative forces.
Men by contrast were identify with
- purity,
- life,
- and order

54. This dichotomy suggested that women were a source of pollution to men and should be kept under the strict control of males (as fathers, husbands, and sons).
Thus social and political power belonged exclusively to men, and women's activities were confined to the domestic sphere.
In this context, Japanese culture imposed on women extreme standards of chastity like those of Neo-Confucian China.

55. Yet women's association with mysterious phenomena like birth and death also rendered them religiously essential, and because only women were generally becoming Shamans capable of communicating with venerated dead ancestors and kami, they started to influence decisions.
(Although men can also become kami-possessed, from earliest times professional miko have been women).
A wife is a central religious figure in the Family shrine. She has considerable influence in clan affairs since she speaks for the Kami.