The Shinto religion is a tradition that has close ties to nature and the upkeep of nature’s beauty (Fisher, 2014, p. 222). Shinto traditions believe in giving honor to the spirits of nature, and partaking in traditional cultural festivals (Fisher, 2014, p. 222). The Shinto that lives close to nature has structured their lives to accommodate the turn of the seasons. Shinto’s respect the roles of the sun, the position of the lightning in their rice farms, likewise the moon (Fisher, 2014, p.223). The Shinto also notice the natural beauty in minor scale art; they feel as though the rock gardening flower arranging, poetry, tea ceremony, are all reverenced as being modest and natural (Fisher, 2014, p.224). However, the Shinto (Kami) is honored…
Michael, P. (n.d). Religion and conflict in Japan with special reference to Shinto and Yasukuni Shrine. Diogenes, 50(199), 45. Retrieved from Gale: InfoTrac OneFile (PowerSearch) database.…
Shinto is the religion that is indigenous to Japan. Shinto is a ritual based religion and the rituals must be completed with precision and diligence to maintain the connection between the ancient past and modern-day Japan. Shinto is based in mythology on a collection of beliefs from the earliest Japanese writings in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. Public shrines that are devoted to multitudes of gods, or kami, that are devoted to various memorials or festivals.…
“I love Hawaii,” says Ganga. “I love that it is a combination of all of our cultures.” “It’s your turn to share with us about Shintoism.” Ganga gently reminds him. “Yes.” agrees Huang He, “How does Shintoism play into all of this?”…
In Giles Milton’s novel, Samurai William, the reader is taken to the other side of the globe to experience the history of old world Japan. Though out the book, Milton provides reason for complex historical events and actions, while still communicating the subtleties and mysterious customs of the Japanese. The novel also closely examines the wide range of relationships between different groups of Europeans and Asians, predominantly revolving around the protagonist, William Adams. The book documents the successes and failures that occur between the two civilizations, then links them back to either the positive or negative relationship they have. As the book goes on, the correlation is obvious. Milton shows us the extreme role that religion, etiquette and trade played in establishing positive relations between visiting Europeans and the Asian civilizations.…
Tokugawa Japan’s history began in the 17th century when Tokugawa Ieyasu forged documents in order to validate his claim on the title shogun and ended those who opposed his position. It is during the Tokugawa regime that foreign influences changed and evolved the political, social, and, to an extent, economic lives of the people. From the westerners, Christianity entered and the religion shaped the policies and social issues, also foreign trade affected the natural resources of Japan. On the other hand, China and Korea exerted a lot amount on Tokugawa Japan as well with Neo-Confucianism and the concept of mu’en would change the intelligentsia and aesthetics sphere. In contrast to the foreign influences that developed in the 17th century, there were also movements that came in response to challenge Neo-Confucianism such as Ancient Learning and the revival of Shintoism. With all the foreign influences in the 17th century, it brings to question of Japanese authenticity during Tokugawa Japan. With many foreign influences that helped develop Tokugawa Japan, it is crucially imperative to…
I am loving my time on the beautiful and mountainous island chain of Japan. The close proximity to China is very visible in the government and religion of this island. Peering into Zen Gardens, you can see people peacefully meditating attempting to achieve enlightenment in their calm meditation. If it was not for the Chinese, Zen Buddhism certainly would not be worshiping in this manner.Nonetheless, there are still some people practicing Shintoism. Tensions are slightly high with the increasing presence of Buddhism and there are battles beginning to brew between the peasants and the newly formed central…
Geishas, Anime, Manga, J-Pop, what do they all have in common? Japanese culture. Japanese culture combines influences from Asia, Europe, and North America. In my opinion, Japanese culture is more unique than the others. They have similar interest as the United States. Geisha’s, sports, Anime, and music are the defining elements when one thinks about Japanese culture.…
Shinto has no historical founder, it comes from deep religious practices of the Japanese people. Shinto also does not…
In the past, many countries around the world suffered from similar problems. The rich were getting away with basically anything, and the poor were being taxed to death. This was especially big in France as well as other countries such as Japan. The taxation was mostly prominent in the era of Tokugawa. With all the Daimyos and Samurai, if you were a peasant, life would be incredibly hard to live. This was all changed by the Revolutionary Meiji Restoration.…
The following that is known as Shinto is considered to be the main ethnic religion of the people of Japan. “Shinto” means “the way of the kami” or way of the gods in Japanese. Shinto is also known as “kami-no-michi” in Romanized Japanese. Originally, it was known and adopted from the term “Shindo”, which has roots from the Chinese term Shendao, which combines two Japanese Kanji (“shin”, meaning “spirit”, and “tō”, meaning “a philosophical study”) to create the word Shinto, which is commonly used today. One of the earliest recorded and stored usages of the term Shindo was found to be from the second half of the 6th Century in Japan. Shinto is factually the largest majority religion in Japan, and is practiced by nearly 80% of the current population.…
Indeed, “The Narrow Road to the Deep North” provides a valuable insight into the cultural, historical, and religious of the Japan of 17th century together with a touching journey into the hidden recesses of the human…
For a long period of time, Shinto religion was getting influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism. “Confucianism provided social ethics; Shinto provided everyday philosophy and a feeling for the nation; Buddhism provided philosophy and a hope for the life after death” (Voorst 192). Although this happened, Shinto pushed back to not be so influenced by outside religions. The Shinto people started to “acquire a stronger intellectual tradition” and they “revived the study of archaic Japanese text” (Voorst 192). During the Meiji period, Shinto started getting recognized and Buddhism almost became totally separate. This separation though caused changes in the Shinto religion. Rituals were affected and the “kami could no longer be explained as incarnations of the Buddha” (Voorst 193). It seems that all of the beginnings, or influences that this religion had were getting stripped away. Shinto was becoming its own religion, but the other religions still had the original influence.…
Japan’s culture is rich in history that dates back as far as 100,000 years ago by historians, however official studies dating back to 8,000 years ago. Roughly the size of California, located in the Pacific Ocean, Japan consists of four major islands; Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku as well as thousands of much smaller islands. The general landscape of Japan’s four main islands are mountainous that are sometimes snow covered, the largest being MT. Fuji located on the island of Honshu. In all, two thirds of Japan’s overall landscapes are mountains with forest slopes, short flowing rivers, irregular lakes, and small rich plains that experience the four major seasons. Japan averages temperatures of 79 degrees throughout the year with the coldest…
What is a rite of passage? Why is it important and how is it celebrated? For indigenous religions, a rite of passage marks significant human life events including childbirth, coming of age, marriage, death and many others. As to their importance or celebration; that varies among different religions. One commonality is that the event is important to both the individual as well as the community itself. For some religions, a child must have a formal naming ceremony to become part of the community. Some believe that placing special objects alongside a deceased loved one helps them transition into the spirit world. Modern times have caused some traditions to fall by the wayside, but many have held the test of time. There are a few specific Shinto traditions that are followed throughout a person’s life. For Shinto people, it is still important for a newborn child to make a shrine visit to ask for protection. Children must return when older to thank the Kamis for their protection and to ask for a prosperous life. Shinto traditions are still followed during weddings despite the fact that weddings are now being held away from the bride’s home.…