Shinto Illustration Research Paper
Shinto Illustration
Loretta Rosario-Ellison
REL133
December 15, 2014
Fredericka Wilson
Shinto Illustration
There are many religions in the world. Some are more well-known than others. One of the lesser known Asian religions is the Japanese religion, Shinto. Unless a person travels to Japan or can interact with someone who is willing to share a little about his or her religion, no one will know anything about it. Shinto is ancient native religion of Japan still practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism (Infoplease.com, 2014).
According to Molloy (2013), “Shinto has no known person or group as its founder. In fact, its mysterious origins date back to the ancient people of Japan and their stories of how the …show more content…
The people believe in the divine to be all around them because the beauty and power of nature surrounded them. However, Shinto is more than a nature religion; it also has ethnic and family dimensions. The people of Japan also worship the spirits of their departed ancestors or great leaders of the past. As it has already mentioned; the entry of Buddhism into Japan in the sixth century AD force Shinto to define itself. It then became a complicated process because Shinto belief is so similar to that of the Mahayana Buddhism. Even with the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism, Shinto did not die out. In fact, it took a man name Mutsuhito to step up to the plate and take over the reign of Emperor to get things moving and reinstate the Shinto religion to its fullest capacity. Shinto even became a national religion, where shrines received national status and priest became official government employees. Unfortunately, it did not stay that way. Japan's defeat in World War II brought the disentanglement of the State Shinto; the Emperor destroyed its chief foundation as well as denouncing his divinity. Shinto shrines were returned to private religious practice, and all religions were equal footing. Theoretically, Shinto became strictly private religion but in reality it retains a special place in national life (Molloy,
Loretta Rosario-Ellison
REL133
December 15, 2014
Fredericka Wilson
Shinto Illustration
There are many religions in the world. Some are more well-known than others. One of the lesser known Asian religions is the Japanese religion, Shinto. Unless a person travels to Japan or can interact with someone who is willing to share a little about his or her religion, no one will know anything about it. Shinto is ancient native religion of Japan still practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism (Infoplease.com, 2014).
According to Molloy (2013), “Shinto has no known person or group as its founder. In fact, its mysterious origins date back to the ancient people of Japan and their stories of how the …show more content…
The people believe in the divine to be all around them because the beauty and power of nature surrounded them. However, Shinto is more than a nature religion; it also has ethnic and family dimensions. The people of Japan also worship the spirits of their departed ancestors or great leaders of the past. As it has already mentioned; the entry of Buddhism into Japan in the sixth century AD force Shinto to define itself. It then became a complicated process because Shinto belief is so similar to that of the Mahayana Buddhism. Even with the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism, Shinto did not die out. In fact, it took a man name Mutsuhito to step up to the plate and take over the reign of Emperor to get things moving and reinstate the Shinto religion to its fullest capacity. Shinto even became a national religion, where shrines received national status and priest became official government employees. Unfortunately, it did not stay that way. Japan's defeat in World War II brought the disentanglement of the State Shinto; the Emperor destroyed its chief foundation as well as denouncing his divinity. Shinto shrines were returned to private religious practice, and all religions were equal footing. Theoretically, Shinto became strictly private religion but in reality it retains a special place in national life (Molloy,