Shinto Religion Essay

509 Words3 Pages

Shinto is the term used to describe the indigenous religion of Japan. The word shinto comes from the Chinese shin tao, meaning “the way of the kami”. The dwellings of the kami are located at Shinto shrines. The Shinto refer to the local beliefs, rituals, practices, and institutions. Shinto has been highly influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism, but is completely different the many other religions. The historic Shinto religion continues to influence the local people of Japan.
Shinto shrines are the place where dwellings of the kami and where Shinto people worship. There are over 80,000 shrine sites over the Japanese archipelago. To enter a Shinto shrine one must first walk through the tori. The tori a big figure in front of the shrine that …show more content…

Shinto people are readily seen more with the social life of the Japanese people rather than through philosophy or formal belief. The Shinto people are still closely connected to the Japanese value system or basic Japanese culture. The Shinto people give thanks to kami at the Maturasi festival. Maturasi can refer to any occasion that offers thanks to kami gods. Another key ritual is every time a Shinto believer enters a shrine they must first purify themselves. They do this by collected the water given to them from the wooden spoons, or Hishiku, and clean their hands and mouth. The Shinto people practice many rituals to give thanks or please the kami. The Shinto people truly are …show more content…

Unlike Christianity, Shinto has no founder. Shinto also does not have any sacred texts compared to Christianity. The Shinto religion has a very minute amount of holidays compared to the Christians numerous amount. The Shinto people worship kami, multiple gods and goddess, but the Christians worship only one god. Another difference is the Shinto religion doesn’t have as many denominations when compared Christianity. Every Christian has an opportunity to have their sins forgiven when they get baptised, but the Shinto don’t have any sort of baptism. The Shinto religion very different than the most common religion in the