Shinto Bibliography Essay

Shinto Demographical Information Shintoism is a religion that originated in the country of Japan. It dates back to 660 B.C and is loosely practiced by the people of Japan but there are people in North America who practice Shinto as well. For a religion only practiced in Japan it has been greatly influenced by other nations on the world. The religion itself dates back thousands of years. Buddhism and Shintoism share a few similarities as these two religions dominate in Japan. Buddhism has a distinctive influence on the language introducing a new grammatical system in the third century (Yamakage, 36).These two religions have battled over being the national religion of Japan for centuries. It would change based on who ruled over Japan at the

The religion is unique to the japanese people labeling it an ethnic religion. It began in japan and the people native of this land always believed their homeland is sacred. In the past when Emperor Meiji named Shinto as the state religion the people were to treat the emperor as the most divine. This is what led to it’s downfall of being the state religion once world war two began. The allied powers wanted to establish a form of democracy as the government of japan. By getting rid of Shinto as the state religion the people no longer had the treat the emperor as the most divine. Ultimately reducing the power of japan and the power of the emperor. Lastly like all religions there are a great number of adherents over one hundred million to be exact. Shinto is for the people of Japan and for it comes from their ancestors. Finding people out of Japan who follow the Shinto religion is rare. Overall Shinto is not a mainstream religion but it is worth learning

There are four affirmations for all people to follow. The affirmations are family and tradition, love of nature, physical cleanliness, and matsuri. The family is considered the most important because that is where the traditions are upheld. Their main celebrations are related to new births and marriages (Robinson, 1). The followers of Shintoism believe that all islands of Japan were created by Gods or “Kami” and therefore sacred. There is no surprise that it is expected of them to love nature and to worship natural objects as sacred spirits (Robinson, 1). People are taught to “co-exist” meaning that all creatures need one another to survive, one cannot live without the other (Yamakage, 30). Physical cleanliness is something practiced by people all over but the adherents of Shintoism bath, wash their hands, and rinse their mouths pretty often. Lastly is the practice of matsuri. Matsuri is the worship and the honor given to the spirits of their ancestors and kami. Shintoism adherents can interpret what ones meaning of life truly is but the four affirmations is a good start.

The third question a religion must answer is what is good behavior and what is sinful or simply what is morality? The mainstream religions have an absolute clear description of what their moral code is. For example Christianity and Judaism has the ten commandments to direct what should and should not be done by