7

THEGOD-PROBLEMINJAPANESETHOUGHT
K
ohe
i KOKETSUT
h.D
.

T
hiss m
allpapri stheconcerningofShintoandC hris
tian
ityinJ ap
an.S in
ceacc
ordi
ngt oShint
other
eisno
om
nipot
entd ei
tyo rgui
dingforceint h
eu ni
verseitisnotsurpr
isi
ngt h
atS hi
ntodoesnotpre
tendtoknowledge
o
ft h
efutur
e.I ns
teadi
tlooksf o
rt h
ev al
ueo fe very
daylif
ei ntheworldath an
d.lnotherwordsSh
intoisnot
e
scha
tolo
gicalthewayC h
risti
a n
ityis
.T hisasp e
cto fShintoleadstoi smindandt
t heJapanesemindbeing
i
nter
est
edo n
lyint hepr
esena
t ndalsoit
susuall
yo ppor
tuni
sticment
ality

1.SHINTOANDCHRISTIANITYINJAPAN
1wouldl i
ket oe xplainS hi
ntoandC hristia
nityinJ apani nbri
ef.Buti tisn otsoe asytoe xplainS hintoby
borrowingWesternt ermin o
logy.Spaes a
ys:
I
tisnoe asyt askt ow r
itei n
tell
igentlyonS hintop a
rticular
lyi nthec ategoriesofW esternt hought
.S hinto
hasnof ound
e rnos acre
ds cri
pturesnoe stablisheddogmasnoa uthenticinterp
rete
rs.Therei sno te ven
au niforma ns wert ot heq u
estionw hetherS hintoi sa rel
igion
"o rant hicorm erelyas ty
leo fl i
fe
typ
icalo fJapan.Somes ayt ha
titi salloft heseandp ossiblymuchmore1 .
Evers inceC hr
is t
i ani
tywasf irs
ti m portedi nt
oJ apanm issi
onariesh avep onderedhowt omakei tl ess
Westernandmorec ompa tiblew it
hJ apanes ec ustomsands o
ciety.Thed i sc
ussionorhowt oa chievet h
isg oal
call
edt hei n
digenizat
io no ft heGospeli nJapanh asar o
u sedmuchc o
n tr
o versyforal ongtimeamongC hristian
churchesinJ apan.Therea retwowayst oviewt h
isC hristiana im
.N egativelyo necanr eje
cto uto fhandany
ideaofa lt
eringtheG ospe lbasedont hea ssumptiont ha
tGodg aveH ismessaget omanv erbatimandt hatitmay
notb erestat
ed.TheG osp elislUS untouche dbyc ha
ng ingt imeandp lac
e.Toa daptitinanywayi st op ervert
thet r
u ewordo fG od.Ofc o a ccidentala ndp eripheralc hangesdoo cc i nt ra
nslat
ionb utt opur posel
y
changet heGos pe
li nitse ssent
ialpointsisn otalla llo
wed.
However thereisa no
th e
rwayt oviewt hep roblemandt hisisthep osition1t ak
e.Gods entJ es
usH iso nl
y
begottenSon tomana sH ism e
dia to
r.Thus onemustf irstknowC hristb eforeo necanknowGodandt hi
sis
poss
ibleo n
lyb er ea
lizingt hetruesignifi
canceo ftheC rucifixionandR esurrection.Thei mportoft hesetwoh istor
-
ic
ale vent
si nwhichC hr i
s tpla y
edt hecentralrolemustbemadei ntel
ligib
let oallmenwhos eriouslycontem p
l a
te
makingc ontactw ithGodandt hei n
digenizationoft heG ospeli sagoodwayt oa ccomplishthisregardlessof
indi
vidualcultura
landh istorica
lb ackgrounds.2
Thereiss t
il
la nothe rreasonwhy1f eelt h
att heGosp elshouldb ei nd
ig en
ized.C hr
istia
nitymustb eex tended
notonlyg eo
graphicallyb utalsobyt hegrowthandd evelopmento ftheG ospe lit
sel
f.1b asemyargum ntonA rnold
Toynbee'sc onceptio
no ft h
er olechallengeandr espons
ep layint hebirthd evelopmentandd eat hofc iv
iliza
tions
.
Toynbeea pparentlyb elievesthatcivili
zationp r
ogressesbyad ia
lecti
cp r o
c ss
Id
eallynod ou btthei ntrodu
ctiono fanynewdynamicf o
rceso rc r
eativemovementsi ntot helifeo fa
so
cietyo ughtt ob ea ccompaniedbyar econstr
u c
t ionoft hewholee xistin
gs etofi n
stitut
ionsifah ealth
y
so
cialharmonyi stob ep reser
ved;andi nthea ctualh ist
oryo fanyg row ingcivi
lizat
iont h
ereisi nf ac
t
ac o
n sta
ntr emode llingorr eadjustmento fthemostf lagrantlya n
ac hro
nistici ns
titu
tios~2i a
n t
le
astt otheminimume xt
entt ha
ti sne c
essaTi no rdertos avet hec ivi
lizat
ionfromb rea kingd o
wn .3
Wh enas ocie
t ysusta
inst h einvasionofforcesi nt
oi t
sl i
feitmustr e
buildandr emode lthmostf lagrantl
ya na
ch-
ro
nisti
ci nstit
utions
"t oa voidt ot
alb reakdo wn.Ifi tfailst omaket hea d justmenttoo uts
idef orcesitw il
lb e
demoralizedandd e
feat e
dbylem
1amc o nvince
dt hatt hisprocessisrelevantt orelig
i onalsobuti nst
ea dofp assiv
elywaitingf orthesef orce
s
to c
hallengeitrelig
iona c t
ivelys e
ekso utc hallengeins ociet
ieso therth ant heon ewhicho rigi
nallyc onceivedit
 7
8
j

Noo newhoh asstudisChristia

nChurchh i
storycandenyt hatt heChurchs t
artedo utasaverys ma]]harri
e d
groupo fbl iev
ersandt hati th a
sbcomet hel argebody i ti st odayonlybys ucc
essfullysu r
vivingt r
ial
sand
chalJengesinAsiaMinorGreeceRomeEuropeande lsewhe
r e.Christi
anityisapprentJyfacinga noth
erc ha!!e
ng e
incontemporaryJ apa
n .Cani tmeett hischalJenges uccssfu
liyandg ainwidespreada cceptanceinJ apana sith5
doneb efor i
no the
rp artsoft heworId ?
Ift h
eG ospelcanbeu n d
erstood0 lybyam in utep ortionoft heJapanesep eoplei
tcant tr
actol1lyafew
fo!!owersremainin
gf o
reve
ral1 outsid
ea li
enf a
it.I
h ft hi
sist hec aseit
sgrowthp otentia
li sobviouslyv rysma!!
I1t
I h i
sc onjun
ctionwemustu ndrs
tal1dthatc on
ditiol1sinJ apana reul1iq
ueandu nl
ikea nythingt h
atC hris
tiani
t y
hase vers eenb e
forItseemst omet h
att heo n
lywayt ou nderstndt hes
ec ondil
ionsist oknowt eJ
h a p
anese
Popleandt heonlywYt oknowt heJ apanesep e
oplei stoul1d e
rstandt h
eirt h
oughtsandd e
siresortoa ppreci
ate
thei
rm entalit
y.Thus W canc
o
nclud ethatifChristiani
t)i st
or ea
llys ucce
edi nJ apanitmustf i
rstmakean
effo
r ttou nde
rstandt heJapl1es
emind
Ofc ourseitismostd iff
icu
ltf ort h
en on.nativ etou ndrstandt heJ apane
semind o rf
o
rt hatmt ter
themindo fanyo the
rgmupo neW3S n otborni nto
.I tisc rta
inlyamomentoust askt ot rytoexamineal Jthe
aspectst hatcontrib
ut edtot hef o
rrationo f n a
tion alminda sw e
JJa st heconseq un
cesd r i
vedfrom them
HoweverinJapantheinflu
enceexert
edbyt hetwon ati
vereli
gio
nsShin
toandBuddhismshoul
dd ef
ini
tlyno t
beigno
red.Pare
nthei
ticll
yi
ts ho
uldben ot
edt hatBuddhismisaforei
gni mpo
rti n
toJapanfromChinabutt h
a t
i
tisc on
sider
dn a
tiveint hsens
t ha
titwasa lr
eac
1yprese
ntandf u
llyindige
nizedwhenChri
stian
itywasI irst
int
roduce
dint h
es ixt
eenthcent
ury.Inthi
sp ap
e rIin
tendtoexammet hei n
fluen
ceo fon
eo fth
esetwor eli
gions
Sh
intoonthedVlopmentoftheJ a
panes
emi 1d
l

2.A SURVEY0. "SHINTO

1
Firstwemustlm c
1ertakeas horts urveyofS hintoa sasystemo f li
giol!sbelief
sandd octrin
es.S hint
oi s
Japan's" prim aev alsubconsciou si nt
uition"
.. th
isk indo fi ntui
tiono ccursi nmanyp rimitivec ulture
s .4 S hinto
bel
ivest hatwhateveri sisd iv i
nes pi
rit;mni sc1ivin
es pir
iti nt hed ivineu niversec hoosingh isownway
Italsot each
e st hatt h
ec reat
ivep rocssalwaysc o
ntainss omethi ngsp o
nta neousanda bsolut
elyn ew.S hintot aches
nodogma:t her eisnoa ll-
seeingaJl.powerfuld ei
tys upervisingt heC Qu
rs eoft heu niv
rsenoc o n
c epto fo nginal
sintos eparatem ortalfomd iv
i ne
SHINTOshowsnoe v i
d nc ofh avingo r
iginatd3.S ana na
lyticale ff
orto fs elf-
consciousnesst o man's
plac i nt heuniverseo rt op rovideaheavenf ort h
ehumans o
uli nd i
strss.S hi
ntoc10 esn otp hilosophize
norm or alizea boutlif
en o rd oesita ttemptt oe stablishar el
a t
ionshipbetween1 1
1al1 andd ivinitya sa
deliber atep ur
pose. PrimaV1mand idn o
tr esol
vet od is
c ov
erh isowns p
iri
to rt h ed ivineo rt of ind
mn ingsi ne x
istencei nf o
m u
la t
i ngtheS hintom Ylhology.H isi nt
entwast op uti ntopermanentform
confu sedr ecoJ
lection
so fh istoric
alo ccurrencsandt ot rcet hea n
cestryanddevelopmento ftheJ apanese
rac ande xpl
ainhowJ apani ts
elI camei ntob eing
.Thei niti
ativeinf onnulatingas piritua
lc onception
tog ivee xpressiontot hisp ur po
s ec annothavecomefromas e l
f.consciousr esol
vet omakes p
iritu
ality
theb asiso fthen arra
t i
v eforp rimaevalmanhadnos uc hmen talcapacity.Ratheri tseemst ha
tt hedirect
knowl dgel if
eh aso fi ts
elf anc
10 1s ubje
ctiver eali
tyr os
ea sal1 immediacyo fi ntuitiont oi n
spiret he
spir
it ualc ha
racteroft heS hintomy tholog
y.Primaevalmana cceptedwhatcamef o
rthfromt hesub conscious
depth sw ithoutshowinganyc rit
icalabili
tyandf ormulatec
1itsb es
th c o uldwithnol ogicalslf-conscious
aid6
Shintoisn ota self-c
onsciou
slye volvec
1c reed"
;i td osn ottryt o philosophizeo rmorl iz a boull i
feo rd oes
l
ta t
tm ptt oe stablishar lat
ion shipbetweenmanandd ivini
tya sad elib
e r
atp ur p
o s
e."Andi nf acttheJ ap anes
e
nevre volvedt hei nte
nses elf.consciousnes
so ri ncl
i n
ationt ose l
f.analy
sisa st heWesths .Thesep oint swillb
c
1iscu
ssec
1moree xtensi
velybelow
Is uspectt hattherea r a tl ea
s tthre indis
pi1sablenec e
ssitiesi nh urna ns u
rviva
!. One i ss o
l ida
rityor
belongi
n ganot herisc on
tinuityoras enseo fenduringanc1thet hi
rdspiri
t u
alit
y.Thist riac
1isth ee ssenceo fhuman
soci
etyando ft hesespi
ritua
lityi st h
emoste ssent
i1be c
a useitjoinst h
eo thertwoanda ctsa s c atalystt omake
themwork . Thesamet hreef act orscanb s eena twork i nt hef amilywhichi safterallac o mrnunityona
smaJJe
rs calei nvo lv
ingamuchc loserbl oodrelat
ionship
.Thee ssentialfactorsi nvolvedh er
earfamilym l b
e r
ship
familytraditiol1 anc
1f am
ilyr eiigionwithr eligi
onb ingt hemosti mportanto ft ht hre
e.Thiscanbes eenc learl
y
inShintowhichp rovidesthes piritualf oundtio
no ft hef ami]
ya se xpressed;nw orshipa tth Kamidana( famil
y
alt
ar)and l2. ( Bud
dhists h
r i
n e
).Thep atrongodso ft hefamily.a sweila sthes pir
itoft heA mt erasu-o-m ik
ami
 7
9

(t
heSunGoddess 7a
) reenshri
nedint heKam w h
ileinthe~ are f o
undt hestatue
sofBuddha !on
(t
heGoddessofMercy)andt hef a
milya nc
estralta
blet
s.ShintoinJapane
sef am
ilylifeisaformo fa n
cesto
rw o
rship
act
inga sabondbetweenf amilymembersandg ivingthemas enseofc ont
inuityw iththep at
s.TheK
andtheB a res ymbo
lso fther evernceJapanesefeelfo
rt he
irf o
rebear
s.Ani n
spect
iono ftheanc
estra
l
ta
bletsintheButsudanr e
vealsthats pec
iald evot
ionisshownt ocloserela
tiveswhohaver ece
ntlypassedon
wit
hint h
ememoryo ft hos
es t
il
ll i
vi Prayingatt he:e r e
mindst h
eJ apaneset hattheyowewhatt he
y
aretot h
eirancest
orswhoc r
eatedt hefamily adi
tio.I
n ti sincumbentupont hel i
vingfamilymembersn otto
su
llythememoryo ft hedepartdb
e utt ostriv
etobeworthyo fth
eirnames.Therei st h
er es
pons
ibilit
yofaugmen-
ti
ngandp a
ssingont heh onoro ft hefamilynamet ot h
eiroffs
prin
g.Anotheri mportantfunctio
ni nBuddhis
t
tr
aditi
oniso bs
ervingmemoriald a
yso ft hea nc
estorsthroughtempleo b
servance
s .Thee xp
ressionofancesto
r
worsh
ipi nShin
toiss imi
larbutwithf argreaterimplic
ation
sbecauseShintohashads uchag reateff
ectont h
e
sha
pingoft h
eJ apaneseminda sitist od
ay.Therea r
etwot heor
iestoa ccou
ntf ortheo ri
ginofa nce
storworsh
ip
inS h
into:t hep r
actica
landt het heol
o g
icalThep
. ra
ctica ltheorye xplainsl a
tr e
s pec
tf orance storsgrewo utof
thei de
at hatt heyt endt othew elfareo fthei
rd escend nt
s.T hisf eelin
gi nc r
ea s
e da f
tert hep rimevalJ apanese
peoplesett le
ddownt oal if
eo fa gr
icultur
er a
thert ha
nt henomadicl ifetheyhadl edu nt
ilthen.Ac cordi ngtoA s
ton:
An cestor-Worship
.....Ifwer estr
ictthistermt o er el
igiousc u
lto fo ne'sowna nces torsasi nC hina
thisformo freligi
onh ashardlyanyp laceinS hi
nt o.Theo nl
yc aseo fitexc eptinmodernt imesandu nder
for eigninfluen
cesist ha
to ft h
eMikadosande venthent hereisnoe vi denceofi t
se xistencebf orethe
six t
hc entury
.8
Thec once pto fpat r
ong odso rspir
itsw i
tht h
ef unc
tiono fg uardingandp rote
ct i
ngs p e
cifi
cg roupso fmenp ro
bably
aroseins u chc ircumstance
s
Thet heologic
ale xpla
n at
ionp enetr
atesthev eryhea rtofS hintothes ubconsciousintuit
iono fp rimitiv
eman.
TheS hint oc once
p tofK i isi m
portanti nthisconnec tio
n.K i i
su suallyr en d
ereda sGodo rGodsb utit
lit
era
llymeans super
ior"o r above"andi su sedt oi ndicat
eap ersono fs up
e riors t
atuso rpowe r.N orinaga
Motoori( 17 3
0 -1
801)thegreate ighte
enthc en
t u
rys cholarwhosea uthorityinJ ap anesel i
terat
urei su nquestioned
sta
rtso u
th isw ell-knownessayont hep rimaryideaoft heh ist
oricalu s
a geoft hewordw ithther eassuri
n gremark:
ThewordKamiwasa pplie
dd irec
tlytot heseasormountaint hem se
l vesasb einga wfult h
ings.
"9 HoweverKami
cannotac tuallyb eusedt omeano nep ersoni
ss upe
riort oa notherort om a
gnif i
ce ntawe-in
spirin gthingsbecause
accordingt ot h
emaind o
ctrineo fShintoal
lt hing
sa l
lmena llo bjectsa r
ed i
v i
n eforw hateve risisKL 1O
Thereisnod ifferen
cebetwe ng odsandmen.
Certa inc o
ntradicti
onsandv agariescanbep ointedo utint heS hintoc oncepto fK. iWhydosomegods
havec e
rta ins pec
ificattribu
tesi nthefirs
tp l
ace?Aret heg odsa ctua
llyh ist
oricalh eroesdeifiedora ret heheroes
rea
llyg odsp e r
sonifi
ed?TheK (Recordso fA nc
ien tMa tters
)11andt he ( Ch
ronicleso fJ apanfrom
theEarliestT l e
st oA .D.6 97
)12 seemt os uppor
tb othp oi
ntso fv iew.A ct
ua llyltisi rr
elevantwhichviewwe
choo
se.Thec entr
alp ointist h
atmenandg odsa ren ots piri
tuallydisti
nct.1nawayg odsa ret her ealiz
ationof
man'sideal sandmena ret hemanifestationo
ft hedivines pi
ritone arth.Thusi nS hintother
ei sad efit econcept
ofcontin
u itybetweeng odsandhumansandb ecausea ntestorsa realsod iv
ineJ apan es
er esp
ectf orthembecomes
ane xpre
s si onoft hes p
iritu
alu nitybtweenp eopleandg odsr athe
rt hanac ult
.Thea ncestra
ll i
nec arrie
st he
liv
ingindiv idualbackt olei niti
atin
gi mpetusofthed ivines p
irit
."13
Con t
i nui
tyo flifeandl ife
'soriginint herealmo fs pa
celessd ivinespiri
ta ree mphasizedbyS hinot
t o
o
t h'o
l ughr espe
ctp aidt oa ncesto
rs.A ncestorsa ren o
to bj
e c
tso fw o rshipi nS hin
to.Thef undamental
con ceptionoft heShintop ri
ncipleofrespectfora nc
estorsisf ou ndedont hes p
irit
ualit
yo fm ank ind.The
ances t
rall inec a
rriest hel ivi
ngi n
dividu
al back t ot hei nit
iatin
gi mpetu sofd i nes pirit
.C e
rtainl
y
1
IIne dia
ter ela
tiveswhohaved epartedfrome a rthlylif
ea rerememberedw iths p
eciald ev o
tionb u
tt he
b asici deaofa n
cestralrespectismuchmore l t
a.An cestorshi
pu nite
sa ll
lif
ew ithth epu rspiri
tual
ity
o fs p ac
elessHaven whatevert hee v
olutionaryformsmayhaveb een.Iti sn ottheformt h
atm atters
b utt h
eHeavenlyd ivineorig
in.14
TheS hin
toc once
pto fances
torw orshipisthes p
iritu
alfounda
tiono ftheJapa
ne s
ef am
ily.R es
pectf o
r
ance
storsrem
indstheJ a
paneseofthefir
stances
tororlif
e'
sHeavenlyorig
in.Thei d
eathateachoneisani nte
gra
l
par
to fthewholeu n
iversecrea
tesfeeli
ngso fsol
ida
rityandc on
tinu
ityine achmembero ftheJ ap
anesef a
mily
.
Japa
n'sdefeatinWorldWar I I shookt h
ev eryf o
undatio
no ftheJ apa
nesefa
mily.1
5 Thei deat h
att h
e
Emperorwasd ivi
nec olo
redeveryaspectoft hethink
ingo ftheJapanes
emind andtob eforcedtoa cc
eptt h
e
not
ionthattheEmperorwasn otdivi
nea ft
erallcamea sanextremeb l
ow.Japandefeatalsopreci
pitat
edt h
e
des
truct
ionoftheJ ap
anesefamilyasau n
iquesocia
li n
stit
uti
on.Thee mpti
ness ateveryon
efeltwasr efl
ecte
d
 8
0

i
nthegreatdropi natten
dancesatp ubli
cs hri
neo bs
ervanceandmemorials erv
ices
.Wec ann o
ti gnorethep robl
e m
t
hattheJ apa
nesef amil
yf acesto dayinl i
ghtoft h
eg rav
ityoft hissitua
tiou
.1 nthep l
aceo ft heo l
drepudiated
s
pir
itu
alf ound
ationoft hef amilywemustc re
ateands u
bstitu
teanewo n
e. HereChr is
tianit
yc anc onfront
S
hintowithit
sowns ol
utio
n.
1
nh i
smonumentalworkC h r
istianDogmaticsKarlBart hsays
:
Thewordandc oncepto f fa
mily"a redelib
erat
elya voi
ded.Thetermo ri
gina
llyd enotesther eti
nueo f
servant
s( fam
ulus)whob elongb od
ilytoal o
rd.Groupso ff ig
htersora ct
orsc a1a
l ls
obec all
edf am
ilia
.
1tthenbecomesac ompr
e hensivedesign
ationforah ouseholdando nl
yf in
all
yf ora l
lwhatwemeanby
itto-dayaf ami
lyt r
ibeo rc l
ano rpartofs uchani nt
errel
atedcolle
ctiv
e.1 nt hemorel imi
teds ense
parti
cularl
ythei d
eao fthefamilyisofnoi nt
eres
tatallf o
rC hri
stianthe
olog
y...
.Wh ent h
eNewTestament
speakso fa house
"i tmeanst hefili
ai nthec omprehensivesenseofah ouseholdf ell
owshipwhich
canbecomeac enteroft hemessageh eardandr eprod u
cedi nthew iderlif
eo ft hec ommunit
y.I td o
e s
notd enot
et heclana ssuch.Andi ti snoa cc
identthatasw ithsomeo ft h
ed is
criplesthesecondname
seemsn ottobet hatofaman'sf ath
erb utofhisnati
ved is
tric
te.g
.JesusofNazarethJ u
d a
so fKerioth
Simono fC yreneS
aulo fTarsu
s.P are
ntsandc hild
renares til
le mphasisedli
kemenandwomenm a
ster s
andservantsbutaspersonsandforthes ak
eo fthe
irpersonalc onnexionsandd uti
es.Thef amilycol
lecti
v e
ass uchpl a
ysnof ur
therparta tal
l. 1
nt heOldTestamentt hef ami
lyi sane ndinits
elfint h
eNew
Testamentiti sano rganofthekingdomo fGod"( L.Kohl erR.G .
G.H5 09)
.1 snotthissavingtoomuch
inbothc ases?1twast heh a
bitsoft ho
ughtanda ctualcu stomso ft h
eC hristi
anizedheathenwhichl atr

gavetot hei deaoft h

ef amilythesplendourofaf u
ndam entalc oncepto fChrist
ianethi
cs.Wehaveno
occas
iont oa doptthisv i
ew.Ourb u
sinessisw it
ht her lations
hipo fpa r
entsandc h
ildr
e n
n otwitha
col
lect
iveembracingb oththemandmored i
stantconne
xio n
s .16
Barthseemst ob esayingt h
atitm ightb egoodt oretaint hec onceptofl ee xcl
usiveands elf-c
enter
e d
fami
lybutthatthetermmustbei nt
erpre
tedmoreb road
ly.
Inconclusi
onwemays aylatChri
stia
nityshouldmakeag r
e ate f
forttofi
l1t h
ev oidintheJ a
pa n
esemind
byr es
cuingtheJ apanesef a
milyfromc omp
leted isi
ntegr
atio
nt h roughnewp rin
c i
plesofl i
feandnewc onc
ept s
offamilyandc omm unity.Thusi tcanhopet or ecre
atet hesoli
d a
r it
yandc onti
n u
ityt h
athavebeend estroy
ed :
th
isisanu rge
ntt ask
.

3
.THECONCEPTOFGODINSHINTO
1ndiscuss
inganyproblemd ea
l in
gw ithrel
igionorf ai
thi
tiso nlyn at
uraltowantt oexaminec aref
ullythe
obj
ectofw o
rshipandi t
sa tt
ribu
tes
.Howevera sar elig
ionShin
tod oesn otseemt ohaveanyw ell
-defi
nedconcept
ofGod.There o vert endiff
erentd e
fini
tio
nso ft h
eJ apanesewordK j andnoo neofthemp red
ominates
overth
eo the
rs.
Shint
oi spolyt
heis
tic..Kia rei nf
ini
tel
yn n erou
s.1 nS hintobel
ieft h
atd e
iti
esa renumeroush asa
pos
itivemeaning.A g rea
tnumbermeanst hattheya res a
credg r
eatandm er
cifu.
1Ina nci
enta ge
s E
numbers88 01805105 010050010
001 5
001000015000
000weres a
crednumbers.Thesewere
numberst h
ati nd
icatedgrowth.Thenumbery aoyorozu(8000
0 0
0)whichwasv eryoftenusedtom odi
fy
thi
ngsr el
atin
gt o.K wast h
emosts acredn umer
icale xpressionmeaningt h
att hegodsi ncr
eased
in
fin
ite
ly.
Thisideaofnumberi sc lo
selyr el
atedtothec onceptof.K i
inShi
nto.Asi tpoi
ntstoag reatnumberi t
ind
icate
sg l
orifi
cati
onandn o tconfus
ionorl ownessofc oncept.
17
Howeverforcedtochooseonec o
ulds ayt h
atthece l
1tr
almeaningo ft hewordcomesfromt h
eC hin
esec ha
racte
r
meamnga
bove 8Perhapst h
isd ef
init
ionismosta cceptablebecauseiti n
corp
orate
smucho fthefeelingof
t
heoth
erd ef
init
ions
.Atanyr atethee ss
enceoft heword i st hatitrepre
sent
sab eingorb ein
gsa boveor
s
upe
rio
rt oordinaryhumanb ein
gs.P rofes
sorNakamuras ays:
Ast otheo r
iginoftheword kami"( g
od)ther
ea rec o
nflic
tingviewsamongs chol
arsandnoneo fthem
hasyetp roducedanyc oncl
u si
vee vi
dence.Kami"i nJapanesemaymeana bove
"o ne
'ss up
erior
"o r
ha
ir" andthep o
lit
icalrulerwaso ncec al
led okami" (eo net ha
ti saboveus).Everythin
gp laced
aboveo nebothins pa
ceo ri nthehierar
chicaiorderisc a
lledK a
mi."Eveni ftheermolo
gicaloriginof
eachKami"i sdiff
eren
tthed iff
erenc
eisn otdisc
ernibl
ei ndailyusag
e.Fort heJapanes
etheref
o r
eGod
wasn otad ist
inc
te nt
ityc ompleteinitse
lfbutwasd iff
usedina l
ltha
tisaboveandbeyondo rdin
arly
humanb e
ing.I
s twast he custom ofS hin
toismfrom a ntiqu
ityt odeifythosepersonswhor ndere
d
 8
1

d
ist
ing
uis
heds
erv
ice
stoap
art
icu
larhumann
exu
ssu
cha
saf
ami
lyav
ill
ageo
ran
ati
vecommunity.
l9
Ina d
ditionS h
i ntoisc onsi
de re
dt obear e
ligi
ono fn atureworshipa sagoodnumbero fi t
ss hr
ineswere
co
nstructe
di nh onoro ft r
eesstonesmountainsandr i
verswhichweres eenass ymbolsofd i
vin
ity.Nevertheless
t
hisshouldnotbet ak entoi mplyth a
tS hintoteaches ew orshipo fal
lmat ri
alo bje
ctsasd i
vine
.N aturalo bject
o
rman th
et hin
gt hati sworshipedmustb esomehowa bo ve
"a nideawhichi sneverthe
lessnots lOnymousw i
t h
t
heChristia
nc oncepto fd ei
tywhichp ostula
tesaGodwhoi sp er
sonallyinter
estedinhumanb ei
ngsands entC hri
s t
a
sam ediatort ot hem.20 Thisu niquev iewpointr a
isest h
eq uestionast ow hetherS hin
toc onceiv
eso fgoda s
c
reatoranda ls
ow heth erS h
intoe venhasaC rea
tionm yt.The!
h S:
i actual
lyd oesinclu
deal egendofthec retion
o
ft h
ew orldbutt hereiss t
il
lmuchd ebateamongs ch
olarsa stot h
ei nte
rpreta
tionoft h
istale
.N orinagaM otoor i
(
1730
-180)at
1 o
ps c h
o larino neo ft hetwol eadingschoolso fc l
assi
cals t
udiesinJapana ss
ertst h
att heg od s
a
ppeareda f
tert hew orldwasf or
rned.Hes ay
s:
1don otyetu n de
r s
tandt hemeaningo ft hete1mK . iSpeakingi ngeneralhoweveri
tmayb es aid a t
i sign
ifiesint hefir
stp lacethedeitie
so fhe avenande a
rtht h
ata ppearint heancientrecordsand
al
sot hespiri
t soft heshrineswher theya reworshipped.
I
tish ard1yn ecessarytos ayt hatitinclud
eshumanb e
ing.I
s talsoinclude
ss uchobjec
tsa sbirdsbeasts
tr
eesplantss esm
a ountainsands ofor 1I
. nancientu saea
g nyt
hingw hatsoeverwhichwaso utsid
et he
ord
inarywhichp o
ssessds uperio
rpowero rwhichwasa we
-inspir
ingwasc alle
d~ Eminence h ere
do
esn otr eferm erelyt ot hesuperior
ityo fnobi
litygoodnesso rmeritoriousdeeds
.E vi
landm ysterious
t
hingsifth eya ree xt
raordinaryandd read
fularec alld I
e tisn eedles
st osayt ha
tamonghuman
b
eingswhoa rec al
led s uc
cessivegenerationsofsa c
rede mperorsa real
li n
clud
ed.Thef actthat
emperorsa rea lsocalled' dis
tant i sbecausefromt hes tan
dpointofcommonp eo
pletheya ref a
r-
se
paratedm ajesticandworthyo fr everen
ce.I nal ess
erd egreewef i
ndi nthep r
esenta swe l
la sin
an
cientt imeshumanb ei
ng swhoa rei.A l
th ought he
ymayn otbea cceptedt h
roughoutt hewhole
c
ountryy e
ti nea chprovincee a
chv il
lageande a chf a
milyt he
rea rehumanb ein
gswhoa rekamie ach
on
ea ccordingt ohisownp roperpositi
on.The o fthedivineageweref o
rt h
emostp arthumanb eings
o
ft hattimeand becauset hep eopleoft h
att imewerea ll i tiscalledtheAgeo ft heGods( kami).

Furthe
rrno
reamongt h
ingswhicha r
en o
thumant h
et h
unde
risalwayscall
ed' s
ound
ing.Such
thin
gsa sdrag
onsth
ee coandf
h ox
esinas
muchastheyarecon
spi
cu0USw
onder
fulandawe-
ins
pir
ing
arealsoiI npo
pularusa
get h
ee choi
ssaidt
ob e andinChin
esewrit
ingsi
tisref
err
edtoasa
mountaingo
bli
n...

I
ntheNihongiandehut h t
igerandt h
ew olfarealsospokenofa s.Againt he
reare e
c
ase
sinwhichp eachesweregiventhenameA u
gust-Thing-
Great-K
amu-Fruitandan ecklacewascalled
A
ugu
st-St
orehous
e-Shelf-
Kami
.Therea ref u
rthe
ri nst
ancesinwhichrockssmpso ft ree
sandl ea
veso f
p
lan
spokeaudibl
y Theywerea
l.
l iThereareagainnumerousplacesi nwhichs ea
sandm ount
ai ns
a
recal
ledkami.T hisdoesnothaver e
feren
cet o espir
itofthem oun
taino rthes eabut isus ed
h
eredi
rectl
yo fthep a
rtic
ula
rm oun
ta inorsea.T hi
sisb ecau
set he
yweree xceedi
ng l
ya we
-in
spi
ring.21

HoweverAtsutaneH i
rata( 1
776-
1843)stat
es:
Regardi
n glemeaningo fk ami:Att heb e
ginningoft h
eC hron
i c
leso ftheAgeo ftheGods( Nihong
i)is
stan
dsw rit
ten'InancienttimesHeavenandE arthweren o
ty etse p
aratedandt heInandt heY w ere
asyetundivide
d.A l
lwast ur
bidando fc h
aoticmassl ik
eane g m
gand wasc ont
ainedthe
r e
in.'i
i
st hesamea st h
iskabi.The o f hm asthes i
gnifi
canceof th
a 'a
t ndisad emonst
rativs er
vingto
poi
nto u
tano bj
ec. i
t saword a tindic
atessomethingwhichi sm yste
rious).Thef ormska

buandua real
lt hesame.
.. .The
. Q iwhichwasi ncludedinori
ginalmatterwast hec a
use
ofmattertakingonforrn
.....Kabiwast hesourceofallthing
st ha
ta ppearedintheworldand inasmuch
asitwasv erymysteri
ousafterwardseveryt
hingt h
athadm ysteryi nitcamet ob edesign
a tedbyt hi
s
word.Now iand a rethes a
me.I nasmucha sthei de
ai sthatofat hingthatismysteriousand
stra
ngen o
to nlyt e whichp
h erfo
rrnedt h
ework o fc r
eationbuta l
soe ver ngi nt h
ew orld
pos
sessingmarvelousands trange .
rtu
ewasc a
lledi-Latert h
iswasw r
itten Theni tf ollow
ed
tha
tamongo rdi
naryhumanb eingsanys uperi
orp ersonwasc all
e d.A lsointhen a
t u
ralw orld
ann gt h
atwasp reeminentwasg enera
llycalledV 2

Herewecancle
arlyse
ethepol
ard
iffe
renc
esexi
stin
gbetweentworenowneds
cho
lar
sint
heeigh
tee
nthc
ent
ury
:no
de
fin
itec
oncl
usiontothede
bateha
sy etbee
no ff
eredd
esp
iteth
egapo fmorethanace
ntu
ry.Thisi
mpl
iesth
e
 8
2

v
astdi
erencbetweengo
d-c
onc
ept
sinChr
isti
ani
tyandS
hin
to.I
fChri
sti
ani
tywer s
udd
nl
ytode
cid
etoadop
t
t
heideatha
tGoda ppe
ard t
e hec
rea
tionins
tea
dofbef
orei
ti
tswholeth
eol
ogywouldha
vetobee
nti
rel
y
r
ewr
itt
en.
Shinto
'sg od-conceptcanb eu nderstooda so newhichd oesn ots epara
temanfromgod norc r
eatorfrom
createdandt her e
f or
ew hethergodsa ppearedb eforeora fterc rea
tioni snotp arti
cular
1yi mpo r
tanto rrelevan
t
asitisi nChrist
i an
i t
y.
Canwet henassumet ha
tS hintotakesap antheist
icviewo fgoda s.id
enti
calw ithmananda l
lo th
ero bj
ects
intheu niv
erse?Nots osaysDr.G en
ch iKatowhos tu
diedtheh i
s to
ryo fS h
intoandcamet ot hefollowin
gcon c
1usio
n:
Insho r
t thei deaofd e
ityh ase v
olvedt hroughag r
adu altranslat
ion.Atf irs
teverythinginc
1udingman
wasc onsideredt obeadi tyandt h
eno nlymanwasr egardeda seq u
alt ot heg od.T hispositi
ono f
equa
li t
ywass oona ccordedtoman'sminda ndt hent otheposthumouss piri
to fman.F ina
llyt h
es pi
rit
oft h
eh on e
stassumedt hep laceo ftheg od.T hist ransit
ionc 1ear
1yp rovesl eh umanisticattit
udeo f
Shintoe ndeavoringtof o
cusonmano uto fthew holec reationandt of indoutt hec o
nditionofmana sa
deit
yi nman'smindo rinac er
tainstateofm an'sm ind.23
Shintod oe
sn otr eg a
rdgoda st heonlyabsol
uteom ni
po t
e n
tpoweri nt heu n
iversebutasapowerr esi
dinginman.
Thisd oesn oti m plyt h
atmani se qualtogodp erseb utthatgodi sani nte
gralp artofman'sh ighern a
ture.
Naturallyth
isc o nceptleadstot h
er eali
zationthatShintoisam - centere
dr el
igionino ppo
s i
tiontoC hri
stian
ity
aG od-centeredr eligi
onwheret heconcepto fGodi so fcentra
li mportance.
Evenmo unique
lyi nt
erest
ingi stheShinconcepto fY Kamiw hichmeanse ightm i
llion
godsbutevent hou ghitimplie
smoret hano negoditisn otpolythei
stic.24Asam a
ttero ffa c
ttheS hin
tof amil
y
god
-shelfn ormall yh onorssevera
ld ei
ti a ndt herea realsou suallymoret hano neb ranchs hri
nea ttach
edt oa
mains h
rineb utt hisa c
tuall
yr efl
ectst hesyncre
tisticr ath
ert hanp olyt
heist
icl eaningo fS h
i n
to.T raceso fa
hen
otheistici dear evolv
inga roundAme-no-minakanushi( t
heH eavenly-Cent
ral-Lord)andd -materasu-Omikami
eS
( unG oddess)25c anbef oundinShinto.Calledu n
ificat
ivep olytheismbyS h
intos chol
arsthisisat rul
yu nique
aspec
to fS hintoi smbutitisu n
likelye v
ert oresultinanymovet ou nifyo rotherwisecombinel edtiesintoa
monot
he ist
icc reed.Thusi tisu nr
easonabletoviewS hintoasont heroadfromp olytheismtobecomingam onothe
-
is
ti
cf aiths i
mp lyb ecauset h
isiswhathappenedi nt heWest orb e u
s ethedominantWestemr eli
gionsprofes
s
fa
ithi no nego d
.T hist ypeofr easo
n ingonlyl ea
dst oe rroneousc riti
cismo ftheS hintog o
d -conce
ptandf a
ilur
e
tounde r
s t
andS hint oproper
ly.
Becauseo f eu niq
tieandi rrcon
ciliab
lec hatact
eristicsofS h in
toandC hris
tianityKamiw i
llbeu se
d
torefertot heS hintou nder
standingofd eit
yand God"t orefert oWesternc onc
e pt
so fdivin
ity.

NOTE:
1.J osephJ.Spae CIC
M
September1 971p.479
2.Therei sav astl it
erat
urebyC h
risti
a nso nthiss ubj
ectsom ofitf o
undi nt h
en o t
eswhichf ollo
w. A
sel
ectionofbooksi nJ a
panese:Nihonn i()]{~_ru Kir
i sut
okyotoShoshukyot onoS esshokunoMondai(p r
oblems
01C h
ris:s Co ~tact lh otherRelig
i onsi n]a
1 96
0)Nih
oJi nnoKachikan ( n e] ap V iew0 1
Value1 963
)K irisutokyokyoik
u0 habamumono ( Obst
acle
st oC hris
tianE d
uc at
ion ] a
.n3rde d
.1 9
62)
Theset hrees mallv olumesbys everalau th or sa r
ep u
blishedbyt h
eR esearchI ns
titu
teo f eKyodan( The
UnitedChurcho fC hr
istinJ a
pan);1 yta k eaf a
irlycrit
ica
la tt
itude. N ihonjintoFukuin( The]
a.n e
seand
Gospel1962)alsobys ev
erala u
thorsdisc us sesJ apanesethoughtp atter
nsreligi
osit
ys oc
ialstruc
turesand
ind
i g
enizationpublishedbyTheU nitedChurcho fC h
ristinJapanP res
sC enter.JunichiOkadae d
.Nihon
no Fudot oK ir i
s utokyo
a tanes
eC limateandC hris
tian
ity1965)is asymposiumbys ever
als chol
arsi n
honoro fH einrichDumoulin publ
ishedbyR i so-shaAlfonsoM.Nebreda TheJ apaneseU ni
versit
yS tudent
ConfrontsR eligio
n
"MonumentaN ijonicaVo .
1XX1 9
65pp.15
-40;2 9
8-318
;Vo .
1X
1 968pp.
31-6
5.
3.A rnoldJ .ToynbeeA S tud
y0 1Hist
ory(Lon do n:HumphreyM ilford1939)Vo1Np
. .
133
.
Ofc ourse1amn otsubscr
ibingtohisviewo fc irc
ul a
rh i
stor
y.1amo n
lyu si
ngh isnotio
no fd i
ale
cticinhist
ory.
4.J.W.T .Mason TheMeaning0 1Shin
'1 ste d .(NewYor k:E .P.D utton& C o
.I n
c.1935)p.
15.
5. Ib p p.61-
62.CjW.G .Ast
onSHINTO( T h eWayo ftheGods)(NewYor :Longmans
k GreenandC o.190
5)
pp.26
-313 4
6. Ib
id.p.81.
7.A ccordingt oAston Themosto ftheS hin tod ei
tiesist h
eS un-Goddess.No ri sthi
ss urpri
sing
.Ia
f sS cotus
 8
3

Erig e
n ah asw el
ls a id
e veryv isib
leandi nvis
iblecreatureisat heophanyo ra ppear anceo fGod w
' hatmore
strikinga specto fHimc ant herebet ot heu nculturedmindt hant heS un?1 nal aterstageo fi ntellec
tual
devl opmentmenf indaf ull
err ev
el a
tiono fHimi nthemoralo rdero ft heworldi nt hel awso fhuman
progressandi nt h es piri
tuale xperienceso fs a
intsands a
gesc ulminatingi nas ynthesisofa llt hed ivine
aspectso ft heu niver seino neh arrno n
iouswhole Butn
aturall
yenought herei slittl
eo fthisinS h
in t
o.The
ancientJ apa neser ec ognizedthed ivinityoft heu nive
rsei nav eryi mperfectpie c
e mealf ash
ionanda lmost
exclusivelyi ntho sep hysicala spectsbywhicht heyweremored irectlyaHec ted.Amongt h
eset hel ightand
warmtho ft heSunandt hes o
urc esofl ei
rd ail
yf oodh eldthec h
iefp lace
.S u n-worshipi sspeci
allyn a t
uralt o
theJ apa nesea sana gricul
turalp eople.Almosta l
lt hep easant
'sd oi n
gsa rei nsomewayd epen dentono r
regulatedbyt heS u n."( Astonop.cit
.p .1
21)
8. Ib
id.p. 44
. CfHajimeNakamura : ys01Thunking0 1E aster
nP eoplesRev isedE nglishT ranslatione d.by
PhilipP.Wiener( Hon olu
lu:E ast .WestC enterPress1964)pp.417-
426.
DelmerM.Brown
KamiDeathandAn ces
tralKami "P roceedigsTheS ec ondlt
: ern
ationalCo nJrenc
e
10rSh t oStudiesT heme:C on
ti andCha e( Tokyo
:J a
pa n
eseC ul
t u
re1 nstitu
teKokugakuinU niversity
1968)pp.169-182
.
9. QuotedbyMasonI bi
.
dp .6
2:Therea remanyc aseso fse a
sandm oun tainsb eingca lledKami.I tisn otthei
r
sp
iritswhicha r
em ea nt.Thewordwasa p
p l
iedd irec
tlyt othes easo rm oun tainst he ms
elvesa sb e ingvery
awfult hings
.
1
0. Aston S h
intop p.36-74.seea lsoD .C .H oltonTheN ati
onalF aith0 1Ja n(NewYork:E .P .D u tton&
Company1 938)p p
. 24-25

1
1. Theworke ntitle
d Kojiki"o r Recordo fA ncientM atte
r s
"whichwascompletedi nA .D.7 12

1
2. Theworke nti
tled NihonS hoki "o r Chr
onicleso fJapanfromt h
eE a
rliestTimest oA .D.6 7
9 "whichwas
comple tedinA.D .7 20
1
3. Mason o .c
p i
t.p.97
1
4. MasonTheMeaningo lShintop .
97.
1
5.C hieNakane J a pane seFamilyS tructureandi t
sChange "J apan
es eReligionsVo .
16 December1 9
7 0No4

pp
.9-10. Asf ara st h efamilywasc oncernedWesternj uralideologyands ystemswereu tte
rlyi gnored.Wh a
t
actu
a l
lya ppearedwast hem odif iedC on
fucianistfa mi
lye thic
se stablishe
d nongt heg enera
lm as se
s .Under
t h
iss yst emtheheado fah ouseholdwasg ivens trongpowersandwass ucce e
d edbyt heeldests o
n.'. ..'T
he
oldf amilys ystemi nt hel eg
alc ontex twento uto fx istenc
ei n1 947b u
ti twasn e arly2 0yearsb e forethe
changeco u
1dbef elti nano bviousformi nthemindso fpe o
ple.Onet hingh asbecomec leardurin gth e
sel as
t
seve
r aly e
ars.They oun g
e rgener a
tiond eniesorh at
e sthet r
aditi
onalf amilysy stema sillust
rate
dbyap o p
ular
phrase marr iedlif
ew ithoutam o the
r- in
-Iaw."S eea l
sot hesamea u
t hor
'sKinsh andEconomicOrganization
inRu ralJ apan19 67A thloneP ressL ond
on.
1
6.K arlBarth C hurchD ogmaticsN/ 4:TheD octri
n eofC reationed.byG .W.B romil eyandT .F .Torrance
t r
ans.byA.T .Mackayando thers.( Edinb
urgh:T .& T .C lark1961)fn.pp.241-242
1
7.C f
. Sokyo Ono The C oncepto f Kami i nS hinto
"P ro c
eedings The S eco ndI n 0 1Co ferencelor
Shin
t oS tudi
esT heme:C ontin
uit yandChange ( Tokyo:J apaneseC ulture1 nstit
uteKokugakuinU niversit
y
196
8)p .
1 2
.
1
8.A P rotes t
a n
tw rit e
rMr.K iyoshiMaejimao ftheJapanE p
iscopalChurch Buta ltho u
ght hei deogr amsfor
t h
eC hi andt heJ apan eseia ret hesamet heircont e
n t
sd ie .A
r I sot he
irb ackg roundsa re
e n
tirelyd iffere
nt. TheC hineseterm~!! i se n
tirelyr e
l i
giousandr epresentsn othin gmoret h anac rude
c onceptiono fanag o fspirit
ism.TheJ apanese howevera su sedinn ati
o nalShi ntoalthou
g hitp osse
sses
as piritualc ontentd oesn othavear eligi
ousm eaning.F urthe
rlOrei nChin at he a rew orshipedbyt he
v ulg
a rcommonp op ulacew hi
lei nJ apant he a rer everedandcommemoratedbyt heS ta
te .Thust he
f o
rceo ft heb ackg rou ndsa reentirelyd i
ffer
ent.Therea ret h
osewhob el
ievet hatsincei nC hina i su sed
byC hris
t ian
ityt od es ignateit
so bj
ecto ffaiththerewillcomeat imewhen i schangedc omp le
t elyi n
to
aC hristi a
nterm ju
s ta stheword" g o
d "ofv ario
usTu t
onicp eop
leswasa doptda nda b sor
bedbyC hristian
ity
un
tilitwase ntir
elyaC hris
tianterm.1nJapanhoweverth
iscann evert a
kep la
ce.Kamii sn otar e
ligi
ous
word.1nasmucha sthiswordasu sedinShin
tos hr
inetermino
logyisani mporta
nta gencyforfoste
ringthe
nat
ionalspir
itnoc hang
ei ncontentisper
mis
sible
.Thed ec
larat
i o
no ftheC hr
istianworldthatGodi sthe
oneando nlyc r
eatoroft h
eu ni
verseth
atHei sunique
lyo m
nipotentw i
thnoo t
herg o
dsb esi
dshim"i snot
rea
lizedinanytermi ntheJapaneselan
guag
e.TheJ apanesekamiisn o
tawordt hatind
icate
ss uc
haC hrist
ian
meaningandsincethesign
ific
anceofthi
swordc anno
tbechanged Ch
risti
anityonitspartmustsele
cta n
other
 8
4

wordi np laceo fkamif ort hee xpressiono fitsrelig

i ousterm inology
AnotherP rotestantw rit erDr.A n
teiHiyanes ays: "Thei (god
s)c onnectedw it hs hrinew orshipa r the
spir
itso fAmaterasuOmikamio fo uremperorsando fp erso n
si nh ist
orywhohaver endedm eritorious
servicetoo urcoun y.TheGodo fo ur( i
.e
.C h
ristian)w orshi phoweveri sthea l mightyC reatorofhav n

ande arth.Iti su nfortun atet hatmisu.nderstandingh ascomea boutt hroughth useo fkamit oc onnot
eb o th
meamngs
Int heearlyp eriodo fth missionarya ctivi
tiesoft heRomanC atholicChurchi nJapan God"wasr
en dered
eithe
rbyt heL atin sortheProt U Lat a ftert h
es e
ttlementoft heR itesC ont rove i nC hin a
thee xprSSlOnnSh
TheL ordo fHeave " wasf avored.U ntilveryr ecent
lyhowevert h
eu sageo ft he
RomanC atholicChurchi n]apanh asn otbeeno f
fici
allyu.nif
iedandka i hasbenemployedb othbyi n
dividua l
s
andbyr sponsibleIit er
a rya gnciesoft hechurch.A C ath
oli ct ra
nslatio
no ft h
eNewTs ta mentbyE .Rage
issuedinTokyor enderst heosbyItcana lsobef oundinc e
rtainplacesint heCatechismandt hep rayer-
bookswherekami i su sedf orMyLord" and MyGod"i nD an
ielC .HoltmMode JapanandS hin to
Natio lism( Chicago:TheU ni
ver si
tyo fC hi c
agoP res s1943)pp.l18-119GenchiKato A . L
S tudy0 1
Shintoj m aV
ie o int0 1ReligosS tudy( Tokyo:DaitokakuP ublishers1
e 9
22)pp.3 14 8
1. HajimeNakamura y
9 s0 1T hinking0 1E aster
nP eolesp.522
2. CjA
0 stonS hintoTheT t ay0 1TheGods p.36-
74.CjMasonTheMeani g0 1Shin
top .61. CjD a ni
elC .Holtm
z eNation alFaith0 1Ja pan(NewYor k:E .P.D utto nandCompany1 9
38)pp.2 4-25. CjF .H .RossS hin
TheWayo lJa (Boston:BeaconPrs s1 96)p
5 p.32-33
2_ Holtomi
1 did
.p p.23-24
22
.D anielC.Holtom ]r
ans act
ion0 1t h
eA siati
cS oc
iety01 Ja n( Tok yo:KeioU niversity1 922)p.139.
Accordingt oN ih o
n gibetweenHeavenandE arthweres epar atedasf oll
ows:Ofo l dHeavenandE arthwere
noty ets e
p aratedandt h eInandY0n oty etd i
vided.Theyformedac haoticmassI ikeaneggwhichwaso f
obscurelyd efinedIimit sandc ont a
inedg erms.Thep ur erandc leare
rp artwast hinlydrawno u
tandformed
Havenw hilet heh eavirandg rossere lements ettleddownandbecameE arth. Thef in
e re lemente asily
becameau nit
edbodyb utt hec onsol
id ationoft h
eheavyandg r o
sse lementwasa cc ompli sh
e dw ithdiffic
ulty
Heavenwast hereforeformedf irtandE
s arthwass tabli
sh eds ub
sequently.There afterD i
v ineB eingswere
producedbetweent hem. Hencei t s aidt ha
twhent heworldbgant ob ec re
ate dt h so
ilo fwhichl and s
werecomposedf l
oa teda bou tinamannerwhichmightb ecomparedt othef loa
tingo faf ishs portingo n
surfaceoft hewater .Att h timeac ertaint hi
ngwasp rodu cedbetweenHeavenndE arth.I twasi nform
I
ik ar eed h
oot. Nowt hisbecame t ransformedi nto a Godandwas c alldK
e a chinoM ik ot0."
(Willia
mG .Aston Nihogz~ London G eorgeA llen& UnwinL td.1956pp.l-3
)
Astons ays
:TheN ih ongit ell
su st hatt hefirs
td ei
typ r oducedbetwenHeavenandE arthw hi lesti
llinas t
at e
ofchaoss p rangupI ikeareeshootwhicht henchangedi noaGodandwasc
t alledK unito ko
- tachinoMikoto
or Ea
rth-eternal-sta nda u
.gustn
ess.' TheK ojikicall
st hefirstGodAmenomi-nakan ushinoKamit hati s
tosayHeavena ugust-cn tre-master
-d eityi
' d
enti
fidb ysomew itht heP olarSta rah ypo thsi
sf orwhich
ther
ei snoo thergroundt h
a nthenamei tse
lf.
.. ..
TheK o
jikif irstGodsd i s
appara to ncefromt hem ythica l
reco
rd. Ther i sl itt
let raceo ft he
irw orshipi nl a
te rt imesandt heymustb epronouncedmerea bortiv e
attemptsa tdi ty-ma k
ing .( WilliamG .AstonS hin T Wayo jTheGods London Longmans G reena nd
CO.1905pp.85-8
6 .
)
2
3. Genchi KatoA NewS t ud
y0 1
.
Si n
toJ V
ieo i
nt0 1R eligio
usS tudy( Tokyo : Daitokaku P ubli
s he
r s
1922
)p p.3
1 4-3
18
2
4. GenchiKatoA S t udy0 1 i n
toT heR el(1 0 1TheJa n e s
eN ati
o ( Tokyo
:MEIJI]apanS ociety1 92
6)
pp.
67-87
.
2
5. Holtoms a
y sthatAme-no-minakan us
.hi( theHeavenly-Ce ntra
l -Lord)isi nt
erpretedast het ot
als piri
tualground
worko ft heu niversee xistingfore ternitywithoutb eginningandw i
thoute nd. ( Th eN atio 1F ai1/J apan
p.
203.
)AndAmaterasu-Omikami( theSunG oddess)ist h
enameg ivenoneo ft hec re a
ti ond ei
tieso rgrowth
pri
nciplesoft heo ldcosmogonicm yth.( Ibd
.
i p.2
5.)