Shintoism

“The heart of the person

before you is a mirror. See
there your own form”.
- A Shinto Saying
 Origins

Shinto ("the way of the

gods") is the indigenous
faith of the Japanese people
and is as old as Japan itself.
 Origins
• Therefore, Shinto has no founder or founding
date. It is the indigenous religion of Japan.
 Adherents
• Worldwide, there are
approximately 3-4
million followers of
Shintoism.
• These Shintoism
followers are called:
Shinto.
 Views
• Shintoism is a polytheistic religion based
on the kami, ancient gods or spirits.
• Kami are sacred spirits which take the
form of things and concepts important to
life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees,
rivers and stones.
Some prominent rocks are worshiped as kami.
Views
• Humans become kami
after they die and are
revered by their families
as ancestral kami. The
kami of extraordinary
people are even
enshrined at some
shrines.
• The Sun Goddess
Amaterasu is considered
Shinto's most important
kami.
 Views
• Shinto shrines are the
places of worship and the
homes of kami.
• Sacred objects of worship
that represent the kami
are stored in the
innermost chamber of the
shrine where they cannot
be seen by anybody.
• Most shrines celebrate
festivals (matsuri)
regularly in order to show
the kami the outside
world.
Ise Jingu is Shinto's most sacred
shrine.
Tokyo's Meiji Shrine is dedicated to the
spirits of Emperor Meiji.
Torii One or more torii gates mark
the approach and entrance to a
shrine. They come in various colors
and are made of various materials.
Most torii, however are made of
wood, and many are painted orange
and black.
 General Practices
• In Shinto, there is no absolute right and wrong,
and nobody is perfect.

• Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are

thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is
believed to be caused by evil spirits.

• Consequently, the purpose of most Shinto rituals

is to keep away evil spirits by purification,
prayers and offerings to the kami.
 General Practices
• People visit shrines in order to worship,
pay respect to the kami by making
offerings or to pray for good fortune.

• People also participate in purification

rituals.
At the purification fountain near the shrine's entrance, take one of
the ladles provided, fill it with fresh water and rinse both hands.
Then transfer some water into your cupped hand, rinse your
mouth and spit the water beside the fountain. You are not
supposed to transfer the water directly from the ladle into your
mouth or swallow the water.
At some temples, visitors
burn incense (osenko) in
large incense burners.
Purchase a bundle, light
them, let them burn for a few
seconds and then extinguish
the flame by waving your
hand rather than by blowing
it out. Finally, put the incense
into the incense burner and
fan some smoke towards
yourself as the smoke is
believed to have healing
power. For example, fan
some smoke towards your
shoulder if you have an
injured shoulder.
 General Practices
Shrines are also visited during special
events and festivals such as New Year,
setsubun, and shichigosan.
A shimenawa is a straw rope with white zigzag
paper strips (gohei). It marks the boundary to
something sacred and can be found on torii gates,
around sacred trees and stones, etc. A rope
similar to the shimenawa is also worn by
yokozuna, the highest ranked Sumo Wrestlers,
during ritual ceremonies.
Komainu are a pair of guardian dogs or
lions, often found on each side of a
shrine's entrance. In the case of Inari
Shrines, they are foxes (see picture)
rather than dogs.
Ema Shrine visitors write
their wishes on these
wooden plates and then
leave them at the shrine in
the hope that their wishes
come true. Most people
wish for good health,
success in business,
passing entrance exams,
love or wealth.
Omikuji are fortune telling
paper slips found at many
shrines and temples.
Randomly drawn, they
contain predictions ranging
from daikichi ("great good
luck") to daikyo ("great bad
luck"). By tying the piece of
paper around a tree's branch,
good fortune will come true
or bad fortune can be
averted.
 Life’s Purpose
• Humans are pure by nature and can keep
away evil through purification rituals and
attain good things by calling on the kami.
 Afterlife
• Death is bad and impure.
• Some humans become kami after death.
 Holy Text(s)
• Shinto does not have any philosophical literature or
official scripture that can be compared to texts like other
religions.
• But the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) and the
Nihongi or Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan), are in a
sense the sacred books of Shinto.
• They were written in AD 712 and 720, respectively, and
are compilations of the oral traditions, mythology and
ceremonies of ancient Shinto.
• But they are also books about the history, topography,
and literature of ancient Japan.
•Shinto Wedding Ceremony
•Shinto Wedding Ceremony