By: Ms. Susan M.

Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY

Polytheism

Shinto

Minimize sin & guilt

Shinto
Shinto () , also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous religion of Japan. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. The word Shinto ("Way of the Gods") was adopted from the written Chinese combining "shin" (), meaning "spirit" or kami; and "t" meaning a philosophical path.

Kami are defined in English as "spirits", "essences" or "deities", that are associated with many different formats; in some cases being humanlike, in others being animistic, and others being associated with more abstract "natural" forces in the world (mountains, rivers, lightning, wind, waves, trees, rocks). Kami and people are not separate; they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity. Thus, Shinto is an animistic religion.

Male and female kami creating Japanese islands

Amaterasu : Sun Goddess

Wedded Rocks at Futami no Ura

Union of Izanami & Izanagi Unique geographical features are believed to contain kami, and may have shrines connected to them.

The kami reside in all things, but certain places are designated for the interface of people and kami (the common world and the sacred): sacred nature, shrines, and kamidana. There are natural places considered to have an unusually sacred spirit about them, and are objects of worship.

Tree kami surrounded by sacred boundaries

The Shinto Fox god Kitsune, who is the messenger of Inari, the god of rice.

Torii Gate, Miyajima Island

A torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred.

Torii Gate in Winter

Shinto Temple worship hall

Shinto Priest

Traditional Shinto Wedding Today

Shinto Beliefs: Impurity

Shinto teaches that certain deeds create a kind of ritual impurity that one should want cleansed for one's own peace of mind and good fortune and NOT because impurity is wrong. Wrong deeds are called "impurity". Those who are killed without being shown gratitude for their sacrifice will hold a grudge ( urami?) and become powerful and evil kami who seek revenge (aragami)

Shinto Beliefs: Purification

Purification rites called Harae are a vital part of Shinto. They are done on a daily, weekly, seasonal, lunar, and annual basis. These rituals are the lifeblood of the practice of Shinto. The rite of ritual purification usually done daily at a shrine is a ceremony of offerings and prayers of several forms. Food offerings of fruit, fish, vegetables, Sakaki Tree Branches, salt, rice, Mochi, and Sake are all typical offerings.

Shinto Beliefs: Afterlife

It is common for families to participate in ceremonies for children at a shrine, yet have a Buddhist funeral at the time of death mostly due to the negative Japanese conception of the afterlife and death. In old Japanese legends, it is often claimed that the dead go to a place called yomi (), a gloomy underground realm with a river separating the living from the dead. Shinto tends to hold negative views on death and corpses as a source of pollution called "kegare". This is evident in the many Japanese horror stories such as Ringu.

Prayers, Thoughts, & Wishes at a Shinto Shrine

Tr Nagashi: Shinto Lantern Festival

Shinto Subway Shrine