What is Shinto?

Summary

This video introduces Shinto, a Japanese religion without a formal doctrine, founder, or sacred texts. Shinto centers on the veneration of Kami, spiritual entities connected to natural elements, ancestors, and objects. The video explains Shinto's roots, its rituals at shrines, and how Kami are perceived. It also explores Shinto's role in Japanese history, its evolution during the Meiji period, and its influence on modern Japanese culture. The video highlights how Shinto emphasizes practice over belief, with many Japanese people participating in rituals without identifying as religious.

Takeaways

• 🌀 Shinto has no formal doctrine, founder, or sacred text, and many who practice it do not identify as religious.
• 🛤️ Shinto translates to 'the way of the Kami,' where Kami can be gods, spirits, natural forces, or even deified humans.
• 🌅 In Shinto mythology, the gods Izanami and Izanagi created the world and various Kami, including the sun goddess Amaterasu.
• 🌿 Kami are not transcendent like gods in other religions; they inhabit both the visible and invisible realms of the world.
• 🔱 Kami are not omnipotent and can either bless or punish humans with events like illness or natural disasters.
• ⏳ Shinto practice dates back to ancient times, with ritual objects and local Kami veneration evolving over centuries.
• 🏯 Shrines (Ginga) are where Kami are venerated, and there are around 80,000 to 100,000 shrines in Japan.
• 🎋 Rituals at shrines include purification, offerings, and prayers, and priests perform ceremonies for visitors.
• 🎎 Many Japanese people participate in Shinto rituals without identifying as religious, reflecting a unique view of religious practice.
• ⚔️ Shinto underwent major transformations during the Meiji Restoration, with State Shinto emerging and being later separated from the state after WWII.

Q & A

What does the word 'Shinto' mean?

'Shinto' can be translated as 'the way of the Kami,' with Kami referring to divine spirits or forces in Shinto belief.

How are Kami different from gods in other religions like Christianity or Islam?

Kami are not transcendent beings like the gods of Christianity or Islam. They are part of the natural world, inhabiting it alongside humans. They are not omnipotent and can be associated with both good and bad forces.

What types of entities or forces can Kami represent?

Kami can represent a wide variety of entities, including natural features like mountains and rivers, natural forces such as wind and fire, sacred man-made objects, and even certain humans who have been deified after death.

What are the three Imperial Regalia in Shinto, and what do they signify?

The three Imperial Regalia are sacred treasures that include a mirror, sword, and magatama (a comma-shaped jewel). They are passed down to the emperor to signify his divine authority, representing Amaterasu's blessing.

How did Shinto practices originate?

Kami veneration can be traced back to the Yayoi period (400 BCE to 300 CE). It began as local practices that focused on rituals for community well-being and agricultural success. Over time, these practices merged into a more unified system with the rise of the Yamato Court.

How did Buddhism influence Shinto?

When Buddhism spread to Japan in the 6th century, it had such a strong influence on Shinto that the two religions became almost indistinguishable at times, blending rituals and practices.

What role did Shinto play during the Meiji Restoration?

During the Meiji Restoration in the 19th century, the state promoted Shinto, especially the veneration of Amaterasu and the emperor. State Shinto was created as a civil religious system, while sect Shinto referred to private Shinto traditions.

What happened to Shinto after World War II?

After World War II, Western powers classified Shinto as a religion and separated it from the state. This marked the end of State Shinto as a government-supported practice.

How does Shinto differ from other religions in terms of belief and practice?

Shinto focuses more on rituals and practices than on specific doctrines or beliefs. It promotes virtues like purity, sincerity, and gratitude but does not have concepts like original sin. People can participate in rituals without identifying as religious.

What is a typical ritual process when visiting a Shinto shrine?

Visitors bow at the torii gate, wash their hands at a temizuya, offer a coin, bow twice, clap twice to get the Kami's attention, and bow once more before leaving. Visitors can also leave votive plaques and collect stamps to commemorate their visit.

Outlines

00:00

🌸 Introduction to Shinto and the Kami Concept

Shinto, often referred to as Japan's indigenous tradition, lacks formal doctrine, sacred texts, or a founder. Its name translates to 'the way of the Kami,' a concept hard to translate into English. Kami can represent gods, spirits, natural forces, or sacred objects. Shinto mythology tells of the Kami Izanagi and Izanami creating the world and populating it with gods like Amaterasu (sun goddess), Tsukuyomi (moon god), and Susanoo (storm god). The relationship between humans and Kami is interwoven into the natural world, without distinctions between the visible and invisible realms. Unlike the omnipotent gods of Western religions, Kami are not all-powerful or morally absolute.

05:00

🌱 Rituals and Practices in Shinto Shrines

Shinto emphasizes practice over belief. Its moral philosophy promotes virtues like purity, sincerity, and gratitude, with pollution (Tumi) being a key concept that can be purified through rituals. Shrine visits are central to Shinto, where people venerate Kami, offer prayers, and seek blessings. Shrines, marked by torii gates and purification stations, house Kami and are managed by priests who perform daily rituals. Visitors often follow a routine of bowing, offering, and clapping to honor the Kami. Shinto is widespread in Japan, but many practitioners do not identify as religious, viewing shrine visits as cultural rather than religious acts.

10:02

🎓 Religious Literacy and Historical Seminars

The episode introduces a sponsor, the Freedom Forum's Religious Freedom Center, which promotes religious literacy from a non-sectarian perspective. They are hosting a seminar series on American religious history, with the first event focusing on a 1721 smallpox epidemic in Boston. An enslaved African man, Onesimus, taught a Puritan minister how to inoculate against smallpox, which faced opposition from the local community. The seminar is free, aiming to educate people about the historical intersection of medicine, religion, and society.

Keywords

💡Shinto

Shinto is the indigenous religious tradition of Japan, centered around the veneration of Kami, which are spiritual beings or forces. The term 'Shinto' translates to 'the way of the Kami' and reflects a practice-based religion with no formal doctrine or sacred text. In the video, Shinto is described as less about belief and more about rituals performed at shrines, such as purification and offerings.

💡Kami

Kami are the central figures in Shinto, representing spirits, deities, or natural forces. These can range from divine personalities, like the sun goddess Amaterasu, to impersonal spirits of natural phenomena such as rivers or mountains. The video explains that Kami inhabit both visible and invisible realms and can influence human life positively or negatively, depending on their disposition.

💡Amaterasu

Amaterasu is the sun goddess and one of the most important Kami in Shinto mythology. She is believed to be the ancestor of the Japanese imperial family and plays a central role in the creation myths recorded in ancient texts like the Kojiki. In the video, she is mentioned as one of the 'three Noble children' and is enshrined at the Ise Grand Shrine, which holds significant religious and political importance.

💡Torii Gate

A Torii gate is a traditional gate found at the entrance of Shinto shrines, symbolizing the boundary between the mundane world and the sacred space where Kami dwell. The video describes how Torii gates serve as an important marker for shrine visitors, and large complexes like the Fushimi Inari Shrine may have thousands of them.

💡Purification

Purification, or 'harae,' is a key concept in Shinto practices, where individuals cleanse themselves of impurities before interacting with the Kami. The video explains that visitors to shrines often perform ritual purification at a temizuya (washing station) as part of their offerings and prayers to ensure they approach the Kami in a state of purity.

💡Izanami and Izanagi

Izanami and Izanagi are primordial Kami in Shinto mythology who are credited with creating the Earthly realm. According to the video, they stirred the ocean with a spear, and the first island formed from the salt that dripped down. Their story is recorded in ancient texts like the Kojiki, and they play a foundational role in the creation myths of Japan.

💡Yamato Court

The Yamato Court was an early ruling dynasty in Japan that claimed divine lineage from Amaterasu, using their connection to Shinto beliefs to justify their rule. In the video, the Yamato rulers are noted for promoting their own ritual traditions and establishing a unified system of rule, with Shinto shrines supporting the court in return.

💡Shrine (Jinja)

Shrines, known as 'jinja,' are the sacred spaces where Kami are venerated in Shinto. The video mentions that there are between 80,000 and 100,000 shrines in Japan, ranging in size from small neighborhood structures to large complexes like the Ise Grand Shrine. These are places for worship, rituals, and offerings to the Kami.

💡Musubi

Musubi refers to the generative powers associated with Kami, fostering harmonious relationships between humans and the natural world. In the video, this concept is highlighted to show that while Kami can bring about blessings and growth, they can also cause misfortune or natural disasters if angered.

💡State Shinto

State Shinto refers to the system established in the 19th century, where Shinto practices were formalized and promoted as part of the state apparatus to support the emperor's divine authority. The video explains that during the Meiji Restoration, this system was used to foster national unity and reinforce the political power of the emperor, with Amaterasu being a central figure in this ideology.

Highlights

Shinto is a religion without systematized doctrine, theology, sacred text, or a founder, and many practitioners do not claim to be religious.

Shinto can be translated as 'the way of the Kami,' where Kami refers to divine spirits or forces, ranging from gods to spirits of natural elements.

Kami include deities like Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and impersonal forces like the wind or mountains, and even humans can become Kami after death.

Unlike other religions, Shinto does not separate the natural from the supernatural; humans and Kami inhabit one shared reality, visible and invisible.

Kami are neither omnipotent nor inherently good or evil. They can promote harmony but also cause illness or disasters when angered.

Kami veneration can be traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (400 BCE – 300 CE), with ritual objects such as bronze bells (dōtaku) and comma-shaped beads (magatama) being linked to early Shinto practices.

Shinto was heavily influenced by Buddhism, to the point that the two were nearly indistinguishable for parts of Japanese history.

During the Meiji Restoration (19th century), the state promoted Shinto as part of national identity, creating categories like 'State Shinto' and 'Sect Shinto.'

Shrines, called 'jinja,' are central to Shinto practice, housing Kami and marked by iconic Torii gates, symbolizing sacred space.

Shinto emphasizes purification and sincerity, with rituals designed to cleanse pollution and improper actions (tsumi).

Shinto priests, who can marry and have families, conduct rituals that include purification, offerings, and prayers known as 'norito.'

While many Japanese people participate in Shinto rituals, a majority do not identify as religious despite frequent shrine visits.

Shinto does not emphasize belief as much as practice, with most people participating in rituals for seasonal festivals or life events.

Shinto shrines welcome visitors from other religions, provided they follow respectful practices, reflecting the inclusive nature of the tradition.

Shinto promotes values like purity, sincerity, and gratitude, but its concept of pollution is not the same as sin in other religions, as it can be purified through rituals.

Transcripts

imagine a religion with no systematized

Doctrine or theology no sacred text no

founder a religion in which many people

practice the rituals but don't claim to

be religious this religion is Shinto

often described as a tradition

indigenous to Japan but what is Shinto

all about well it's in the name itself

Shinto which can be translated as the

way of the Kami and what are Kami well

Kami is tough to translate into English

some translate it as gods or spirits but

Kami are more complicated than that sure

some Kami can be thought of as gods or

spirits in the common sense of a Divine

personality according to Shinto

mythology recorded in the kojiki and

nion Shoki 8th Century texts that are

part myth and part history the Kami

isanami and Izanagi created the Earthly

realm this heavenly Duo stirred the

ocean with a spear and the salt that

dripped down created the first island

they populated the world with all sorts

of Kami and natural phenomena including

their three Noble children the sun

goddess amatarasu and her brothers the

moon God suku yomi and susano the storm

God the term Kami can also refer to

impersonal Divine forces akami might be

the spirit of a natural feature like a

river or Mountain a natural force like

wind Thunder or fire Kami may also

inhabit sacred man-made objects such as

mirrors swords and k-shaped jewels

called magatama these objects also make

up the three Imperial regalia sacred

Treasures past down to the emperor by a

maasu to signify his Divine Authority

even certain humans can become Kami

after they die such as tenin the Kami of

education tenin is the deified 10th

Century scholar sugara nichan whose

Spirit was believed to have haunted the

court until a shrine was built for him

today students and parents will pray to

him for Success on their entrance exams

it's sometimes said that there are 8

million Kami in other words countless

Kami however Kami are very different

from the concept of gods in other

religions especially in religions like

Christianity Judaism or Islam in which

God is transcendant Kami are down to

earth what I mean by that is that Shinto

does not distinguish between a natural

and a supernatural reality there is one

reality that humans and Kami inhabit

together but it's split between the

realm that we can see and an invisible

realm Kami are also not omnipotent and

they're not necessarily good or evil too

Kami have generative Powers Musubi and

encourage harmonious relationships

between humans and other living beings

on the flip side they can also punish

people with illness Misfortune and even

natural disasters when angry so what are

the origins of Shinto keeping in mind

that there's not a single Orthodox

Shinto tradition Scholars have traced

Kami veneration back to ancient times

The Scholar Helen hardacre writes that

the yayoi period between 400 BCE and 300

CE is the earliest we can identify

ritual practices that are reasonably

linked to Shinto practice later such as

ritual objects like these bronze Bells

called doaku and the k-shaped magatama

that I mentioned earlier but the term

Shinto only appears in the 6th century

when Buddhism spread to Japan Buddhism

had such a huge influence on Shinto that

the two were practically

indistinguishable for big parts of

Japanese history but I'll talk about

that later in episode 2 Kami veneration

began as a super local practice focusing

on performing rituals for the good of

the community and agricultural

production each villager Clan had its

own rituals and Patron Kami known as

ujigami over time people migrated and

merged into States until the

establishment of a unified system of

rule with the Yamato Court the Yamato

Kings claimed that their Divine ancestor

amatarasu gave them the right to rule

They promoted their own ritual

traditions and became major supporters

of shrines who supported the court in

return still each Shrine had its own

myths and rituals even though they might

enshrine the exact same Kami as the

other shrines and in fact many powerful

shrines had their own School of Shinto

too including the EA Shrine complex

where amatarasu is enshrined however

local Shrine Traditions continued to be

the most relevant for the masses

although certain Kami and major sites

gained wide popularity in the medieval

and Tokugawa periods Shinto underwent a

huge transformation in the 19th century

when the leaders of the Magi restoration

overthrew the Samurai government in

favor of the emperor the state promoted

the EA shrines and public veneration of

amatarasu and the emperor two new

categories of Shinto were created State

Shinto a state sponsored program for

civil rituals and sect Shinto referring

to Shinto traditions and new religious

movements related to Shinto that were

designated as private religious

organizations after World War II the

Western Powers legally classified Shinto

as a religion and separated it from the

state there's way more to talk about sh

before during and after the world wars

if you want to learn more about the

modern politics of Shinto stay tuned for

episode three of the series first I want

to talk about how Shinto is way more

about what you practice than what you

believe yes Shinto has its own moral

philosophy Shinto promotes Purity

sincerity and gratitude as its primary

virtues while Shinto teaches that

improper and harmful actions Tumi can

pollute a person it really isn't

equivalent to the Christian concept of

original sin because hum are not

considered to be innately or permanently

polluted yes people should try to avoid

pollution when they can but the

pollution that inevitably accumulates

can be purified through rituals which

leads us to Shrine practice as you've

probably figured out today Kami

veneration is done at shrines or Ginga

there are somewhere between 80,000 and

100,000 shrines in Japan and even some

across the world they can range from

structures the size of a mailbox to the

massive eay Grand Shrine complex which

includes a total of 125 shrines you can

identify a Shinto Shrine from a Buddhist

temple by its iconic Tory gate which

represents the boundary of the shrine's

Sacred Precinct shrines can just have

one or thousands of Tory Gates like the

famous Fushimi Inari and Kyoto ropes

woven out of straw or hemp called

shimawa also Mark off Sacred Space

shimawa are hung with white paper shaped

like lightning bolts that symbolize

purification you'll often see shimawa

hanging on Tory Gates ritual washing

stations and sacred rocks and trees

shrines are where the Kami are thought

to dwell when they interact with humans

they can enshrine just one or a bunch of

different Kami everyday Shinto priests

conduct rituals for the Kami which

involve purification offerings and

chanting prayers called norito sometimes

dances are performed to entertain the

Kami in exchange for a donation Shrine

visitors can request priests to perform

person prayers on their behalf and

receive ritual items such as amulets

fortunes and other charms tens of

thousands of Shinto priests manage these

shrines both men and women can become

Shinto priests and unlike Catholic

priests or some Buddhist monks Shinto

priests can marry and have kids now many

priests come from specific Shrine

families but technically anyone can

train to become one if you're not a

Shinto priest you yourself can visit

shrines as frequently or infrequently as

you like tons of people visit shrines

for seasonal rituals and festivals

throughout the year and rights of

Passage like weddings or the birth of a

child even if a person doesn't regularly

visit a shrine they'll often go to pray

for blessings during the New Year during

a typical visit you first bow at the

first Tory gate to show respect to the

Kami then visit a ritual washing station

with flowing water and wooden ladles

called a temi zuya after you've purified

yourself you can go greet the Kami ring

the bell throw a coin as an offering bow

twice clap twice to get the comm's

attention and B once more when you're

finished before you leave you can hang a

vote of plaque to leave behind a prayer

and commemorate your visit with a

special collectible stamp called a Goan

now even though Shinto is one of the two

major religions in Japan today measuring

religiosity in Japan is notoriously

difficult due to contradictory data

anywhere between 50 to 70% of the

population visit shrines but the

majority of people have reported in

government surveys that while they visit

shrines all the time and temples and

participate in rituals they don't have a

religious affiliation and don't consider

themselves to be religious for a lot of

westerners this is a very different way

to think about religious affiliation

growing up in the United States I'm

accustomed to people claiming religious

affiliation if you attend a Christian

church and Believe Christian doctrine

generally it follows that you identify

as a Christian at least nominally the

religious affiliation and practice are a

package deal but in Japan you can bring

your kids to the Shinto Shrine attend

the New Year festivals or buy an amulet

at a shrine without ever identifying as

Shinto in fact Shinto priests are often

happy for people of different religions

to visit shrines and pay their respects

to the Kami as long as you do it

correctly and respectfully so next time

you're in Japan make time to check out

some Shinto shrines for yourself as

always thanks for watching and I'll see

you next time hey everyone that was

episode one in a five-part series on

Shinto here are the other episodes I'm

going to try to release them I maybe

every other week over the next few

months uh but first I would like to

introduce the sponsor for this episode

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and some religion for breakfast videos

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description below thanks for watching

I'll see you next time