What is Shinto?
Summary
TLDRThis 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
🌸 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.
🌱 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.
🎓 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Shinto
💡Kami
💡Amaterasu
💡Torii Gate
💡Purification
💡Izanami and Izanagi
💡Yamato Court
💡Shrine (Jinja)
💡Musubi
💡State Shinto
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
the freedom forum's Religious Freedom
Center they're a nonprofit nonsectarian
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religions and religious literacy
and some religion for breakfast videos
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such as my intro to siki video and my
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description below thanks for watching
I'll see you next time
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