During Japanese modernization, the view of the imperial family became political and religious. However, in the 8th century, the imperial family compiled the stories of ancestors as a means to justify the imperial reign. For much of Japanese history, including modern day, Shintoism rooted in cultural norms. Instead, it is a collection of mindsets and views that root in historical legends and mythology. What does this mean? Shintoism isn’t a religion? Well that’s not quite true, but in a sense Shintoism isn’t a taught religion like Buddhism. Instead, it is a set of thoughts and attitude inherited from ancient animism over time. This is because Shinto is not a direct teaching of doctrines and literature. This makes the word more alike to words like sado ( 茶道 ( さどう ) or “Way of Tea”) or budo ( 武道 ( ぶどう ) or “Way of Martial Arts”). A direct translation would be “The Way of the Spirit” or “The Way of the Kami”. However, the word Shinto ( 神道 ( しんとう ) ) consists of shin (神) which is the character for kami or soul/spirit/god and to (道) which is the character for path or “way of”. This is because the word kyo/教 is used for religions with teachings (such as the word of Christ or the teachings of the Buddha). In words like Bukkyou ( 仏教 ( ぶっきょう ) /Buddhism) or Kurisutokyo (クリスト 教 ( きょう ) /Christianity), you will notice the kanji 教. The Japanese word for religion is shukyo ( 宗教 ( しゅうきょう ) ) which breaks down to the character 宗 or sect and 教 or teaching. To break down Shintoism, it is good to understand the breakdown of religion in Japan. In this article, I would like to explain what Shintoism is, where it came from, and its role in both historical and modern day Japan. Shintoism is regarded as Japan’s indigenous religion. Or perhaps you are an anime fan and have fallen in love with famous movies such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, but don’t quite understand what all those spirits and their underlying themes were about. Have you ever attended a Japanese festival full of chanting men carrying large boxes down the middle of the street? Or perhaps you seen the many bright red shrines and the iconic Japanese Torii gate, but didn’t understand what all the clapping and bowing was about. Shintoism, the oldest and largest religion in Japan, underpins many elements of Japanese culture. Everyone has seen the famous bright red gates that seem to pop up all over Japan, but do you know why they exist? These are a fundamental symbol of Shintoism known as Torii gates.
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