One academic has written that the American Occupation Forces "undoubtedly wished to crush and destroy Shinto", and certainly the orders issued by the occupying forces were very hostile to Shinto which they seem to have regarded as either a government-run cult, or a religion that had been converted into a military and nationalist ideology.
No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority. Despite the loss of official status Shinto still remains a very significant player in Japanese spirituality and everyday life.
And despite the non-divine status of the Emperor, considerable religious ritual and mysticism still surrounds many Imperial ceremonies. Experts don't agree as to when Shinto became a unified religion rather than just a convenient label to give to the different but similar faiths found in Japan, so any history of Shinto is bound to cover a wide range of beliefs and traditions. The scholar Kuroda Toshio has suggested that the traditional view of Shinto as the indigenous religion of Japan stretching back into pre-history is wrong.
He argues that Shinto didn't emerge as a separate religion until comparatively modern times, and that this happened for political reasons. The traditional view, he says, is a modern construction of Shinto that has been projected back into history.
The truth, he says, is that for most of Japanese history, Shinto amounted to no more than part of a complicated spiritual view of the world that for most of the time contained as much Buddhism as Shinto. Some writers suggest that Shinto is actually not so much a religion as "the seamless cultural-religious historical backdrop " in front of which the various religious experiences of Japan are played out - "a backdrop which transforms and interprets those religious experiences and imposes on them a continuity that they would otherwise lack".
Although ancient and modern Shinto are not linked by a single institution, the shrines, structures, and rituals of modern Shinto are so similar to those of ancient Shinto as to provide a clear chain of identity. There have been several periods in Japanese history when attempts have been made, with varying success, to impose a centralised and imperial Shinto on various local shrine cults. These centralisations usually allowed local variations to flourish within the localities - and this freedom may well have accounted for the survival of Shinto throughout different Japanese communities.
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This page has been archived and is no longer updated. Find out more about page archiving. Shinto history Last updated Introduction Shinto history Shinto has been a major part of Japanese life and culture throughout the country's history, but for the greater part of that history Shinto has shared its spiritual, cultural, and political roles with Buddhism and Confucianism.
Periods of Shinto history One of the standard classifications of Shinto history reduces it to four major periods: Before the arrival of Buddhism in Japan Shinto and Buddhism together in Japan The Meiji reinterpretation of Shinto in the 19th century Shinto after World War II Historians encounter some problems when trying to understand Shinto history as a discrete narrative. Before Buddhism Before the arrival of Buddhism Tosho Gu shrine, Nikko During this period there was no formal Shinto religion, but many local cults that are nowadays grouped under the name Shinto.
Shinto and Buddhism Shinto and Buddhism together From the 6th century CE the beliefs that are now known as Shinto were greatly altered by the addition of other ingredients. The Seven Lucky Gods, depicted here by Hokusai , are a mixed bunch, sharing influence with Buddhism and Hinduism among other traditions. Ghosts are known as obake and require certain rituals to send away before they cause harm. Some spirits of dead animals can even possess humans, the worst being the fox, and these individuals must be exorcised by a priest.
Other elements not to be ignored here are the principles of Taoism and Confucianism that travelled across the waters just as Buddhist ideas did, especially the Confucian importance given to purity and harmony. These different belief systems were not necessarily in opposition, and both Buddhism and Shinto found enough mutual space to flourish side by side for many centuries in ancient Japan.
Of the two religions, Shinto was more concerned with life and birth, showed a more open attitude to women, and was much closer to the imperial house. The two religions would not be officially separated until the 19th century CE.
Kokugaku scholars worked to refocus Japanese scholarship away from the then-dominant study of Chinese, Confucian, and Buddhist texts in favor of research into the early Japanese classics.
The Kokugaku School held that the Japanese national character was naturally pure and would reveal its splendor once the foreign Chinese influences were removed.
Kokugaku contributed to the emperor-centered nationalism of modern Japan and the revival of Shinto as a national creed in the 18th and 19th centuries. But with the introduction of mass education, conscription, industrialization, centralization, and successful foreign wars, Japanese nationalism became a powerful force in society. Industrialization and centralization gave the Japanese a strong sense that their country could rival Western powers technologically and socially.
Moreover, successful foreign wars gave the populace a sense of martial pride in their nation. The rise of Japanese nationalism paralleled the growth of nationalism within the West.
During the Meiji period , such nationalists railed against the unequal treaties, but in the years following the First World War, Western criticism of Japanese imperial ambitions and restrictions on Japanese immigration changed the focus of the nationalist movement in Japan. In the s and s, the supporters of Japanese statism used the slogan Showa Restoration , which implied that a new resolution was needed to replace the existing political order dominated by corrupt politicians and capitalists, with one which in their eyes , would fulfill the original goals of the Meiji Restoration of direct Imperial rule via military proxies.
Japan had no strong allies and its actions had been internationally condemned, while internally popular nationalism was booming.
Shinto priests became state officials, important shrines received governmental funding, Japan's creation myths were used to foster a national identity with the Emperor at its center, and efforts were made to separate and emancipate Shinto from Buddhism.
People seek support from Shinto by praying at a home altar or by visiting shrines. A whole range of talismans are available at shrines for traffic safety, good health, success in business, safe childbirth, good exam performance and more.
Many wedding ceremonies are held in Shinto style. Death, however, is considered a source of impurity and is left to Buddhism to deal with. Consequently, there are virtually no Shinto cemeteries, and most funerals are held in Buddhist style. Ask in our forum. Home Back. Plan a Trip. Traditionally, Shinto also involves purification rites and customs to overcome the polluting effects of death and decay.
However, Shinto does not espouse a moral code, lacks religious scriptures, and does not conceive of a life after death. The introduction of Buddhism to Japan did not cause the abandonment of Shinto. Instead, the pantheons of both religions were expanded so that Buddhist figures adopted complementary Shinto identities and Shinto kami were thought to strive toward Buddhist enlightenment. In this way, new converts to Buddhism were not obliged to abandon their traditional beliefs, and Buddhism was able to appeal to a wide range of people.
The earliest sacred items associated with Shinto practices are the mirrors, swords, and jewels found in ancient burial sites.
It was not until the arrival and influence of Buddhism, with its long traditional of producing anthropomorphic representations of Buddhist deities, that statues and paintings of Shinto divinities started to be produced, around the eighth century. Without scriptural descriptions of the appearance of kami, early craftsmen of Shinto images depicted them as men and women in secular, courtly costumes and attitudes.
Traditionally, these icons were hidden from the view of practitioners, kept in closed inner sanctuaries of shrines, and venerated from the outside. Unsupported Browser Detected. Shinto A Japanese Religion. Shinto Imagery The earliest sacred items associated with Shinto practices are the mirrors, swords, and jewels found in ancient burial sites.
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