Introduction

Welcome! Konnichiwa! This is the creative project portion of a research project, completed for the University of Advancing Technology. Class: PRO260: Information Research Strategies, Session: Online Summer '08. The research question: 'What are the theories of how the religion of Shinto originally formed, and what was the original belief system?'

Part 1: What I Seek

I am seeking to discover the roots and beginning beliefs of the religion of Shinto. I believe that when learning about a religion, it is sometimes best to look at the beginnings because it can give an idea of the initial, intended essence of the religion. This can possibly lead us to what the ‘true’ message or purpose of what the religion was to provide. Shinto is considered one of the oldest religions, utilizing factors such as animism and shamanism, which is usually associated with more primitive cultures, and I am most looking for how this religion was first borne and how it developed in the early years in order to see how it began. This will also help when studying future stages of Shinto religious development, as well as studying modern practices and rituals.

Part 2: Why I Wonder

I am interested in this topic for a few different reasons. First of all, I am interested in comparative religion, especially ancient or nature religions. I enjoy learning about their histories, as well as their scripture or rituals. As a sense of balance, I believe that all religions hold some breath of truth about the world, divinity, and human nature. Also, I believe that the older the religion, possibly the better the chance of it being closer to the ‘truth’ or ‘answer’ to life. So, in a way, this is a personal exploration towards that final ‘answer’ to life.

Secondly, I am really fascinated by Japanese culture. It began with a hobby of watching anime, which are Japanese cartoons; and reading manga, which are Japanese comic books. These ‘hobbies’ are very large factors in their culture, and I find their story telling techniques are very unique and absorbing. I find the Japanese culture, in general, very interesting. Their ideals of cleanliness, respect, and pride create a very unique and intellectual society. Not to mention, Japan always seems to be on the cutting edge of technology, which has caused them to be a large driving force in business as well.

I feel that other people, who are interested in religions, or Japanese culture, may also be interested in this research. Japanese culture has been slowly seeping into American culture, with the increase of popularity of anime, video games, and graphic novels. So I feel that there are many of the younger generations of our culture that are also influenced, and possibly inspired, in learning more as well.

Part 3: What I Thought I Knew Before

What I knew about Shinto was fairly limited. I knew that the Japanese believed in kami as some sort of divinities, like gods or angels; and that these kami were the ‘gods’ of natural objects, houses, etc. I also knew that Shinto was related to shrines and rituals; and shrines come in many different sizes, from small altars to larger elaborate temples. I also realized that Japan had other ‘religions’ or schools of thought, including Confucianism, Zen Buddhism, and Taoism. But, I did not understand how or even if, these different schools interacted and lived together. I knew that Japan had a strong sense of ancestor worship, but I wasn’t sure if this was related to Shinto or something different.

Part 4: The Journey

What is Shinto

I suppose the best place to begin would be to define what Shinto really is, to narrow down a definition. Shinto is thought to be synonym for kami (Teeuwen/Scheid, 2002, pg.196), an exact translation being “the way of the gods” (Aston, 1905). It is believed that the original Japanese emigrated from northern Asia, most likely Korea (Aston, 1907, pg.2-3). There are some similarities between Shinto and other Asian ancient religions (such as those from Korea and China), such as their emphasis on the sun being a deity.

Shinto is often associated with shrines for the people, offering prayers and ‘spell’ or luck cards for sale to the public (Yamakage, 2007 pg.11). Another way Yamakage states how the constituents view it, “Shinto is the path through which we seek to realize ourselves fully as human beings by acquiring the noble characteristics of Kami” (2007, pg.12). This allows Shinto to be considered a religion, where there are morals to be taught, and the followers strive to act in a certain manner.
Shinto does not put full emphasis on doctrines or theology, but is focuses on practice (Evans, 2002, pg. ix). Emphasis is put on bettering oneself and creating a peaceful life for yourself and those around you. It is also highly believed that as humans we are actually descendents of kami, and that we have the kami ‘nature’ within ourselves, and that we have the ability to use this power for good (Evans, 2002, pg. ix).

Early Shinto

The first primitive religion of Shinto is thought to have been present during what is referred to as the Jōmon era, being around 7000-250 BC (Picken, 1994, pg.7). There have been artifacts, such as clay sketches that indicate there may have been some sort of deity worship beginning. Later, during the Yoyoi era, around 250 BC to 100 CE, the oral traditions were developed, which show an awe of nature as well early concepts and terms of Shinto which are still used to this day (Picken, 1994, pg.7-8). During the Kofun era, 2nd Century CE – 552, Shinto is thought to be in full bloom, having established divine beings and offerings (Picken, 1994, pg.9).

Written traditions of Japan were not established until the 10th century CE, a collection of Shinto litanies, written at about this time, is called the Norito (Evans, 2002, pg. xiv). This is the first collection of written Shinto prayers, and is believed to have been taught down through oral tradition for many centuries before being written down. So, this is our best source for the original doctrine.

Six Fundamental Roots

Stuart Picken, in his book ‘Essentials of Shinto’, lays down what he refers to as six fundamental roots. Using general descriptions of the early eras, as well as written texts, Picken states that these six roots can be identified and defined. It lays out the main factors of early Shinto, and also makes the ideas easily understandable and logical.

Animism. This is “a way of recognizing and responding to an encompassing sense of life in all of its forms (Picken, 1994, pg.9).” This is the kami, finding divinity in nature and natural events or locations.

Nature Worship. Directly related to Animism, this is the idea of having sacred places within nature. Shrines were placed in divine locations, typically near natural wonders or beauty.

Ancestral Reverence. This is a very important matter in Japanese culture, and is thought to be connected to Animism, in that in very primitive Shinto, it may have been thought that the kami were ancestors helping the people to survive (Picken, 1994, pg.9). Some people have even gone to say that Ancestral Reverence was the true religion of Japan, since any other religions coming in had to adapt to this idea (Picken, 1994, pg.9). This is also an important factor because the Emperor (and other leaders of Japan) throughout history has claimed their leadership due to divine ancestors, specifically being descendents of the sun goddess.

Shamanism. It is believed that the first Empresses were most likely shamanists, and the training of youths for divining the harvests is still present in modern Japan (Picken, 1994, pg.9). Also, blind women shamans are famous in Japan for supposedly being able to communicate with the dead; as well as fortune-telling still being very popular and common in modern Japan (Picken, 1994, pg.9).

Agricultural Rites. Festivals are abundant around seasons, including harvesting and sowing, showing that Shinto is related to the agricultural year. Seasonal awareness is very important in Japan, possibly because their seasons are more easily distinguished than in many other countries (Picken, 1994, pg.10).

Lustration. Cleanliness is a very important feature of Japanese culture, and Shinto. Purification, states Picken, “lies at the root of Shinto’s most central and common ritual.” This refers to the temple priests waving wands of paper streamers in order to purify or cleanse a place, person, or thing; this is symbolic for water (Picken, 1994, pg.10). Japanese are famous for their fondness of hot baths, especially natural hot springs, and there is much speculation that this was branched from the idea of cleanliness as a ritual.

Part 5: The Search

Primarily, the research was doing using the internet for sources. I began with simple Google searches, mainly to get an idea of what terms may be important, and also to see what is easily known and available. I also attempted to look up any Journals, using terms for ‘Shinto’, ‘Religion’, ‘Japan’. I found the Nanzan Institute Journal of Japanese Religion, which I think is a wonderful source. There is a link to their database of all English printed journals on my creative project website.

Using the university library database, I used WorldCat, Lexus Nexus, and ProQuest to look up books available. I could not find any books locally, but I remember having stumbled across Google Books previously, which has certain books with either limited or full previews available online. Luckily, quite a few of the useful looking books from the library database had previews available at Google Books. Many of them were rare, out of print, and difficult to find. I have the Google Books booklist on my creative project website, with links available to view the books.

Part 6: What I Discovered

My ideas and opinion have not changed much during my research. Things were just explained more clear and understandable to me. I know that a true journey of this nature would not end here though. I would need to continue researching the different theories of Shinto past and practices. I feel that five weeks was not truly enough to complete deep, thorough research, but I feel that I did fairly well within that amount of time.

I believe that the information I have found has influenced me, in that it has drawn me in more, causing me to become even more interested in the topic of Shinto. It has also made me think more about what religions were even before Shinto, what beliefs/culture it may have stemmed from. If it truly was from northern Asia, and related to other religions, perhaps if we go far enough back in time we can find one original religion that all these nature religions were formed from. As you can see, for me, the journey always seems to lead to more questions, and onto another adventure of discovery.