SHINTO

indigenous religious beliefs and practices of Japan. The word Shinto, which literally means the way of kami (kami means mystical, superior, or divine, generally sacred or divine power, specifically the various gods or deities), came into use in order to distinguish indigenous Japanese beliefs from Buddhism, which had been introduced into Japan in the 6th century AD. Shinto has no founder, no official sacred scriptures in the strict sense, and no fixed dogmas, but it has preserved its guiding beliefs throughout the ages. (Japanese: way of kami), indigenous religious beliefs and practices of Japan, which are more readily observed in the social life of the Japanese people and in their personal motivations than in a pattern of formal belief or philosophy. The term Shinto, in its proper historical usage, does not encompass the earliest manifestations of Japanese religion. It does not appear in the literature until the latter part of the 6th century of the Western era. In its more remote states of development Shinto as a system appears to have been nameless. The designation came into existence after the introduction of Buddhism into Japan and was evidently created in order to distinguish the Way of Kami from the Way of the Buddhist Law. At the core of Shinto are beliefs concerning the nature and attributes of kami (sacred power), which is usually understood to be found in a variety of polytheistic forms (hence the frequent translation of the term as god or divinity), and in the truthfulness of kami, which can be recognized every moment in each individual thing. Little is known about the religious practices that gave expression to this immanent, monistic world view during the period before the introduction of Sino-Korean culture and the establishment of a unified nation-state (4th7th century). Presumably, agricultural rites were celebrated seasonally, and most communal religious functions centred around objects or places considered to be especially steeped in kami-nature. Gradually the kami of some of these places were associated with local ruling clans (uji) and acquired the name ujigami. The leaders of one clan in the Yamato region (near the present city of Nara) came to be regarded as descendants of the universally recognized chief kami, the sun goddess Amaterasu. By virtue of this distinction the family was recognized as the Japanese Imperial Household and became the cornerstone of Japanese nationhood. With the emergence of the unified nation-state, centred in Yamato, Shinto festivals and ceremonies (matsuri) became inseparable from the ordinary affairs of government. These activities were called matsuri-goto (literally, affairs of religious festivals), and the term has retained its meaning of government in the modern Japanese language. This ancient union was revived and reemphasized after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, when the shrines of Shinto were magnified into the primary agencies for dramatizing, celebrating, and supporting the major interests of the national life. At the end of World War II, the ideology of this so-called State Shinto (Kokka Shinto) was discredited but was reorganized without its political associations as Shrine Shinto (Jinja Shinto), which remained closely associated with the Imperial family. Throughout its history, Shinto, as a foundation of belief and practice, has been subject to a variety of external influences. The successive inroads made by Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism into Japan left distinctive marks on the indigenous religion. Despite the revived orthodoxy of State Shinto, the tendency toward assimilation and hybridization reached a peak during the Meiji period (18681912), when some 13 new movements, known collectively with other such movements as Sect Shinto (Kyoha Shinto), arose around various points of emphasis from asceticism to faith healing to Confucian ethics. Sect Shinto underwent further fragmentation after World War II. While especially the sectarian groups, but also State and later Shrine Shinto, took on aspects of imported religions and philosophies, the beliefs and practices of the rural population remained remarkably true to the ancient tradition. Folk Shinto (Minzoku Shinto), as it is called, has no formal organizational structure or doctrinal formulation but is centred in the veneration of small roadside images and in the agricultural rites of rural families. Although distinctive in flavour, the three types of Shinto are integrally related: Folk Shinto exists as the substructure of Shinto faith, and a Sect Shinto follower is usually a parishioner (ujiko) of a certain Shrine Shinto shrine at the same time. The traditions of Shinto may be thought of as the traditions of Japan itself. Seasonal and other festivals (matsuri) elicit virtually universal participation. These usually entail ritual purification, the offering of food to the kami, recitation of prayers, sacred music and dance, solemn worship, and joyous celebration. Numerous Shinto shrines and art objects have been designated by the government as national treasures and invaluable cultural properties. All shrines have a toriithe gateway usually consisting of two vertical posts topped by two crosswise beamswhich divides the sacred precincts from the secular area. Additional reading H. Byron Earhart, Japanese Religion: Unity and Diversity, 3rd ed. (1982), examines the formation, development, and interaction of religions. Joseph M. Kitagawa, Religion in Japanese History (1966, reissued 1990), is a widely used survey textbook on Japanese religious background. Studies specifically about Shinto include Naofusa Hirai (Hirai Naofusa), Japanese Shinto (1966), a brief general sketch; Stuart D.B. Picken, Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Roots (1980), a short introduction to the origins and modern forms of Shinto; D.c. Holtom, The National Faith of Japan (1938, reprinted 1965), strong in history and political philosophy; Tsunetsugu Muraoka, Studies in Shinto Thought (1964, reprinted 1988), a dependable description of Shinto thought by an eminent philologist; and Ichiro Hori, Folk Religion in Japan: Continuity and Change (1968, reprinted 1983), a good study on the religious and social background of folk Shinto. Robert S. Ellwood, The Feast of Kingship (1973), describes the ancient enthronement ceremonies of Japanese emperors. Editions of the sacred books include W.G. Aston (trans.), Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, 2 vol. (1896, reissued 2 vol. in 1, 1972), a standard translation into English; and Donald L. Philippi (trans.), Kojiki (1968, reissued 1992), a translation with introduction using contemporary Japanese philological studies. Naofusa Hirai