The Shinto Religion in the Ancient Japan Essay

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Introduction

The religious doctrine of the traditional Japanese people is an interesting concept in the Asian studies. Although still unrecognized among the modern religions, the conventional Japanese people had an indigenous faith known as the Shinto religion.

The Shinto religion had its sacred gods known as the Kami (Ono 35). Despite being an ancient religion with a limited international influence, the Kami faith has been progressive over the decades, and has continued to have an influence on the cultural aspects of the Japanese communities (Ono 13). In this regard, this essay is a comprehensive reflection of the Shinto religion.

Overview: Shinto, Kami gods, and the Japanese State

The word Shinto first appeared in the literature records during the nineteenth century through an extant Japanese publication known as the Nihon Shoki. Compared to the ancient Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism ideologies, the Shinto religion was an exceptional doctrine with unique cultural norms in its thinking and believing (Ono and Woodard 3).

The Shinto religion possessed two exceptional ideographs, which made it unique in its ancient religious beliefs and practices. The first ideograph was the Shin, which suggested the ancient term Kami (the Shinto god). The second ideograph was the concept of ‘to or do,’ which meant Way. Collectively, Shinto meant, ‘the Kami Way,’ based on the Shinto religious doctrine.

Kami gods were the native deities of the Shinto religion. The Kami in the ancient Japanese civilization were the sacred spirits that comprised of the mystical rules of the natural world. Ono and Woodard state that the Shinto considered the mountains, wind, rivers, rain, trees, and human fertility as the sacred portions of life (7).

During its reign in the Japanese history, Amaterasu was the Sun Goddess who was the most imperative Kami. However, the Kami gods operated in a hierarchical order and each Kami was responsible for a definite action depending on its special attribute, mission, or ability (Ono 25). While some Kami gods provided water, others gave fertility, and others healed sicknesses.

In essence, Shinto was never a monotheist religion since the religion did not have a specific founder or a sacred scripture to sanctify its religious dogma. The Shinto believes that there is no absolute wrong or right and that no human being is perfect (Ono 19). Furthermore, the Shinto religion existed in five main subgroups, which had varied principles.

They included the Popular Shinto, the Domestic Shinto, the Sectarian Shinto, the Imperial Household Shinto, and the Shrine Shinto (Ono and Woodard 12). For the dwellers who believed in the Kami ideas, Shinto was a collective term that embraced various faiths. In its fundamental nature, Shinto was an amalgam of virtuous ideologies.

The Popular Shinto remained deeply concerned with the behaviors of its dwellers and stuck to the customs and ideas of the primitive days. The Domestic Shinto delved in streamlining the home worshiping practices undertaken within the home altars.

According to Ono, the Sectarian Shinto entailed several members of the religion, who associated the Shinto religion with the state leadership during the Meiji regime (36). The Sectarian Shinto nationalized the shrines. The Imperial Household Shinto entailed the Shinto ritualism, which was a practice that entailed the cleansing of the religion in the palace (Ono and Woodard 13). The Shrine Shinto was the earliest Kami-faith that worshiped within the Shinto shrines.

Conclusion

Shinto religion was a complex creed, which existed without a specific founder or any religious script to sanctify its religious principles. Although it was not monotheistic, the religion managed to permeate through the important structures of the Japanese government in the ancient Japan. Whereas the practices of the Shinto religion no longer subsist, the Japanese communities may never forget its history, because it is still noticeable in several modern cultures of the Japanese people.

Works Cited

Ono, Motonori. Shinto: the Kami Way, United States: Charles E. Tuttle Publishing Company, 2009. Print.

Ono, Sokyo, and William Woodard. Shinto the Kami Way, United States: Tuttle Publishing, 2011. Print.

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