Chapter 7 SHINTO

Chapter Overview

“Shinto” is an overarching label applied to various ways of honoring the spirits in nature, so named to distinguish such practices from Buddhism and other religions brought from outside Japan. It is an indigenous tradition which in modern practice may be combined with elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity. It has also been associated with imperial power and worship of the emperor.

The goals of the chapter are:

1. To describe the origins and major characteristics of Shinto

2. To describe three central aspects of the religion: affinity with natural beauty, harmony with the spirits, and purification rituals

3. To illustrate some of the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism on this native religion

4. To highlight some contemporary issues within Shinto

The roots of “Shinto”

Shinto does not have a known founder, nor does it have an orthodox sacred scripture, or an explicit ethical code. Its historical origins appear to lie in the practice of individual clans worshipping a deity as their ancestor, along with worship of other unseen beings and natural forces. It was not identified with a specific name until Buddhism spread to Japan during the sixth century CE. After that time, this indigenous sacred way sought to distinguish itself from Buddhism. Until that necessity occurred, this sacred path was simply understood as the proper attitude with which to live one’s life.

The two major written Shinto chronicles, the Kojiki and the Nihongi, appear to be influenced by Buddhist, Confucian, Korean, and Chinese thought. 

Kinship with nature

Natural beauty and symmetry have always been important in Japan. People organized their lives around the seasons. Mount Fuji is honored as an embodiment of the divine power that forced the land up through the sea. Reverence for nature is expressed in the arts.

Honoring the kami

The sacred is both immanent and transcendent; the divine originated as one essence. This essence gave birth to many kami or spirits, which organized the material world. The Amatsu kami created Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, and also created the ancestors of the Japanese. The natural world is in kinship with the spiritual creation of the kami.

It is difficult to translate kami exactly, though “god” or “spirit” is the most common translation. The word may be singular or plural, and it evokes a single essence which manifests in different places. It refers to a quality, literally “that which is above,” or that which evokes awe in us. Kami reside in beautiful and powerful places, and may also appear in abstract forms. They can exist in rocks, trees, and other forms of nature, but also in processes such as reproduction and creative imagination. For much of Japanese history, the emperor was revered as a kami. To follow the kami is to bring one’s life into harmony with nature, or Kannagara, “the way or nature of the kami.” 

Shrines

There are some one hundred thousand public shrines in Japan honoring the kami. Some shrines are dedicated to kami who protect the local area or have special responsibilities such as healing or protecting crops. The greatest number of shrines is dedicated to Inari, the god of rice, whose messengers are foxes. 

The earliest Shinto followers may have worshiped at sacred trees or groves. Later shrine complexes are marked by gate frames, walls, or streams with bridges. Water is provided for purification before one enters a shrine. Shrines have a public hall of worship, an offering hall where priests conduct rites, and a sacred sanctuary where the spirit of the kami is asked to dwell. Visitors to shrines clap their hands, bow deeply, and try to feel the kami within their hearts.

At some times Shinto has been strongly iconoclastic or opposed to images of the divine. 

Ceremonies and festivals

At shrines, complex ceremonies are required to encourage the spirit of the kami to take up residence. Training for the priesthood is lengthy; the role of priest is traditionally hereditary, open to both men and women. Shinto priests may marry and are not expected to undertake ascetic practices or meditation. Their role is to serve as experts in the performance of complex rituals. 

Pilgrims who visit shrines may take away with them a spiritual memento such as a paper symbol of the shrine. 

Followers of Shinto may also have a shrine in the home where a mirror symbolizes the purity and clarity of the universe, and daily offerings (rice for health, water for cleansing and preservation of life, and salt for harmonious seasoning of life) are provided.

Shinto includes both seasonal and life cycle festivals. Life cycle rituals include ceremonies during pregnancy, twenty-two or thirty-two days after an infant’s birth, and at various other milestones throughout life, such as turning thirteen, first arranging one’s hair as a woman at sixteen, marriage, and becoming sixty-one, seventy-seven, or eighty-eight. Seasonal festivals often have an agricultural basis. Local shrines all have annual festivals honoring their particular kami. New Year’s is one of the biggest annual festivals, marked by ceremonial housecleaning, the placing of bamboo and pine trees at doorways to welcome the kami, and traditional dress.

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Purification

A third distinguishing feature of Shinto is purification practices. Impurity or misfortune is called tsumi, and may come about through defilement of corpses, menstruation, hostility towards others or the environment, or natural catastrophes. To rid one’s self of these impurities, Shinto prescribes ritual washing in natural phenomena such as a waterfall or the ocean. Human sexuality is not considered impure. Rituals of purification are called misogi. Shinto priests perform a ceremony called oharai, which includes waving a tree branch to which white streamers have been attached. This ceremony may be performed on cars and new buildings. 

Buddhist and Confucian influences

Today, Shinto peacefully and fruitfully coexists with Buddhism and Confucianism. A Japanese person may use Shinto rituals for especially life-affirming occasions such as birth and marriage, but turn to these other religions for events such as funerals, or for understandings of suffering. Reverence for the kami may be mixed with Buddhist practices, e.g. in mountain pilgrimage rituals during which sutras are chanted.

Seventeenth century Japanese Confucian scholars compared li to the way of the kami. 

State Shinto

The nineteenth century Meiji regime promoted Shinto as the spiritual foundation of the government, and reiterated the longstanding belief that the emperor was the offspring of the sun goddess Amaterasu. Under State Shinto, the government rather than priests administered Shinto practices. State Shinto served to enlist popular support for the throne, and functioned as a tool of militaristic nationalism. After Japan’s defeat in World War II, the emperor officially declared himself human.

Since the nineteenth century, new sects rooted in Shinto belief have appeared; some are based on revelation. 

“Sect Shinto”

​In rural Japan, there was a longstanding tradition of women acting as shamans, falling into trances during which the kami would speak through them. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some of these women developed their own followings, creating movements that were labeled “Sect Shinto” by the Meiji regime.  

Shinto today

​Shinto ways generally remain indigenous to Japan, though they are found in Hawaii and Brazil, where Japanese have settled. It is still common for the Japanese to visit Shinto shrines, especially at New Year. Shinto still serves as the basis for seasonal holidays. Modern life, with its industrialization, urbanization, and environmental problems, has given impetus to renewed interest in the Shinto reverence for nature. But those who participate in Shinto practices are not likely to identify themselves as Shinto adherents. 

​A controversy persists over the Yasukuni Shrine, which was dedicated during the Meiji Restoration to those who had given their lives for the sake of Japan. The controversy stems from the 1978 inclusion of the names of fourteen class A war criminals at the shrine. When Japanese prime ministers have visited the shrine, it has caused offense to some in countries that suffered during Japan’s imperialist period (e.g. China).

 Chapter 2

INDIGENOUS SACRED WAYS

Whereas a great many people have at least heard of some of the major global religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, few are probably familiar with the religions and sacred ways of Eskimos, Australian Aborigines, or Native Americans. The goals of this chapter are:

1.​To introduce and explain what an indigenous religion is

2.​To help students appreciate why it is difficult to understand these religions and the current perils of their existence

3.​To present key common features of indigenous religions with particular emphasis on their views of humanity’s relationships with spirits, creation, and power

Chapter Overview

The religions of various lands, local sacred ways passed from generation to generation, are referred to as Indigenous Religions, their followers constituting roughly 4% of the world’s population. This chapter gives an overview of the sacred beliefs of people often misunderstood by contemporary Western observers.

The term indigenous means “of or relating to an area or land.” Generally, the term has been used by anthropologists to refer to the native inhabitants of a certain region or country. For example, various Native American tribes, Australian Aborigines, and Eskimos are all considered indigenous peoples. That is, all indigenous peoples are described as native to a region that was later inhabited by an invading and/or dominating culture. Two examples illustrate this point. First, Native Americans were indigenous people until colonialists, and the later European settlers on this continent subdued them. Second, Aborigine means the first settlers of a land. We only know of these first settlers through the eyes of the subsequent colonists from the British Isles. Unfortunately, then, we are unable to know these native people and their religions as they were before they came into contact with a dominating outside culture.

Understanding Indigenous Sacred Ways

Indigenous sacred ways have traditionally been little understood by outsiders. Many indigenous traditions have been practiced in secret, and until recently, those who have attempted to comprehend them had little preparation or background for doing so. For instance, anthropologists who tried to ferret out the native sacred ways did so from a Western non-spiritual perspective. Recognizing that such inquirers did not accept the truth of their beliefs and practices, native peoples protected the sanctity of their ways from nonbelievers hiding them, or going underground. A good example of this for students is the quotation by the Aborigine Lorraine Mafi Williams. “When the missionaries came, we were told by our old people to be respectful, listen and be obedient, go to church, go to Sunday school, but do not adopt the Christian doctrine because it takes away our cultural, spiritual beliefs. So we’ve always stayed within God’s laws in what we know.” Another tactic has been the giving of false information to outside inquirers. 

To a degree, then, most native religions have evolved a measure of private teaching shared only with initiates and not presented to outsiders, no matter how well meaning they may seem. This feature has made the scholarly work on native religions sometimes challenging to complete, because of adherents’ fear of repression or misinterpretation by those studying the culture from the outside. The fact that many indigenous traditions have blended with global religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, is a further complicating factor.

Indigenous spirituality may be seen as a lifeway, or particular approach to all of life, rather than something expressed only at certain times or places. 

A significant barrier to understanding has to do with the way in which these religions preserve and pass on their sacred traditions; namely, by way of oral narratives. Stories have been handed down by word of mouth rather than through written sources, such as scriptures. For obvious reasons, studying oral transmissions is more difficult than examining religious writings. Because of the lack of written sources, students of native religions needed to interview storytellers and elders of the group to ascertain the myths and traditions that ground these ways of sacred knowing.

Barriers to comprehending indigenous religious beliefs and practices definitely exist; however, today there are encouraging indications that some common ground between these religions and those on the outside is emerging. First, some traditional elders are beginning to share their core values regarding reverence for the earth with others because of their concerns about current ecological developments. Second, members of global religions (and others) are coming to a new appreciation for the profundity and value embedded in indigenous sacred ways, particularly with respect to the environment. Third, some members of global faiths are being attracted to the spirituality and practices of indigenous religions. However, some indigenous leaders fear that their spiritual traditions are being trivialized and/or exploited.

Cultural Diversity

Even though the central sections of this chapter focus on common characteristics of indigenous religions, it is equally important for students to see that these religions are quite distinct. It may be useful to emphasize to them that this is a central issue and problem in the study of native religions, and that indeed some scholars question whether “indigenous” is a useful category at all.

As a whole, indigenous forms of spirituality exhibit traditions that developed within a spectrum of cultural, religious, and material diversity. Some indigenous cultures have been highly developed whereas others still embody a basic strategy of survival (e.g., Australian Aborigines). Groups whose material culture is simple nonetheless may have highly complex cosmogonies or models of the origins of the universe and their purpose in it. Diversity manifests itself in other areas as well. Such groups may live in somewhat sheltered ancestral enclosures or large contemporary urban areas. They also vary in the degree of adaptation to and absorption of the dominant religions in their regions (e.g. indigenous African religious traditions fused with Christianity in the context of slavery, such as Vodou and Santeria).

Despite the real differences in cultural origins, indigenous traditional ways do manifest some common characteristics. It would be overgeneralizing to ascribe specific beliefs to all native peoples, but there are some concepts and ways of approaching the universe that are common to many of them. Several recurring themes are the subjects of the following sections.

The Circle of Right Relationships

Many indigenous religions hold that everything in the universe, all forms of life, is interrelated and interdependent. This belief pervades all of the common themes explained in the chapter. Often, but not always, the symbol for this interrelationship or unity is the circle. Since this form has no beginning and no endpoint, it can symbolize the ongoing cycle of birth, youth, maturity, death. It can also symbolize the return of the seasons, or the cyclical movements of the sun, moon, planets and stars. Perhaps the most appropriate image for these concepts would be circles within circles. Lame Deer’s quotation on page 39 expresses the point eloquently. Within these circles of interrelated interdependence, right relationships must be maintained with everything that is, in order to maintain the balance of existence. One set of relationships is with the realms of spirit, a second common feature of indigenous religions.

One aspect of the spirit realm has to do with belief in a Supreme Deity. Most native religions believe in a Great Creator who can be found in all of existence: trees, grass, rivers, mountains, animals, birds, and people. Even though the Great Power is present in all places and things, the Power remains transcendent, that is, unseen and mysterious. Though frequently referred to with male pronouns, for some groups the Supreme Being is female. Still other groups envision the Supreme Being androgynously because their language makes no distinction between female and male pronouns. Another aspect of the spirit realm involves the many unseen powers which are a part of daily life and work.

Spiritual powers may be thought of as formless, mysterious, sacred presences active in the material world. Others are conceived as having more definite personalities or forms, though still intangible. These may be associated with venerable mountains or trees, or they may be seen as animal spirit helpers, or personified elemental forces, or deceased ancestors who are still concerned about the lives of their relatives. Reverent believers can call upon these spirits as helpers, intermediaries between the people and power, and as teachers. Acquiring and maintaining right relationships with this aspect of the spirit world can constitute a sacred partnership.

A third important circle of right relations has to do with the tangible world, all aspects of which are believed to be imbued with spirit, and thus are spiritually interconnected. What others might consider as inanimate objects such as mountains, bodies of water, and rocks, indigenous peoples personify as living beings with whom the believer is related. Thus, the image of family helps capture this sense of kinship with all creation. The metaphor of earth as mother also expresses the felt sense of intimate connections with the world. This way of conceiving one’s connection to the created order engenders the convictions among indigenous believers that they are caretakers of the earth, rather than its controllers. Consequently, in the indigenous worldview, respect is always due to all creatures from insects to whales to persons. The experience of the world as family or mother and the convictions about the reciprocal relationship humans have with the world are very ably expressed in the quotation by the Aborigine elder Bill Neidjie (pp. 44-45) and the Hawaiian shaman-priest Kahu Kawai’i found on page 46. Humans are understood to have the obligation to treat animals with respect, including those which are hunted. 

Cultivating proper relations with spiritual energy or power is another common aspect among these religions. Sometimes a specific site is believed to concentrate spiritual power. Thus, when indigenous peoples are forced from the ancestral lands they lose connections with their sacred places, which makes their displacement all the more tragic for them. Another source of spiritual power can be special sacred practices. Using special stones and animal artifacts can be important. Wearing clothing made of the fur of particular animals may increase one’s spiritual power. Visions or sharing a sacred pipe are still other practices involved with one’s relation to spiritual power. Some groups consider women to have particular natural power, often especially during their menstrual periods.

If spiritual power is used for egoistic motives, the power can turn on the one possessing it. One’s relationship with spiritual power is a sacred trust. Acquiring power is not an end in itself. It is to be used for the good of others and the environment.

Spiritual Specialists

The indigenous worldview is that the Supreme Being is present in all places and fills all things. There are also other sacred presences that pervade the world, the entire world is considered family, and spiritual power can be cultivated and used. It is therefore not surprising that we should find specialists within these religions dedicated to activities involved with the world of the spirits. These sacred roles can take several forms: storytellers, poets, tricksters or sacred fools, sacred clowns and dancers, priests and priestesses. 

Storytellers play a central role in indigenous religions, for it is they who memorize and transmit the sacred traditions. Some storytelling traditions were lost during times when indigenous groups were subject to colonial rule. Poets and musicians may also play a key role in preserving and transmitting traditions. 

Secret societies for men and women are also common among indigenous religions. Members are initiated into secret traditions that may involve donning ceremonial dress as part of a ritual to establish contact with particular spirits. Although men’s and women’s secret societies are separate, their rituals ultimately refer to the eternal Dream Time in which male and female are not differentiated.

In indigenous societies with some degree of social stratification, there may be specially trained priests and priestesses who are responsible for specific rituals that ensure a smooth relationship with the spirit world.

Most distinctive among the spiritual specialists are the shamans. Shaman is a Siberian word that scholars use to refer to this group generically. They are mystical intermediaries between the non-physical and physical world who have attained this status either through heredity, a special gift, or initiation through certain religious ordeals. Initiation typically involves a death and rebirth experience. Archaeological research indicates that the practices of the shaman probably date back twenty to thirty thousand years. Native Americans speak of the mystical intermediary as a medicine person whose medicine power derives from an outside source. The shaman is often involved in physical, psychological and social healing. Shamans may travel to the spirit world in order to learn what spirits may be responsible for problems in the human world. It should be interesting for students to learn that modern medicine is beginning to adopt some of the approaches taken by these visionaries, who saw the physiological health of the individual as an expression of his or her psychological and sometime spiritual health.

Most native religions see the shaman as a sacred and important person. They view the rites of passage that she or he must endure as very dangerous rituals that are not to be taken lightly. Mystical intermediaries may undergo rites of purification, isolation, and bodily torment in order to make contact with the spirit world. Usually they have a guide or mentor to help them along the spiritual journey; the role may be hereditary or seen as a special gift. A shamanic vision is not be used merely for personal edification but rather is given to be used with the group to see how the social order and the planet can be improved.

Group observances

Humans can help maintain the natural harmony of the world by practicing ritual observances. These rituals are community-centered as are indigenous ways in general. Specific rituals aid the community in perceiving the extraordinary dimensions of the world within the realm of the ordinary. Some of these rituals follow the major points of passage in the human life cycle: birth, naming, puberty, marriage, and death. Some rituals support the group’s strategies for survival. Other rituals are about the beginnings and sacred history of the people. Communities can also assemble for spiritual renewal and ritual purification. Even pilgrimages to sacred sites are frequently communal. An awareness of the place and community-centeredness of indigenous faiths and their rituals increases one’s sensitivity to the plight of those who are driven out of, or forcibly taken from, their native communities. Such people lose not only their individual identity, but also their relationship to a tightly knit group and meaningful religious rituals. Such awareness also helps explain the reluctance of some groups to share their rituals with non-indigenous people who wish to participate; a sincere New Ager who wishes to join a sweat lodge ceremony for a few days, for example, may have little understanding of or connection with the community which performs the ritual.

Indigenous groups whose communities are broken up by outside forces lose the power of their group rituals. To reestablish communal ritual among African-Americans, Professor Maulana Ron Karenga created the celebration of Kwanzaa, based on African “first fruits” harvest festivals.

Balancing the communal dimension of ritual observance is individual observance. For native sacred ways, it is considered important for individuals to experience a personal connection with the realm of the spirits. Such connections are open to all people. Shamans have a privileged relationship with the spirit realm, however, native religions have also been nicknamed democratized shamanism stressing the idea that everyone has the opportunity to connect with the spirits. Undergoing a vision quest (typically around the time of puberty) is a common means of access to the other world, and may be a means of establishing a relationship with a guardian spirit. 

Contemporary issues

Contemporary issues involving indigenous religions revolve primarily around one central concern: the near obliteration of these responses to the sacred throughout the world. Barriers to understanding these faiths discussed in the earlier part of this chapter demonstrate indigenous reactions to outside pressures and oppression. The lands of these people have been seized, and development projects have often displaced indigenous peoples. Attempts have been made to transform, or rather conform, their cultural identities and to replace their pathways to the sacred with other schemes of salvation.

An irony amid this tragedy is that the indigenous world view which reveres all creation, recognizes the interdependence of all circles of life, and understands humanity’s relationship to mother earth as reciprocal-nurturing rather than domineering-subduing, may be precisely the necessary outlook to adopt in order to slow down and eventually stop the present ecological ravaging of the planet. Some indigenous people believe that their traditional sacred ways are not only valid, but actually essential for the future of the world. 

Within indigenous groups, there may be tension between those who live traditionally and those who have embraced a more materialistic lifestyle. Issues of identity are also complex, as for example in the United States, where the number of people claiming Native American identity is rising.