Shinto??

[Ye Olde corpse]

Does anyone have a link to some page with good info about shinto??
This is a religion that i don't know that much about, but i have been told that it is based upon the worship of good and evil spirits, is this true??

[John Lindsey]

Hi,

You might want to glance at all the posts in this forum. There are some good links and discussions here. Just make sure you set the forum to view all messages from the beginning, not just the last 10 days.

The first thing you have to figure out is what kami are :).

[Joel Simmons]

Aloha Johan,

See if you can find a book called, "Japanese Religion" by H.Byron Earhart. It is a very easy read and well written. If you want a more in-depth read, look at "Sources of Japanese Tradition" from Columbia University or "A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine."

Shinto is not about worshiping "good and evil spirits." Shinto is actually a Japanization of the Chinese "shen tao" or "way of the spirits" (to simplify it). A better term is Kami no Michi.

As John implied, learning what a "kami" is will help you understand better. Kami does not necessarily mean "spirit" or "god" or "demigod" etc. etc. A kami can be anything that is awe-inspiring. It could be a mountain, a river, a sword, a person, a rock...you get the gist of it?

Here in Hawaii, there is a Shinto shrine that has George Washington enshrined as a kami. The same shrine also venerates Pele, the Hawaiian goddess that lives in Hale'ma'uma'u in the crater at Kilauea volcano, as a kami.

[Ye Olde corpse]

Domo arigato!

I'll se if i can find these books somewhere, and in the meantime, i will se if i can find anything in the shinto forum!
Thanks!

[Mekugi]

Basic Shinto {scroll down to SHINTO} (http://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/bts/bts_s.html#shinto/)
Shinto
The way of the kami (deities). Numerous deities, including clan ancestors, were worshiped in ancient Japan, and official life was also inextricably bound up with worship of the gods. However, this native religion was not known by any particular name until Buddhism and Confucianism were imported from the Chinese continent. As a religion, Shinto is not based on a founder, dogma, or sacred scripture, but rather on custom, reverence for ancestral traditions, and living and acting according to the guidance of the gods. The imperial house has preserved a relatively pure version of this ancient tradition; popular beliefs have generally developed in amalgamation with other religions. Sect Shinto (Kyôha Shint?E is a development of the nineteenth century in which individual sects were founded by specific leaders. After the second world war, a number of new religions (shink?EShint?E also developed. Historical schools and movements within Shinto include Restoration Shinto (Fukko Shint?E, Ise Shint?E Confucianistic Shinto (Jugaku Shint?E, Shingon Shint?E Suiga Shint?E Tendai Shint?E Yoshida Shint?E and Yoshikawa Shint?E

Kami
An appellation for the objects of worship in Shinto. An honorific term extolling the sacred authority and sublime virtue of spiritual beings. Numerous etymological theories exist regarding the origins of the word, but none are entirely satisfactory. Motoori Norinaga interpreted the word as an appellation for all beings which possessed extraordinary and surpassing ability or virtue, and which were awesome and worthy of revererence. He pointed out that the word was used not only for good beings, but also for evil. The deities (kami) in Shinto are numerous, and constantly increasing in numbers. This fact is expressed in the laudatory term yao-yorozu no kami (ever-increasing myriad deities). These deities make up a single whole, united in peace and harmony. Beings which are called kami may include everything from the divine spirits who realized the production of heaven and earth, the great ancestors of men, to all things in the universe, even plants, rocks, birds, beasts, and fish. These beings are divided into heavenly and earthly gods (tenshin chigi); heavenly deities (amatsukami) have their home in heaven (Takama no Hara), while earthly deities (kunitsukami) live on the earth. In ancient times the heavenly deities were thought to be noble and the earthly deities base, but this distinction is not so clear today.

Kokugakuin Terms (http://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/bts)

[Ye Olde corpse]

Thanks!
That somewhat gives me the basics of shinto, it seems to be a pretty interesting religion...