Practices & Teachings

Afterlife

Unlike many religions, one does not need to publicly profess belief in Shinto to be a Shintoist. Whenever a child is born in Japan, a local Shinto shrine adds the child's name to a list kept at the shrine and declares him or her "Ujiko", lit. named child. After death an "Ujiko" becomes an "Ujigami", lit. named kami. One may choose to have one's name added to another list when moving and then be listed at both places. Names can be added to the list without consent and regardless of the beliefs of the person added to the list. However, this is not considered an imposition of belief, but a sign of the welcome of the area kami, with the promise of addition to the pantheon of kami after death. Those children who die before addition to the list are called "Mizuko", lit. water child, and believed to cause troubles and plagues. "Mizuko" are often worshipped in a Shinto shrine dedicated to stilling their anger and sadness. These shrines have become more popular with the growth of abortion in modern Japan.

Because Shinto has co-existed with Buddhism for well over a millennium, it is very difficult to disentangle Shinto and Buddhist beliefs about the world. One might say that where Buddhism emphasizes the afterlife and ending the cycle of rebirths, Shinto emphasizes this life and finding happiness within it. Though Buddhism and Shinto have very different perspectives on the world, most Japanese do not see any need to reconcile these two very different religions, and practice both. Thus, it is common for people to practice Shinto in life yet have a Buddhist funeral. Their different perspectives on the afterlife are seen as complementing each other, and frequently the ritual practice of one will have an origin in the other.

Four affirmations

Though Shinto has no absolute commandments for its adherents outside of living "a simple and harmonious life with nature and people", there are said to be "Four Affirmations" of the Shinto spirit:

• Tradition and the family: The family is seen as the main mechanism by which traditions are preserved. Their main celebrations relate to birth and marriage.
• Love of nature: Nature is sacred; to be in contact with nature is to be close to the kami. Natural objects are worshipped as containing sacred spirits.
• Physical cleanliness: Followers of Shinto take baths, wash their hands, and rinse out their mouth often.
• "Matsuri": Any festival dedicated to the Kami, of which there are many each year.

Sin and impurity

Shinto does not teach that anything is a sin per se. Rather, certain deeds create a kind of ritual impurity that one should want cleansed merely for one's own peace of mind and good fortune, and not because impurity is wrong in and of itself. Evil and wrong deeds are called kegare (literally, "dirtiness"), and the opposite notion is kiyome (purity). Normal days are called ke (day), and festive days are called hare (sunny, or simply good). Killing living beings should be done with a gratitude and with a reverence for taking life to continue one's own, and it should be kept to a minimum. Modern Japanese continue to place great emphasis on the importance of aisatsu, or ritual phrases and greetings. Before eating, many (though not all) Japanese say "itadakimasu" ("I will humbly receive [this food]") in order to show proper thankfulness to the preparer of the meal in particular and more generally to all those living things that lost their lives to make the meal. Failure to show proper respect can be seen as a sign of pride and lack of concern for others. Such an attitude is looked down upon because it is believed to create problems for all. Those who fail to take into account the feelings of other people and kami will only attract ruin for themselves. The worst expression of such an attitude is the taking of another's life for personal advancement or enjoyment. Those killed without being shown gratitude for their sacrifice will hold urami, (a grudge) and become aragami, a powerful and evil kami that seeks revenge. This same emphasis on the need for cooperation and collaboration can be seen throughout Japanese culture even today. Thus, in modern Japanese companies no action is taken before consensus is reached (even if only superficially) among all parties to a decision.

Purification

Purification rites are a vital part of Shinto. These may serve to placate any restive kami, for instance when their shrine had to be relocated. Such ceremonies have also been adapted to modern life. For example, a ceremony was held in 1969 to hallow the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, new buildings made in Japan are frequently blessed by a Shinto priest during the groundbreaking ceremony, and many cars made in Japan have been blessed as part of the assembly process. A more personal purification rite is the purification by water. This may involve standing beneath a waterfall or performing ritual ablutions in a river-mouth or in the sea. A third form of purification is avoidance, that is, the taboo placed on certain persons or acts. For example, women were not allowed to climb Mount Fuji until 1868, in the era of the Meiji Restoration. Although this aspect has decreased in recent years, religious Japanese will not use an inauspicious word like "cut" at a wedding, nor will they attend a wedding if they have recently been bereaved.

Shrines

The principal worship of kami is done at public shrines, although home worship at small private shrines (sometimes only a high shelf with a few ritual objects) is also common. It is also possible to worship objects or people while they exist. While a few of the public shrines are elaborate structures, most are small buildings in the characteristic Japanese architectural style. Shrines are commonly fronted by a distinctive Japanese gate (torii) made of two uprights and two crossbars. These gates are there as a part of the barrier to separate our living world and the world the kami live in. There are often two guardian animals placed at each side of the gate and they serve to protect the entrance.

There are well over 100,000 of these shrines in operation today, each with its retinue of Shinto priests. Shinto priests often wear a ceremonial robe called a jo-e. Kami are invoked at such important ceremonies as weddings and entry into university. The kami are commonly petitioned for quite earthly benefits; a child, a promotion, a happier life. While one may wish for ill bidding on others, this is believed to be possible only if the target has committed wrongs first, or if one is willing to offer one's life. Though Shinto is popular for these occasions, when it comes to funerals, most Japanese turn to Buddhist ceremonies, since the emphasis in Shinto is on this life and not the next. Almost all festivals in Japan are hosted by local Shinto shrines and these festivals are open to all those that wish to attend. While these could be said to be religious events, Japanese do not regard these events as religious since everyone can attend, regardless of personal beliefs.

Gods

Shinto's kami are collectively called Yaoyorozu no Kami. The arcane name of eight million, Yaoyorozu is not the exact number, but the expression of infinite number from the time when the concept of infinity did not exist. While such usage has largely disappeared from the common use, until recently there were small shops often in suburbs that offered everything from perishable items like foods to magazines and newspapers, even occasionally a bicycle or a car, that were each called Yorozu-ya, indicating the wide variety of items it offered.
The most widely worshipped of all kami is the sun-goddess Amaterasu. However, Japanese do not specifically worship her or invoke her name to ask for help. Her main shrine is at Ise, but many lesser shrines are dedicated to her. Within the shrine, she is often symbolised by a mirror. Alternatively, the inner sanctum may be empty. This emptiness does not mean non-existence; rather, it symbolizes that everything that one sees through the mirror is the embodiment of Amaterasu and every other kami.

Until the end of World War II, the Tenno (Emperor) was believed to have been descended from Amaterasu and father of all Japanese, and was therefore a kami on earth (an ikigami or "living kami"); this divine status was popularized during the Meiji restoration. This did not prevent military governors (Shogun) from usurping power, but the emperor was always seen as the true ruler of Japan, even when his rule was only nominal. Although emperor Hirohito renounced his divine status in 1946 under American pressure (Ningen-sengen), the imperial family remains deeply involved in the Shinto ritual that unifies the Japanese nation symbolically. Because Shinto doesn't require a declaration or an enforcement to be worshipped, which is actually "unharmonious" and is something to be avoided, this declaration, while serving political reasons, is religiously meaningless and merely means that the state enforcement has ended.

Ema

In medieval times, wealthy people would donate horses to shrines, especially when making a request of the god of the shrine. For smaller favors, giving a picture of a horse became customary, and these ema are popular today. The visitor to a shrine purchases a wooden tablet with a likeness of a horse, or nowadays, something else, writes a wish or prayer on the tablet, and hangs it at the shrine. In some cases, if the wish comes true, the person hangs another ema at the shrine in gratitude.