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Shintō is a religion that is so interwoven into the Japanese culture that it ends up being not so much a ritual, but rather a way of life. Though its roots date back to pre-historic Japan, it is still very much alive in the modern Japanese culture today. In order to understand Shintō and how it affects modern daily life, one must look at its history and the individual parts of its tradition.

Shintō is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people. It has no known person or group as its founder. Its origins date back to the ancient Japanese people’s stories of how the world came to be.

The name Shintō emerged when Buddhism came from China. Up until then, Shintō did not need a formal name. It was just practiced as the way of life by the people of Japan. The Japanese name for Buddhism is Butsu-dō, which means “the way of the Buddha.” The Chinese referred to Shintō as Shen-dao, meaning “the way of the Gods,” and Shintō is its Japanese pronunciation.

As well as not having a founder, or Enlightened One, Shintō also doesn’t have a sacred scripture, unlike many other religions. (Ono, p.3) The most important written sources for Shintō are the Kojiki and Nihonshoki. The former was written in 712 CE by the courtier, Ono Yasumaro, based on the tales that had been orally transmitted up to that time. The latter was composed in 720 CE by a committee of scholars who sought to rectify what they believed to be Ono’s excessive emphasis on the imperial, or Yamato, clan. (Littleton, p.37)

Along with the Kojiki and Nihonshoki, there are other written documents that help us understand Shintō: the Manyōshu, Fudoki, and Engishiki. The Manyōshu is comprised of poetry that has religious, mythological, and secular themes. The Fudoki includes legends of local Kami (divine spirit) and the Engishiki is a collection of fifty books that have laws for conducting Shintō and Shrine ceremonies. (Littleton, p. 13)

Shintō is based on stories that were told to explain the creation of the islands of Japan. Among millions of different Kami, two important Kami were Izanami, “female who invites,” and Izanagi, “male who invites.” They became the cosmic parents that created the islands of Japan. They also gave birth to other Kami, most of whom are other nature deities. While giving birth to the last Kami, a fire god, Izanami’s body was badly burnt and she died. Izanagi was so brokenhearted that he went to the underworld to find her. Seeing her decaying body, he fled in horror back to the everyday world. He had to cleanse himself in the ocean, purifying himself of the defilement from his contact with death. Avoidance of defilement from blood and death as well as purification using water are still essential rituals of Shintō today.

Out of Izanagi’s tear-filled eyes after his return to this world, emerged the spirit of the sun, Amaterasu – “shining in heaven,” and the spirit of the moon, Tsukiyomi – “moon night possessor.” From his nostrils came the spirit of the wind, Susanowo – “impetuous male.” The Sun Goddess Amaterasu sent her grandson to bring order to the islands of Japan, and his descendant, Jimmu, became the first human emperor of Japan.

Emperor Jimmu
Photo from http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jshoaf/Jdolls/boys.htm

Shintō is an integral part of a person’s life, starting at childbirth through the rest of his/her life. However, Shintō places little emphasis on death and the afterlife. Followers tend to look elsewhere, mostly Buddhism, for comfort when faced with death.

When a child is born, he/she is brought to a shrine, usually on the 33rd or 100th day of life, to welcome the infant into the community of its family. This ritual is known as Omiyamairi. The child may be named, then put under the protection of a Kami. Shichigosan ritual on the 15th of November brings boys of 5 years old and girls of 3 and 7 years old to the shrine grounds. Thanks are given for their life and prayers are offered for the kami’s continued protection and good health. There are also special festivities on March 3rd Hinamatsuri for girls, May 5th Tango no Sekku for boys, and the coming-of-age ceremony at age 20. (Sullivan, p.8-9). Traditionally weddings are officiated by a priest at a shrine, even though Christian church wedding ceremonies have become popular with young people nowadays.

Many annual celebrations are held at shrines all over Japan throughout the year, starting with the New Years, Setsubun on the first day of spring, summer festivals to ward off evil spirits and to pray for good health, and autumn harvest festivals to thank for the bounty.

Hadaka Matsuri (Naked Festival) is one such festival. This one centers on men aged 42. Thousands of men wearing white breech cloths and colored headbands parade through the streets. Spectators, especially children, strain to touch the men as they walk by in order to pass their weaknesses and faults onto them. A man called the shin-otoko chosen by lot and purified through weeks of fasting and ritual isolation runs through the plaza where all the men have gathered. The other men attempt to touch him to pass on the collective weaknesses to him. The shin-otoko makes it back to the shrine and the men disperse. At night, the priests symbolically stone the shin-otoko to drive him out. (Sullivan, p.10-11)

Hadaka Matsuri
Photo from http://www.nihon.ru/culture/festivals.asp

There are at least 80,000 shrines, each of which specializes in helping adherents with different aspects of life, such as fertility, safe birth, academic achievements, prosperity in business, safety in the sea, quick and painless death. Many homes and businesses have small shrines. No building would be constructed without first having the land blessed by a Shintō priest.

Shintō has a long historical background with its cultural foundations and its colorful folklore. Shintōism is a complex and influential belief system that affects the daily life of the Japanese at any age.