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The Kami Way of the goddesses and gods was the indigenous faith of the Japanese people. Shintoism had neither a founder nor sacred scriptures like the Bible or the Sutras. As old as the people themselves, Shinto was deeply rooted in Japanese traditions which included Creation myths, folklore on the kami; as well as, the Kojiki and Nihongi sacred texts. Shintoism was an optimistic faith that believed all humans were intrinsically good and that all evil was caused by evil spirits. In Shinto everything was spiritual with no separation between the material and the spiritual. The architecture of the shrines, Noh theatre, calligraphy and the court dance music (Gagaku) were all important features of Shinto. Most of Shinto rituals focused on prayers (either at a home altar or at a shrine), purification and offerings to keep away evil spirits.
Talismans to ensure good health, safe travel, success in business endeavors, doing well in school examinations, trouble-free childbirth and many other things were obtainable by the Japanese at Shinto Shrines. Before opening a factory or a nuclear power plant, Shinto Rites were also preformed to purify buildings in Japan and to ensure that in the future everything operated safely and functioned correctly. There was no written Shinto code of ethics and morals. In 285 ACE, the teachings of the esteemed Chinese philosopher Kong Fuzi (Confucius), who lived in China from 551-479 BCE, made their way from Korea to Japan. Over the centuries, the important principles of consideration, humanity, loyalty and morality (applicable to both individuals and to countries) were instilled into Shintoism. Chu Hsi Confucianism also greatly influenced Japanese education, government and society. During the sixth century, the often complex theories of Mahayana or Greater Vehicle Buddhism were introduced into the Japanese culture via China and Korea. Even though the ruling nobles of Japan at that time welcomed Buddhism as the new state religion, the common people continued to prefer Shinto. After some early differences, the followers of Shinto and Buddhism were eventually able to reach a complementary accord between their belief systems. Most Japanese municipalities have at least one Buddhist temple or monastery displaying sacred objects, while, larger areas like Kyoto have several thousand of them. Buddhism temples in Japan typically had main halls, lecture halls for meetings, multi-storied pagodas, entrance gates to the temple grounds, temple bells and cemeteries with ancestors graves. Shinto became the state religion of Japan in the Meiji Period. At the time, Shinto Priests became state officials and Shinto shrines were funded by the government. The Japanese Creation myths were then used as a foundational impetus to liberate Shinto practices by detaching them from any connections they might have made with Buddhism. Following World War II, the religion of Shinto was once again separated from state support.
Today over four million
Japanese visit Shinto shrines to pray for good fortune, to keep away evil
spirits before special events and to procure talismans. Most weddings were
performed as Shinto rituals. Since followers of Shinto view death as a cause of
impurity, Buddhist rites were usually performed at funerals. Shintoism has a Creation Myth. The Shinto faith began with the mythological belief that at the beginning of the universe there was only one thing that later divided into two things, Heaven and Earth.
These Kami parents were Izanami (Izanami-No-Kami) who was the Japanese Shinto earth mother and Izanagi (Izanagi-No-Kami) who was the Japanese Shinto sky father. The Japanese Shinto earth mother primordial creator goddess, Izanami (Izanami-No-Kami), represented all that was gracious and heavenly. "The Female Who Invites" Izanami was given the task of creating the world together with her husband, brother and soulmate Izanagi (Izanagi-No-Kami), "The Male Who Invites". Izanagi (Izanagi-No-Kami) was the Japanese Shinto sky father primordial creator god and the Initiator of the Cleansing Rites who represented all that was light and heavenly. "The Male Who Invites" Izanagi was given the task of creating the world together with his wife, sister and soulmate Izanami (Izanami-No-Kami), "The Female Who Invites". Izanagi and Izanami stood together on the floating bridge of the heavens called "Ama-no-ukihashi" and immersed a bejeweled spear deep into the sea. As they gradually removed the bejeweled spear from the waves, water droplets condensed to form the first Japanese island where the kami and humans were born. After their laborious endeavors together were finished, Izanami needed a lengthy rest and recuperation, so she retreated to the Otherworld for a long period of time before returning to the Earthly realm to rejoin Izanagi. Many Japanese followed the Way of the Kami. Kami were Shinto sacred spirits that were the objects to pray to for blessings and grace and to worship for their spirituality. The kami could take various forms. Some of the forms Kami took included the forms of natural elements like trees, rocks, mountains, the wind and the sun. Kami also took the forms of national heroes and protectors of family clans or abstract things like fertility. Kami were the only things that had great influence on daily life. The kami of natural phenomena were worshiped. There were kami of the seas, kami of the rivers, kami of the thunders, kami of the rains and kami of the mountains. It was important to perform rites for the kami since although they usually guarded and blessed people they could also get angry and bring misfortunes upon them.
The people worshiped the divine spirits, Shinrei, because they had great influence in their lives. They were in awe of the Magatsuhi kami who brought evil into daily living. Some of the most widely recognized of the Shinto gods and goddesses were Amaterasu, Benten, Daikokuten, Ebisu, Futotama, Hachiman, Inari, Inazuma, Izanagi, Izanami, Okuninushi, Sengen, Susanowa, Tenjin and Toyouke. Amaterasu (Ama Terasu, Omikami, Shinmei, Ten-sho-Ko-Daijan, O-Hiru-Me-No-Muchi) was a highly revered Japanese Shinto sun goddess. The daughter of the creator god Izanagi and goddess Izanami, Amaterasu was known as "She Who Shines in the Heavens", "Illustrious Goddess" and "Ruler of the Plain of Heaven". The Japanese Imperial family was descended from her. Mentioned in the Kojiki and Nihongi Japanese Sacred Texts, Amaterasu has been revered since at least 600 ACE. The principal kami of Shintoism, Amaterasu has been depicted in artistic paintings and sculptures. Honored at every family shrine, her primary Shrine was the Ise Naiku Shrine where the body of Amaterasu was represented by a mirror. Located at Ise-Jingue on Ise on the island of Honshu, the Naiku Shrine was pulled down every twenty years and then rebuilt in its original form.
The tutelary goddess of
the Emperor, Amaterasu created rice fields called inada where she cultivated
rice. She also taught the people how to cultivate wheat and silkworms; as well
as, how to weave with a loom.
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Since animals sometimes do
mischievous or harmful things to people, Shinto rites were performed to console
and placate the animal spirits. In the university medical facilities of some
universities, Shinto rites were performed to console the spirits of animals
killed during experiments.
Then kami appeared in
Heaven and the last of them was a male and female, kami couple who gave birth to
the land, to nature, to the kami and to the people of Japan. Within this life
giving power, there was no substantial difference between humans and nature or
the kami. All were children of kami. After their death people were revered at
their home as ancestral kami.
The kami were neither omnipotent nor omniscient. In Shinto mythology, the kamiah
that gave birth to the land of Japan failed at first and had to ask for help
from other kami in heaven who told them to search for the answers through the
practice of divination. There were no Shinto absolutes or perfect kami.
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