The kami of extraordinary people are even enshrined at some shrines. The Sun Goddess Amaterasu is considered Shinto's most important kami. In contrast to many monotheistic religions, there are no absolutes in Shinto. There is no absolute right and wrong, and nobody is perfect. Shinto is an optimistic faith, as humans are thought to be fundamentally good, and evil is believed to be caused by evil spirits.
Consequently, the purpose of most Shinto rituals is to keep away evil spirits by purification, prayers and offerings to the kami. Shinto shrines are the places of worship and the homes of kami. Most shrines celebrate festivals matsuri regularly in order to show the kami the outside world. Shinto priests perform Shinto rituals and often live on the shrine grounds. Kamigamo Shrine, whose priests carry out some ten funerals a year.
One way of resolving the contradiction is to redefine impurity. When I asked two priests at Kamigamo Shrine how they could perform funerals, given the Shinto aversion to impurity, they responded by saying that the spirit of the dead is not polluted. In the funeral, they are dealing with the spirit, not the body, of the deceased.
According to the priests, Kamigamo Shrine performs about ten funerals a year. Although the priests claim that pollution does not complicate a Shinto funeral, most Japanese people instinctively feel that death and Shinto should be kept apart. Not all Shinto priests agree with their Kamigamo colleagues.
This priest, well into his eighties, said that people ask him to perform a Shinto funeral three or four times a year, but he always refuses. The reason? Purification rites called Harae are a vital part of Shinto. They are done on a daily, weekly, seasonal, lunar, and annual basis. These rituals are the lifeblood of the practice of Shinto. Such ceremonies have also been adapted to modern life. Moreover, many Japanese businesses built outside Japan have a Shinto priest perform ceremonies.
On occasion priests visit annually to re-purify. Kobayashi Eitaku painting showing the god Izanagi right and Izanami, a goddess of creation and death in Japanese mythology. It is common for families to participate in ceremonies for children at a shrine, yet have a Buddhist funeral at the time of death. This yomi very closely resembles the Greek Hades; however, later myths include notions of resurrection and even Elysium-like descriptions such as in the legend of Okuninushi and Susanoo.
Shinto tends to hold negative views on death and corpses as a source of pollution called kegare. However, death is also viewed as a path towards apotheosis in Shinto as can be evidenced by how legendary individuals become enshrined after death. Perhaps the most famous would be Emperor Ojin who was enshrined as Hachiman the God of War after his death. Unlike many religions, one does not need to publicly profess belief in Shinto to be a believer.
Names can be added to the list without consent and regardless of the beliefs of the person added to the list. This is not considered an imposition of belief, but a sign of being welcomed by the local kami , with the promise of addition to the pantheon of kami after death. Shinto funerals were established during the Tokugawa period and focused on two themes: concern for the fate of the corpse and maintenance of the relationship between the living and the dead.
There are at least twenty steps involved in burying the dead. Mourners wear solid black in a day of mourning called Kichu-fuda and a Shinto priest will perform various rituals.
Some of the ashes are taken by family members to put in their home shrines at the step known as Bunkotsu. Shinto tends to focus on ritual behavior rather than doctrine. The philosophers James W. Boyd and Ron G. Main article: Shinto shrine. The public shrine is a building or place that functions as a conduit for kami. A fewer number of shrines are also natural places called mori. The most common of the mori are sacred groves of trees, or mountains, or waterfalls.
All shrines are open to the public at some times or throughout the year. While many of the public shrines are elaborate structures, all are characteristic Japanese architectural styles of different periods depending on their age. The torii have 20 styles and matching buildings based on the enshrined kami and lineage. There are a number of symbolic and real barriers that exist between the normal world and the shrine grounds including: statues of protection, gates, fences, ropes, and other delineations of ordinary to sacred space.
Usually there will be only one or sometimes two approaches to the Shrine for the public and all will have the torii over the way. The innermost precinct of the grounds is the honden or worship hall, which is entered only by the high priest, or worshippers on certain occasions. The honden houses the symbol of the enshrined kami.
All of this is organized by priests who are both spiritual conduits and administrators. Shrines are private institutions, and are supported financially by the congregation and visitors. Some shrines may have festivals that attract hundreds of thousands, especially in the New Year season. Yutateshinji ceremony performed at the Miwa Shrine. Shrines may be cared for by priests, by local communities, or by families on whose property the shrine is found. Many kannushi take on the role in a line of hereditary succession traced down specific families.
In contemporary Japan, there are two main training universities for those wishing to become Shinto priests, at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo and at Kogakkan University in Mie Prefecture. Priests can rise through the ranks over the course of their careers.
The number of priests at a particular shrine can vary; some shrines can have over 12 priests, and others have none, instead being administered by local lay volunteers. Some priests earn a living administering to multiple small shrines, sometimes over ten or more.
Priestly dress includes a tall, rounded hat known as an eboshi , and black lacquered wooden clogs known as asagutsu. A white silk version of the ikan, used for formal occasions, is known as the saifuku. Another priestly robe is the kariginu , which is modeled on heian-style hunting garments. As with teachers, instructors, and Buddhist clergy, Shinto priests are often referred to as sensei by lay practitioners.
Historically, there were various female priests although they were largely pushed out of their positions in During the Second World War, women were again allowed to become priests to fill the void caused by large numbers of men being enlisted in the military. In the early twenty-first century, male priests have still dominated Shinto institutions. Male priests are free to marry and have children. At smaller shrines, priests often have other full-time jobs, and serve only as priests during special occasions.
Before certain major festivals, priests may undergo a period of abstinence from sexual relations. Some of those involved in festivals also abstain from a range of other things, such as consuming tea, coffee, or alcohol, immediately prior to the events.
These miko are typically unmarried, although not necessarily virgins. In many cases they are the daughters of a priest or a practitioner. They are subordinate to the priests in the shrine hierarchy. Their most important role is in the kagura dance, known as otome-mai. Miko receive only a small salary but gain respect from members of the local community and learn skills such as cooking, calligraphy, painting, and etiquette which can benefit them when later searching for employment or a marriage partner.
They generally do not live at the shrines. Sometimes they fill other roles, such as being secretaries in the shrine offices or clerks at the information desks, or as waitresses at the naorai feasts. They also assist Kannushi in ceremonial rites. Individual worship conducted at a shrine is known as hairei.
A visit to a shrine, which is known as jinja mairi in Japanese, typically takes only a few minutes. Some individuals visit the shrines every day, often on their route to work each morning.
These rituals usually take place not inside the honden itself but in an oratory in front of it. The general procedure entails an individual approaching the honden , where the practitioners places a monetary offering in a box before ringing a bell to call the attention of the kami.
Then, they bow, clap, and stand while silently offering a prayer. The clapping is known as kashiwade or hakushu ; the prayers or supplications as kigan.
When at the shrine, individuals offering prayers are not necessarily praying to a specific kami. A worshipper may not know the name of a kami residing at the shrine nor how many kami are believed to dwell there. Unlike in certain other religious traditions such as Christianity and Islam, Shinto shrines do not have weekly services that practitioners are expected to attend.
Many individuals approach the kami asking for pragmatic requests. Other prayers reflect more contemporary concerns. For instance, people may ask that the priest approaches the kami so as to purify their car in the hope that this will prevent it from being involved in an accident.
Similarly, transport companies often request purification rites for new buses or airplanes which are about to go into service. Before a building is constructed, it is common for either private individuals or the construction company to employ a Shinto priest to come to the land being developed and perform the jichinsai , or earth sanctification ritual.
This purifies the site and asks the kami to bless it. People often ask the kami to help offset inauspicious events that may affect them. For instance, in Japanese culture, the age 33 is seen as being unlucky for women and the age 42 for men, and thus people can ask the kami to offset any ill-fortune associated with being this age. Certain directions can also be seen as being inauspicious for certain people at certain times and thus people can approach the kami asking them to offset this problem if they have to travel in one of these unlucky directions.
Pilgrimage has long been an important facet of Japanese religion, and Shinto features pilgrimages to shrines, which are known as junrei. A round of pilgrimages, whereby individuals visit a series of shrines and other sacred sites that are part of an established circuit, is known as a junpai.
For many centuries, people have also visited the shrines for primarily cultural and recreational reasons, as opposed to spiritual ones. Many Shinto practitioners also have a kamidana or family shrine in their home. These usually consist of shelves placed at an elevated position in the living room. The popularity of kamidana increased greatly during the Meiji era. Kamidana can also be found in workplaces, restaurants, shops, and ocean-going ships. Some public shrines sell entire kamidana.
Along with the kamidana , many Japanese households also have butsudan , Buddhist altars enshrining the ancestors of the family; ancestral reverence remains an important aspect of Japanese religious tradition. They can be decorated with miniature torii and shimenawa and include amulets obtained from public shrines.
They often contain a stand on which to place offerings; daily offerings of rice, salt, and water are placed there, with sake and other items also offered on special days. Prior to giving these offerings, practitioners often bathe, rinse their mouth, or wash their hands as a form of purification.
Small village shrines containing the tutelary kami of an extended family are known as iwai-den. In addition to the temple shrines and the household shrines, Shinto also features small wayside shrines known as hokora. Other open spaces used for the worship of kami are iwasaka , an area surrounded by sacred rocks. Any person may visit a shrine and one need not be Shinto to do this. Doing so is called Omairi. Typically there are a few basic steps to visiting a shrine.
Shinto rituals begin with a process of purification, or harae. This entails an individual sprinkling water on the face and hands, a procedure known as temizu , using a font known as a temizuya. Another form of purification at the start of a Shinto rite entails waving a white paper streamer or wand known as the haraigushi. When not in use, the haraigushi is usually kept in a stand.
Sometimes, instead of a haraigushi , the purification is carried out with an o-nusa , a branch of evergreen to which strips of paper have been attached. The acts of purification accomplished, petitions known as norito are spoken to the kami. This is followed by an appearance by the miko , who commence in a slow circular motion before the main altar. Following the purification procedure, offerings are presented to the kami by being placed on a table.
Historically, the offerings given the kami included food, cloth, swords, and horses. In the contemporary period, lay worshippers usually give gifts of money to the kami while priests generally offer them food, drink, and sprigs of the sacred sakaki tree. A common offering in the present are sprigs of the sakaki tree.
Animal sacrifices are not considered appropriate offerings, as the shedding of blood is seen as a vile act that necessitates purification.
The offerings presented are sometimes simple and sometimes more elaborate; at the Grand Shrine of Ise, for instance, styles of food are laid out as offerings. After the offerings have been given, people often sip rice wine known as o-miki. Drinking the o-miki wine is seen as a form of communion with the kami. On important occasions, a feast is then held, known as naorai , inside a banquet hall attached to the shrine complex. The Kami are believed to enjoy music. One style of music performed at shrines is gagaku.
Shintoist followers do not regard suffering as a form of punishment for human behavior. Shinto gods and goddesses are believed to be equally gentle and loving or awesome and terrifying. There are total seven gods in Shintoism, and they are believed to represent good luck —. In Shintoism, it is believed that any person can visit a shrine and he does not need not be a Shinto to do this.
There are few steps to follow —. If possible, then he should wash his feet also. Misogi is a practice of purification that is done by either regular practitioners or sometimes by lay practitioners.
This ritual is done by the immersion in cold water while one is reciting prayers. To precede this ritual, there is a defined set of prayers and activities. Normally, the practice of Misogi is performed at a shrine, in a natural setting, but this ritual can also be done anywhere where there is clean running water.
Most preferred places for the practice of Misogi are believed to be rivers and waterfalls since their water is clean and running.
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