How Did Shinto Influence Japanese Religion

Known for its Japanese origin, like a cherry blossom, Shinto bloomed into the world of theology. Fighting the more popular early religions of Eastern Asia, such as Buddhism, was a tough battle, but Shinto embraced those religious views and found its way to distinguish itself and become a successful Japanese religion. It brought with it a new sense of self, different beliefs, and new ways of worship.

Around fifth century CE the religion of Shinto was born in the islands of Japan. Being a country united by populations of people who settled on its islands from across Eastern Asia, Japan had a huge religious influence. Shinto started by the accumulation of the practices and traditions of many of the East Asian religions from countries such as Korea

The Japanese people believe in kami, roughly translated as ‘gods and spirits.’ But each of these kami are not particularly people; they consist of objects and natural forces as well. In reality the Shinto theology is not talked about in books or described to anyone, therefore it remains a mystery who or what the Kami really are. Like many things in the Shinto religion, they say that the kami are experienced rather than described. (Eller, Kami, 2-3). These kami are worshipped in many different ways. The traditions and practices of Shinto include many things, from shrines, to worship, to festivals. Shrines are the number one piece to the Shinto religion and they range up to eighty thousand (Eller, Shinto Shrines, 2). In these shrines they have what is called a Torii, or gate, at the entrance. They also have something called a Shinmenawa, described as a rope looking figure that marks the top of the border of a sacred area; sometimes located on the torii (Eller, Shinto Shrines, 4). These shrines came to be from early Japanese architecture and then became particular to Shinto shrines. One of the most famous shrines is called Itsukushima in Hiroshima. The torii stands on the ocean and engulfs the entire island as the shrine (Eller, Shinto Shrines, 6). At each of the shrines, the kami are worshipped. The basic shrine visit consists of walking through the tori up to the temizuya, or pavilion, purifying oneself by pouring water and rinsing their mouth with a bamboo ladle, walking up to the shrine, placing a coin in the donation box and ringing the bell, bowing twice to respect the kami, and then clapping twice to get the attention of the kami, and finally ending the visit with a prayer and a bow (Eller, Shinto Worship, 4-6). Another way to worship the kami is to celebrate through festivals, matsuri, at each one of the Shinto shrines. “The festivals that are common to most shrines are New Year’s, Harvest, and Rice