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Similarities between Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism
Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism
Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism
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Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan. Founded in 660 B.C., it traces back to the very first people to settle in Japan. Shinto focuses on ancestral worship and is deeply immersed in Japanese culture. Even though it is as ancient as Japan itself, Shinto is still very widely practiced by Japanese people today. However, over the years, it gained some influence from Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Over 50 percent of the Japanese population still practice Shinto.
Shinto defined the Japanese’ lifestyle, however, there is no authoritative text of what or why exactly Shinto is around. Until Buddhism, and Confucianism showed up, Shintoism was not a concrete unified religion. In 8AD, it was ordered to compile a history of Japan’s origins, and creation stories were thus born, called the Kojiki. The creation story starts with the formation of Heaven, called Takamagahara, which would give rise to the first three gods, Amenominakanushi, Takagi no kami, and kamimusubi, all of whom were invisible. Reed shoots sprouted, and just like the previous three deities, two more came into existence, and soon after, even more, who would be Izanagi and Izanami who would give birth to Japan, both figuratively and literally. The creation myth would even go on to explain how the male is to initiate procreation, the death-to-birth ratio, and how the Japanese, at one point, believed that their emperor was a direct descendant of the kami.
Shinto’s experiential means is through unity with the kami. Since there is no “main” kami, but rather an infinite collection of spirits, unity with the kami is somewhat “easy” when compared to other religions. Whereas a Christian might think of a spirit as a soul, a kami is a spirit of a tree, animal, or even a m...
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Works Cited
Fridell, Wilbur M. "A Fresh Look at State Shinto." Journal of the American Academy of Religion 44.3 (1976): 547-61. JSTOR. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Kitasawa, Shinjiro. "Shintoism and the Japanese Nation." The Sewanee Review 23.4 (1915): 479-83. JSTOR. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Poole, Katherine J. Komenda. "Shintō Perspectives." Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Ed. Carl Mitcham. Vol. 4. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 1762-1765. World History in Context. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
"Shintoism." New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 13. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 85-87. World History in Context. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Teeuwen, Mark. "Tracing Shinto in the History of Kami Worship: Editors' Introduction." Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 29.3/4, Tracing Shinto in the History of Kami Worship (2002): 195-207. JSTOR. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Junko Habu, Ancient Jomon of Japan: Case Studies in Early Societies (Cambridge University Press. 2004)
Analysis: Shinto: The Way Home’s organization is quite useful because it moves in chronological order and it leads the reader in a way that allows for understanding the most unrelatable Ideas of Shintoism. The book uses many Japanese terms and names that may lead confusion for the audience as they have to learn the vocabulary to understand many of the statement Kasulis uses. Kasulis also lack an argument through most of this work and he seems to focus on supplying information as accurately as possible. The author discusses a variety information pertaining to Shintoism making it useful
Image and Text.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 33.2 (2006): 297-317. Jstor. 12 Oct 2011.
24 Amore, Roy C. and Julia Ching. The Buddhist Tradition. In Willard G. Oxtoby, Ed. World Religions: Eastern Traditions. P. 221
Ogawa, D. (1993) The Japanese of Los Angeles. Journal of Asian and African Studies, v19, pp.142-3.
Shinto or “the way of the gods,” is one of the oldest religious beliefs. A large part of the Shinto beliefs have to do with regular catastrophes, animals, and plants. Over time Shinto has changed to keep up more with present day and the developing world, yet Shinto’s major ideals are still the same and is not any different than it was in 6 B.C.E. Shinto has had to change to keep up with the different emperors and world events so as not to disappear. Today a considerable amount of Japanese culture, like dance, writing, and music come from the religion and individuals can see Shinto’s mark on Japanese
21 Pitts, Forrest R., Japan. p. 113. -. 22. Davidson, Judith. Japan- Where East Meets West, p. 107.
There are many regions that entail the belief of a spirit transcending into a place of serenity. One religion that focuses on transcending is Shintoism. Shintoism is a religion of Japanese origin that devotes its belief in spirits of natural forces. This is expressed by the meaning of Shinto, which means “the way of Kami.” A kami is a divine being or spirit in the religion such as the Emperor who was believed to be a sun goddess. In the movie, Spirited Away, Shintoism is expressed by Chihiro finds purity through the use of liminal process. Liminal Process are the steps needed to allow an individual to pass the threshold of the Earthly world to the Spiritual realm. These steps are similar to the way an alcoholic would reach sobriety.
Japan has been a home for Shinto and Buddhist religions for centuries. The Christian missionaries during the 16th, 19th and 20th centuries worked hard to evangelize the Japanese nation but could not get desired success. There efforts in past failed partly due to sanctions imposed by the local rulers. The Jesuits missionaries traveled with Spanish and Portuguese traders to many areas of America and Asia-Pacific and established their churches and religious missions. They were funded, sponsored and trained by their respective governments in order to spread Christianity. At several places they preached the Christian faith by force but the aboriginal population did not accept it wholeheartedly. Initially the Jesuits targeted the elite class of the country and a large number was converted. The rulers also forced their subject to embrace the same faith. About 300,000 Japanese were converted in the first phase. Later on, Christianity was prohibited as the rulers started seeing them as a threat to their authority. Following a change of regime, the ban was lifted and missionaries were again allowed to enter Japan. Like many Native American tribes, the Japanese also resisted the new religion. As a result, presently Christians form only 1% of the total population in Japan. This paper is focused on how the Christian religion was introduced in Japan, the evolution of evangelism, establishment of churches, the restrictions and hurdles faced by the missionaries and priest of the new religion and the response of Japanese nation towards an alien faith. All these queries are answered in detail given as follows.
The origins of Shinto and Judaism are rich in history, yet it is the steadfast strength of their belief systems that are most fascinating. While the beliefs of most religions will evolve with time, the core beliefs of these two religions seem impervious to the cultural and generational changes in modern times. In fact, their belief systems seem to be the very foundations of which their cultures were originally built upon In exploring the completely diverse beliefs of Shinto and Judaism, an appreciation for the longevity of each is undeniable.
Japan has many myths believed to be true by the Japanese culture. Such as: "You can tell a person's character from their blood type". The Japanese creation myth starts off with brother and sister gods Izanagi and Izanani. They dipped a spear into the churning sea and when they pulled it out the drops that fell on the water surface became the islands of Japan. Next the sun goddess Amaterasu, was created and was soon sent to heaven to rule over the world. She some time ago left the universe in darkness and chaos. Amaterasu sent her grandson to calm Japan, giving him the sacred mirror, sword, and jewel, which became imperial motifs.
and what does this religion consist of? Shinto is an world religion.The world shinto represents the saying way of gods.In comparison to other religions shintoism is focused with nature.(Morehead University). With this religion some may not know exist because around the world it’s not talked about gracefully or more like christianity. For example when finding this religion it left me in awe of what this religion is capable of ? and what I can obtain from this? But when this religion was first originated, it was within japan in 500 b.c.e . Holding the heart of shinto in japan archipelago (islands). Some religions hold an founder of the religion such as a person or a god but shinto is unique due to the belief of no founder because it was a mixture of tribal religions that make it up. Therefore without an founder it left this religion with no one to correctly guide them to beliefs . even though they had no one to guide them didn't mean they stopped there Shinto had put their beliefs in pursue teaching there 3-4 million followers is in the world that there is sacredness of which humans that can be in tune too not just the sacredness of the universe. They also teach that each mountain, river, plant, animal,and all the diverse phenomena of heaven and earth have spirits or kami, which inhabit them.Kami in this religion could also be seen as venerated dead person which they practice worshipping ancestors. They also believe in afterlife which looks like spiritual energy being released and then recycled at the time of
Brownlee, John S. 1997. Japanese Historians and the National Myths, 1600-1945: The Age of the Gods and Emperor Jinmu. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Deal, William E. 2006. Handbook to Life in Medieval and Early Modern Japan. Facts on File, Inc., 2006. eBook
One of the main reasons that the Shinto faith can be described as the goodness of human nature and very accepting of nature itself, is due to the religion’s belief in the kami. Since, kami are present in many different elements of our world, including nature, and the term kami encompasses the Shinto deities, it is fairly understandable that the Shinto would have a reverence towards nature and the well-being of nature. Therefore, the Shinto religion’s acceptance of all of nature is not that surprising due to the role of kami in their faith. Shinto being described as the goodness of human nature and of the world also has to do with the Shinto people’s belief in kami. The Shinto people have a very particular set of beliefs and values, all of which respect the kami. For this reason, the people who practice the Shinto religion are extremely aware of other people as well as their surroundings, making them very conscientious of others; thus, allowing the Shinto religion to be described as the goodness of human nature and of the world. Consequently, one of the Shinto religion’s main beliefs, a belief in kami, as well as some of the other aspects of the Shinto religion, has influenced the religion so much that the Shinto faith is both accepting of all of nature, while also being described as the goodness of human nature and of the