Shintoism: Japanese Religion

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Shintoism
Shintoism originated from Japanese culture and remains the native religion of Japan. Shintoism is also one of the oldest religions in the world. The word “Shinto” is a generalized term for the activities the Japanese followers participates in to worship all the deities of heaven and earth. The word is derived from the meaning the “way of the higher spirits or gods” (Noss, D. & Grangaard, B., 290). Followers participate in these activities to abide by the “Way of Kami,” the way of the deities. The religious practices, underlying life attitudes, and ideologies of Shintoism developed mainly among the Japanese people and became more than just a religion because it was a religion influenced by culture. Shintoism’s popularity spread when Emperor Yomei prayed before Buddha asking him for recovery from his illness. This allowed for …show more content…

Although its origins are unknown, it is the oldest religion in Japan and one of the eldest in the world. Shintoism shaped Japanese culture greatly by influencing their art, music, and education. The ideologies of Shintoism are unique to the religion it self, except for the few that there are show similarities to the Buddhism from influences because of the religions co-existing. Other religions can learn from Shintoism because they believe in the fact that their Gods are not perfect’ therefore, because human beings are decedents from kami, they too are prone to making mistakes. Shintoism is also in touch with the natural world unlike other religions that separate themselves from nature by believing in a God and going to see him in church. Instead they could go out and look for their God or Gods in all things because everything possesses kami. Shintoism remains an interesting and complex religion because one cannot read sacred texts to discover more about Shintoism. Instead to be apart of Shintoism one must be one with the natural world and the

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