Shintō [ ʃ -, Sino-Japanese] der, -, Shintoism, Shintoism, Kami no michi [-mit ʃ i; Japanese “Way of the Kami (deities)”], the totality of the original religious ideas of the Japanese, which essentially emerged from the conscious experience of nature.
Mythology: According to aceinland, the Shintō is the autochthonous religion of Japan and is characterized by the worship of nature, the ancestors and the clan deities (Ujigami) common to the clans; Individual (particularly impressive) natural phenomena are viewed as the residences of certain gods and the ancestors are venerated as always existing and venerated in their communities (family, clan). The (numinous) character of the kami comes from nature, ancestors and godsto, d. H. the positively stimulating, creative energies of life. The number of kami is extremely large. The god Isanagi and the goddess Isanami are considered to be the creators of the sea, mountains and plants as well as Japan. Isanagi handed control of the sky to the sun goddess Amaterasu, and that of the night to the moon god Tsukijomi; he determined the storm god Susano-ō to be the lord of the sea. Amaterasu emerged victorious from the quarrel between these deities. She made her grandson Ninigi ruler of Japan. He is considered the divine ancestor of the dynasty that has ruled to this day. Their respective head is the Tenno (“ruler of heaven”).
Characteristics and Culture: General can be three types of Shinto distinguished: the Schreinshintō as official worship of Kami at shrines, the Sektenshintō since the 19th century (Shinto sects), whose members gather usually in churches and religious Cleaning ao Folk Shinto based on customs and the worship of domestic and field deities. The simple, emphasized aesthetic cult of Shintō (Matsuri) consists primarily of the offering of branches of the cherry tree and in food offerings as well as ritual prayers (Norito) and a number of festivals. The priests (Kannushi) are married; they often inherit their office. Her sacred clothing consists of a white robe and a black cap.
Ethics: Not in the sense of a theological system, but in the form of values, behavior and thought patterns, the Shintō had a formative influence on the Japanese people. Many Japanese practice both Shinto and the Buddhist faith. Ethics demands loyalty to one’s duty, honesty, self-control; it is summarized in the ideal of Magokoro (“pure heart”), d. H. a pure, sincere and humane disposition, and is particularly expressed in the Bushidō.
History: Sources for the old Shinto are the reports of the oldest annals Kojiki, Nihongi and the Fudoki since the 8th century. Shinto has seen many changes in its history. With the adoption of Confucianism, certain ideals of the tennotum took on a more solid form, and this was probably associated with the adoption of the Chinese term Shendao (Japanese Shintō) in the 6th century to distinguish it from Buddhism (Butsudo, “path of the Buddha”). After the penetration of Buddhism, the Ryōbu-shintō emerged in the course of the 8th and 9th centurieswho viewed the Shinto deities as manifestations of Buddhist deities in Japan. In the 13th century, Yoshida was looking for Kanetomo with his Yuiitsu-shintō (“sole Shintō”) to cleanse the Shintō of Buddhist elements again; On this basis, the Kokugaku scholars of the 18th century were able to reconsider. As a result, the Shinto was raised to the state cult in 1868 (Kokka or Jinjashinto), in addition to which the various Shinto sects remained as purely religious institutions. After the Second World War, on Allied orders from December 15, 1945, Shinto was banned as a state cult (mainly because of totalitarian-chauvinistic thoughts that had been associated with it) and thus its promotion by the Japanese state. Still today, over 90% of the Japanese officially feel that they belong to the Shinto, with over 70% of the population also considering themselves to be Buddhists.