Shinto

1. SHINTO ("the Way of the Gods") Shinto Group B.R.A.M. Brittani Morris                  Ricky Phan April Espinoza                 Mary Nordine

2. Outline of Today's Presentation on Shinto E.Important Kami F. Musibu 3. What are the Key Tenets?     A. Purity (incl. Makoto)         I. As related to death     B. The Ten Precepts     C. The Four Affirmations     D. The Festivals     E. Cha Na Yo         I. Tea Ceremony         II. Way of Life 4. How to Apply Today?      A. Japanese New Religions / Shinko   B. Art & Culture   C. Pop Culture   D. Makoto     I. Ancient Tradition     II. Modern Practices **Activity  **Quiz  1. What is Shinto?     A. History         I. Japanese Culture         II. Creation Myth         III.The Kojiki     B. Types         I. Shrine Shinto         II. Imperial Household Shinto         III. Folk Shinto         IV. Sect Shinto         V. Old Shinto  2. Who are the "Major Players?"     A. The Gods: Kami     B. Shinto Priests         I. Interesting Shinto priest rituals         II. Miko             -Special Clothing     C.Shinto Shrines     D. Musubi         I. Diety Acheivement

3. What is Shinto? "Shinto is Japan's indigenous religion; a complex of ancient folk beliefs and rituals; basically animistic religion that perceives the presence of gods or of the sacred in animals, in plants, and even in things which have no life, such as stones and waterfalls" Shinto does not have a founder Established around 500 BCE                                                                                                                                April Espinoza 

4.        History of Shinto: Creation Myth                                                 Mary Nordine

5. The Kojiki • Oldest text in Japan • Written around the beginning of the 8th Century • Author: O no Yasumaro for Empress Gemmei • Contains myths about the beginnings of Japan Islands, & the Kami      Mary Nordine

6. Types of Shinto • Shrine Shinto (jinja-shintō) is the most prevalent of the Shinto types. It has always been a part of Japan's history and constitutes the main current of Shinto tradition. Shrine Shinto is associated in the popular imagination with summer festivals, good luck charms, making wishes, holding groundbreaking ceremonies, and showing support for the nation of Japan.  • Imperial Household Shinto (Kōshitsu-shintō) are the religious rites performed exclusively by the Imperial Family at the three shrines on the Imperial grounds, including the Ancestral Spirits Sanctuary (Kōrei-den) and the Sanctuary of the Kami (Shin-den) • Folk Shinto (minzoku-shintō) includes the numerous but fragmented folk beliefs in deities and spirits. Practices include divination, spirit possession, and shamanic healing. Some of their practices come from Taoism, Buddhism, or Confucianism, but most come from ancient local traditions.   April Espinoza

7. Types of Shinto continued • Sect Shinto ( shūha-shintō) is a legal designation originally created in the 1890s to separate government-owned shrines from local religious practices. They do not have shrines, but conduct religious activities in meeting halls. Shinto sects include the mountain-worship sects, who focus on worshipping mountains like Mount Fuji, faith-healing sects, purification sects, Confucian sects, and Revival Shinto sects. The remainder of Sectarian Shinto is New Sect Shinto.  • Koshintō (ko-shintō), literally "Old Shinto", is a reconstructed "Shinto from before the time of Buddhism", today based on Ainu and Ryukyuan practices. It continues the Restoration movement begun by Hirata Atsutane. * All these main types of Shinto and some subtypes have given birth to many and diverse schools and sects since medieval times to the present days.                                                              April Espinoza

8. The gods: Kami • Numerous & diverse: many phases meaning "8 million kami" • Everything on the earth is said to have an inner essence / diety aspect • Encompasses all aspects of nature: animals, nonliving things in nature, elements (wind, fire, rocks, etc) • Kami also includes ancestors.  Perhaps not originally, but over time has blended with Chinese / Buddhist practices. • Shrines are places that are meant to facilitate interaction / interface with the Kami.  They are also places of respect, prayer, and refletion. Mary Nordine

9. Shinto Priests - There only 25,000 Shinto priests working at Japan’s 80,000 Shinto shrines. -About 8 percent of them are women. - Men and women can become priests, and they are allowed to marry and have children. -Typical Shinto  Priest attends monthly rituals. -Black hat they wear is called  "Eboshi". Brittani Morris

10. Interesting Shinto Priest Rituals The Shinto priest at the shrine performs a purification ceremony and then children are give shitose-ame (thousand year candy) its colored red and white (the colors of luck and celebration), in long bags decorated with turtles and cranes. These are all symbols of longevity in Japan. Brittani Morris

11. Interesting Shinto Priest Rituals Shinto priests sometimes perform exorcism and purification rituals for new cars by opening up the doors, the hood and the trunk. - Shake haraigushi—pom-poms made from branch of a sacred sakaki tree with white linen or paper steamers attached—as a symbol of purification. -Feel pom poms are effective because "Demons don't like paper's hissing noise."  -Some Shinto shrines will even purify credit cards and telephone cards  Brittani Morris

12. Shinto Priests  Photo of Priest Exorcism Shinto Priest attempted to make car "NOT EVIL" Brittani Morris

13. Miko -"God's Child" - Miko are the assistants of the Shinto Priests & they wear special garments.- Miko wear white kimonos, must be unmarried, and are often the priests' daughters. - Perform kagura dance—in which miko twirl around a couple times and wave branches or white paper pom poms Brittani Morris

14. Shinto Shrines Shinto is practiced at shrines (jinja), which are most easily distinguished from Buddhist temples by the torii gates that mark the entrance (photo). Key elements of a Shinto shrine include water at the entrances used to wash the face and mouth, and decorations that show what is worshipped at the particular shrine.

15. Noteworthy Kami: Relation to Greek gods / mythology  Important Kami: Examples ~Amaterasu Omikami: Sun goddess ~Hachiman: god of war ~Susanoo-no-mikoto: Sea & storms god ~Omoikame- Diety of Wisdom ~Izanagi-no-mikoto: first man Notice how each god / goddess represents something (wisdom,war, god of the sea, etc.).  This is very much parallel with the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology.  Mary Nordine

16. Musubi  Musubi can be deifined a number of ways. Some say it is an attempt to directly communicate with the Kami, and that those who are able to do so have accomplished a great feat. Others say it is a kind of creativity within oneself. Musubi can also be defined as the ability to create another being.  In some versions of Shinto, women are said to have special Musubi because they can bear children. It can also be associated with certain gods and Kami figures that have powersof creation.  Mary Nordine

17. Makoto  -Shinto religion puts greta emphasis on sincerity and purity. -Makoto sincerity, truthful, conscientious. -An essential attitude -Many Shinto teachings revolve around "Makoto" "the sincere attitude of a person in doing his best in the work he has chosen or in his relationship with others, and the ultimate source of such a life-attitude lies in man's awareness of the divine." Brittani Morris

18. The concept of purity One of the most important virtues in Shinto. Two types of purity, Inner and Outer Purification of the inner self involves living before the kami in reverence and worship. The purification of the outer self involves the observance of various rites, among which are included rites for different stages in an individual's life, and festivals at various times of the year. Ricky Phan

19. Impurity  Death is considered to be impure.  Shinto considers Death to be impure and the ceremony is held buddhist style. There are virtually no Shinto cemeteries.  Ricky Phan

20. The Ten Precepts 1. Do not transgress the will of the gods. 2. Do not forget your obligations to ancestors. 4. Do not forget the profound goodness of the, gods, through which calamity and misfortunes are averted and sickness is healed. 5. Do not forget that the world is one great family. 6. Do not forget the limitations of your own person. 7. Do not become angry even though others become angry. 8. Do not be sluggish in your work. 9. Do not bring blame to the teaching. 10. Do not be carried away by foreign teachings.  Ricky Phan

21. The Four Affirmations • Tradition and the family: Understanding that family is the foundation for preserving traditions • Love of nature: Holding nature sacred • Ritual purity: Ritual bathing to spiritually and physically cleanse yourselves before entering a shrine to worship the kami. (In addition, festivals are held twice a year to drive out pollutants or impurities.) • Matsuri: Worshipping and honoring gods and ancestral spirits  Ricky Phan

22. Matsuri: The festivals •Kekkonshiki (Shinto Wedding) An Interesting Fact- Weddings will start at 3:30 even though invites states 3. They believe it is bad luck to start at the top of the hour. Gift Giving is not needed. They see money towards help paying for the ceremony a better gift than household goods that they probably have already. Gifts that are wrapped in beautiful envelopes are called “Goshugi.” The envelope is called a “Iwai-Bukuro.”  Ricky Phan

23. Seijin-no-hi (Coming of Age ceremony) A Japanese holiday held annually on the second Monday of January This ceremony congratulates and encourages all th ose who reach the age of 20 to celebrate their maturity. The Coming of Age Ceremony has been celebrated in Japan since 714 AD. In 1948 it became an official holiday. Government Officials will give speeches and gifts to those who turn 20 during the previous year. Ricky Phan

24. Hatsumode This is the first shrine visit of the New Year in Japan. Sometimes it is substituted by visiting a Buddhist Temple too. Often when returning to the temple, new O-Mamori's are bought, and the previous ones from the last year are burned. Houses are cleaned Debts are paid  Families are visited and gifts are exchanged and custom celebration food for the New Year is shared. A common tradition is receiving a Omikuji(oracle), if you recieve a bad Omikji, you can tie it to a tree on the shrine grounds in hope of the prediction not coming true. Ricky Phan

25. Miyamairi (Shrine Rite of Passage for Newborns) Approximately one month after birth, Parents and Grandparents bring the child to a Shinto Shrine. They express gratitude to the deities for the birth of a baby and have the priest pray for their health and happiness. At the end of the ceremony, rice wine in a ed wooden cup is given to each person in attendence, small gifts are often giving to the family. Shrines will charge around 5,000 to 10,000 Yen per baby. Ricky Phan

26. Kanamara Matsuri  -The Kanamara Matsuri ("Festival of the Steel Phallus") is held each spring at the Kanayama shrine in Kawasaki, Japan. The main festivities fall on the first Sunday in April. The penis, as the central theme of the event, is reflected in illustrations, candy, carved vegetables, decorations, and a parade. -The Kanamara Matsuri is centered around a local penis-venerating shrine once popular among prostitutes who wished to pray for protection from sexually transmitted diseases. It is said that there are also divine protections for business prosperity and for the clan's prosperity; and for easy delivery, marriage, and married-couple harmony. There is also a legend of a sharp-toothed demon (vagina dentata) that hid inside the vagina of a young woman and castrated two young men on their wedding nights. As a result, the young woman sought help from a blacksmith, who fashioned an iron phallus to break the demon's teeth, which lead to the enshrinement of the item. -Today, the festival has become something of a tourist attraction and is used to raise money for HIV research.                                             April Espinoza

27. Kanamara Matsuri video video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM7n6OQOvHs&feature=related

28. Cha No Yu: 'Hot Water for Tea' Tea ceremony -Tea first came to Japan in the 8th century, brought back by Japanese diplomats visiting China. Although tea may have been known in Japan before then, it is during the 8th century that we first have written records of it being served in Japan by the Emperor Shomu. -Also, during this time period, two Japanese monks, Kukai and Saicho, spent years studying Buddhism in China. -Tea drinking spread beyond the temple and the palace, becoming popular with warriors and aristocrats alike. -One consequence of this was that drinking tea began to lose its spiritual significance, and instead became associated with wild parties and tea drinking contests. April Espinoza

29. Cha No Yu cont'd - Tea master Sen Rikyu further elaborated on the etiquette of the tea ceremony,emphasizing the importance and difficulty of performing the ceremony to perfection. -He believed that the concentration and effort involved in conducting a tea ceremony was a type of meditation.  -By the end of the 16th century, the elaborate ritual known as the Japanese tea ceremony had been established. The tradition of chanoyu is still practiced in Japan today.                                                         April Espinoza

30. Cha No Yo (Tea Ceremony)

31. Alternative Perspectives Derived from Shinto • Shinshukyo: Japanese New Religions • also known as "Shinko" • More prevalance after WWII • Can involve a blending of Shinto, Buddhism, & Hindusm • Can be "cult-ish" and lead to religious extremism • Aum Shinrikyo • Sarin gas release on Tokyo subway in 1995 • Example in the Media • Disney's "Mulan" (1998) • Set in China • Dragon represents ancestors • Confucian aspects: Familial respect Mary Nordine

32. Shinto & Zen Buddhism: Art & Culture -Calligraphy -Shrine Architecture (Torii Gate) ( transition from the profane to the sacred) -Haiku (short form japanese poetry) -Zazen (Meditation also central for Zen Buddists) - Sesshin (Gathering of the Mind) Brittani Morris

33. Shinto in pop culture Upper left: Rising Sun(Izumi Yasunari)-DC comics Mid&upper right: Sunfire & Sunpyre, Marvel comics (X-MEN). lower left:Sailor Mars (Rei Hino)-Salior Moon cartoons. Middle: Mariko Yashida-Marvel comics, Wolverine's last fiancee. Mid right: Michiyo Watanabe-Marvel comics. Shinto characters in comic books/cartoons                                             April Espinoza

34. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes -Thousand origami cranes (千羽鶴, Senbazuru) is a group of one thousand origami paper cranes (鶴 tsuru) held together by strings. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury. The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise), and is said to live for a thousand years. In Japan, it is commonly said that folding 1000 paper origami cranes makes a person's wish come true.This makes them popular gifts for special friends and family. -The Thousand Origami Cranes has become a symbol of world peace through the story of Sadako Sasaki, a Japanese girl who tried to stave off her death from leukemia as a result of radiation from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II by making one thousand origami cranes, having folded only 644 before her death, and that her friends completed and buried them all with her.                  April Espinoza

35. -Her story is told in the book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Several temples, including some in Tokyo and Hiroshima, have eternal flames for World Peace. At these temples, school groups or individuals often donate Senbazuru (cranes) to add to the prayer for peace. The cranes are left exposed to the elements, slowly dissolving and becoming tattered as the wish is released. In this way they are related to the prayer flags of India and Tibet. -In Western countries, the custom has been extended from giving a senbazuru to cancer patients, to using them at funerals or on the grave. Sadako Sasaki memorial in Hiroshima April Espinoza

36. Eternal flame of peace, with cranes, in Toshogu shrine, Tokyo, Japan.             April Espinoza

37. Art of Shinto Origination: Origami  Origami is called ("Paper of the spirits") - Shinto incorporates the use of origami in their ceremonies -Samurai warriors would exchange gifts adorned with noshi, a sort of good luck token made of folded strips of paper -the Shinto men would celebrate weddings by wrapping glasses of sake or rice wine in butterfly forms that had been folded to represent the bride and groom." - Origami was also created and left outside shrines  -They never cut the origami paper out of respect for the tree spirit that gave its life to make the paper  -Origami has become a symbol of world peace and hope. (Thousand paper cranes) Brittani Morris

38. Origami Designs Brittani Morris

39. How To Make Origami! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U-pYvBNAQQ&feature=relmfu

40. Quiz Time! • What does the Shinto icon represent? (Mary Nordine) • What is the name of the hat      that the Shinto Priests wear?      (Brittani Morris)  3. Who is/are the founder(s) of Shinto?  .    (April Espinoza)  4. How many affirmations are there in Shinto? (Ricky Phan)

41. The Tori Gate: Marks the entrance into sacred space; a transition between the finite world and the infinite world of the Gods. Answer # 1

42. Eboshi Answer # 2

43. Shinto doesn't have a specific founder. Answer # 3

44. 1.Tradition & Family2. Love of Nature3. Ritual Purity4.Matsuri Answer # 4

45. Sources  'Cha No Yu'  http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/japanese-tea-history.html 'Kanamara Matsuri' http://www.2camels.com/kanamara-matsuri-festival.php "Miko","Wikipedia.com", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miko "Most Popular Origami Photos","Fobim.net",   http://www.fobim.net/other-photos/most-popular-20-origami-photos "Origami",SessionMagazine", http://www.sessionmagazine.com/origami/  "PhilippiCollection","Philippi-Collection.blogspot.com",  http://philippi-collection.blogspot.com/2011/02/headgear-of-japanese-shinto-priests.html Reader, Ian: Chronologies, Commonalities, and Alternative Statuses in Japanese New Religious Movements, Sept 2005, JSTOR 'Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes' http://gimundo.com/news/article/one-thousand-paper-cranes-for-peace-the-story-of-sadako-sasaki/; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadako_Sasaki 'Shinto-Bibliography'- http://science.jrank.org/pages/8080/Shinto.html#ixzz1d9teo84h  'Shinto Characters in Comic Books and Cartoons' http://www.comicbookreligion.com/?Religion=Shinto "Shinto","japan-guide.com", http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2056.html "Shinto Priest", "Old Photos of Japan", http://oldphotosjapan.com/photos/124/shinto-priest "Shinto Rituals in Word and Pictures","Nihonbunka.com", http://www.nihonbunka.com/shinto/shime.htm "Shinto Shrines, Priests, Rituals and Customs", "factsanddetails.com", http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?itemid=590&catid=16&subcatid=182 "The Seven Five Three Festival", "PersonaBlog",http://www.japanikuiku.com/65/seven-five-three-festival-shichi-go-san-matsuri/ 'Types of Shinto' http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/religion/shinto.html 'What is Shinto?' http://www.shinto.org/eng/brief-e.html

46. Any Questions? We'll do our best, and Dr. Lin will do the rest!