SHINTOISM

SHINTOISM
•It is an Ancient religion of Japan. It started
at least as long ago as 1000 B.C.E. but is still
practiced today by at least five million
people.

• The word "Shinto" means the way of the

Gods.
• The Shintoism belief can also be
categorized as animism because the
Shintoism itself tells that rocks, trees, rivers,
animals, places, and even people can be
said to possess the nature of Kami. Kami
and people exist within the same world and
share its interrelated complexity.
 What is “Kami”?
• "Kami" is the being that the Shintoism believes,
but the word, if translated in English, means
"Spirit".
• This means that Kami could literally be
dwelling in any objects according to Shinto
perspectives.
• Kami also have different names as addressed by
the followers of Shintoism.
SACRED TEXT OF SHINTOISM

• The holy books of Shinto are the Kojiki, which

means Records of Ancient Matters' (712 CE) and
the Nihon-gi or 'Chronicles of Japan' (720 CE).
• These books are compilations of ancient myths
and traditional teachings that had previously
been passed down orally.
 KOJIKI
- The Kojiki is one of the two primary sources for
Shinto, the Japanese national religion. It starts in the
realm of myth, with the creation of Japan from foam.
Innumerable gods and goddesses are described. The
narrative moves from mythology to historical legends,
and culminates in a chronology of the early Imperial
line. The book is densely footnoted, almost to the
point where the text is buried in apparatus. However,
even this cannot shroud the wonderful story-telling.
 Nihon shoki/Nihon-gi

- Nihon shoki, also called Nihon-gi, (“Chronicles

of Japan” as translated in English), text that,
together with the Kojiki, comprises the oldest
official history of Japan, covering the period from
its mythical origins to ad 697.
 GODS

• The Shintoism's belief can also be categorized as

an Animism belief (because of their ways of
worshipping animated objects, animals and even
people or Nature Spirit.) and they address their
Gods as Kami.
 DOCTRINES

• One of the doctrines of the followers Shintoism

is their strong belief in Kami, Which is believed
by them to literally anything.

• Kami comes in many names. One of them is

Amaterasu; The Goddess of Sun.
 NUMBERS OF FOLLOWERS

• According to the website, chartsbin.com, there

are 4 million people around the world that follow
the teachings of the Shintoism
 ISSUES OF SHINTOISM

(Reuters) - Japan's defense minister visited a

controversial shrine to Japan's war dead on
Thursday, just after accompanying Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe on a historic visit to Pearl
Harbor, where Japan's attack brought the United
States into World War Two.
Television footage showed a smiling Tomomi
Inada in a black jacket and skirt arriving at
Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japanese
who lost their lives in the country's wars,
including several leaders executed for war crimes.
• The Chinese and South Korea was triggered by this
and lead into voicing out their reactions regarding the
event.

• The South Korea's defense ministry called it

"Deplorable".

• "This not only reflects some Japanese people's

obstinately wrong view of history, it also forms a great
irony with the Pearl Harbor reconciliation trip," said Hua
Chunying, a spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry.
 SYMBOLS
The Torii gate is a religious symbol that is marked
at the entrance to a sacred space. This symbol
represents the transition between the finite world
and the infinite world of the gods. The Maneke
Neko is a ubiquitous beckoning cat. She is used as
a good luck charm that is found in many homes
and businesses in Japan.