CONTEMPORARY JAPAN: RELIGIONS Shinto |
| In addition to the traditional religions of Shinto and Buddhism, Japan is also home to more than 600 “new religions” (shinko shukyo), which incorporate Buddhist, Shinto, and Christian elements. In this video series, Harvard University professors Theodore Bestor and Helen Hardacre discuss the impact of religious values and traditions on Japanese life. |
Helen Hardacre :: Shinto is an indigenous religion of Japan. Its deities are called kami. The kami may be deified human beings — that is, ancient heroes. They may be the gods of ancient myth. They may be natural phenomena, such as a striking tree, a huge boulder, a waterfall. In some eras of history, the Emperor has been considered a kami. Shinto is a religion that’s restricted to Japan. It hasn’t tried to proselytize or make converts in other places. The institutions of Shinto are called shrines. There are hundreds, thousands of shrines in Japan today. Indeed, on every street corner of virtually every city, one can find a shrine. A shrine is typically a place which is a little piece of nature. Even in the cities, they are liable to be a place with trees, even if the surrounding area is all concrete. Natural symbols, such as trees, boulders, waterfalls, and other things are very important to the shrines. Theodore Bestor :: Even in the biggest cities in Japan, there are shrines everywhere. A neighborhood where I did research some years ago had a large shrine easily identifiable by the distinctive gate — it’s called a torii in Japanese, it’s of two cross-beams erected on a couple of pillars — which marks the outer boundary of the shrine. And inside the shrine (are) trees, potted plants, some boulders that had been brought there years ago, things that were reminiscent of nature. I think that in some ways Shinto has a certain reverence for nature. It doesn’t necessarily manifest itself throughout Japan, but at least in little enclaves of shrines, people try (to) bring something natural and consider it worth revering, if not actually worshipping. |
| Back to Asian Topics Home |
