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To the student: As the film you are about to see begins, there are many lovely images of the natural world in Japan. From earliest times, as you will hear, to Shintô believers "nature was whole; it was clean, and inherently good." Sin was seen as impurity, and evil as a disruption of the natural order. The word Shintô, "the way of the gods," was created to distinguish the native religion from the imported religion of Buddhism, which had more sophisticated doctrines and philosophy. Shintô was basically a religion of reverence and gratitude, an essential attitude that is still apparent today.

The kami, "gods" or "spirits," were the divine manifestations, tangible and unseen, of the beauties and goodness of the natural world. As you watch the film, keep in mind the aesthetic basis of much Shintô belief and ritual, but also note how it has dealt with change, with the challenge of Buddhism, and with the development of a modern, urban society.

Discussion Questions

1. What kinds of natural objects and sites are seen as kami in Shintô? What kinds of items are presented as offerings to the gods? What do these things tell you about Shintô views concerning man's position in the natural world?

2. The narrator explains that the earliest shrine architecture was based on the form of village granaries. Each cycle in the cultivation of rice is still associated with Shintô ritual. What do these facts indicate about the form of society in which Shintô first developed?

3. The national shrine at Ise, dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu, dates from the seventh century. It has been periodically rebuilt ever since, and is still reconstructed, using ancient building methods, every twenty years. Discuss this achievement in relation to Shintô ideas of permanence and renewal.

4. Ordinary worshippers normally do not enter a Shintô shrine, which is built to house the kami, or spirit of the shrine. Priests may enter, and serve as mediators between the gods and their parishioners. Compare this conception of worship with ideas about prayers, places of prayer, and the clergy in other religions.

5. In what ways, according to the film, did Shintô change in response to the influence of Buddhism? In what ways did it stay the same'?

6. How is Shintô a part of the daily lives of modern Japanese? How is this similar to--or different from--the role of religion in the daily lives of modern Americans?