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Last Update Feb. 26, 2008
Added Deities Kojin & Zao Gongen
SHINTO - THE WAY OF THE GODS
Native Animistic Folk Religion of Japan
Shrine = Shinto Temple = Buddhism
Belief in spirits who can bring both good and evil.
The modern community-based folk religion of Japan.
Belief that all natural objects are inhabited by spirits (kami).
Many Shinto deities in Japan have taken on Buddhist attributes.
Many Buddhist deities in Japan have taken on Shinto attributes.
SHINTO MENU
Intro  | Shrines | Concepts | Holy Places | Terminology
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SHINTO DEITIES
Dragon
Dosojin
Ebisu
Hachiman
Henge
Kappa
Kitsune (Fox)
Kojin (Kitchen God)
Magatama
Oinari (Fox)
Ookuni-Nushi-no-Kami
Seven Lucky Gods
Shishi (Lion)
Shi Shin
Susano-o no Mikoto
Tanuki
Tengu
Zao Gongen
Shinto
Concept Guide
Shinto
Shrine Guide
Includes shrine
types and sect
classifications
Sacred Shrines
Holy Mountains
Shinto
Terminology
Spirits, sacred incantations, and superstitions are the specialties of Shinto shrines, while sculpture and funeral rites are the forte of Buddhist temples. The lover of sculpture is therefore advised to plan accordingly.
The main Shinto rites and festivals are for celebrating the New Year, child birth, coming of age, planting and havest, weddings, and groundbreaking ceremonies for new buildings. Death, funerals, and graveyards involve Buddhist rituals, not Shinto. Most national holidays in modern Japan are Shinto in origin.
Unlike Buddhism, whose deities are generally genderless or male, the Shinto tradition has long revered the female element. The emperor of Japan, even today, claims direct decent from Amaterasu, the Shinto Sun Goddess.
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HISTORICAL NOTES
SHINTO. Literally "The Way of the Gods."
Shinto is the ancient native religion of Japan still practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism. In its present form, Shinto is characterized less by religious doctrine or belief, than by the observance of popular festivals and traditional ceremonies and customs, many involving pilgrimages to shrines. Shinto, a term created to distinguish the indigenous religion from Buddhism, is the equivalent of the Japanese kami-no-michi, "the way of the gods." Shinto's places of worship are called "Shrines," while Buddhist places of worship are called "Temples." <above paragraph quoted from "The Columbia Encyclopedia">
Shinto existed centuries before the introduction of Buddhism to Japan (the latter arrived in Japan around the 6th century AD via China and Korea). Since then the two have interwoven intimately. Even today, Shinto shrines are found within Buddhist temples; the two continue to share deities despite earlier and aggressive government attempts to divide Japanese Buddhism and Shintoism into two distinct camps.
No Sculptural Tradition
Shinto can be traced back to at least the Yayoi Period (300 BC). Interestingly, Shinto deities were not given anthropomorphic characteristics until the appearance of the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan, the "Nihongi"), one of Japan's earliest official records, compiled around 720 AD. Together with the Kojiki, another court-sponsored document of that time, the two were commissioned by Japan's leaders to demonstrate to the Chinese Emperor that the Yamato Dynasty (aka Japan) had a long and distinguished history -- thereby proving that Japan was a sovereign kingdom. In the process, however, it appears that the creators of these documents made up the names of 28 Japanese sovereigns, starting with the first emperor, Jimmu Tenno ("he who ascended from heaven"). These 28 rulers are probably fictional, although there are many Japanese who will argue otherwise.
Prior to the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki, there was no tradition of Shinto sculpture. The lack of Shinto sculpture until around the 8th century AD is in stark contrast to Buddhism. Buddhism originated in India around 500 BC, then found its way to Japan many centuries later via Korea and China). Under Buddhism, the artistic impulse of mainland Asia blossomed for nearly 500 years before reaching Japan. By the 6th century, when Buddhism finally arrives in Japan, the volume of Buddhist paintings, sculptures, and temples in India, Southeast Asia, Tibet, China, and Korea is already impressive.
Shinto Overshadowed by Buddhism
The introduction of Buddhism to Japan immediately sparked the interest of Japan's ruling elite, and within a century Buddhism became the state creed, quickly supplanting Shinto as the favorite of the Japanese imperial court (Mahayana Buddhism was the form favored by the court). Buddhism brought new theories on government, a means to establish strong centralized authority, a system for writing, advanced new methods for building and for casting in bronze, and new techniques and materials for painting -- and it allowed Japan to gain the benefits of joining the larger cultural sphere of mainland Asia.
Greatly affected by the new religion, Imperial Prince Shotoku (574-622 AD) institutionalized Buddhism as a state religion and built many great temples such as Horyuji in Nara Prefecture and Shiten'noji in Osaka. Many Buddhist temples today have a hall in which Prince Shotoku is enshrined in homage of his achievements. His portrait was printed, until recently, on Japan's 10,000-yen bills. <above and below text adapted in part from writings of Kondo Tadahiro; used with permission>
BLENDING OF SHINTO AND BUDDHIST TRADITIONS
By the 7th century, the Japanese court had aggressively accepted Buddhism, not only as a religious vehicle promising salvation for the upper classes, but also as an instrument to consolidate state power. Around the 8th century, Shinto traditions begin to imitate and blend with Buddhist influences. The Shinto-Buddhist syncretism of the period was actually formalized and pursued based on a theory called honji suijaku. The process of blending Buddhism with Shinto progressed uninterrupted, and by the Heian Period (794-1185), Shinto deities came, among some Shinto sects, to be recognized as incarnations of Buddha deities. One notable example is a syncretic movement that combined Shinto with the teachings of Shingon (Esoteric) Buddhism. This school believed that Shinto deities were manifestations of Buddha divinities. The Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu, for example, was identified with Mahavairocana (Dainichi Nyorai), the Great Sun Buddha.
Another great center of Shinto/Buddhist merging was the syncretic Tendai shrine-temple multiplex located at Mt. Hiei (Shiga Prefecture, near Kyoto), which came to prominence around the same time as Shingon Esoteric Buddhism. By the 9th century, Buddhist temples were constructed alongside Shinto shrines on many sacred mountains, epitomized by the powerful Tendai multiplex on Mt. Hiei and by the holy places throughout the Kumano mountain range. The native Shinto kami (deities) residing on these peaks were considered manifestations of Buddhist divinities, and pilgrimages to these sites were believed to bring double favor from both their Shinto and Buddhist counterparts. Another major center of syncretism was the Kasuga shrine (outside link) in Nara. The number of deities proliferated. Despite earlier resistance, syncretism was relatively smooth and marked by religious tolerance .
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 NOTE: The Tendai shrine-temple multiplex on Mt. Hiei is a prime example of the syncretic merging of Buddhist and Shinto deities in Japan. The idea of KAMI as Gohoujin 護法神 (guardian deities of the Buddhist doctrine) was a common element in the Heian period. This Shinto-Buddhist syncretism was actually formalized and pursued based on a theory called Honji Suijaku 本地垂迹, with the Buddhist deities regarded as the honji (original manifestation) and the Shinto kami as their suijaku (incarnations). Another similar term denoting the association between Buddhas and Kami is Shinbutsu Shuugou (神仏習合). Furthermore, one resource identifies the "honji" of Sannou (Mountain King) as Ichiji Kinrin Butchou (the central Buddha of the "Court of the Perfected" (Jp. Soshitujibu). By the late 12th century, the Mt. Hiei shrine-temple complex formed a well developed honji suijaku 本地垂迹 complex (syncretic merger of both Buddhist and Shinto practice).
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Brief History of Shinto from Kamakura Era to Edo Era
In the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), Shinto was emancipated to some degree from Buddhist domination by Japan's new military dictators (the Kamakura shogunate), and Shinto groups themselves proclaimed that Shinto divinities were not incarnations of the Buddha, but rather that Buddha himself was a manifestation of the Shinto deities. At the time, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (in Kamakura) was a notable example of both Shinto and Buddhism elements. It was a prime example of the syncretism of Yoritomo Minamoto (1147-1199), the founder of Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, and his claim to the lineage of the Imperial Family. Nevertheless, during this period, Buddhism was still the favorite of the ruling classes, and Shintoism did not grow in any appreciable form.
Buddhism itself experienced a flowering during the Kamakura Era, most notably with the emergence of new Buddhist sects determined to bring salvation to the illiterate commoner. Indeed, during the Kamakura Era, we see the emergence of three sects -- Nichiren, Jodo, and Zen Buddhism -- each largely developing upon older Chinese teachings, each expressing concern for the salvation of the ordinary person, each stressing pure and simple faith over complicated rites and doctrines. Prior this this, Buddhism was almost exclusively the faith of the court and upper classes. The emergence of these new sects devoted to the commoner helped to popularized three Buddhist deities -- Amida Nyorai, Kannon Bosatsu, and Jizo Bosatsu. Amida for the coming life in paradise, Kannon for salvation in earthly life, and Jizo for salvation from hell. Today, these three Buddhist deities still form the bedrock of Buddhism for the commoner. The trio are especially important to followers of Pure Land Buddhism. Kannon, meanwhile, holds an exalted status among followers of the Nichiren sect.
Shinto remained largely in the shadows until a small revival in the 17th century, when the Tokugawa Shogunate came to power. The new shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, tried to counteract the power of the Hongwan-ji Buddhist temples by reviving the Shinto faith. Nonetheless, by the Edo Period, when Japan turned inward, pursuing a policy of isolation from its neighbors that lasted nearly two centuries, Tokugawa's small Shinto revival had fizzled out.
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Abolish the Buddha, Smash Shakamuni -- Meiji Era
Despite its reduced status at the imperial court between the 6th to 19th centuries, Shinto survived and thrived in the shadows of the Buddhist advance. When Shinto was co-opted by the Meiji rulers in the late 19th century, it quickly supplanted Buddhism. In line with government sponsorship and funding of State Shinto -- which emphasized emperor worship -- the Meiji government turned its ire on the powerful Buddhist monasteries. By decree, fiat, and force, the Meiji government proceeded to break up the great Buddhist estates. The powerful temples, forced by law to cut their Shinto ties, and harassed on all sides by new laws and estate taxes, were soon stripped of their lands and artistic treasures. Government attempts to destabilize Buddhism contributed to the anti-Buddhist riots of the late 1860s, when popular sentiment turned against Buddhism, portraying it as a foreign cult of corruption and decadence. In some areas, notably Satsuma, raging mobs burned down temples and decapitated statues. These anti-Buddhist riots are referred to as Haibutsu Kishaku (廃仏稀釈), which literally means "Abolish the Buddha, Smash Shakamuni."
Some lament the great pillaging and pilfering that occurred in the late Meiji period, when many wonderful temple treasures were sold off at rock-bottom prices, with many pieces finding their way into the hands of Western collectors and museums. The once-powerful Buddhist monasteries of Japan became mere shadows of their former selves. Much of their old-world glory was lost, sold to the cheapest bidder.
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By the start of the Meiji Era (1868), Japan was forced to end decades of isolation. The "black ships" of Commodore Perry convinced the Meiji leaders to open Japan's doors to Western culture, commerce, and technology. Japan enthusiastically entered a race to modernize and thus to block the colonization of its islands. As part of its modernization strategy, the Meiji government pursued a system of state-sponsored Shintoism focused on emperor worship. Emperor worship became the new state creed, and Shintoism was easily co-opted by the government and used to galvanize the nation into building a modern military, administrative, and educational state. This strategy, in their minds, required the forced separation of Shintoism and Buddhism. This in turn required the dismantling of Japan's powerful Buddhist clans. For more on the dismantling of Japan's Buddhist estates, please see:
"Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art"
by Ernest F. Fenollosa, published by ICG Muse Inc.
ISBN 4-925080-29-6. English. Originally published in 1912, but new edition in 2000. Perhaps one of the best books to date on Buddhist sculpture. Highly recommended.
After the Meiji Imperial Restoration of 1868, the Emperor regained imperial sovereignty (replacing the shogunate), and the new government institutionalized Shinto as the official state religion while implementing restrictive policies against Buddhism and other religions, including Christianity. Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (in Kamakura) had to remove or thrown away all structures and objects associated with Buddhism. The Emperor turned living god, and those who dared to gaze directly at the divine Emperor were subject to arrest. Some critics say that wartime Japan was more fascist than today's North Korea, since Kim Jong Il was never divinitized. Today's emperor is no longer a god, of course, but the Japanese Constitution still defines the emperor as "symbol of the state and of the unity of the people." Shinto, moreover, continues to this day to be the religion of the Imperial Family, and traditional Shinto rituals take place regularly in the Imperial Palace. The influence of this can be seen in Japan's modern national holidays -- many originate in Shinto rituals. <above paragraph by Kondo Tadahiro>
In Japan today, both Shinto and Buddhist practice among the common folk has taken on an air of "this-worldly benefits" (concrete rewards now; Jp. = 現世利益, Genze Riyaku). To many Japanese, Shinto and Buddhist faith is primarily involved with petitions and prayers for business profits, the safety of the household, success on school entrance exams, painless child birth, and other concrete rewards now, in this life.
BELOW COURTESY OF:
www.jinjapan.org/museum/shinto/about_shinto.html
Originally the Shinto tradition had no custom of making anthropomorphic images, but this was to a certain extent begun after the 8th century, in imitation of Buddhism and under the influence of the so-called honji suijaku theory of Shinto-Buddhist syncretism. Written records tell of Shinto images being carved in the latter half of the 8th century, but the earliest extant examples date from the 9th century (early Heian period). A feature distinguishing them from Buddhist images is the existence of both male and female images.
There is also a notable absence of set iconographic principles of the type which governed the production of Buddhist images. In many cases they are multicolored, and were made to imitate the clothing and hair styles of specific men and women of the court aristocracy of the time. Shinto images dating from the 9th century that were strongly influenced by contemporary Buddhist sculpture are found at Toji Temple in Kyoto, Matsunoo Taisha Shrine in Kyoto, and Yakushiji Temple in Nara. In the Kamakura period, several realistic and humanly appealing Shinto images were produced, including Kaikei's portrait sculpture of the Shinto deity Hachiman in the guise of a Buddhist monk (a noted example of shugo bijutsu, a blend of Shinto and Buddhist iconography) at Todaiji Temple in Nara and the portrait of Tamayorihime-no-mikoto found at Yoshino Mikumari Shrine in Nara Prefecture.
Roof of Shinto Shrine in Yamanakako
with Buddhist symbol at apex; this symbol means
the shrine follows both Shinto and Buddhist traditions
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Ryobu Shinto means dual Shinto. This is a term used to refer generally to Shinto as syncretized with Buddhism, and specifically to that syncretic Shinto as interpreted by Shingon Buddhism (see Shingon Shinto below), in contrast to Tendai Shinto. If the shrine has a plaque on it's gate, it is Ryobu Shinto, which means Shinto influenced by Buddhism. Because Buddhism and Shinto have coexisted in Japan for hundreds of years, they have had strong influences on each another, even lending each other gods, and altering the way each is practiced.
Shingon Shinto
Also called Ryobu Shinto, an interpretation of Shinto according to the doctrines of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. In the esoteric Shingon sect, the unity of the metaphysical world with the phenomenal and natural world is explained via the dualistic principles of the Kongokai (vajradhatu or diamond world) and Taizokai (garbhadhatu or womb world). See Ryokai Mandala for many more details. According to this interpretation, the relative is equivalent to the absolute and phenomenon is equivalent to noumenon. This principle was extended to assert that the native Japanese deities are equivalent to the Buddhist deities; for example, Amaterasu Omikami is viewed as equivalent to Dainichi Nyorai (Mahavairocana). This school of thought was said to have been initiated by Kukai (773-835), the founder of the Shingon sect in Japan, but it is in fact a later development. Kukai was, however, a strong believer in Shinto deities, and established the shrine Nibutsuhime Jinja as the tutelary deity of Koyasan, the mountain monastery which he founded. Other terms for the blending of Shinto with Buddhism are honji suijaku and shinbutsu shugo.
Theory of original reality and manifested traces. A theory of Shinto-Buddhist syncretism. Originally a Buddhist term used to explain the Buddha's nature as a metaphysical being (honji) and the historical figure Sakyamuni (suijaku). This theory was used in Japan to explain the relation between Shinto gods and Buddhas; the Buddhas were regarded as the honji, and the Shinto gods as their incarnations or suijaku. Theoretically, honji and suijaku are an indivisible unity and there is no question of valuing one more highly than the other; but in the early Nara period, the honji was regarded as more important than the suijaku. Gradually they both came to be regarded as one; but in the Kamakura period, Shintoists also proposed the opposite theory, that the Shinto gods were the honji and the Buddhas the suijaku. This theory was called han-honji-suijaku setsu or shinpon-butsuju setsu.
Meaning: Avatar, or Shinto Kami as Manifestations of Buddhist Deities
More on Honjisuijaku
Ancient Shinto did not bother to erect shrines until the 3rd and 4th century. Not until the country was unified under the Yamato in the 4th century did Shinto begin to acquire a clear hierarchical structure with the Yamato gods and high-priest emperor at top and local gods at bottom. The first known Japanese histories were efforts to legitimize the imperial line by merging myths and legends concerning local ujigami with the Yamato mythology. No Shinto doctrine as such, however, was postulated until the mid-Heian HONJISUIJAKU doctrine stipulating that Shinto gods were really manifestations of Buddhist deities, thereby linking indigenous beliefs to Buddhist teachings.
In feudal and early-modern periods, a number of sects emerged professing an independent and pure Shintoism, including Ise, Yoshida, and Fukko Shinto. But in Meiji period, the government makes determined efforts to promote emperor worship and all the trappings of Shinto, so local shrine teachings and festivals were brought into line with the national doctrine, and local priests lost the authority to do much except conduct ceremonies.
Shinbutsu Shugo
The harmonization of Shinto, the native Japanese religion, with Buddhism, which came from India via China. According to Buddhist doctrine, a person who has done good may become a deva after death, living in heaven, encouraging humans to do good, and acting as a protector of Buddhism. When Buddhism was introduced to Japan (around 538 AD, other sources say 552 AD), the word deva was translated in Japanese not only as Ten 天, but also as kami, in order to facilitate the propagation of the new religion among the common people. This process of syncretization became particularly conspicuous during the Nara period. Before constructing the Big Buddha at the Todaiji in Nara (741), Emperor Shomu first commanded the priest Gyoki to report the plan to the goddess at Ise no Jingu and to make an offering of relics of the Buddha; Buddhist scriptures were also offered to the Usa Hachiman Shrine. Syncretic practices such as building shrines on temple grounds and pagodas in shrine precincts, and of reading Buddhist scriptures before Shinto deities or presenting them to shrines, all continued until the two religions were forcibly separated in the early Meiji period (shinbutsu bunri 神仏分離). The theory of honji suijaku was developed during the Heian period to explain this relationship and propagated through such movements as Shingon Shinto and Tendai Shinto. Shinto develops close ties with Shingon and Tendai Buddhism during the Heian period.
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SHINTO HISTORY
Below Text Courtesy of Kondo Tadahiro
http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~QM9T-KNDU/shintoism.htm
Used with permission. This abridged version includes some interesting comments about corruption within modern Shinto.
Shinto is native to Japan, its roots stretching back to 500 BC. It is a polytheistic faith that venerates almost any natural object, ranging from mountains, rivers, water, rocks, trees, to dead notables. In other words, it is animism. Natural wonders make the Japanese believe, out of awe or reverence, that such wonders are created by a mighty, supernatural power(s), and that the spirits of deceased beings dwell in such objects. Also great warriors, leaders and scholars are often divinized. Thus anything, even the rotten head of a sardine, can be deified (so goes a cynical saying). To dedicate to those diverse deities, shrines were erected in a sacred spots throughout Japan. Among natural phenomena, the sun is most appealing to the Japanese, and the Sun Goddess is regarded as the principal deity of Shinto, particularly by the Imperial Family. We Japanese call our nation "Nippon" in Japanese. It literally denotes "the origin of the sun." The Japanese national flag is simple, one red disk in the center, and it symbolizes the sun.
According to Japanese mythology, the goddess of the sun and the ruler of heaven is named Amaterasu, and she is believed to be the legendary ancestor of the current Imperial Family. Legend asserts that she was once so offended by the misdeeds of her brother that she came down to the earth and hid in a cave. The universe was plunged into pitch darkness and evil thrived. The gods and goddesses gathered near the cave to talk about how to get her out. They held a party and a goddess began to dance in front of the cave, causing the crowd to roar with delight. As she whirled about, her clothes fell off, drawing cheers from the other gods. Curious about the fuss, Amaterasu peeked out from behind a giant rock blocking the cave's entrance. The dancing goddess held up a mirror and said, "We are dancing to celebrate the new goddess." Amaterasu came out to see the new goddess, but what she saw was her own reflection. A powerful being grabbed her out and told her never to hide again.
The emperor of modern Japan is Emperor Akihito, who is said to be the 125th direct descendant of Emperor Jinmu, Japan's legendary first emperor and a mythical descendent of Amaterasu. Though not often referred to today, the Japanese calendar year starts from 660 BC, the year of his accession. The reigning emperors since then are considered to be the direct descendants of the Sun Goddess and are revered as living gods. When the Pacific War was imminent in 1940, the fascist government even boasted that it was the year 2600, to exalt the national prestige, and it even made a song cerebrating the 2600th year.
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In general, Shinto has no canon or written scriptures like the Bible or the Koran, although ceremonial prayers -- called norito (a formulary statement addressed to the deity) -- are chanted by shrine priests. The scholar Motoori Norinaga says that "norito" are sacred incantations by which humans can address the gods, while others say norito are commands issued by the gods to humans. Most Shinto shrines house sacred objects such as mirrors (the symbol of the Sun Goddess), swords and jewels (those three objects are the imperial regalia) on the altar where the gods are believed to reside, and the objects serve as spirit-substitutes for the gods.
Shinto is also, generally speaking, the religion of rituals and ceremonies for purification and exorcism, which can often be observed among Japan's corporate groups. Whenever a new factory manager is appointed, for example, he traditionally has to visit three places -- (1) mini-shrine installed at a cozy corner of the factory grounds, where he says a prayer for safety during his term of office; (2) must go to central labor union of factory to say hello and; (3) must visit local fishermen's association, as factories are usually located near the seacoast and likely to pollute the seawater with effluent.
At the ground-breaking ceremony or at the start-up of a new facility, be it a high-tech or a smoke-stack industry, a Shinto priest is always invited to perform the purification and exorcism rituals. Those are common Shinto-related customs practiced at any manufacturing plant in Japan. In the case of Toyota Motors, for example, top executives play out corporate rituals every autumn at the Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture, the spiritual home of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu -- here they unveil their newest models, making the three-hour drive from their headquarters near Nagoya. Shinto is thus firmly embedded in today's corporate society.
The Yomiuri Shimbun, a leading daily newspaper in Japan (circulation around 10 million), once reported that a bogus organization billing itself as an association of Shinto priests, made a lucrative business out of sending retired workers disguised as priests to new building sites in Tokyo to conduct ground-breaking ceremonies. The fake priests were dispatched on hundreds of occasions over three years, charging 40,000 yen per visit (each visit lasting only an hour or so). Of the 40,000-yen payment, the "priest" earned about 10,000 yen, with the group receiving the remainder. To work officially as a priest, an individual must receive an appointment from the "Association of Shinto Shrines," and yet there is no certification or qualification system.
We sometimes see the raging controversy over the governments' attitude toward Shinto when they followers donate money to shrines as offerings. A prefectural governor once paid 166,000 yen of taxpayers' money on 22 occasions between 1981 and 1986 to Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which enshrines Japan's 2.6 million war-dead, including World War II Class-A criminals such as the wartime prime minister. The payments were made to cover the Tamagushi fee. Tamagushi is a sprig of Cleyera orchnacca with attached white paper-strips (called "shide"), used by Shinto priests at ceremonies. A citizen's group filed a lawsuit in 1982 against the governor, charging that the payment of public funds to the Shinto shrine was unconstitutional. Article 20 of the Constitution stipulates that the state and its organs shall refrain from religious education or any other religious activity. A lawyer for the defendants said that the small cash offerings to the shrine represented condolences and were a "humanitarian courtesy" to the 2.6 million war-dead. In April 1997, Japan's Supreme Court ruled that the donation violated the Constitution. The ruling was supported by 13 judges of the 15-member Grand Bench of the Supreme Court.
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What Isn't Shinto?
Unlike Buddhism or Christianity, Japanese Shintoism has no founder, no sutras, no body of law, no closely knit organization or priesthood (there are no nuns). There is no Shinto heaven or afterlife, no orthodox moral code -- only the social etiquette of the community and some ideas borrowed from Confucian (Chinese) philosophy. The Shinto universe is amoral and indifferent. Virtue is not always rewarded, nor is evil always punished.
Shinto priests do not follow any path toward self-realization or enlightenment. Their sacred incantations are given in an old language no longer comprehended by the laity. The Imperial Family and its earlier enforced system of emperor worship essentially denies independence to Japan's local shrines. Priests may, on occasion, serve as counselors, but their main obligations nowadays are to act as intermediary between the gods and the people (the local community), to perform shrine rituals, and to attend to the local shrine deity (kami, which can be a god or goddess or deceased person who has attained divine status). To work officially as a priest, an individual must receive an appointment from the "Association of Shinto Shrines" -- but there is no certification or qualification system. This situation does not irk the Japanese worshipper or casual shrine vistor. To them, this is the "way of the kami." Emperors and rulers may come and go, but the Japanese people and their nature will remain constant. All life forces have rough and gentle natures, all are demanding and then forgiving. The underlying nature of the people does not change, the underlying "nature of nature" does not change.
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