Shinto
is the religion of “the kami way”. It is that religion
which centers upon establishing relations with kami. It is Japan’s
oldest religion and, indeed, one of the oldest extant anywhere.
Shinto later incorporated many elements from Buddhism; it was
not too difficult to see the many deities of the Buddhist pantheon
as kami. Shinto exists at all levels of society, from the village
to the imperial palace. While more than three thousand kami may
be listed, Amaterasu empowers the emperor and therefore the nation,
and is the supreme kami. In ancient times, a shamaness termed
the miko, would be the clan leader or an important member of the
imperial court. Her key ritual was to prepare herself so that
a kami might descend into her body and deliver an oracle through
her. Guidance would be sought from the kami on all matters, including
the most momentous events, such as when to plant, wage war or
make peace with the enemy.
Early
or pure Shinto is the form Shinto assumed before adopting important
elements from both Confucianism and Buddhism during the early
feudal period in Japan. As with all 'tribal' religions, Shinto
assumes that human beings are an integral part of the cosmos,
and all share a sacred nature which in Shinto is termed 'kami'.
Kami as sacred essence pervades everything in the universe, there
is thus no clear cut distinction between the animate and inanimate.
Kami also work through human beings, are essential for daily human
creativity and empower human kind to act on their behalf. Shinto
believed that in overview, life was good and therefore gratitude
was owed the kami. Secondly, there was a strong emphasis on ritual
purity and the exorcism of defilements which originate externally.
Evil is not a discrete state of being, nor a 'reality' but results
from a lack of harmony and beauty and can be corrected by performing
purification ceremonies.
The
Shinto Universe is three dimensional. The highest realm is 'The
Plane of the High Sky' and is where male and female kami reside.
The 'Manifest World' is where men, animate and inanimate beings
reside. The lowest realm ('The Nether World') is the habitation
of unclean and malevolent spirits. Kami were believed to come
from and return to mountains and islands. Spirits of the dead,
especially those of the nobility, could become kami.
