Confucianism and Shinto Yamazaki Ansai, like other Japanese Confucians, sought to combine Confucian principles with Shinto norms. He put forward a theory according to which the neo-Confucian li (not the old "li" of Confucius, i.e. ceremonies, ritual, but otherwise, neo-Confucian,

I recently watched Martin Scorsese's new film Silence. It dealt with the persecution of Christian missionaries in Japan. I was deeply touched by this film and after it ended, I began to wonder what religion is in Japan?

In which country is Shinto practiced?

Besides Buddhism, main religion in Japan is Shintoism. It is said that in Japan almost 8 million gods. And indeed it is. Japanese deities - kami, inhabit the whole the world. Each blade of grass, each pebble has its own spirit. Shintoism common only in Japan.
Exists multiple views on the origin of Shinto:

• Shinto has come from Korea;
• Shinto spread from China;
• Shinto was formed in Japan itself.

According to Shinto, the Japanese idolize everything that causes any emotion. It can be a bird, an animal, a mountain, or even a simple stone. This faith is an incredible thing. Here it is considered that human born of the gods and not created by them (as in Christianity). Shinto is life in harmony with nature. In my opinion this is mixture of paganism and Buddhism. In the 18th century, Shinto began to separate from Buddhism into a separate branch, although Buddhism remained the state religion until 1886.

Principles of Shinto

Philosophy of Shinto based on worship of natural phenomena. Gods of Japan who created people incarnate in the spirits of nature. Main Shinto principles are:

• Gods, people and spirits deceased coexist side by side because they all live in the cycle of reincarnations.
• If a man is pure and sincere sees the world as it is - he already lives right and not in vain.
• Evil- this is hatred and selfishness, violation of order in nature and society.

In Shinto there is many rituals and customs. It's believed that everything is in harmony: both nature and man. Gods- this is support man, they support and protect him from evil spirits. Today in Japan they work tens of thousands of temples where rituals are performed. Temples usually stand in places where beautiful nature. AT residential buildings also often installed altars for prayers and alms to the gods.

Shintoism

The complex process of cultural synthesis of local tribes with newcomers laid the foundations of Japanese culture proper, the religious and cult aspect of which was called Shintoism. Shinto (“way of spirits”) is the designation of the supernatural world, gods and spirits (kami), which have been revered by the Japanese since ancient times. The origins of Shinto go back to ancient times and include all the forms of beliefs and cults inherent in primitive peoples - totemism, animism, magic, the cult of the dead, the cult of leaders, etc. The ancient Japanese, like other peoples, spiritualized the phenomena of nature surrounding them, plants and animals, deceased ancestors, treated with reverence the mediators who connected with the world of spirits - magicians, sorcerers, shamans. Later, having already experienced the influence of Buddhism and having adopted a lot from it, the primitive Shinto shamans turned into priests who performed rituals in honor of various deities and spirits in temples built specially for this.

Ancient Japanese sourcesVII- VIIIcenturies – Kojiki, Fudoki, Nihongi- allow you to present a picture of the beliefs and cults of early, pre-Buddhist Shintoism. A prominent role in it was played by the cult of dead ancestors - spirits led by the clan ancestor ud-zigami, who symbolized the unity and cohesion of the members of the clan. The objects of worship were the deities of the earth and fields, rain and wind, forests and mountains. Like other ancient peoples, the farmers of Japan solemnly, with rituals and sacrifices, celebrated the autumn harvest festival and the spring festival - the awakening of nature. They treated their dying compatriots as if they were leaving for some other world, where the people and objects around them had to follow to accompany the dead.

Both were made of clay and buried in abundance in a place with the dead (these ceramic products are called haniwa).

The events described in most myths take place in the so-called "age of the gods" - the interval from the emergence of the world to the time immediately preceding the creation of collections. The myths do not determine the duration of the era of the gods. At the end of the era of the gods, the era of the reign of emperors - the descendants of the gods - begins. Stories about events during the reign of ancient emperors complete the collection of myths. Both collections describe the same myths, often in different form. In Nihongi, in addition, each myth is accompanied by a listing of several variants in which it occurs.

The first stories tell about the origin of the world. According to them, the world was originally in a state of chaos, containing all the elements in a mixed, formless state. At some point, the primordial chaos split and formed Takama no Hara (高天原?, High Sky Plain) and the Akitsushima Islands (蜻蛉島?, Dragonfly Islands). Then the first gods arose (in different collections they are called differently), and after them divine couples began to appear. In each such pair there were a man and a woman - brother and sister, personifying various natural phenomena.

Very revealing for understanding the Shinto worldview is the story of Izanagi and Izanami, the last of the divine couples to appear. They created the island of Onnogoro - the Middle Pillar of the whole earth, and entered into a marriage between themselves, becoming husband and wife. From this marriage came the Japanese islands and many kami who settled this land. Izanami, having given birth to the god of Fire, fell ill and after a while died and went to the Land of Gloom. In desperation, Izanagi cut off the head of the God of Fire, and new generations of kami were born from his blood. The grieving Izanagi followed his wife to return her to the world of the High Sky, but found Izanami in a terrible state, decomposing, horrified by what he saw and fled from the Land of Gloom, blocking the entrance to it with a rock. Enraged by his flight, Izanami promised to kill a thousand people a day, in response, Izanagi said that he would build huts daily for one and a half thousand women in labor. This story perfectly conveys the Shinto ideas about life and death: everything is mortal, even the gods, and there is no point in trying to return the dead, but life conquers death through the rebirth of all living things.

Since the time described in the myth of Izanagi and Izanami, myths begin to mention people. Thus, Shinto mythology refers the appearance of people to the times when the Japanese islands first appeared. But in itself, the moment of the appearance of people in myths is not specially noted, there is no separate myth about the creation of man, since Shinto ideas do not make a hard distinction between people and kami at all.

Returning from the Land of Gloom, Izanagi cleansed himself by bathing in the waters of the river. When he was bathing, from his clothes, jewelry, drops of water flowing from him, many kami appeared. Among others, from the drops that washed Izanagi's left eye, the sun goddess Amaterasu appeared, to whom Izanagi gave the High Sky Plain. From the drops of water that washed the nose - the god of storm and wind Susanoo, who received under his power the Plain of the Sea. Having received parts of the World under their power, the gods began to quarrel. The first was the conflict between Susanoo and Amaterasu - the brother, having visited his sister in her domain, behaved violently and unrestrainedly, and in the end Amaterasu locked herself in the heavenly grotto, bringing darkness into the world. The gods (according to another version of the myth - people) lured Amaterasu out of the grotto with the help of birds singing, dancing and loud laughter. Susanoo made an expiatory sacrifice, but was still expelled from the Plain of the High Sky, settled in the country of Izumo - the western part of the island of Honshu.

After the story of the return of Amaterasu, the myths cease to be consistent and begin to describe separate, unrelated plots. All of them tell about the struggle of the kami with each other for dominion over a particular territory. One of the myths tells how the grandson of Amaterasu, Ninigi, descended to earth to rule over the peoples of Japan. Together with him, five more deities went to earth, giving rise to the five most influential clans in Japan. Another myth says that a descendant of Ninigi, Ivarehiko (who bore the name Jimmu during his lifetime), undertook a campaign from Kyushu to Honshu (the central island of Japan) and subjugated all of Japan, thus founding an empire and becoming the first emperor. This myth is one of the few that have a date; it places Jimmu's campaign in 660 BC. e., although modern researchers believe that the events reflected in it actually took place no earlier than the 3rd century AD. It is on these myths that the thesis about the divine origin of the imperial family is based. They also became the basis for the national holiday of Japan - Kigensetsu, the day of the founding of the empire, celebrated on February 11th.

Pantheon of Shinto huge, and its growth, as it was in Hinduism or Taoism, was not controlled or limited. Over time, the primitive shamans and heads of clans who performed cults and rituals were replaced by special priests, kannushi (“in charge of spirits”, “masters of kami”), whose positions were, as a rule, hereditary. For rituals, prayers and sacrifices, small temples were built, many of which were regularly rebuilt, erected in a new place almost every twenty years (it was believed that such a period was pleasant for spirits to be in a stable position in one place).

Shinto shrine is divided into two parts: internal and closed (honden), where the kami symbol (shintai) is usually kept, and an outdoor prayer hall (haiden). Visitors to the temple enter the haiden, stop in front of the altar, throw a coin into the box in front of it, bow and clap their hands, sometimes say the words of a prayer (this can also be done silently) and leave. Once or twice a year, there is a solemn holiday at the temple with rich sacrifices and magnificent services, processions with palanquins, during which the spirit of the deity moves from the shingtai. These days, the priests of Shinto shrines in their ritual attire look very ceremonial. On the rest of the days, they dedicate a little time to their temples and spirits, go about their everyday affairs, merging with ordinary people.

In intellectual terms, from the point of view of philosophical understanding of the world, theoretical abstract constructions, Shintoism, like religious Taoism in China, was insufficient for a vigorously developing society. It is not surprising, therefore, that Buddhism, which penetrated from the mainland to Japan, quickly took a leading position in the spiritual culture of the country.

The cult of the emperor and the rise of nationalism

On the eve of a new era of bourgeois development, Japan increasingly rallied around the figure of the divine tenno, the mikado, symbolizing its highest unity, its far-reaching claims of a clearly nationalistic nature. This era began with the Meiji Restoration (1868), which returned full power in the country to the emperor and gave impetus to the rapid development of Japan.

Shintoism became the official state ideology, the norm of morality and the code of honor. Emperors relied on Shinto principles, reviving and sharply strengthening the cult of the goddess Amaterasu: not only in the main temples, but also in every Japanese home altar (kamidan), from now on there should have been tablets with the name of the goddess, who turned into a symbol of Japanese nationalism. Shinto norms underlay the patriotism and devotion to the emperor (not to the homeland, but to the individual!) of the Japanese samurai, from whose ranks during the Second World War cadres of kamikaze suicides were scooped. Finally, official Japanese propaganda relied on ancient Shinto myths about the creation of the world, the goddess Amaterasu, and Emperor Jimmu in their nationalist claims: the great Yamato (the ancient name of the country) is called upon to create “Great Asia” and implement the principle of hakkoichiu (“eight corners under one roof”, i.e. the unification of the world under the rule of Japan and the Japanese emperor, a descendant of the goddess Amaterasu).

Temple Shinto (generally optional)

The most common organized form of Shinto today is Temple Shinto. Temples in honor of various kami began to be built from the very beginning of Shinto as an organized religion. By the beginning of the 20th century, the number of temples reached 200,000, but their number then decreased, and at present there are about 80,000 Shinto shrines in Japan. Some of them are Japanese-level Shinto centers, but most are relatively small local shrines dedicated to individual kami.

At the temple there is a priest conducting ceremonies (in most temples there is only one priest, often combining this activity with some other work, and only in the largest temples there can be several priests), perhaps a certain number of permanent ministers. In small churches, all the work related to maintaining the temple in proper condition and holding temple holidays and services is performed by the parishioners themselves "on a voluntary basis."

Historically, Shinto temples were public organizations that did not have a central subordination and were controlled by the believers themselves. After the Meiji Restoration, the temples were nationalized and placed under the control of the state. After the end of World War II, the temples regained their independence and became private organizations.

Imperial Court Shinto

There are a number of specific Shinto ceremonies held exclusively in the three temples located on the grounds of the imperial palace, where only members of the imperial family and a number of court employees are allowed.

The central imperial temple is Kasiko-dokoro, dedicated to the mythological progenitor of the imperial family. According to the myths, Ninigi-no-mikoto, the grandson of Amaterasu, received the sacred mirror Yata-no-kagami as a gift, symbolizing the spirit of Amaterasu. The mirror was subsequently placed in the Ise Shrine, and its replica was placed in the Kashiko-dokoro Shrine. The second imperial temple is Korei-den, where the spirits of the emperors are believed to have rested. The third temple - Shin-den, is dedicated to all, without exception, kami, heavenly and earthly.

In the past, conducting ceremonies in the imperial temples was entrusted to the Nakatomi and Imbe families - clans of professional hereditary clergymen. Now the most important divine services are conducted by the emperor of Japan himself, and some solemn ceremonies are led by court ritual experts. In general, the rituals of Imperial Shinto comply with the "Law on Ceremonies" adopted in 1908.

State Shinto

In the very first years of the Meiji Restoration, a decree was issued on the separation of Buddhism from Shinto, the Department of Shinto was created, and an official declaration was issued declaring Shinto as the state religion of Japan (until then, Buddhism was the official state religion). In April 1869, Emperor Meiji personally held a divine service in the ceremonial hall of the palace, during which the kami took the oath before the pantheon, thereby giving official status to the union of Shinto and the Japanese state.

In 1871, the temples received the status of state institutions, were organized into a hierarchical system in accordance with the degree of their proximity to the imperial house and came under direct control. public administration. For state churches, the system of hereditary priesthood was abolished; the clergy became civil servants, whose activities were controlled by the department. Only in those churches that were not included in the state system, the transfer of dignity by inheritance was preserved. In 1872, all the property of the monasteries was nationalized. In 1875, on the basis of the Engisiki collection, an official list of rituals and ceremonies for temples of all levels was approved.

The Department of Shinto subsequently underwent numerous organizational changes, it was divided, the allocated parts were united, introduced into existing state organizations and institutions. One of the reasons for the numerous reorganizations was that for a long time it was not possible to find an acceptable organizational form to ensure the coexistence of Shintoism, which had become state, with Buddhism and those Shinto communities that did not wish to enter the state system of religious administration. Although it was originally planned to limit the influence of Buddhism and ensure the complete control of the Shinto community, this was not implemented in practice, and since 1874 the existence of independent Shinto communities (“sects”) and Buddhist associations of believers was officially allowed, and both of them were not forbidden. promotion of their ideas.

State Shinto existed until 1945. After the occupation of Japan by American troops, one of the first directives of the occupying power was the "directive on Shintoism", according to which any support of Shintoism by the state and propaganda of Shintoism by civil servants was prohibited. State bodies of religious control were disbanded, the temples moved to their former state - public organizations not associated with the state. This was the end of the history of state Shintoism.

The separation of religion from the state was enshrined in the Japanese Constitution, adopted in 1947.

Sectarian Shinto

During the formation of state Shintoism in Japan, some Shinto communities were not included in the official state system of religious administration and remained separate. These communities received the official name of "sects". There were thirteen such sects in pre-war Japan. Sectarian Shintoism is heterogeneous, but in general it was distinguished by its emphasis on the principles of moral purification, Confucian ethics, the deification of mountains, the practice of miraculous healings and the revival of ancient Shinto rituals.

Sectarian Shinto until the end of World War II was under the control of a special department in the Meiji government and had distinctive features from the state in its legal status, organization, property, rituals. After the adoption of the Directive on Shinto in 1945, and in 1947 - the new Japanese Constitution proclaiming the separation of church and state, departmental control was abolished, and the sects united in the public organization Nihon Kyoha Shinto Remmei - the Federation of Shinto sects.

Folk and domestic Shinto

Personal belief in kami and adherence to Shinto traditions in Everyday life, not necessarily associated with regular visits to temples and prayers, are typical for a fairly large number of residents of Japan. The totality of religious beliefs, customs, and traditions preserved directly among the people, without the participation of official Shinto organizations, is sometimes called "folk Shintoism". Folk Shintoism is a rather conventional concept, it is impossible to clearly separate the religious component from the general cultural one.

By "domestic Shintoism" is meant the constant practice of a person performing Shinto rituals at home, at the kamidan home altar.

temples

A shrine or Shinto shrine is a place where rituals are performed in honor of the gods. There are temples dedicated to several gods, temples that honor the spirits of the dead of a particular clan, and Yasukuni Shrine honors the Japanese military who died for Japan and the emperor. But most shrines are dedicated to one specific kami.

Unlike most of the world's religions, in which they try to keep the old ritual structures unchanged as much as possible and build new ones in accordance with the old canons, in Shinto, in accordance with the principle of universal renewal, which is life, there is a tradition of constant renovation of temples. The shrines of the Shinto gods are regularly updated and rebuilt, and changes are made to their architecture. So, Ise temples, formerly imperial, are reconstructed every 20 years. Therefore, it is now difficult to say what exactly the Shinto shrines of antiquity were, it is only known that the tradition of building such shrines appeared no later than the 6th century.

Typically, a temple complex consists of two or more buildings located in a picturesque area, "inscribed" in the natural landscape. The main building - honden - is meant for the deity. It contains an altar where the shintai - "kami's body" - is kept, an object that is believed to be infused with the spirit of the kami. Shintai can be different objects: a wooden tablet with the name of a deity, a stone, a tree branch. Xingtai is not shown to the faithful, it is always hidden. Since the soul of the kami is inexhaustible, its simultaneous presence in the shintai of many temples is not considered something strange or illogical. Images of gods inside the temple are usually not done, but there may be images of animals associated with one or another deity. If the temple is dedicated to the deity of the area where it is built (kami mountains, groves), then the honden may not be built, since the kami is already present in the place where the temple is built.

In addition to the honden, the temple usually has a haiden - a hall for worshipers. In addition to the main buildings, the temple complex may include shinsenjo - a room for preparing sacred food, haraijo - a place for spells, kaguraden - a stage for dancing, as well as other auxiliary buildings. All buildings of the temple complex are maintained in the same architectural style.

The architecture of the temples is varied, although there are several traditional styles followed in most cases. In all cases, the main buildings are in the form of a rectangle, at the corners of which are vertical pillars that support the roof. In some cases, honden and haiden can stand close to each other, while for both buildings a common roof. The floor of the main temple buildings is always raised above the ground, so a staircase leads to the temple. A veranda can be attached to the entrance. Traditionally, temples were built of wood, there are several temples made of natural stone, but this material is used extremely rarely. At present, temples, especially within the city, are usually built from modern building materials, such as brick and reinforced concrete, the roof is made of metal. In many ways, such changes are dictated by the requirements of fire safety rules.

There are sanctuaries without buildings at all, they are a rectangular platform, at the corners of which wooden pillars are installed. The pillars are connected with a straw bundle, and in the center of the sanctuary there is a tree, stone or wooden pillar.

In front of the entrance to the territory of the sanctuary there are at least one torii - structures similar to gates without wings. Torii are considered a gateway to a place owned by the kami where the gods can manifest and communicate with them. There may be only one torii, but there may be a large number of them. It is believed that a person who has successfully completed some really large-scale business should donate a torii to some temple. A path leads from the torii to the entrance to the honden, next to which are placed stone pools for washing hands and mouth. In front of the entrance to the temple, as well as in other places where it is believed that kami are constantly or may appear, shimenawa - thick bundles of rice straw are hung out.

parishes

Due to the fact that Shinto worship many gods and spirits, in one area there can be (and usually are) temples dedicated to different kami, and believers can visit several temples. So the concept of a parish as a territory and parishioners “assigned” to a particular temple does not exist in Shintoism. Nevertheless, there is a natural geographical association of believers around local temples. Around the majority of local churches there is a more or less large community, which largely takes over the maintenance of the temple and participates in divine services and holidays in it. It is curious that neither the granting of Shinto state status in 1868 nor the abolition of this status in 1945 had a significant impact on this situation.

There are several temples of all-Japanese significance; in fact, all of Japan is their parish. These are, first of all, the Great Temple in Ise, Meiji and Yasukuni in Tokyo, Heian in Kyoto and Dazaifu in Fukuoka. Also, local temples are considered all-Japanese, without a parish, if they are dedicated to any historical figure, celebrity, or soldiers who died in the war.

home altar

For home prayer, a believer, if there is space and desire, can arrange a small personal temple (in the form of a separate building next to the house), but much more often for home worship, a kamidana is arranged - a home altar. Kamidana is a small shelf decorated with pine branches or sacred tree sakaki, usually placed above the door of the guest room in the house. If the location allows, a mirror can be placed opposite the kamidan.

Talismans bought in temples, or simply tablets with the names of the deities worshiped by the believer, are placed on the kamidana. Usually, a talisman from the Ise shrine should be placed in the center, flanked by talismans of other deities worshiped by the believer. If the shelf is not wide enough, the Ise talisman is placed in front, and the other talismans behind it. If there is enough space for talismans in honor of deceased relatives, a separate shelf can be made, under the shelf for the talismans of deities, if there is no space, the talismans of relatives are placed next to the talismans of the deities.

Basic rituals

At the heart of the Shinto cult is the veneration of the kami, to whom the temple is dedicated. To do this, rituals are sent to establish and maintain a connection between believers and kami, entertain the kami, and give him pleasure. It is believed that this allows you to hope for his mercy and protection.

The system of cult rituals is developed quite scrupulously. It includes the rite of a single prayer of a parishioner, his participation in collective temple activities, the order of individual prayer at home. The main four rituals of Shinto are purification (harai), sacrifice (shinsen), prayer (norito) and symbolic meal (naorai). In addition, there are more complex rituals of matsuri temple festivals.

Harai - symbolic purification.

For the ceremony, a container or source with clean water and a small ladle on a wooden handle. The believer first rinses his hands from the ladle, then pours water from the ladle into his palm and rinses his mouth (spitting water, naturally, to the side), after which he pours water from the ladle into his palm and washes the handle of the ladle to leave it clean for the next believer.

In addition, there is a procedure for mass purification, as well as purification of a place or object. During such a ceremony, the priest rotates a special cane around the object or people being cleaned. Sprinkling the believers with salt water and sprinkling them with salt can also be used.

Shinsen is an offering.

The worshiper should offer gifts to the kami to strengthen the connection with the kami and demonstrate his commitment to him. Various, but always simple items and foodstuffs are used as offerings. During individual prayer at home, offerings are laid out on a kamidana, while praying in a temple, they are laid out on trays or plates on special tables for offerings, from where the clergy take them. Offerings may be edible; in such cases, they usually offer pure water drawn from the source, sake, peeled rice, rice cakes ("mochi"), less often they offer small portions of cooked dishes, such as fish or cooked rice. Inedible offerings can be made in the form of money (coins are thrown into wooden box, standing near the altar in the temple, before the offering of prayer, larger amounts of money, when they are offered to the temple when ordering a ceremony, can be transferred directly to the priest, in which case the money is wrapped in paper), symbolic plants or branches of the sacred sakaki tree. A kami who patronizes certain crafts can donate items from those crafts, such as pottery, textiles, even live horses (although the latter is very rare). As a special donation, a worshiper may, as mentioned, donate a torii to the shrine.

The gifts of the parishioners are collected by the priests and used according to their content. Plants and objects can be used to decorate the temple, money goes to its upkeep, edible offerings can partly be eaten by the families of the priests, and partly become part of the symbolic naorai meal. If especially many rice cakes are donated to the temple, then they can be distributed to parishioners or simply to everyone.

Norito - ritual prayers.

Norito are read by a priest who acts as an intermediary between the person and the kami. Such prayers are read on solemn days, holidays, and also in cases when, in honor of an event, a believer makes an offering to the temple and orders a separate ceremony. Ceremonies are ordered in order to honor the kami on a personally important day: before starting a new risky business, in order to ask the deity for help, or, conversely, in honor of an auspicious event or the completion of some big and important business (birth of the first child, admission younger child to school, senior - to university, successful completion big project recovery after a serious and dangerous illness, and so on). In such cases, the customer and the persons accompanying him, having come to the temple, perform the rite of harai, after which they are invited by the attendant to the hayden, where the ceremony is held: the priest is located in front, facing the altar, the customer of the ceremony and those accompanying him follow him. The priest reads the ritual prayer aloud.

“The Way of the Gods” is the translation of the word Shintoism, the traditional religion of the Land of the Rising Sun or Japan – come on, and we will walk along the Way of the Gods, briefly reviewing the ideas, essence, principles and philosophy of Shintoism.

This is an ancient belief system of the Japanese, in which many deities and spirits of deceased ancestors became objects of veneration and worship. The teachings of Buddhism significantly influenced the development of Shintoism, based on the worship of something external.

History of the development of Shintoism

Why does the Japanese flag have a rising sun?

Actually, as a systematized or traditional religion Shinto becomes in the 7th-8th centuries AD. And as many people know, the symbol of Japan is the sun, and the name exists corresponding to the Land of the Rising Sun - this in honor of the main sun goddess Amaterasu. According to the Shinto tradition, the lineage of the imperial family begins with it.

The essence of Shinto

According to Shinto and its essence, many natural phenomena or forces of nature can have their own spiritual basis or essence. And that which has a spiritual essence, according to Shintoism, is a god or Kami(from Japanese).

In other words, this is the deification of something that can cause any emotions, say a mountain or a stone, sky, earth, a bird, and others. And here we even find amazing things, because in Shinto it is believed that people are born precisely by the gods, and not created, as, for example, in Christianity.

And even there is one also amazing story, when a Catholic asked a Shinto - what does God look like, he answered simply "and we are dancing." This is a beautiful answer, isn't it, even rather than which we have already written separately.

Basic ideas of Shintoism

One of the most important and basic ideas of Shinto is to achieve harmony with the deities through the purification and elimination of everything superfluous that prevented the comprehension of the world around us and being in harmony with it.

It should also be noted that the ideas of Shintoism served the interests of the whole country, because if a person becomes a pure heart, then he lives in harmony with nature and the Gods, and therefore the country as a whole becomes prosperous.

Here we also see the idea that a person who is at peace and treats others with respect and compassion gains the protection of the gods and the Buddha, and the whole country also receives divine protection.

Although from the 18th century, Shinto began to separate from Buddhism and develop separately, and Buddhism remained the state religion until 1886.

Just as Confucius played the role of unifying China, so Shinto, with its ideas of the divinity of the imperial family, played its part in unifying the Japanese state.

Principles of Shinto

Moreover, it is believed that the gods, and the people and the spirits of the dead, simply coexist with each other, since everyone is in the cycle of reincarnations.

The principles of Shintoism are also based on the fact that if a person lives with a pure and sincere heart and sees the world as it is, then for this reason he is already virtuous and is in his place.

In Shintoism, evil is a lack of harmony, hatred and selfishness, a violation of general order that exists in nature.

Religious customs and rituals of Shintoism

The Shinto religion is built on rituals, customs, and temple services. It is believed that everything in this world is initially harmonious, like the person himself. However evil spirits take advantage of the weaknesses of man and his low thoughts. That is why deities are needed in Shinto - they are the support of a person, to maintain a pure heart and provide him with protection.

There are entire collections of books on how to properly perform the rites of the gods, both in ordinary temples and in the temples of the imperial court. Shinto served to unite the Japanese people, because it is believed that it was the gods that first existed, and they gave birth to both Japan and the dynasty of Chinese emperors.

Shinto is the state religion of Japan

In 1868, Shintoism in Japan becomes the state religion, until 1947, when a new constitution was adopted and for some reason the emperor ceased to be considered a living god.

With regard to modern Shinto, even now in Japan there are tens of thousands of temples where rituals of deities or ancestral spirits are held. Temples are usually built in nature, in beautiful places.

The central place in the temple is the altar, on which some object is placed, in which the spirit of the deity is located. This object can be a stone, or a piece of wood, or even a sign with an inscription.

And in a Shinto shrine there may exist individual places for cooking sacred food, for spells and dances.

Philosophy of Shinto

At its core, the Shinto tradition and its philosophy is based on the deification and worship of natural forces. The living gods who created the people of Japan are embodied in the spirits of nature, for example, in the spirit of a mountain, a stone, a river.

About the sun in general a separate conversation. So The Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami is the main deity of Japanese Shintoism., and just all of Japan, as the founder of the imperial family.

And therefore, according to the philosophy of Shintoism, people should worship these deities as respect for their lineage and for protection, as well as for patronage from these deities and spirits of nature.

Also included in the philosophy of Shintoism is the concept of virtue, sympathy for others, and strong respect for elders. The original sinlessness and virtue of the soul is recognized.

Places to worship where you are

As we have said, Shinto was greatly influenced by Buddhism, which for a long time was the state religion. characteristic feature Shintoism is that believers are not required to visit temples often, it is enough to come on holidays. You can also pray to the ancestors and spirits at home.

Conclusion

It is quite clear that Japanese Shinto had its own the goal of unity of the people, the development of harmony between people and nature, as well as the development of the spirit of unity. In addition, Shinto practically does not find contradictions with other major world religions, because the same ancestors are revered almost everywhere.

So a person can be, for example, both a Shintoist and a Buddhist. And as the experience of Shintoism shows, the main thing is harmony.

Perhaps someday, all religions will even come to one religion, or better to say, to one faith, faith in harmony, love, and the like, uniquely valuable and necessary for every reasonable and successful person things.

Well, that's why we wish everyone harmony and well-being, and don't forget to visit our portal, where you can learn a lot of interesting things about spiritual world. And in one of the following articles, we will try to sum up a common denominator for all the major world religions and beliefs of society, and, of course, do not forget that so much influenced the history, philosophy and essence of Shintoism.