Lesson 135

1 Shintoo; Shintoo developed from the native worship of nature and natural phenomena. Objects of worship were referred to as ’’Kami,” which means ’’above” or ’’superior.” Chief among them were the sun, moon, mountain peaks, and various unusual natural objects. The ’’Kami” concept passed through three stages—from a pre-animistic worship of an object for its own sake, to typical animism wherein certain objects or phenomena are regarded as controlled by indwelling spirits, to a higher level on which innumerable nature spirits are regarded increasingly as having the characteristics of man. On this level there appeared the early deification of legendary or historical heroes and the related ancestor worship. It is not definitely established that the latter was attributable to Chinese influence although it is common to both peoples.

1 The worship of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu Oomikami, in the early historical period, was converted to worship of her direct descendants—the members of the Imperial Family, The several clans or tribes also had their local and

particular deities who were worshipped as the fore-fathers of their respective clan chieftains. The Jinja which belonged to the state Shintoo were maintained at the expense of the central or prefectural governments, city, town or village authorities, or other public bodies. With the promulgation of the Religion Corporation Ordinance in December 1945, however, official support of these shrines was abolished, and all the shrines are now maintained chiefly by their respective believers. As of December 1949, there were 87,802 jinja belonging to the non-sectarian Shintoo, with 14,874 priests. The Sectarian Shintoo consists of about 160 sects. Some of the oldest of these are Fusookyoo, Izumo-taishakyoo, Konkookyoo, Tenrikyoo, etc. Worship in Shintoo consists of obeisances, offerings, and prayers. Obeisance takes the form of a humble bow which lasts for a minute or two. The offerings presented before the altar are primarily food and drink. Formerly cloth was added to these, but eventually a symbolic offering known as gohei came into use, consisting of strips

of paper. These symbolic offerings are attached to a wand or twig of the evergreen sakaki tree and placed before the altar.

KAMI The word KAMI is an indigenous Japanese term which is written with the Chinese character 神. In combination with other characters, this is pronounced SHIN or JIN. Thus we have the word SHINTOO (神道) that is KAMI Way and JINJA (神社) that is KAMI Dwelling. It is generally customary to translate the ideograph with the words GOD or DEITY in the singular or plural form. However, at times such translation as "divine" or "sacred" is more appropriate. Among the objects or phenomena designated as KAMI are the qualities of growth, fertility, and production; natural phenomena such as wind, thunder; natural objects such as the sun, mountains, rivers, trees and rocks; some animals; and ancestral spirits of the land, occupations, skills; the spirit of national heroes, men of outstanding deeds or virtues and those who have contributed to

civilization, culture, and human welfare, those who have died for the state or the community, and the pitiable dead. Not only spirits superior to man, but even some that are regarded as pitiable and weak have, nonetheless, been considered to be KAMI in some instances, in modern Shintoo, however, all KAMI are conceived in a refined sense to be spirits with nobility and authority, it includes the idea of justice, order, and divine favor (blessing) and implies the basic principle that the KAMI function harmoniously in cooperation with one another and rejoice in the evidence of harmony and cooperation in this world. In Shintoo there is no absolute deity that is the creator and ruler of all. The creative function of the world is realized through the harmonious cooperation of the KAMI in the performance of their respective missions. Even the progenitor of the imperial Family, the Sun Goddess, who brightens the world with the virtue of the sun and is commonly regarded as the supreme KAMI of Shintoo, consults the opinion of the other KAMI, calls upon them for help,

and at times makes concessions to them. There are many points about the KAMI concept that cannot be fully understood, and there is some disagreement even among modern scholars on this subject. The Japanese people themselves do not have a clear concept of KAMI. They are aware of KAMI intuitively at the depth of their consciousness and communicate with the KAMI directly without having formed more definite KAMI-idea conceptually or theologically. The Japanese Shintoo has no founder and has no scripture for the people to read and follow.

Guide for Free Conversation and Exercise

1 Topics;

a Talk about the following topics in Japanese with your classmates.

(1) Objects of worship in Shintoism.

(2) Different types of shrines.

(3) Different types of Shintoism and their origin.

2 Exercise;

a Interpretation Exercise; Person A (American) asks questions in English, Person B (Interpreter) translates it into Japanese, Person C (Japanese) answers in Japanese, and Person B again translates it back into English.

(1) In the olden days what kind of worship was practiced?

(1) 自然崇拝や 精霊崇拝が 行なわれていました。

(2) What were the objects of worship?

(2) 太陽や月、山や川、木や石、その他、動物や作物を 対象とした 崇拝が 行なわれていました。

(3) What was the common god of the Japanese race?

(3) 天照大神でした。

(4) What is a torii?

(4) 神社の 象徴です。各神社には 一つ または それ以上の 鳥居があります。

(5) What is the most developed Shintoism?

(5) 氏神を 中心とする 神社神道が 最も 発展しています。

Homework

1 Study the Narration thoroughly and memorize the vocabulary.

2 Read the Guide for Free Conversation and do the exercises given,

3 Learn to read and write the new Kanji.

4 Read the Cultural Notes.