Liber XXVI · Shinto
Introduction
The kami, the shrines and the myths of Japan, and their meeting with Buddhism.
Shinto, 'the way of the kami', is the indigenous religious tradition of Japan, centred on the worship of kami — gods, spirits and sacred powers present in nature, ancestors and places — at shrines across the country. This section covers the myths of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the sun goddess Amaterasu and the imperial line, shrine worship, purification and festivals, the long fusion of Shinto and Buddhism, the esoteric Buddhism of Shingon and Tendai, the mountain asceticism of Shugendo, the yin-yang divination of Onmyodo, and Japan's folklore of yokai and spirits.
7 min readWhat Is Shinto? Kami, Shrines and the Way of the GodsWhat is Shinto? An overview of Japan's way of the kami: origins, the Kojiki, shrines and purification, festivals, the fusion with Buddhism and State Shinto.7 min readKokugaku: Motoori Norinaga and Japan's National LearningKokugaku, or National Learning: how Keichū, Kamo no Mabuchi, Motoori Norinaga and Hirata Atsutane read Japan's classics and reshaped Shinto thought.8 min readState Shinto: Emperor, Shrines and Nation in Japan, 1868–1945State Shinto explained: how Meiji Japan made shrines into state institutions, linked them to the emperor and schools, and how the system ended in 1945.