Shintoism

This might be the most famous view in Japan. Mount Fuji. Here live a lot of birds… No wait, that’s not a bird. What is that? Oh, that is the mountain’s spirit.

In Japan, the oldest native religion is based around the belief that places in nature are inhabited by spirits. This religion got its name from two Chinese words: the word for spirit or god - shen, and the word for way: dao. The spirit’s way. Shinto. The Japanese word for spirit is kami.

And almost all places in nature have their own kami: for instance mountains, lakes, trees. Things that people have made might also have a kami, such as this: an entrance gate to a Shinto shrine - a torii. Also dead relatives—ancestors —may become kami. Not all kami are good, some of them are evil. Even the food you eat might turn into an evil kami if you don’t treat it properly, and say a prayer to it.

So there are very many kami. Sometimes, the word ‘kami’ is somewhat mistakenly translated to ‘gods’ instead of spirits, and it’s said that Japan has eight million gods. What they mean to say is that there is an infinite number of kami. And many of these have names as well. Mount Fuji’s kami is called Princess Konohana-Sakuya: Princess blossoming tree.

There are many stories about her. So are kami gods? No, they can die and decay, just like humans. But Shintoism does have gods, such as these two: Izanami and Izanagi. Izanami and Izanagi created Japan, and are the parents of very many kami.

In some cases they only needed to sneeze to give birth to new kami. In Shinto, it is believed there are two worlds side by side: the visible world that humans inhabit, and the invisible spirit world where the kami live. Shintoists have shrines that they visit. The easiest way to recognize a Shinto Shrine is this: The shape of the roof, and the gate outside. Here it’s easy to remember that the two worlds exist next to each other.

Because when you come to the gate, you need to enter either on the left, or on the right side. In the middle, the kami enter. Before you may approach the actual shrine, it’s important to wash away the dirt of the human world. That is what this fountain and these ladles are for. Lift a ladle with your right hand and scoop up some water.

Cleanse one hand at a time with this water. Then pour some water in your left hand, take this into your mouth, rinse and spit —but not into the fountain! Then tip the ladle so that the water cleanses its handle before you return it. Now it’s time to approach the actual shrine. Bow slightly.

Put a coin in the box before you. Ring the bell, or the gong if there is one, to let the kami know you have arrived. That’s it. Now bow deeply twice, clap your hands, and bow deeply one more time. That’s it.

For a long period of time, up until the Second World War, the Japanese emperors were said to be related to the kami of the sun: Amaterasu. In this way the emperors were considered divine, and the people had to worship them. It’s not like that any longer. Shinto and Buddhism are the two major religions in Japan. And most Japanese people visit Shinto shrines on some occasions, and Buddhist temples on others.

Often, marriages are performed according to Shinto, and funerals according to Buddhism.