Essentials of Shinto

Essentials of Shinto PDF Author: Stuart Picken
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313369798
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
Shinto is finally receiving the attention it deserves as a fundamental component of Japanese culture. Nevertheless, it remains a remarkably complex and elusive phenomenon to which Western categories of religion do not readily apply. A knowledge of Shinto can only proceed from a basic understanding of Japanese shrines and civilization, for it is closely intermingled with the Japanese way of life and continues to be a vital natural religion. This book is a convenient guide to Shinto thought. As a reference work, the volume does not offer a detailed critical study of all aspects of Shinto. Instead, it overviews the essential teachings of Shinto and provides the necessary cultural and historical context for understanding Shinto as a dynamic force in Japanese civilization. The book begins with an historical overview of Shinto, followed by a discussion of Japanese myths. The volume then discusses the role of shrines, which are central to Shinto rituals. Other portions of the book discuss the various Shinto sects and the evolution of Shinto from the Heian period to the present. Because Japanese terms are central to Shinto, the work includes a glossary.

Essentials of Shinto

Essentials of Shinto PDF Author: Stuart Picken
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313369798
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 436

Get Book Here

Book Description
Shinto is finally receiving the attention it deserves as a fundamental component of Japanese culture. Nevertheless, it remains a remarkably complex and elusive phenomenon to which Western categories of religion do not readily apply. A knowledge of Shinto can only proceed from a basic understanding of Japanese shrines and civilization, for it is closely intermingled with the Japanese way of life and continues to be a vital natural religion. This book is a convenient guide to Shinto thought. As a reference work, the volume does not offer a detailed critical study of all aspects of Shinto. Instead, it overviews the essential teachings of Shinto and provides the necessary cultural and historical context for understanding Shinto as a dynamic force in Japanese civilization. The book begins with an historical overview of Shinto, followed by a discussion of Japanese myths. The volume then discusses the role of shrines, which are central to Shinto rituals. Other portions of the book discuss the various Shinto sects and the evolution of Shinto from the Heian period to the present. Because Japanese terms are central to Shinto, the work includes a glossary.

Understanding Shinto

Understanding Shinto PDF Author: C. Scott Littleton
Publisher: Watkins Publishing
ISBN: 9781907486708
Category : Shinto
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Originally published: Shinto. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Shinto and the State, 1868-1988

Shinto and the State, 1868-1988 PDF Author: Helen Hardacre
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691020525
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Explores church/state question in Japan. Focuses on the ordinary people whose lives are affected by the ongoing struggle of the Japanese to define their national character and policy.

Shinto

Shinto PDF Author: C. Scott Littleton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 120

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Book Description
In Japan, two religions predominate--Buddhism and Shintoism--and the Japanese people see no contradiction in practicing both: worshipping Buddha even as they revere the kami, the divine beings that populate the country and define the indigenous faith of Shintoism. In Shintoism and the Religions of Japan, C. Scott Littleton illuminates this unusual spiritual pluralism and shows how it has fertilized a vast and varied religious landscape. Littleton describes the origins and development of Shinto (or Kami no Michi, "Way of the Gods"), the introduction of Buddhism a millennium and a half ago, the rise of various sects of Buddhism (some indigenous to Japan), and the role of the imperial court and the shogunate in the nation's religious life. Here too is a clear and succinct summary of Shintoism's teeming pantheon of spiritual figures, the holy writings of Shintoism, and the islands' landscape of holy sanctuaries. Littleton explains how Buddhism has been reinterpreted in light of Japan's indigenous traditions (some monumental statues of the Buddha are worshipped as manifestations of kami), and describes the "new religions" that flourished during the Meiji period of the late nineteenth century, after Japan once again opened up to the outside world. Writing with grace and clarity, he captures the essential features of Japanese religious life, including the countless local festivals and rituals, the importance of harmony and enlightenment, and concepts of death and salvation. Lavishly illustrated with some thirty color photographs, sprinkled with boxed features that focus on fascinating issues, this volume offers a marvelous tour of Japan's distinctive spiritual experience.

Shinto Shrines

Shinto Shrines PDF Author: Joseph Cali
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
ISBN: 0824837754
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
Of Japan’s two great religious traditions, Shinto is far less known and understood in the West. Although there are a number of books that explain the religion and its philosophy, this work is the first in English to focus on sites where Shinto has been practiced since the dawn of Japanese history. In an extensive introductory section, authors Joseph Cali and John Dougill delve into the fascinating aspects of Shinto, clarifying its relationship with Buddhism as well as its customs, symbolism, and pilgrimage routes. This is followed by a fully illustrated guide to 57 major Shinto shrines throughout Japan, many of which have been designated World Heritage Sites or National Treasures. In each comprehensive entry, the authors highlight important spiritual and physical features of the individual shrines (architecture, design, and art), associated festivals, and enshrined gods. They note the prayers offered and, for travelers, the best times to visit. With over 125 color photographs and 50 detailed illustrations of archetypical Shinto objects and shrines, this volume will enthrall not only those interested in religion but also armchair travelers and visitors to Japan alike. Whether you are planning to visit the actual sites or take a virtual journey, this guide is the perfect companion. Visit Joseph Cali’s Shinto Shrines of Japan: The Blog Guide: http://shintoshrinesofjapanblogguide.blogspot.jp/. Visit John Dougill’s Green Shinto, “dedicated to the promotion of an open, international and environmental Shinto”: http://www.greenshinto.com/wp/.

The Essence of Shinto

The Essence of Shinto PDF Author: Motohisa Yamakage
Publisher: Kodansha USA
ISBN: 4770050089
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
In The Essence of Shinto, revered Shinto master Motohisa Yamakage explains the core values of Shinto and explores both basic tenets and its more esoteric points in terms readily accessible to the modern Western reader. He shows how the long history of Shintoism is deeply woven into the fabric of Japanese spirituality and mythology--indeed, it is regarded as Japan’s very spiritual roots--and discusses its role in modern Japan and the world. He also carefully analyzes the relationship of the spirit and the soul, which will provide informed and invaluable insight into how spirituality affects our daily existence. Through the author’s emphasis on the universality of Shinto and its prevalence in the natural world, the book will appeal to all readers with an appreciation of humanity’s place in nature and the individual’s role in the larger society.

Shinto

Shinto PDF Author: Helen Hardacre
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190621710
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 721

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Book Description
Helen Hardacre offers for the first time in any language a sweeping, comprehensive history of Shinto, the tradition that is practiced by some 80% of the Japanese people and underlies the institution of the Emperor.

Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan

Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan PDF Author: Aike P. Rots
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474289940
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 421

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Book Description
Shinto, Nature and Ideology in Contemporary Japan is the first systematic study of Shinto's environmental turn. The book traces the development in recent decades of the idea of Shinto as an 'ancient nature religion,' and a resource for overcoming environmental problems. The volume shows how these ideas gradually achieved popularity among scientists, priests, Shinto-related new religious movements and, eventually, the conservative shrine establishment. Aike P. Rots argues that central to this development is the notion of chinju no mori: the sacred groves surrounding many Shinto shrines. Although initially used to refer to remaining areas of primary or secondary forest, today the term has come to be extended to any sort of shrine land, signifying not only historical and ecological continuity but also abstract values such as community spirit, patriotism and traditional culture. The book shows how Shinto's environmental turn has also provided legitimacy internationally: influenced by the global discourse on religion and ecology, in recent years the Shinto establishment has actively engaged with international organizations devoted to the conservation of sacred sites. Shinto sacred forests thus carry significance locally as well as nationally and internationally, and figure prominently in attempts to reposition Shinto in the centre of public space.

Shinto

Shinto PDF Author: Stuart D. B. Picken
Publisher:
ISBN: 9784770009036
Category : Japan
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description


Zen and Shinto

Zen and Shinto PDF Author: Chikao Fujisawa
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504022734
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 71

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Book Description
How do the Japanese talk about their native philosophy, Shinto, a decade and a half after the Western Allies abolished it as a state religion? What is its relationship to Buddhism, and particularly to Zen? How modern can this very ancient creed ever be? These are some of the questions considered in this study by Dr. Chikao Fujisawa, who specialized in the study of traditional Japanese philosophy and its effect on modern society. Zen and Shinto is a strong plea to rectify the steps taken to eradicate Shinto, the very substance of Japanese life and thought. At the same time, it offers new insight into the amazing adaptability of the Japanese psyche—its depth, vitality and universality—and its remarkable capacity to assimilate foreign thought and ideas, and thus contribute to the world’s hope for permanent peace.