Shinto

Information

For those who have an interest in the Japanese native religion of Shinto, whether it just be an extension of one already having a general interest in Japan, to eclectic Animist Shamanist Pagans, to those who simply like media such as anime or video games based around Shinto, and would like to further celebrate it by joining a group, then this is the group for you.

Shinto is a Pantheistic, Polytheistic religion that believes in a range of spirits from ghosts, to deities such as Amaterasu.

It has drawn influence from Japanese style Buddhism, Chinese Taoism, and various other areas of influence, but is primarily the collection of native or pre-Yamato Chinese and Prehistoric Japanese folk religion. It is the long standing tradition and collection of Japanese folk beliefs as a religion and it has origins in Ko-Shinto which is largely responsible for Japan's pre-historic and pre-Chinese culture.

Other words that would be properly descriptive of Shinto would be Animism and Shamanism. Pantheism is basically an extension of Animism and Shamanism.

Other religions that could be could be compared to Shinto in comparative religion would be:

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Buddhism" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Buddhism</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukkos_faith" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukkos_faith</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asatru" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asatru</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-druidism" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-druidism</a>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romuva" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romuva</a>

If you are an eclectic Pagan of some sort, then these religions may be of some interest to you as well. Japanese new religions and Japanese Buddhism are welcome as well, so long as they remain focus on the Japanese native Animist side of the faith.

Even if your interest is just reading about Japanese religion, you can't really get more Japanese spiritually than Shinto.

<u>Shinto Encylopedia</u>
<a href="http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/" target="_blank">http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/</a>

<u>Anime which contain Shinto music</u>:
<!--link--><a href="http://myanimelist.net/anime/43/Ghost_In_The_Shell">Ghost in the Shell</a> by <!--link--><a href="http://myanimelist.net/people/5304/Kenji_Kawai">Kenji Kawai's</a> music.
<!--link--><a href="http://myanimelist.net/anime/3958/Kannagi">Kannagi</a> by Ending theme by <!--link--><a href="http://myanimelist.net/people/890/Haruka_Tomatsu">Haruka Tomatsu</a>.

<u><strong>Related Clubs</strong></u>
<u>Shrine Maiden Club</u>
<a href="http://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=923" target="_blank">http://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=923</a>
<u>Touhou Project Fanclub</u>
<a href="http://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=196" target="_blank">http://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=196</a>
<u>Okami Lovers Club</u>
<a href="http://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=4153" target="_blank">http://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=4153</a>

More links, information, pictures, and other club improvements coming in the future.

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Verdandi- | Jan 13, 2023 4:35 PM

@shiroikitsune218 No, everyone has graduated and lives the dream now.

shiroikitsune218 | Jan 9, 2023 10:31 AM

Is anyone still active in here?

ukonkivi | Dec 25, 2010 2:48 PM

I'll keep it in my mind.

By the way, that's quite a joke you ended it out on. "LARPing", which is a type of roleplaying. Ehem, there are definitely similarities between NeoPagans and New Age, however New Age is a new religion, so while it is spiritually similar, Shinto is more comparable to the folk religions of other countries, in my mind. It's mostly an age difference, really. Many people consider New Age to be a kind of Neo-Paganism. I just think that it's more similar, to, say, Romuva, since it's an original folk religion.

Anyway, I just tried to make as good of a description as I could. Anyway, I'm pretty inclusive on "Paganism" and Pagan definitions. Anything from Tenrikyo is close enough for me to file under the Shinto "club" here, if there are any anime and manga related to Tenrikyo or "New Movements". Even though many people consider Tenrikyo to "not be the same religion as Shinto".

Kind of didn't feel like responding to that, but this club is so inactive I thought I'd might as well.

ritsu-ka | Oct 22, 2010 5:10 AM

The Anime Relations list is seriously lagging. You should add these: Natsume Yuujinchou, Mononoke Hime, Miyori no Mori, Mononoke, Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror, Bakemonogatari, Kaidoumaru, Kekkaishi, Mushishi, Hyaku Monogatari, Ookami to Koushinryou, Mokke

For manga: Akuryou ga Ippai (I think there's also anime), Hotarubi no Mori he, Hyakki Yakushou, Jinja no Susume, Kaikisen, Kamisama Hajimemashita, Mononoke, Mononoke Hime, Natsume Yuujinchou, Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, Tajikarao

As for the club information. How can neo-paganism be compared to shinto? I'd rather compare them to New Age or larpping.

ukonkivi | Jun 4, 2009 11:43 AM

url_elf, I haven't read that book. But I indeed will. But anyway, I think that from such a perspective, god and human do not HAVE to be two different things. I think from a Shamanist, Shinto, or Pantheist perspective, all creatures have a spiritual element to them. And in the idea of kami, where even some pitiful spirits can be kami, humans can easily be called kami. But overall humans would be still considered to be too weak in spirit to be considered kami.

Kami or god is best seen as the trump of spirituality, the highest of stages of the holy or void side of spiritual bend on universal fabric. Yes, I would say Ubermensch is a perfect word to describe Yurie.

In Shinto, humanity, although served by the gods(which is contrary to the way gods are often depicted as many parts of Abrahamic religious texts, where gods are to be served out of fear and may POSSIBLY may return the favor such as good crops, gods from the Shamanistic and Shinto perspective are very dutiful and tutelary.), is very much above humans. That is to say, in status, the gods are very much reverent to humans. And may even put themselves below humans in a sense of utter servitude. But in ability are far above and beyond and overhuman.

I think that Shinto may be open minded to some things about the ubermensh philosophy than some other religions. But not in the way many would think of ubermensch. Trying to reach being like a Shinto god would be a very selfless thing in many respects. Essentially, it's a path to become more holy. And I don't think most Shintoist would go for these words because it would be unrealistic sounding, and still sound a bit egotistical. But I think it's typical for a person to want to reach as high in the spiritual god path as possible. And while I would think most people are not easily going to become gods from a Shintoist perspective, or Shamanist perspective, humans and spirits in general have a very high potential.

Essentially, the most godlike thing a human can do who is not a god is to follow the gods and spiritually forward path. Instead of trying to look for the god in ourselves which is tiny and nowhere near an actual god. One should try to develop themselves spiritually, but I think calling our spirit anywhere close to a macro-god is just a bit much probably.

Pretty_Soldier | May 27, 2009 8:16 AM

I think the idea is anything can be a kami, but there is the greater kami of which they are lesser reflections of. If we can manage to have enough fun in the darkness, Amaterasu will come out of her cave...
Also, while spelled with different characters, kami is the word for paper, upper part and hair.
ka-fire, do, question participle
mi-person or body
kagami-mirror,
kage- shadow
ga-the self
ge-lower quality or ranking
I haven't seen Kamichu! but I offer this: the spirit is bound to the heavy element through some trick of the light, and can be reawakened by undoing that trick, which is openness to the divine which is expressed in everything in some manner, but most purely through the feminine, the principal of beautiful creation. Presumedly death occurs when we've decided we can no longer learn anything from the present incarnation (but of course this is highly speculative! hehe), or perhaps when we've become too clean or dirty for the plane in question. Unfortunately, the world at large believes the exact opposite of all this, and confuses the darkness for the fun, instead of understanding the joy in life as a means to a greater joy...

url_elf | May 24, 2009 10:08 PM

I was reading Mason's "The Meaning of Shinto," where Mason primarily discusses his vision of pure Shinto wrt ideology and its effects on those who practice it (that is to say, the Japanese) and well, it's meaning to people today. Honestly, I don't always find myself agreeing with his interpretations, although he has interesting ideas.

One of his points he emphasizes is that in Shinto, there is no distinction made between man and kami - man is divine spirit manifest in objective reality. Honestly, the idea that man and kami were, well, same substance in different presentation was one that I did not agree with. Then I thought of Kamichu! and Yurie.

It was continuously emphasized that she was both kami and human. There was no contradiction with her being a middle school student and a kami, yet this was only her distinction. Her best friend was often possessed by the local temple kami, too. So apparently humans can be kami but aren't always?

Then I started thinking, perhaps it's a matter of realization or self-awareness. It was never explained, in the anime, how she became a kami. In the manga, she had a strange dream where Ninomiya called her kami and then she woke up. I don't think this conferred the status so much as it was her own internal acknowledgement of the shift that occurred.

Do you suppose, then, that this shift to kami-human status was a sort of... Ubermensch transformation in Yurie? A totally unwitting one at that? The Ubermensch is, if I'm not mistaken, a life-affirming and creative figure, which is consistent, according to the Meaning of Shinto anyway, with the main thrust of Shinto. In the context of Shinto, where do you think humanity stands? Are we kami as well, and not realizing it? Is it our true nature (divine right?) to live as Ubermensch? But then how would something like spirit possession simultaneously be possible? Also, if humans really are to be considered as kami (divine spirit) as well, then what is the meaning of death and the material realm (is Shinto dualistic, or monistic as Mason claims)?

url_elf | May 7, 2009 11:25 PM

If you like Shinto and Shamanisn, here's a fun book.

http://www.amazon.com/Catalpa-Bow-Shamanistic-Practices-Classics/dp/1873410859

I found it to be very informative on a wide range of Japanese folk belief and practice centric topics, and it has a sweet works cited to boot. Although I'm not sure how much shamanistic practices are a part of mainstream Japanese religion, there at least appears to be a healthy fringe keeping these traditions alive.

Club Stats

Members: 44

Pictures: 10

Category: Japan

Created: Sep 30, 2008

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ukonkivi (President)

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Anime Relations

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Rei

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Special: Nekogoroshi-hen

InuYasha

Jigoku Shoujo

Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori

Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae

Kamichu!

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Kannagi