A. "Shinto" coined after the introduction of Buddhism

          1. "Shin" also read kami, refers to divine forces, spirits, etc.

                a. Chinese reading: shen

               b. typically used in reference to guishen "ghosts & spirits"

           2. "to" also read michi, refers to "the way"

                a. Chinese reading: dao

               b. typically used in reference to "the moral Way," Daoism, etc.

           3. pre-Buddhist sense of a "kami no michi" might have existed

    B. Documents, Deities, and Doctrines

           1. kami no yo "Age of the Kami" accounts 

               a. Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters, 712) 

                 b. Nihon shoki (Annals of Japan, 720) 

            2. Izanagi and Izanami procreate ancient world

                  a. death of Izanami ---- encounter with yomi no kuni

                  b. Izanagi's sense of pollution, flight to purification

                  c. birth of Amaterasu "Sun Goddess" Susanoo "Storm God"

                      i. Ise Shrine devoted to worship of Amaterasu

                      ii. Izumo Shrine devoted to Susanoo

            3. Pantheism

                   a. kami infuse everything, nothing void of them

                   b. mountains, rivers, trees, rocks, people, animals, places

                        i. Mt. Fuji the most sacred mountain

                       ii. imperial palace, Ise Shrine the most holy sites

                        iii. new year's, spring and summer the most spirit infused times

            4. Purification & Pollution/Good Fortune and Bad

                    a. no strong sense of good vs evil, sin vs salvation

                    b. religious concern is for purity, avoidance of pollution

                         i. harae = symbolic purification typically with water

                         ii. forms of exorcism practice to drive out evil spirits

                     c. blessings for good luck, success, prosperity, longevity

     C. Shinto Rituals and Practices

           1. Matsuri = festivals celebrating & entertaining the kami

                a. New Year's, Aoi (Spring), Gion (Summer), Jidai (Fall), etc.

                b. No drama, sumo wrestling, parades, dances, drinking, bonfires

            2. ancient government understood as matsurigoto

                a. no separation of church and state

               b. political authority intrinsically religious, spiritual in nature

     D. Shinto Places

            1. jinja = "place of kami," thus a "shrine"

            2. tamagaki = sacred fence defining boundaries of jinga

            3. torii = wooden gate, often painted orange

            4. shimenawa = rope (symbolic of purity) attached to torii

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