The Religion of Shinto!

I researched about a modern religion of my interest. I chosen to research, learn, and present about the religion of Shinto. Shinto was always an interesting religion to me, because it has so much similarity to Buddhism. I'm really proud of this blog because I obtained vital information about Shinto and the origination.

The Japanese word ‘Shinto’ means, literally, “the way of the Kami”. The word Kami means, “God” in Japanese. Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion that is in a modified form by Buddhism and Confucianism. Shinto is a religion that originated from Japan. Shinto is characterized less by religious of doctrine or belief than by observance. In other words, there is no deity supreme over all. Shinto has no doctrine, no fix system of ethics. Shinto religion has many gods and the god that is the supreme of all is the Sun Goddess, known as the ruler of Heaven. The religion of Shinto is an unstructured or ill organized mix of nature worship. They believe in the sun goddess and have strong views on fertility cults. Furthermore, Shintoist believes in divination techniques, such as practicing the knowledge of nature and future for supernatural means.

 Shinto practices do not have regular weekly services unlike other religions. Shintoists can visit shrines at anytime. The most popular days of the month are the first and the fifth-teen day, where many Shintoist go to visit the shrines. The religion of Shinto celebrates festivals, traditional ceremonies, and customs. Shinto festivals during the year bring millions of believers together. Many of the major celebrations are the Autumn festival, and Annual Festival. Autumn festival is a festival similar to thanksgiving. It’s a festival of appreciation and a kind of thanksgiving to life. In addition, Annual festival is a New Year celebration. The festival services offer cleansing rituals, prayers, music, dance, and food offerings. Also, on the November of 15th children of young ages go to the shrine to pray for healthy growth.

Lastly, the uniqueness of Shinto religion, many Shintoist practice Buddhism and have a combination of Buddhist altar set up for prayer. People practicing both religions blend special elements into their lives such as Shinto-style wedding and Buddhist reincarnation and karma aspects of religion.

The picture is a Japanese shrine. Its a place of sacred praying for the Shintoist. Shintoist can come to the shrine anytime and pray. The shrine is important even for weddings to pray for healthy relationships and family. The shrine is a Toyokuni shrine in Kyoto.