Shintoism

Shintoism

Shinto, or Shinto for short, is the local religion of the Daiwa and Ryukyu nationalities in Japan, which is divided into Daiwa Shinto and Ryukyu Shinto.

Shinto was originally dominated by nature worship, ancestor worship, and emperor worship, which belonged to animism and polytheism (spirit worship). It regarded all kinds of animals and plants in nature as gods, and also endowed the Japanese emperor with divinity. There are more than 800 gods worshipped by the emperor as the great God of the sun. The Japanese nation is called "tiansun nation". The emperor is the descendant of Tianzhao and his representative in the world. The emperor is Shentong. The place of offering sacrifices is called shrine or shrine, and the clergy is called Temple official, temple palm, etc.

Ryukyu Shinto originated in the Ryukyu Islands, mainly in the belief of dragon palace and Yuyue (Note: Yuyue is the general name of the holy land of Ryukyu Shinto, which is the place where gods exist in Ryukyu mythology and the place where gods are received. There are similar bird dwellings in Daiwa Shinto).

The origin of the name

Shinto didn't have a formal name at first. Until the 5th to 8th century, Buddhism was introduced into Japan through Korea, and gradually expanded in Japan at that time. In order to compete with "Buddhism", Shinto was created to distinguish Japan's inherent "Shinto" from "Buddhism" introduced from abroad.

The Shinto of Shintoism, also known as the way of heaven, says in the book of changes that "the grand view is superior, Shun and Xun, and Zhong Zheng views the world. If you look at it, you can wash it but not recommend it. The four seasons are not special when we observe the divine way of heaven. The sages teach by the divine way, and the world obeys it. ". Since the Han Dynasty, Shinto also refers to "opening the road in front of the tomb and building stone pillars as the mark.".

In Japan, the word "Shinto" first appeared in the Japanese secretary's book "using the emperor of tomorrow", in which it was recorded that "the emperor believed in Buddhism and respected Shinto.". Although the word "Shinto" originated from Chinese characters, the concept of this word is actually different between China and Japan. If Shinto is interpreted literally, it will be misled by its name.

The book "biography of ancient events" makes the following comments on Kami: "anyone who is called Kami starts from the gods seen in the classical, birds, animals, plants, mountains and seas, etc., and anyone who is extraordinary is called Kami. Not only the excellent, the kind and the meritorious. The evil, the strange and the terrible are also called gods. " That is to say, the "gods" worshipped by Shintoism are not only the so-called gods of the Chinese people, but also some horrible evil spirits. (that is, the core concept of deities in shendaoism is "myriad things."