Have you ever wondered about Japanese Shinto shrines?
What is the meaning behind those zigzag shapes of paper that hang from a rope, and why are the mikoshi carried around the streets?
What is the symbolism of the little spirits in Ghibli Studios movies: what's the significance of Totoro's tree, or the forest spirits in Princess Mononoke?
Maybe you've watched Makoto Shinkai's movie Your Name and wondered about the spiritual kagura dance that Mitsuha performs with her sister?
I know I have always wondered about these things, and I'm keen to learn more!
So, in this blog I'm turning to a book in the Tuttle series for some answers. The book is called Shinto: the Kami Way and it's written by Sokyo Ono, who was a professor at the Shinto university Kokugakuin Daigaku. He was very much at the heart of the Shinto community in Japan.
Also, I have turned to the excellent discussion about Shinto on BBC Radio 4's In Our Time.
One thing that I have learned is that Shinto isn't readily definable and there is no accepted interpretation.
With this in mind, I'd like to keep it simple, so I aim to just pick out a few pointers, so that a visit to a Shinto shrine is a richer experience next time :)
What are Kami?
Firstly, let's take time to understand what is meant by the term kami.
Shinto is interpreted in English as meaning the Way of the Gods, but the word 'god' is misleading, as the Japanese kami take many forms. They can be human-like, as in the kami Izanagi and Izanami (pictured) who created the islands of Japan, but they can also be the spirits of natural phenomena such as wind and thunder; the spirits of natural objects such as mountains, rocks, rivers, and trees. They can be Imperial ancestors, the ancestors of noble families, or even the founders of great Japanese companies who have achieved outstanding work.
Fundamentally, kami are noble, sacred spirits; manifestations of authority, power, and mystery.
They exist in a spiritual world and are not necessarily interested in the happenings in the mortal world.
In modern Japan, the kami represent justice, order, and many blessings: the kami operate in harmonious cooperation. Shinto is an optimistic faith, where worshippers and the world in which they live
are inherently good.
Ritual offerings at shrines are generally to appease and to appeal to the kami, and to maintain harmony with them.
An Introduction to Shinto
Shinto - the Japanese belief system - is a religion which has no central deity, no founder figure, and no scriptures. At the heart of Shinto is the idea of kami (spirits or deities) which are associated with places, people, and natural phenomena.
Many of us who visit Japan wonder at the beautiful Shinto shrines we walk through, with their magnificent vermilion torii gates.
It's marvellous how Shinto Shrines co-exist with Buddhist temples.
It is clear from passages of early Japanese literature that concepts of Buddhism and Shinto sit happily side by side in the minds of the people.
Certainly, the Shinto belief system has impacted Japanese culture and its art and literature.
Kyoto's ancient Aoi Festival at Shimogamo and Kamigamo Shrines, celebrates the purification of the Ise Priestess (saiō ).
She was an unmarried daughter of the incumbent Emperor. Historically, the Ise Priestess lived at the palace Saikū close to Ise Shrine, and held the crucial role of praying for the peace and protection of the capital.
The Ise Shrine is the holiest site of Shinto. It is a collection of shrines, one of which houses the Sun Goddess Amaterasu herself, antecedent of the Imperial line. Her sacred regalia, the mirror with which she was lured from the cave where she had hidden her light from the world, is enshrined at Ise too.
In 1291, the court lady Nijō writes:
Gozen island got its name, which means 'offering', from the great clusters of edible miru seaweed growing near the island. The priests from Ise Shrine gather this seaweed and offer it to the gods...
...A sacred mirror made by a god to reflect the image of the sun goddess was enshrined at Koasakuma. It is said that it was once stolen and dropped into deep water. When it was recovered and presented at the shrine, the goddess spoke through an oracle: 'I have vowed to save all living things - even the fishes in the boundless sea.'
There are thousands of Shinto shrines across the islands of Japan. Each shrine was built as a sanctuary for the kami, or as the symbol of the kami. The shrines were built where the kami are, and the power of each individual kami is localised within its own vicinity.
The Japanese Foundational Myth
Shinto does not have sacred scriptures - this is significant in understanding the nature of Shinto, it is not a faith about doctrine.
However, it does have two highly regarded ancient texts which form the historical and spiritual basis of its belief system.
The Kojiki (The Record of Ancient Matters), is the oldest extant historical record of Japan. It was compiled in 712 AD, under order of the Emperor. It originates from oral accounts that have been passed down through generations, and it describes the foundational mythology and early history of Japan up to 628 AD.
The Nihongi or Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), was compiled eight years later, and documents the history of Japan up to 697 AD.
The purpose of these ancient texts was to define and legitimise the origins of the Imperial line and its direct connection to Ninigi no Mikoto, grandson of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu.
Ninigi no Mikoto was instructed by the Sun Goddess to descend from the spiritual world and rule Japan.
To demonstrate Ninigi no Mikoto's authority to rule he was given three divine treasures, which are the sacred regalia:
The Mirror (Yata no Kagami)
The String of Jewels (Yasakani no Magatama) which encouraged Amaterasu to leave the cave where she had dimmed her light in response to her brother's chaos
The Sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi which was offered in reconciliation to Amaterasu by her brother, Susanoo no Mikoto (who is enshrined in Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto)
The great grandson of Ninigi no Mikoto became the first human to rule Japan. His name was Emperor Jimmu, although some scholars cast doubt on his true existence :)
I am fascinated that our own English Tudor kings did something similar, tracing their authority to rule back to our legendary king of England, Arthur. Similarly, in the Aeneid, Virgil traces the impressive lineage of Roman Emperor Augustus back to the Trojan prince Aeneas.
The Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki are precious texts that document the early history of Japan, from the evolution of the first gods to the creation out of chaos of the physical islands. Accounts follow of the successful reigns of the Emperors.
Shinto and Purity
I was thinking back to the Gion Matsuri, and the hypnotic music aimed at appealing to the dragon god for rain for growing crops, or to appeal for no rain to stop the spread of disease. The music is perhaps loud to get his attention, as the kami exist on a different plane to mortals.
The chigo festival boys are regarded as pure vessels through which mortals can communicate with the kami, and the hoko spires reach up to the Kyoto skies so that the gods can climb down to the streets of the city.
High schoolers flock to Kitano Tenmangu before exams to appeal for good fortune to the Heian noble scholar Sugawara no Michizane. The shrine was built to appease his troubled spirit when a series of disasters hit Kyoto after he had been wrongfully banished from the capital.
People appeal to the kami, but the Shinto system is essentially about doing right by them, keeping them happily on an even keel through ritual, worship, and dance, and not polluting their area with things like blood and death.
Ivan Morris describes how the Shinto notion about defilement in Heian Kyoto had a considerable effect on daily life:
For ritual uncleanliness, especially when it derived from illness or death, applied not only to the person directly concerned but to all the other members of the household, who were regarded as having been, as it were, infected. The house that was subject to a taboo of this kind was out of bounds to visitors, and willow-wood tags were hung on the shutters to keep them away.
Purification is central to Shinto. When you appeal to a kami, you should be clean, and everything around the kami should be clean. Pollution should be avoided.
Purity is a very temporary status in the way in which it is perceived. It is a moment of ritual purity that you have just when you come close to the kami, it's not something that you have to maintain permanently.
And similarly, pollution is not like a sin which is always with you. It's a moment of pollution that can be cleansed away by specific rituals. Purity is something that is both physical and performative.
As you enter the shrine there is a water purification area (temizuya) composed of a stone receptacle filled with water, and wooden dipping ladles. Purification is aided by the rinsing of the mouth and the pouring of water over the fingertips. This is considered a necessary preparation for worship.
This water ritual cleanses the worshipper in the sanctuary of the kami.
Shrines and Rituals
In BBC Radio 4's In Our Time programme about Shinto, Martin Palmer, Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education, and Culture, expands on the shrine rituals of Shinto:
Shinto shrines are kept by a keeper of the shrine, a ‘priest’.
If you're a visitor, you wash first before you come in. It's a very symbolic washing too - there’s water at the front of the shrine and as you enter you can wash off your pollution.
You're not going there for redemption. You're not even going there for preaching. Shinto priests do not preach, there is nothing to preach about really.
You go there because these are the people who are in some way or another able to manage, or at least have a relationship with, these forces that lie all around you, which are beyond you as an individual.
There is constantly in your mind, a parallel universe, operating everywhere you look, which is the Spiritual Universe, which is through a veil (this is probably the best way to describe it). It exists alongside you all the time, and you can accidentally offend it, and it can randomly offend you if it feels like it.
The kami are amoral. There are no core beliefs. You're not dealing with something that’s like the Western tradition, where we have this notion that you can establish a covenant, where you can say to God that you'll do this and God says that as long as you do this, I'll look after you. There isn't that same relationship.
What there is, is the necessity for ritual, for purification, ensuring that the kami are not offended and that they are kept peaceful.
Originally, shrines were constructed where a kami was experienced, but as the population of Japan grew, shrines began to be erected where they were more accessible. Mostly, these shrine sanctuaries were constructed under the belief that the kami were symbolically present at all times. Every effort is made at the shrine to create an experience of mystic proximity to the spiritual world and nature.
The purpose of the shrine is to provide a sanctuary for the kami and a place where it can be worshipped.
Symbolic of the kami's presence is a divine symbol, which is housed within the innermost part of the shrine. A shrine is usually constructed with the inner sanctum for the divine symbol - the representative of the kami, and the outer space which is for public worship and offerings. There is no space for preaching of doctrine, as this is not the Shinto way.
Two swinging doors at the front of the inner sanctum are kept locked, except for the occasion of specific rites, in order to protect the divine symbol from being violated.
Shinto Priests
The priesthood is usually hereditary, and some of them go back, many, many generations - male and female. This is very typical of a religion that has evolved from a shamanic tradition. The priests are the holders of the local tradition.
Central to the priests' role are the ceremonies that commemorate life. Shrine rites and ceremonies are performed in order to appeal to the kami for cooperation in securing the happiness and peace of the individual or the community.
In the video above, a Shinto priest waves the haraiguchi purification wand over a new car for protection.
The matsuri (which originally meant 'service to the kami'), are often celebrations of fertility, and they are hugely important in terms of the local community.
I went to see the Zuiki Matsuri at my beloved shrine Kitano Tenmangu. Little girls were dressed in costumes that evoked harvest festival, to perform a dance - their grandmothers sat nearby with huge furoshiki-wrapped bundles of clothes.
The priests led the mikoshi that carried the kami around the local area. I've always wondered if the kami was the noble spirit of Sugawara no Michizane...
When the mikoshi returned, the gates of the inner shrine were closed to onlookers.
Shrine Symbols
The mirror lies between the offering table and the swing doors to the inner sanctuary. It is an object of clear light and truth. The mirror symbolizes the impartiality and purity of the mind of the kami, and it represents the purity of the relationship of the worshipper towards the kami. It of course resonates with the reflection of the Sun Goddess herself in the very dawning of the nation.
The Gohei is a wand with attached papers folded in a zigzag fashion. It is placed centrally before the doors to the inner sanctuary.
The Haraigushi is the purification wand, hung with long paper streamers and strands of flax. This is the wand that is waved before the person or object that is to be purified.
Banners signify the presence of the kami and are also ornamental offerings to please them.
The Shimenawa is the sacred rope which you may see decorated with zigzag strips of white paper, stretched between pillars or circling a tree at the entrance to a shrine. The shimenawa indicates the sacred places where the kami are believed to dwell.
In the north of Kyoto, there is a path through the Tadasu no Mori forest which leads to the ancient Shimogamo Shrine. It is a place heavy with the presence of sacred spirits, and there is a very old tree with a shimenawa around its huge trunk, symbolising the presence of the kami.
Do you remember when the family in My Neighbour Totoro stood to look at the sacred tree?
The Torii
Many Shinto shrines are entered through a torii gateway. The torii symbolically marks the end of the everyday world and the entrance to the spiritual world of the kami.
The Fushimi Inari shrine is famous for its beautiful tunnel of vermilion torii gates.
The famous torii that stands astride the main thoroughfare near Kyoto's Heian Shrine is also notable.
Torii are a reminder of the presence of the kami in the neighbourhood.
Guardians of the Gate
Seated human figures dressed in ancient court costumes, or animals, are often seated near the entrance of shrines, guarding the precincts from evil spirits.
At the Fushimi Inari shrine south of Kyoto, the fox images are messengers of the kami, rather than guardians.
Shrine Dance
Lady Nijō writes at Kasuga Shrine in Nara in 1290:
I wondered if the storms that often blew down from the mountains were strong enough to startle one out of the sleep of illusion, and if the running water gurgling through the foothills could wash away the stains of worldly life. Such thoughts occupied my mind as I entered the Wakamiya Shrine. There the rays of evening sun were glistening on the shrine roof and gleaming through the treetops on the hillside, as two of the young shrine maidens danced before the gods.
One of the buildings often found at a Shinto shrine is a hall for sacred dances. Sometimes there is a theatre for Noh plays too.
The shrine maidens (miko) in white kosode (an early type of kimono) and vermilion hakama pleated trousers, are unmarried daughters of priests or local residents whose role is the performance of ceremonial dances for the kami.
The kagura dance is an antecedent of the geisha dances of Kyoto. The kagura dance in turn is believed to have derived from the sacred dances performed at the Imperial court by the shrine maidens, who were believed to be descendants of the dancer who lured the Sun Goddess from the cave - Ame no Uzume.
The kagura originated from ritual Imperial Court dances in which the miko channelled the kami.
Today, they are performed in worship of the kami as part of festivals.
They are often performed with ritual props, such as bells or sprigs of the holy Shinto evergreen tree, sakaki.
Both priests and miko wear dress that resembles costume from the Heian era.
I stood under starlight in Yasaka Shrine one evening during the Gion Matsuri festivities. I watched the priest manoeuvre the kami (or the symbol of the kami) into the mikoshi from behind white cloths. I was astonished to witness this.
The photo on the left shows local children dancing for the gods at Yasaka Shrine in Gion.
They are facing towards the mikoshi where the kami have been transported.
There are many examples of Shinto ceremonies which you can enjoy. I would love to take part in this one, in the heat of summer: the Mitarashisai at Shimogamo Shrine, where you wade into the waters illuminated by a small candle.
Kitano Tenmangu has a similar ashitsuke Shinto ritual. It's a ritual of purification by soaking your feet in the cool river, and it dates from the noble Heian era.
In January there is the Yutate Kagura at Jōnangū. It's a water purification ritual, where a shrine maiden spectacularly sprays boiling water into the crowd - it's a way to pray for good health. You can buy the purified bamboo that the miko uses to take home afterwards!
Offerings
A key part of the ritual requirement is the presentation of offerings for the kami.
Offerings include: money - the coins that are tossed into the wooden box at the front of the shrine; food and drink offerings may be sake, fruit, rice etc. All sorts of materials are offered, and there are also symbolic offerings such as the gohei mentioned earlier: that sprig of sacred sakaki tree attached with folded zigzag strips of paper.
The worshipper crosses the sacred space underneath the torii gate, and approaches the bell in front of the worship hall. The bell rope is shaken to ring the bell, to drive away evil spirits if there are any nearby.
He will then throw a coin into the offerings box, he will bow lightly, then follow it with two deep bows while saying his prayer. He will finally clap his hands twice, bow once more deeply, and once more lightly before turning away.
Before leaving, the worshipper may stop at the stall served by miko and buy a fortune. These are the knotted papers that you see folded onto wires.
I think the final words should be from Sokyo Ono, author of Shinto, the Kami Way :
There is a tingle of excitement, a thrill of joy, as one enters into a grove which surrounds a shrine, or stands within view of the torii and sanctuary as a ritual is being performed.
Especially at the Grand Shrine of Ise, the magnificent cryptomeria and cypress trees create within the devout an inexpressible feeling of awe and wonder.
When young men in happi coats and with towels wrapped tightly about their heads shout 'wassho, wassho,' as they zigzag down the streets with the sacred palanquin hoisted on their shoulders, they experience an exhilaration unimagined by those who do not enter into the spirit of the occasion.
The kami-faith is caught not taught; and the experience begins when a baby is first carried to the shrine on the mother's back.
I hope you have enjoyed reading our introduction to Shinto,
and that it enriches your next visit to a beautiful Shinto shrine in Japan.
Following this blog we will share a second blog soon looking in more detail at those core ancient texts concerning the Japanese foundational myth: the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki.
The blog is called Amaterasu: the Sun Goddess. We will see you soon!
Cathy
xx
Sources
Sokyo Ono, Shinto: The Kami Way, (Tuttle).
BBC Radio 4: In Our Time: Shinto
Kojiki, translated by Donald L. Philippi.
The Nihongi can be found online by Googling: Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697
The Confessions of Lady Nijō, translated by Karen Brazell, (Stanford University Press), p.203.
Ivan Morris, The World of the Shining Prince, (Kodansha), p.94.
Wikipedia: Kagura
Wikipedia: Saiō: The original image uploader was Ka-ru at English Wikipedia.
Wikipedia: Origin of Music and Dance at the Rock Door by Shunsai Toshimasa, 1887.
Another really interesting and informative blog. Looking forward to the second blog.