For week 7 I decided that I would do my assignment on Shinto, since taking this class and reading about Shinto it started to interest me, especially now that I can look back and think about what I saw when I was in Japan and wondered what the religion was that they were practicing. Shinto’s meaning is “way of the gods”, this is one of the oldest religions in Japan, which began during the period of the Yayoi culture (c. 300 BCE - 300 CE). The faith has neither a founder or prophets and there is no major text which outlines its principal beliefs. Shinto's key concepts of purity, harmony, family respect, and subordination of the individual before the group have become parts of the Japanese character whether the individual claims a religious affiliation …show more content…
These gods (ujigami) are associated with specific ancient clans (uji).Izanami and Izanagi are known as the create gods that form the islands of Japan. The sun and supreme deity are female, Amaterasu. Her brother is Susanoo and is known as the god of the sea and storms.
The story of this is that Susanoo and Amaterasu battled with each other following Susanoo's disgraceful behaviour. Amaterasu then went and hid in a cave, this caused the darkening of the world, and the gods could not tempt her to come out of the cave. They even went as far as offering fine jewels and a mirror but nothing they did could get her to come out. One day however, there was an erotic dancer caused so much laughter that it caused the attention of Amaterasu and this made her come out to see what the fuss and laughter was all about
Another story is that Susanoo turned over a new leaf. This was done by slaying an eight-headed dragon monster, the dragon was said have been terrifying a farming family, he gave the sword he found in one of the creature's eight tails to Amaterasu in reconciliation. The dispute is taken by historians to represent the victory of the Yamato clan (represented by Amaterasu) over their rivals the Izumo (represented by
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Together they created a new race of gods who ruled the earth. Over time Amaterasu became concerned at the power/control that the gods wielded. Amaterasu then went to her grandson Honinigi, these were the jewels and mirror the gods used to persuade Amaterasu out of her cave and the sword that was given to her by Susanoo, known later as Kusanagi. These three objects would become part of the imperial regalia of Japan. Another symbol carried by Honinigi was the magnificent magatama jewel which had special fertility powers. The most powerful god was Okuninushi, Honinigi landed on Mt. Takachio in Kyushu and made a deal with Okuninushi. For his loyalty to Amaterasu, Okuninushi would have the important role of protector of the future royal family. Later, the god would be regarded as the protector of all Japan.
Other important divine figures include The 'Seven Lucky Gods' or Shichifukujin specifically Daikokuten (considered the god of the kitchen) and Ebisu who represent wealth, Inari the rice god, Amida (ruler of the Pure Land, i.e. heaven), Kannon (protector of children, women in childbirth, and dead souls) and Jizo (protector of those in pain and the souls of dead
Shinto tradition has been the aboriginal native tradition responsible for the Japanese tendency to locate divinity in a nature population. According to Okano Haruko, author of Women and Sexism in Shinto, the woman’s role in the Shinto religion was that she was the medium of direct contact with the deity and announced the divine will to humankind. The realization of this will on earth was entrusted to the man. Thus priesthood was embodied in this male plus female relationship. However, in time the more dependent role that “magical elements” in the religion were the more important the woman’s role became. Little is known about Japan before the advent of writing, so piercing together women’s lives and contributions to early Japanese history is difficult. The traditional Japanese woman has evolved in response to the influences of the religion that dominated Japan of the times, roles of women in ancient Japan elicits inconsistencies primary due to
Human search for meaning in Shinto is based off of their beliefs, rituals, origins and culture. There are four components that make up the Shinto human search of meaning, Simplicity, one with the world, peace within the world and the individual journey to self-discovery and potential. Simplicity refers to the lack of scripture, rules and expectations the individual to interpret hoe they are to live their lives. Peace with the world is to be what the individual interprets to be the best person they can have an optimistic approach to the world encouraging world peace and peace within themselves. One with the world refers to the immanent nature of the religion, the way the world is viewed individually contributing to their connection with the
The supernatural powers and deities of Shinto are Kami. Kami are not Gods but spirits that intervene with humans that do not live in a separate dimension but in the same dimension as humans. Kami can take form of elements of nature such as rivers, mountains, storms and earthquakes but they were also the deities that created the universe as stated in their holy text. They can also be spirits that take the form of the living and the souls of humans that have demonstrated outstanding achievement (such as soldiers that gave up their lives for war, emperors and leaders) becoming Kami after their death. Kami are also the ancestors and protectors of human beings. Kami can also influence the course of nature and events of humans. They like the human
Church- Among the Taino community, there was a hierarchy of creators. The Yocahu was the highest creator. Jurakan was constantly angry and governed the power of the hurricane. Other Gods were the Zemi and Maboya. The Zemis was a God of both sexes and it was characterized by images of human and animal figures. The Taino’s thought that by being in the good graces of their zemis, they were sheltered from disease, hurricanes, or war disasters. As an offering, they would prepared cassava bread. The Maboyas were nocturnal Gods that ruined crops and were feared among the Tainos. Thus, they offered detailed contributions to satisfy him.
One creation story says that long ago, two gods named Izanagi and Izanami were commanded by the primal gods to make and solidify the land of Japan. The two gods then threw a spear into the sea. The mud that dripped from the spear became an island, and there, Izanagi and Izanami built a palace and married each other. Over time, Izanami gave birth to the islands of Japan and many deities, but she died giving birth to her last one, who was a fire god. Angry, Izanagi beheaded his son and followed Izanami to Yomi, the Land of the Dead, urging her to return back with him.
Japan had been in turmoil since the emperor had lost all power. Over 300 daimyo, independent warlords, regularly gathered armies of samurai and peasants to fight each other
Amaterasu taught the humans on Earth how to plant rice and kept the sun shining to help it grow, and she did this everyday until Susano-o made her so mad that she locked herself away in a cave. Susano-o destroyed rice fields, he made a lot of noise, made Amaterasu's palace floor dirty, and eventually skinned one of heaven's horses and threw it at her while she was weaving cloth. Amaterasu became so furious with her brother that she locked herself in a cave and the world became dark and rice could not grow. The humans suffered incredibly and the other gods and goddesses became worried about Amaterasu, so came up with a plan to get her out of the cave. The gods and goddesses came to the cave in which Amaterasu was in and brought jewels and a mirror, and danced and laughed to try and capture the sun goddess's attention.
Firstly, the traditions within Shintoism were important to help the Japanese people to connect with their ancestors and the nature around them. The word ‘Shinto’ itself means way of the gods. It is as old as the Japanese culture and was the only religion in Japan until the 6th century. According to the Shinto religion, there exists a basic life force called kami. Kami are close to human beings and respond to human prayers. They can influence the course of natural forces, and human events. Shinto tradition says that there are eight million kami in Japan. Due to their deep respect and love for nature and Japan itself, many shrines were set up in places of natural beauty. Followers went to pray here to receive good fortune and samurai would often go to the shrines to pray for victory before and after battle. Shinto’s traditions involved having a clean lifestyle. They washed and bathed everyday which made most of japan a fresh
the hereditary, tribal chief of the gods, and he plays a very important part in the Book of the Dead. Therefore he is one of the gods who watch the weighing of the heart of the deceased in the Judgment Hall of Osiris. The righteous who were provided with the necessary words of power were able to make their escape from the earth but the wicked were held fast by Geb.
Principal beliefs concerning the origins of the universe Incas believed that before anything was created, there was a being called Viracocha Pachayachachi, which translates to “Creator of All Things”. He then created everything such as the sun, moon, and stars before he created humans. When he created human he gave them some rules such as there shall be no quarrelling on the earth. As they disobeyed this rule, Viracocha cursed all being on earth. Some were swallowed by the earth and some were swallowed by the sea.
Shinto and Buddhism are two different traditions that have flourished in Japan for hundreds of years. Generally, followers from one of the traditions tend to follow the guidance of the other as well, which makes the relationship between Shinto and Buddhism very rare in world religions. At first, when these two traditions contacted each other in ancient Japan, there was a lot of confusion, but eventually they were able to coexist. However, even though Buddhism and Shinto share similarities regarding flexibility and independence, there are more differences between them proven by Buddhism’s spread to ancient Japan, their contrasting practices and beliefs and the different outlooks on the afterlife.
Leuzinger 1 The Greek Gods Throughout history it is easy to see that religion has a big deal to do with culture, but what if religion played such a big part in our society that we were constantly afraid of being zapped by lightning, or losing the entire sun? From the beginning of written history gods have dictated the ideas of peoples and cultures, shaping the majority of our world as we know it today. Such effects can be seen even in our federal law system in America. For example the Ten Commandments had a lot to do with the writing of the constitution.
In myths we come across many names of gods and goddesses and strange creatures. All of them have many stories related to them. Different gods represent different aspects of life and the Earth is under their control.
My name is Hippomenes and I am a priest of Zeus. It is the late archaic period, 506 years since the fall of the Mycenaean civilization (1000”BCE”) and I am based at the Temple of Zeus at Olympia (298 “kilometers” from Athens). As a priest it is my job to oversee that all the sacrifices to the gods are performed correctly, make sure the prayers are spoken properly and to help maintain our glorious temple. I will be guiding you through the various aspects of my life as a priest and the aspects of the Hellenic world.
The relationship between gods and mortals in mythology has long been a complicated topic. The gods can be generous and supportive, and also devastating and destructive to any group of humans. Mortals must respect the powers above them that cannot be controlled. The gods rule over destiny, nature, and justice, and need to be recognized and worshipped for the powerful beings as they are. Regardless of one's actions, intentions, and thoughts, the gods in Greek myth have ultimate power and the final decision of justice over nature, mortals, and even each other.