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Shinto became the state religion of Japan in the Meiji Period. At the time, Shinto Priests became state officials and Shinto shrines were funded by the government. The Japanese Creation myths were then used as a foundational impetus to liberate Shinto practices by detaching them from any connections they might have made with Buddhism. Following World War II, the religion of Shinto was once again separated from state support.
Today over four million
Japanese visit Shinto shrines to pray for good fortune; to keep away evil
spirits before special events; and to procure talismans. Most weddings are
performed as Shinto rituals. Since followers of Shinto view death as a cause of
impurity, Buddhist rites are usually performed at funerals. Shintoism has a Creation Myth. The Shinto faith began with the mythological belief that at the beginning of the universe there was only one thing that later divided into two things, Heaven and Earth.
Then kami appeared in
Heaven and the last of them was a male and female, kami couple who gave birth to
the land, to nature, to the kami, and to the people of Japan. Within this life
giving power, there is no substantial difference between humans and nature or
the kami. We are all children of kami. After their death people are revered at
their home as Ancestral Kami.
These Kami parents were Izanami (Izanami-No-Kami) who was the Japanese Shinto earth mother and Izanagi (Izanagi-No-Kami) was the Japanese Shinto sky father. Izanami (Izanami-No-Kami) who was the Japanese Shinto earth mother, Primordial creator goddess, who represented all that was gracious and heavenly. "The Female Who Invites" together with her husband, brother, and soulmate Izanagi (Izanagi-No-Kami), "The Male Who Invites", Izanami was given the task of creating the world. Izanagi (Izanagi-No-Kami) was the Japanese Shinto sky father, primordial creator god, and Initiator of the Cleansing Rites who represented all that was light and heavenly. "The Male Who Invites" together with his wife, sister, and soulmate Izanami (Izanami-No-Kami), "The Female Who Invites", Izanagi was given the task of creating the world. Izanagi and Izanami stood together on the floating bridge of the heavens called "Ama-no-ukihashi" and immersed a bejeweled spear deep into the sea. As they gradually removed it from the waves, water droplets condensed to form the first Japanese island where the kami and humans were born. After their laborious endeavors together were finished, the Izanami needed a lengthy rest and recuperation, so she retreated to the Otherworld for a long period of time before returning to the Earthly realm to rejoin Izanagi...Continue on Go back
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