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Shintoism Shinto Shrine Kami Way
Glossary Terminology

 Chusai


Medium Scale Festival Rites include: New Year's Day and a ceremony to celebrate Japan's Foundation Day.



 Kami


Shinto sacred spirits that are the objects to pray to for blessings and grace and to worship for their spirituality. The Kami can take various forms including: the forms of natural elements like trees, rocks, mountains, the wind, and the sun; the forms of national heroes and protectors of family clans; or abstract things like fertility. Kami are the only things that have great influence on daily life.

The Kami of natural phenomena are worshiped: Kami of the Seas, Kami of the Rivers, Kami of the Thunders, Kami of the Rains, Kami of the Mountains. It is important to perform rites for Kami since although they usually guard and bless people they can also get angry and bring misfortunes upon them.

The Kami are neither omnipotent nor omniscient. In Shinto mythology, the Kamiah that gave birth to the land of Japan failed at first and had to ask for help from other Kami in heaven who told them to search for the answers through the practice of divination. There are no absolutes or perfect Kami. The people worship the divine spirits, Shinrei, because they have great influence in their lives, and they are in awe of the Magatsuhi Kami who bring evil into them.



 Jinja Shinto (Shrine Shinto)


The shrines are the homes of the Kami and places of worship where festivals, Matsuri, are regularly celebrated to show Kami the world outside the shrine. Communities organized the Shinto shrines but imperial Shinto rituals at the court were an important governmental task performed by the emperor. In ancient times the rites were performed outdoors. A piece of unpolluted land was roped off in a square and a stand of tree was erected as an invitation to the Kami. This place was called Himorogi. If a rock were chosen instead of a tree, the place was called Iwasaka.

After Buddhism came to Japan, the image of Buddha was worshiped in a building. This influenced Shinto to enshrine the Kami spirit in a building and to perform the ancient style of rituals before constructing the buildings. (Jichinsai). With the exception of the medieval period from 1192-1603 when the Japanese enshrined an image of Kami that resembles Buddha, the Kami have been worshipped without an image.

The Jinja shrine is usually situated in a natural environment. To give the impression of purity, the architectural style is simple. Many different styles evolved under the influence of Yin-Yang thought and Buddhism. Plain wood and thatched roofs developed into painted materials and sculptures affixed to the buildings. Generally paper or cloth strips attached to a stand or a Heihaku mirror were the objects of worship. A shrine grove and tree lined path leads to the main shrine building (even in urban areas were they are maintained on a smaller scale).

Principal Center: Shinto shrines can be found in groves of trees all over Japan. All the shrines have Torii, sacred gates, and often contain water for symbolic purification of hands and mouth; larger shrines have main halls, buildings for offerings, and oratories. Inside the main hall resides the Goshintai, god-body, which is sometimes represented by a mirror, but more often, nothing at all. The classic Shinto shrine is the world-renowned Ise Shrine, the primary cult site for Amaterasu, the most important of the Kami...Continue on

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