Shinto is the native religion of Japan and originated in ancient times with the worship of nature, tradition and family and physical purification. It is a polytheistic religion and there is no holy text or religious canon. After the arrival of Buddhism in the sixth century, the two religions were practiced together until the Emperor Meiji separated them in 1868 and Shinto was made the official state religion. During the first half of the 20th century, adherence to Shintoism was enforced and the emperor was worshipped as a deity. This changed after World War II when government control of shrines was released during the American occupation.
Shinto and Buddhism were once again practiced simultaneously because the religions are considered complementary to each other. Often, birth and life cycle events, such as weddings, are celebrated at Shinto shrines and funerals are Buddhist ceremonies. Our tour guide explained that the division of these celebrations is based on the Shinto focus on this life and the Buddhist focus on afterlife. While we were touring at the Heian Shrine, we were able to see a Shinto wedding taking place at the altar from a distance and later take pictures of the procession as it made its way out of the shrine. Only immediate family members attended the shrine ceremony, but later the couple celebrates with friends and the rest of the family.
Shinto shrines, like the Heian Shrine, are places for practitioners of Shinto to pray and hold religious celebrations. They are constructed in traditional Japanese architectural styles and painted white, orange and green. There is often a special place at the shrine, accessible only to laity, where kami (religious artifacts) are kept. Another feature of the shrines is that there are no images; this keeps with the belief that Shinto practitioners pray spirit to spirit rather than to objects.
No comments:
Post a Comment