Shinto, any answers?

[dogsbody70]

cerainly the forum has wonderful members with much knowledge.

I wish you well.

There seems to be alot of information about it on line.

[steamboatsam]

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

cerainly the forum has wonderful members with much knowledge.

I wish you well.

There seems to be alot of information about it on line.

True

Thank you

Also true, but not many chatrooms or forums to discuss it

[steamboatsam]

I got some new questions

1. is there any other religions that work with shinto besides Buddhism and Confucism?

2. I read that some homes have small shrines in them, what are they like?

3. How many age based rituals are there in Shinto, and if possible, what is each one for and at what age does a person performs it?

P.S. Can anyone please tell me about the idea of kami?

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by steamboatsam

1. is there any other religions that work with shinto besides Buddhism and Confucism?

Shinto is pretty much compatible with any religion out there. It is whether the other religion is accepting of it that makes the difference. I have heard even Christians in Japan say that Shinto and Christianity can work well together because kami aren`t necessarily "other gods".
It all comes down to interpretation.

2. I read that some homes have small shrines in them, what are they like?

They`re like a little wooden model of a shrine. Give me a day and I`ll take a picture of ours - but in the meantime here are pictures of typical ones.

3. How many age based rituals are there in Shinto, and if possible, what is each one for and at what age does a person performs it?

This is a long one, and because of the regional differences and festivals - different areas have different customs. Shinto isn`t really a regulated system of beliefs, so there isn`t an official set for most of these things.

Can anyone please tell me about the idea of kami?

What exactly are you wanting to know that is not written around the net? You say you have read a lot, but what do you not understand?

[steamboatsam]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

What exactly are you wanting to know that is not written around the net? You say you have read a lot, but what do you not understand?

The overall idea of kami actually. I've read from my world religions book that its a set of gods and spirits that govern over certain things in nature. A site I looked up recently said that kami are not only gods but ancestors who have reached a high spiritual state, and one said that kami is just nature itself? I've read probably six different ideas and interpretations of kami that I just haven't been able to understand it clearly cause I don't know if they are all right, if one or two are right, or if all of them are wrong.

Sorry if what I'm saying sounds confusing

Originally Posted by Nyoronin

Shinto is pretty much compatible with any religion out there. It is whether the other religion is accepting of it that makes the difference. I have heard even Christians in Japan say that Shinto and Christianity can work well together because kami aren`t necessarily "other gods".
It all comes down to interpretation.

Would you happen to know how shinto is compatible with any religion?

[TalnSG]

You might try these two references:

This is an online Shinto Encylcopedia
Encyclopedia of Shinto - Home
In my case it raised more questions than it answered, but it can be very helpful.

This book is written for Westerners and is an easy and mildly entertaining read. There are some specifics, but even more hints on where to wander next when exploring Shinto, on both a spiritual and pragmatic/day-to-day basis.
"A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine" by John K. Nelson. Amazon has it, if your local bookstore doesn't.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by steamboatsam

The overall idea of kami actually. I've read from my world religions book that its a set of gods and spirits that govern over certain things in nature. A site I looked up recently said that kami are not only gods but ancestors who have reached a high spiritual state, and one said that kami is just nature itself? I've read probably six different ideas and interpretations of kami that I just haven't been able to understand it clearly cause I don't know if they are all right, if one or two are right, or if all of them are wrong.

Kami are anything other than people, really. You can have, for example, the little "kami" of an object, the nature "kami" of a river, and the ancestral one. They`re all right.

If you believe in it, it is there. So if even a single person believes that a "kami" exists in something - it does. But if no one believes in it, it will disappear.
You can track histories of countless local kami back to mundane events - someone did something and connected a later event to it, so a kami is born in that location.

It can be a lot like superstition, but instead of just having a lucky/unlucky object - there is a reason for the luck or lack of it.

Would you happen to know how shinto is compatible with any religion?

As Shinto isn`t a strict set of beliefs, it is accepting of pretty much anything. Other gods are just some other powerful kami that are somewhere else. The creation myth is the creation of Japan, not the world - there is no reason to consider any other beliefs "wrong".

[steven]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

With a car, it`s to protect the car from accidents, keep everyone inside the car safe, and to get some divine "insurance" so to speak.

I love that phrase Nyororin-- "divine insurance". I know my father in law has a buttload of beads in his car. He asked me if I knew what they were one day and I was kinda being careful and said something like "for safety?" and he said pretty straight forward that it was to avoid accidents. Ironically some of the beads were hanging from his mirror undoubtedly making it, even if ever so slightly, harder to drive.

And not to be rude, but there is a kami for just about everything... and I mean everything. I guess Nyororin's explanation makes the most sense to me. I've heard people say there are even kami for things like toilets. On the other hand, you'll sometimes see like 400 year old trees in shrines in Japan that are obviously kami. I don't know if this pertains to any of your questions (and you probably know this), but every time you enter a shrine, you're like entering the world of the kami so you have to show your respect.

Just for a little admission-- I once drove through one of those gates. I was driving through some really narrow streets in Fukui-ken and I eventually ended up kind of in a shrine thing (there were houses in it too though so it was very hard to distinguish).

I might be going beyond the scope of what I've studied and have heard by saying this, but I get the feeling there is a connection with these "kami" for everything and how people seem to respect things more in Japan (at least verbally). You might have seen it happen before or read about it, but Japanese people sometimes apologize to inanimate objects. They will also apologize to small bugs and stuff like that. Even if there is nobody there to hear the apology I suspect it still happens. Like if someone bumps into something they might apologize to it. I realize this has a lot to do with respect for other peoples' property, but I think there may be a connection to the shinto that is mixed in with everyday Japanese culture. Even when saying "itadakimasu" or "gochisosamadeshita" I feel there is a hint of it. While saying those before/after meals shows an appreciation for everyone involved in what you ate (like the driver, the fisherman, the grocery store workers, the person who cooked it, etc etc etc... this is at least what is taught at the elementary school I worked at), I think there is a kami-aspect to it. It may be getting back to what Nyororin said-- if someone beleives in it, then it exists. Like when I eat Ayu (which will usually come from the big river in my town) I like to think about the fish and the river. It's like the distribution of life. Whether that last bit has anything to do with Shinto is something I don't know though so I apologize for ramblin'.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by steven

I love that phrase Nyororin-- "divine insurance". I know my father in law has a buttload of beads in his car. He asked me if I knew what they were one day and I was kinda being careful and said something like "for safety?" and he said pretty straight forward that it was to avoid accidents. Ironically some of the beads were hanging from his mirror undoubtedly making it, even if ever so slightly, harder to drive.

Beads hanging off of it sounds a lot more like he has Buddhist beads there. The things you get when blessing your car and annually as shrines are always the little envelope type charms. I don`t think I`ve ever seen beads.

We always replace ours when it puffs up. I am 99.9% certain that the puffiness is because it gets hot in the car and the paper inside comes unfolded or something like that - but we like to think of it as a sign that it`s absorbed so many potential accidents.

Oh, and I don`t think it`s to keep *you* from hitting something, it`s more to keep other people from hitting you.

I've heard people say there are even kami for things like toilets.

There are - there really is one for everything. Our local shrine has the god of pickling...

Just for a little admission-- I once drove through one of those gates. I was driving through some really narrow streets in Fukui-ken and I eventually ended up kind of in a shrine thing (there were houses in it too though so it was very hard to distinguish).

Was it 大瀧? Just a random guess, but it`s fairly close to a popular tourist place in Fukui and has a gate that is commonly driven through.
Driving through one isn`t as odd as it may seem - there are numerous ones over roads. An old picture, but I drive by and through this one pretty regularly.

You might have seen it happen before or read about it, but Japanese people sometimes apologize to inanimate objects.

Something it makes me think of is children being told that their toys will get angry and run away if they don`t treat them well. Except that it doesn`t end with toys, but with most everything around.
It is interesting as a lot of people outside Japan will say this is silly, and that it`s unthinkable... But yet they talk to their car when it won`t start, or swear that their (insert inanimate object) only works when they praise it.

[steven]

I love it! You always have the most insightful posts about this kind of thing.

I think you're right about the beads-- but he has the envelope things two. It's quite a menagery. My father in law knows his roads in this small area, but straying even ever so slightly makes his driving quite scary... so I think in his case it's to prevent him from hitting other people (although I'll take your word on thatit is to prevent other people from hitting him ).

The shrine I drove through was definitely not the one you posted. It was definitely not famous either. I have quite a small car, and I BARELY managed to drive through the road that led to it. It was quite funny looking back... there was no warning. It was like a road that eventually just got smaller and smaller (with lots of curves) until there was literally no backing out. It was one of those moments when you wish you had a video camera to show your friends later on.

"Something it makes me think of is children being told that their toys will get angry and run away if they don`t treat them well."
I feel like I have heard that before in a classor something a long time ago. To me, it's all just a superstition, but the fact that it has the idea of respect flowing through it makes me a believer in that sense. It seems logical if you think about it that way-- if you treat things nicely (animate and inanimate things) then things usually work out. If you go slamming your super nintendo controller on the ground when you lose a game, then it might break. Anything that's lasted 400 years (or a long time given the thing) like those old trees is something that we can all learn from.