Japanese Shinto Research Articles

Non-Linear Socio-Cultural Strategies for Managing the Society's Development: Problems of Conceptualisation in the Context of Cultural and Religious Diversity

Introduction. The relevance of the study is due to the diversity of modern society and the complexity of conceptualising its management strategies. Purpose and methods. The purpose of the article is a philosophical analysis of non-linear concepts and strategies for managing the society's development in the context of cultural and religious diversity. The methodological basis of the study is the dialectical principle of cognition, system-synergetic, historical, cultural, and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the management laws of society development. Results. The essence of non-linear theory and strategy as an alternative expression of the universal pattern of society development is revealed. The article analyses the genesis of non-linear conceptions of society development in the pre-industrial period. Non-linear strategies of social development in the era of industrialism are considered. Non-linear strategies of social development at the stage of late industrialism are highlighted. The meaning of the socio-cultural identity strategies of societies is clarified. The strategies of the original development of society in the cultures of Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are substantiated. The peculiarities of the original development strategy of society in the culture of Japanese Shinto Buddhism are revealed. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the obtained results lies in deepening the theoretical foundations of non-linear strategic management of the development of societies of the Eastern and Middle Worlds, and their significance lies in supplementing science with new knowledge about non-linear strategies of development management in these societies.

Shinto, Buddhism, and Japanese Culture Elements in The Movie Heisei Tanuki Gassen Pon Poko

This paper analyzes the Shinto, Buddhism, and Japanese cultural elements in the movie Heisei Tanuki Gassen Pon Poko (Heisei-era Raccoon Dog War Ponpoko), which is a movie produced by famous Studio Ghibli and released in 1994. The director of the movie chose the tanuki, which is a wild raccoon dog species, as the protagonist character to reflect the destruction of natural environments on the outskirts of Tokyo caused by human expansion. The director also included many Japanese Shinto, Buddhism, and cultural elements in this movie, making the movie both entertaining and reflecting. In this work, I will summarize the plot of the movie, explain the three endings in this movie, and conclude the directors message.

Japanese funeral rites in late modernity

Funerals in Japan are always a highly serious and solemn affair. Japanese funerals whether they are ancient or modern are always official activities with ancient traditional practices. Often, there are no bells, whistles, drums, or fanfare. The only exception is when the Japanese Shinto Buddhist priest beats a single and mournful drum. In 1867, Emperor Komei died and it took over a month to get him buried. This was because of political upheaval and other intervening requirements. When Emperor Meiji died in July 1912, the courtiers also had to go through several weeks of preparation before the onset of public mourning. Naturally, mourning by the immediate royal family members always took precedence. Later, when Emperor Taisho’s funeral had to take place, it also took 1 month of rituals and preparations before public mourning could commence. Taisho’s funereal activities followed Emperor Meiji’s funeral model. Japanese funerals were also costly in the past as they are today. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a single Japanese funeral would cost at least US$30,000 compared to a few thousand in Singapore and other Asian states. Funerals are even cheaper in Europe and North America. In Japan, each person or family attending a funeral wake would have to present to the widow or widower a cash gift of a few 100,000 yen. This cash gift is called koden. Japanese funeral rites are part of a set of clearly defined rituals that reflect the nature of the society and the status or class of the deceased. This article focuses on the important aspects of Japanese Shinto-Buddhist funeral rites.

한(恨)과 모노노아와레의 비교연구 - 종교미학적 ‘반대의 일치’ -

Han and Monono-aware have things in common, in that both the two are respectively related to the essential identity of Korea and Japan. In addition, this essay pays attention to the concepts such as “religioaesthetics” and “coincidentia oppositorum”. Religio- aesthetics means an aesthetic sense getting along with religious ethos. For example, Han might be considered as a kind of sadness which comes from the background of Korean shamanistic or Confucian culture, while Monono-aware is the one which has something to do with Japanese Shinto or Buddhism. They especially show “coincidentia oppositorum”, a situation in which the existence or identity of a thing depends upon the co-existence of at least two conditions which are opposites to each other, yet dependent on each other and presupposing each other within a field of tension. The main purpose of this essay is to comparatively investigate both commonalities and differences of Han and Monono-aware from the point of “religio-aesthetics” and “coincidentia oppositorum”. In so doing, I would like to shed light on the paradoxical relationship between Korean and Japanese culture, referring to the views of nature in two countries.

신궁봉경회의 활동과 제신 논리의 변용

This study is about Shingungbonggyeonghoe, an organization whose goal was to build a shrine in Korea for the sake of amity between Korea and Japan and enlightenment of Koreans. Specifically, by comparing the purposes of enshrinement of Dakahashi Hisashi and Lee Junyong, the difference between the perception of the shrine of the two was examined, and despite the fundamental difference, this study revealed what led them to cooperate. The purpose of the enshrinement of Dakahashi and Lee was different. Dakahashi was eager to build a shrine enshrining the Japanese national god, Amaterasu Omikami in Korea, in order to ‘civilize’ Koreas in a religious way. Meanwhile, Lee focused on the idea of enshrining national founders, Dangun and Taejo, and tried to use Anam Shrine and Shingungbonggyeonghoe as his political background. Despite this difference, two created Anam Shrine, a hybrid religious space of Japanese Shinto and Korean modern Dangun belief through Shingungbonggyeonghoe. This combination was made through promoting spiritual amity by enshrining national ancestors, which has distinctive ‘modern’ features. Shinto embodied Japanese nationalism by enshrining the Japanese national god, Amaterasu Omikami. As Japan expands its influence on Korea, it transformed into a means of spiritual ‘civilization’ of Koreans. Meanwhile, confronting the national crisis, Dangun belief also transformed into a religion of national ancestor symbolizing the union of nations. Furthermore, the hybrid space was possible for the sake of two people, Dakahashi and Lee, and the circumstances they had to overcome. As a Japanese in Korea, Dakahashi had to elicit Koreans’ cooperation to achieve his goal. Meanwhile, Lee witnessed the power gap between Korea and Japan during his asylum, and was desperate to regain political power. The form of ‘modernity’ of the two people was different, but the circumstances they had to overcome made them cooperate despite the distortion and compromise.

From the Garden of Eden to the Zen Rock Garden

From the Garden of Eden to the Zen Rock Garden

Case study of Wood Identification of Japanese Shinto Statues Owned by the Honolulu Museum of Art

Case study of Wood Identification of Japanese Shinto Statues Owned by the Honolulu Museum of Art

Constructing and Contesting the Shrine: Tourist Performances at Seimei Shrine, Kyoto

Japanese Shinto shrines are popular pilgrimage sites not only for religious reasons, but also because of their connections to popular culture. This study discusses how tourism is involved in the construction of the shrine space by focusing on the material environment of the shrine, visitor performances, and how the shrine is contested by different actors. The subject of the study, Seimei Shrine, is a shrine dedicated to the legendary figure Abe no Seimei (921–1005), who is frequently featured in popular culture. Originally a local shrine, Seimei Shrine became a tourist attraction for fans of the novel series Onmyōji (1986–) and the movie adaptation (2001). Since then, the shrine has branded itself by placing themed statues, which realize the legend of Abe no Seimei in material form, while also attracting religious and touristic practices. On the other hand, visitors also bring new meanings to the shrine and its objects. They understand the shrine through different kinds of interactions with the objects, through performances such as touching and remembering. However, the material objects, their interpretation and performances are also an arena of conflict and contestation, as different actors become involved through tourism. This case study shows how religion and tourism are intertwined in the late-modern consumer society, which affects both the ways in which the shrine presents and reinvents itself, as well as how visitors understand and perform within the shrine.

The Enshrinement Ritual and its Music and Dance at Joseonsingung - Propaganda for the Japanese Government General of Korea -

이 글은 1925년에 집행된 조선신궁의 ‘진좌제(鎭座祭)’와 1935년에 거행된 ‘진좌 10주년제’를 중심으로, 제사의 절차와 이에 수반된 악무의 종류 및 성격, 그리고 사용된 악무와 조선총독부 정책과의 관련성에 대해서 살펴보았다. 진좌제 의식에서 사용된 음악은 일본 군가와 가가쿠(雅樂)이다. 군가 <나라의 진호(國の鎭め)>는 야스쿠니신사 참배용으로 경신(敬神)과 천황에 대한 충성을 주요 내용으로 하고 있다. 또한 궁중음악인 가가쿠는 황실의 표상으로 그 어떤 음악보다 국가신도의 제사에 적합한 음악이었다. 진좌제 당시 경성 시내에서는 2만 명 이상의 학생과 경성부민이 주야로 <진좌제 봉축의 노래(鎭座祭奉祝の歌)>를 부르며 행진했는데, 총독부는 경신숭조를 노랫말의 골자로 하는 이 곡을 퍼뜨리기 위해 각별한 노력을 기울인 것으로 이해된다. 진좌 10주년제 의식에서는 가가쿠의 연주와 <닌조마이(人長舞)>가 연행되었다. 이를 위해 궁내성 식부직 악부의 총 인원 2/3에 해당하는 악사들이 파견되었는데, 이는 일제가 조선신궁의 제사에 얼마만큼 공을 들였는지를 짐작케 한다. 제사 후에는 천황 위세의 흠앙과 경신숭조의 이념을 담고 있는 신작 가구라(神樂) 4곡과 <조선신궁 봉찬창가(朝鮮 神宮奉贊唱歌)>가 봉납되었다. 이 곡들은 노랫말의 현상모집, 음반 발매, 라디오 방송을 통해 확산되었다. 진좌 10주년제에는 이왕직아악부의 음악과 춤, 제주도 해녀노래, 조선 사자춤, 김포군 풍년춤, 양주군 산대도감이 ‘봉납 예술’로서 연행되었다. 총독부는 궁중 악무부터 민간 연희까지 폭 넓은 범위에 이르는 조선 악무를 일본 신사인 조선신궁에서 연행하게 함으로써 내선일체(內鮮一體)의 식민통치 이념을 보다 효과적으로 주지시키고 선전하고자 했다. 또한 일본의 악무 가구라의 연행자에 조선인들을 포함시켰는데, 이는 1930년대 이후 더욱 강화되는 동화정책을 악무 활용을 통해 보여주고 있는 사례이다. 이와 같이 진좌제와 진좌 10주년제에서 연행된 악무는 조선총독부 통치이념을 선전·선동하기 위한 중요한 도구로 활용되었다.This paper explores the enshrinement ritual of a Japanese Shinto Shrine, Joseonsingung, in the year 1925 and the ritual carried out in 1935, marking its 10th anniversary, focusing on the ritualistic acts, the accompanying music and dance in relation to the policies by the Japanese Government General of Korea. The music that were used in the enshrinement ritual were Japanese military songs and Gagaku. The military song Ku ni no shi zu me , which was used in the Yasukuni Shrine, features worship and loyalty towards the Japanese emperor. Also, the music representing the imperial court, Gagaku, was most suitable that for the rite to the State Shinto than any other types of music. In its 10th anniversary, one of the music and dance of Gagaku called Nin Jou mai was performed and marched by about twenty thousand students and residents by and in the city of Gyeongsung. Such elaborate preparation of such song as the main theme, reflects the special efforts of the Japanese Empire for the spreading of this specific song. In the 10th anniversary of starting the ritual in 1925, the music and dance of the Royal Conservatory of the Yi Dynasty (Yiwangjikaakbu) such as Jeju women divers songs, lion dance, dance of good harvest, mask play (Sandaedogam) were performed as an offering to the deities. The Japanese Government General of Korea intended to propagate their ideology of colonial ruling and effectively engraft the idea that Japan and Korea are one body by having various Korean music and dance performed at the Japanese shrine. They also involved Korean artists for Kagura performance, and this is a case that reveals their assimilation policy by utilizing music and dance, which was reinforced even more after 1930. As such, the music and dance performance for the enshrinement ritual and its 10th anniversary were utilized as important means of the propaganda and instigation of the ruling ideology of the Japanese Government General of Korea.

A Tendency of the Western Discourses on Japanese Shinto from Modern Era to Nowadays: Orientalism and Kuroda Thesis

A Tendency of the Western Discourses on Japanese Shinto from Modern Era to Nowadays: Orientalism and Kuroda Thesis

Japanese Shinto and Taoism : Focusing on Emperor and Ise Shrine

Japanese Shinto and Taoism : Focusing on Emperor and Ise Shrine

SHINTO RESEARCH AND THE HUMANITIES IN JAPAN

AbstractThree approaches to scholarship are “scholarship as a way,” which aims at perfection of character; “scholarship as a method,” which clearly limits objects and methods in order to achieve precise perception and new knowledge; and “scholarship as an expression,” which takes various approaches to questions and inquiry. The “humanities” participate deeply and broadly in all three of these approaches. In relation to this view of the humanities, Japanese Shinto is a field of study that yields rich results. As a religion of awe, shrine groves, community, arts, and entertainment, it offers a research field that joins together the study of human beings, nature, society, and expression. Though we elucidate the characteristics of Shinto and its differences with Buddhism, we also draw attention to the seven dimensions of “place, way, beauty, festival, technique, poetry, and ecological wisdom,” and then finally take up “research on techniques of body and mind transformation” as a comprehensive and creative development in the “humanities.”

Rituals of Keijyo Japanese Shinto Shrine from 1910 to 1925 - Focused on Colonial Characteristics of Rituals and Gods -

Rituals of Keijyo Japanese Shinto Shrine from 1910 to 1925 - Focused on Colonial Characteristics of Rituals and Gods -

Examining Prewar Tôgô Worship in Hawaii Toward Rethinking Hawaiian Shinto as a New Religion in America

Daijingu Temple of Hawaii, a Shinto shrine founded by Japanese immigrant workers in the early twentieth century is unique among shrines in American territory for holding the only recorded pre-Pacific War worship services for a Japanese war hero. Admiral Tôgô Heihachirô was deified for defeating a Russian naval force in the Battle of the Sea of Japan, and was worshiped at Daijingu in services attended by members of the Japanese Imperial Navy as well as Japanese-Americans from the local community. Although this could suggest that the Japanese-American Shinto community was cheering on the Japanese Imperial navy in their military endeavors, this is not the best explanation for their participation. These rituals benefited the shrine community economically. Furthermore, these activities and the rest of Daijingu Shrine history suggest that Shinto in Hawaii requires consideration as a new American religion rather than as Japanese Shinto in diaspora.

Japanese Shinto: An Interpretation of a Priestly Perspective

This is an interpretation of the experiential/religious meaning of Japanese Shrine Shintō as taught us primarily by the priests at Tsubaki Grand Shrine, Suzuka, Mie Prefecture. As a heuristic device, we suggest lines of comparison between the thought and practice of the Tsubaki priests and two Western thinkers: the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber and the French philosopher Georges Bataille. This in turn allows the construction of three interpretive categories that we believe illuminate both the Shintō worldview and Shintō ritual practice.

东亚古代文化中的阴阳理论之嬗变

When people discuss the continental cultural elements in the ancient East Asian culture, people always attach great importance to the two major cultures of Confucianism and Taoism, but offer little explanation to the significant influence of the theory of yin and yang, the important philosophical base of the two major cultures. The theory of yin and yang, existing as the theoretical source at a profounder level, possesses philosophical connotations that are always embedded into the mainstream of thought, religions and customs, displaying its unique glamour in its unique way. Its influence is more than that, however. It has exerted far-reaching influence on and is of significant importance to the development of the ancient culture of East Asia. This article aims at exploring this field of study. After the erudite scholar of The Five Classics made a voyage to the east in the early sixth century, The Book of Changes, the most important Chinese ancient classic expounding the theory of yin and yang, started to circulate among the Japanese court, via Baiji in the Korea Peninsula. As a result, the theory of yin and yang found its way to Japan. Examining the spreading channels, we learn that the theory’s dissemination was largely related to the activities of Buddhist monks. Shoutoku Prince, regent of Japan at the time, was himself an enthusiastic supporter of Buddhism and was excelled in the study of The Book of Changes and the theory of yin and yang. In the Twelve Ranks System and Seventeen-article Constitution promulgated by Shoutoku Prince, the influence of the theory of yin and yang and of the theory of the five elements can be visibly discerned. This obviously proves the sublime status of the Chinese theory of yin and yang in Japan, thanks to the victory of the political clique that adored Buddhism. In the shaping course of ancient Japanese culture, the theory of yin and yang served as an important philosophical source of its development. Mythology based on Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, two earliest Japanese books that exist today, record mythological stories about the emergence of the Japanese nation. The notion about the birth of heaven and earth and the forming of Japanese Shinto, expressed in the mythological stories, not only tell us the source and historical progress of the Japanese nation but also the nation’s world outlook in the transition from barbarian period to civilized period, as well as the basis for its philosophical thinking. All these were marked with profound influence of the Chinese theory of yin and yang. The theory of yin and yang, as one of the ancient Chinese academic thoughts, was accepted asa political belief when it first spread to Japan. The emergence and establishment of both the Mikado system and the centralized regime in ancient Japan drew largely on the theory of yin and yang and adopted it as an important philosophical basis to deify and aggrandize the “imperial power” so as to protect the authority of the imperial ruling and consolidate the established regime. Following the continuous strengthening and expansion of the centralized state power, the theory of yin and yang was further employed, and gradually “hidden”in Japanese culture with the passage of time, finally becoming the edge tool of ancient Japanese Mikados in exercising political power and controlling the country.

The Origins of the Jinja (the Japanese Shinto Shrine) and the Significance of the Kansha (the Public Jinja System)

The Origins of the Jinja (the Japanese Shinto Shrine) and the Significance of the Kansha (the Public Jinja System)

Warden + Virtuoso + Salaryman = Priest: Paradigms within Japanese Shinto for Religious Specialists and Institutions

En se servant du Shinto japonais comme base d'etude, l'A. desire mieux faire percevoir par les erudits le role des pretres dans les societes modernes. Il propose donc l'examen d'un lieu de pelerinage shinto au Japon, avec sa vie religieuse, ses pratiques, ses regles et ses pretres pour que soit davantage appreciee une maniere d'accommoder tradition et modernite et pour fournir des paradigmes applicables a la recherche dans d'autres systemes sociaux et culturels d'Asie.

The “separation of gods and buddhas” at Omiwa Jinja in Meiji Japan

The development of Shinto during the Meiji period constitutes one of the most fascinating phenomena of modern Japanese history, especially in view of the far-reaching effect that the State Shinto of the late Meiji period had on many aspects of Japanese life. But although the nature of Meijiperiod Shinto has been widely researched, far less attention has been directed to the genesis of the movement as an intellectual, political, and religious force. Since many of the keys for understanding the later development of State Shinto are found in the years of the Meiji Restoration, research on this period—which could be called the shinbutsu bunri (separation of gods and Buddhas) period—is essential if we are to comprehend the full signi≥cance of the Shinto movement. The term shinbutsu bunri refers to the separation of Shinto and Buddhism (actually the expulsion of Buddhism from syncretic ShintoBuddhist sanctuaries) that occurred from the spring of 1868. This separation was one of the central events in the formation of modern Japanese Shinto. The present article analyzes the events of the shinbutsu bunri period at one of Japan’s most important shrines, Omiwa Jinja in Nara Prefecture. The events connected with this shrine from 1868 to the early 1870s provide an interesting reflection of what happened to religious institutions throughout Japan during that period.