RELG 253 Lecture Notes - Lecture 27: Overworld, Tsukuyomi-No-Mikoto, Susanoo-No-Mikoto

• School: McGill University
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELG 253
• Professor: Lisa M.Blake, Jingjing Li

Document Summary

Three major focuses of shinto: family, nation, and emperor. Emperor of the nation is seen as a kami, a living kami. Emperor is the direct descendant of amaterasu (the sun goddess) This is the only way the emperor can be the emperor; by birth, as descendent of the kami. Emperor as the father of the nation, the people are the children of the emperor, the emperor is a kami, direct descendents of a kami = japan is the sacred nation. General douglas macarthur essentially runs japan; changes cultural views. Emperor loses divinity; emperor is no longer a kami. If emperor is not a kami, japan is not a sacred nation and emperor"s authority isn"t legitimate. Separation of religion and state; shinto gets demoted to just another religion. Written in the 8th century; it is the religious text of shinto. Not like other religious texts; not divinely inspired writing, more historical.