REL 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: List Of Japanese Deities, Harm Principle, Thunderstorm
Religion in Japan
I. Religion in Japan
A. Modern Day
1. Modern Democracy
• They are very friendly and like to practice their English
2. Legal protections
• Religious freedom
• Example: “harm principle”
o Free to believe in any religion as long as you don’t
harm anybody in the process
3. Great diversity
• Every religion is present in Japan
B. Shinto
1. Historical context
• “ShinDo”
o Shin = the way of divine being
o Do = where divine beings are found
• Must live in harmony with these divine beings
• Arrival of Buddhist missionaries ~550 CE
o Very ancient practice
o Name was created when they came and started
teaching Pure Land Buddhism but existed since
people arrived at the islands
C. Key Ideas
1. Kami: divine beings found in nature
• Amatsukami
o Oldest and most powerful
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2
o Found in the sky, heavenly
o Examples: Sun, Moon, Stars
▪ Amaterasu: Sun Goddess
➢ Most powerful
➢ Seen as a source of life
• Kunitsukami
o Not as old or powerful
o Earthly things
o Examples: could be grand like Mount Fuji or
simple like the stone carving or a tree
• Magatsuinokami
o Destructive
o Examples: tsunamis, earthquakes, typhoon,
thunderstorm, or widespread disease
▪ Raijin: God of thunder
2. Tsumi
• Impurities
• Not moral impurities
• Example: Not taking a bath for a long time
• Main causes:
o Unkind actions or thoughts
o Contact with corpses
o Gendered: pertains to the female biology
▪ Period
• When they start to build up you become out of harmony
with the spirits
o This is seen as the problem
o The solution is Misogi and Ohari
3. Misogi
• Purification by waterfall
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