This is a modified presentation of the religion Shintoism who was once became a state religion of Japan.

1. Mr. Re y Be le n
PAREF S Outhridg e Afte rno o n
S c ho o l

2. Shintoism
• Shinto is the native religion in Japan with its
roots stretching back to 500 B.C., and is a
poly-theistic one venerating almost any
natural objects ranging from mountains,
rivers, water, rocks, trees, to dead notables.
• To dedicate to those diverse deities, shrines
were erected in a sacred spots throughout
Japan. Among the natural phenomena, the
sun is most appealing to the Japanese and
the Sun Goddess is regarded as the
principal deity of Shinto, particularly by the
Imperial Family.

3. Ancestor
Worship
Polytheism
Hype
Natio r-
nalism
S hinto
Great
Creator
The
W
of th orld
e kam
i
Minimize
sin &
guilt

4. Amate ras u : S un
Go dde s s

5. • The Japanese mythology relates that
there was the goddess of the sun and the
ruler of the heaven named Amaterasu
{pronounced ah-mah-teh-rah-soo}, who
was believed to be the legendary ancestor
of the current Imperial Family.
• Today's Emperor Akihito {ah-key-he-toh}
is said to be the 125th direct descendant
of Emperor Jinmu {gin-moo}, Japan's
legendary first emperor and a mythical
descendent of Amaterasu.

6. We dde d Ro c ks at Futami no
Ura
Union of Izanami &
Izanagi

7. Tre e kami s urro unde d by
s ac re d bo undarie s

8. • What all these versions of Shinto have in
common is belief in kami, or "divinities";
Shinto itself is a Chinese-derived word
which means "the way of the gods"
(Shin="gods"; To, from Tao="the way").
What these kami are is hard to pin down.
They range from the original creating gods
to lesser gods, from the spirits of
ancestors to any natural force or aspect of
nature which inspires awe.

9. Torii Gate
• The gate to a Shinto shrine (Jinja), the Torii
designates holy ground. As Shinto is a religion of
worship of nature spirits, or Kami, most Shinto
shrines are located outdoors. The Gate marks
the gateway between the physical and spiritual
worlds, and is often the only ondication that one
is entering a shrine.
• The Torii is traditionally made in three pieces,
three being a sacred number of the Kami. When
entering a shrine, a visitor will clap their hands
three times, and bow three times to summon the
spirits.

10. To rii Gate , Miyajima
Is land

11. To rii Gate in Winte r

12. To rii Gate

13. A Tunne l o f To rii Gate s
Inari Mt., Kyo to

14. To rii Go ng

15. S hinto Te mple – “wo rs hip
hall”

16. • Shrines to numerous Kami dot the Japanese
landscape, and Shinto rituals are usually simple
prayers of propitiation or thanksgiving. Common
themes are fertility, luck in business or gambling,
health, etc. At a shrine, a short prayer, ritual
ablution, or bow is made, and offerings including
fruit, wine, sweets, or rice. Sometimes a petition
or desire is written on a piece of paper left tied to
a twig near the shrine. Believers often erect
Kami-dana, or personal altars, in their homes.
Important personal rituals include baptismal rites
and the introduction of children in the temple at
the age of three for blessings.

17. • A full-fledged Shinto shrine is made of two-part
structure as represented by the famous Nikko
Toshogu Shrine in Tochigi Prefecture:
• One is the oratory called Haiden, before which
worshipers say a prayer, and the other is the inner
sanctum called Honden, the main dwelling of the
deity built behind the Haiden. In contrast to
Buddhist temples, Honden contains no statues but
houses symbolical and sacred objects of worship
such as mirrors and swords, in which the spirit of
the deity is believed to reside. As its nature of
sanctuary shows, the laity can never get access to
the sacred Honden. Haiden is more spacious than
Honden as it is used for rituals and ceremonies.

18. S hinto Prie s t

19. Traditio nal S hinto
We dding To day

20. Praye rs , Tho ug hts , &
Wis he s
at a S hinto S hrine

21. • One month after birth (31st day for boys and 32
days for girls, to be exact), parents and grand-
parents bring him or her to a shrine, where they
express gratitude to the Shinto deities for being
given the baby and have shrine priest pray for his
or her good health and happiness.
• This is called Miyamairi {me-yah-my-re}, or Visit
to Shinto Shrine, a Japanese version of infant
Baptism. Today, most of Miyamairi is practiced
between one month or 100 days after birth.
• In famous and busy shrines, the ceremony is
held every hour in turn. Naturally, weekends are
busy. A group of a dozen or so babies and their
families are usually brought in the hall, one group
after another. There is no price list for the
service. We usually pay 10,000 yen per baby.

22. • Next chance he or she may visit a shrine to
mark the specific life stage is shichi-go-san
{she-chee-goh-san} (seven-five-three)
festival of November 15 when 3-year-old
boys and girls, 5-year-old boys and seven-
year-old girls (nominal age based on the
calendar. In an extreme case, a baby born
on December 31 will be two years old the
next day) call on shrine to pray for good
health and have blessing by the priest.

23. • The third time they are taken care of by Shinto
priests will probably be wedding.
• Ceremony usually takes place at hotels or
gorgeous ceremony halls specifically designed for
wedding with makeshift shrine altars.
• Here again, a Shinto priest with whom the hotel or
hall has contract presides the wedding rituals
reciting prayer or norito.
• Unique in wedding ceremony under Shinto is the
practice called san-san-kudo {san-san-koo-doh}
(three-three and nine times) or three-time exchange
of nuptial cups. Three flat cups, almost like dishes
with small, medium and large size, in which sake is
powered and the gloom first sips it three times.
Then, the bride follows him. The moment the ritual
is finished, the couple officially become wedded
under Shinto

24. Me mo rials fo r the Unbo rn

25. Jizo Stones

26. • Jizo was originally Bosatsu (Bodhisattva) of
Buddhism who stood between the world of reality
and the world of the dead and saved those who
were on their way to the netherworld. Jizo was
entrusted with the task of saving the people after the
death of Buddha until such a time when the second
Buddha would appear. so in Buddhism he had an
important position, and coming to Japan he has
been popularized, and has become the protector of
the people.
• Jizo is thought to be a mild, gentle and kind Bosatsu
- Jizo-gao (Jizo-face) means a gentle, smiling face.
• A Jizo-bosatsu helps relieve people who are
suffering from distress.
• Dosojin is a roadside icon usually placed at a street
corner or at the foot of a bridge to protect
pedestrians.

27. S hinto S ubway S hrine

28. • For a Shinto worshiper, purification is essential
before offering a prayer and it is performed through
exorcism called Harai {ha-rah-e}, cleaning one's
body with water. It is called Misogi {me-soh-ghe},
and abstention from defilement or Imi {e-me}. In a
large shrine, there is a stone wash-basin and visitors
are required to rinse their mouth and hands for
Misogi before approaching the deity.
• Komainu {koh-mah-e-noo}, or guard dogs
In front of shrines, there are a pair of dog-statues
facing each other. They are guardian dogs and
identical to Deva of Buddhist temples, one on the
right always has its mouth open and as if to say 'ah'
while the other has its mouth closed and looks like
saying 'um.

29. Ho t S and Bath at
Take g awara Ons e n , Be ppu
Origins in the Nara Period (710-794)

30. Japane s e Baths
Grandma & her grandson

32. Noh The ate r :
8-man c ho rus

33. Noh The ate r
The Play
Aoi no Ue

34. • is a major form of classic Japanese musical
drama that has been performed since the
14th century (Ashikaga). Together with the
closely-related kyōgen farce, it evolved from
various popular, folk and aristocratic art
forms.
• By tradition, Noh actors and musicians never
rehearse for performances together. Instead,
each actor, musician, and choral chanter
practices his or her fundamental movements,
songs, and dances independently or under
the tutelage of a senior member of the
school.

35. Noh The ate r
Woman Heavenly-being Demonness
Traditional
Weeping
Gesture
Old Man Warrior Demon God

36. Kabuki
The ate r
An interior of a Kabuki theater.

37. • Kabuki is a traditional Japanese form of
theater with its origins in the Edo period.
Kabuki, in contrast to the older surviving
Japanese art forms such as No, was the
popular culture of the townspeople and not of
the higher social classes.
• Kabuki plays are about historical events,
moral conflicts in love relationships and the
like. The actors use an old fashioned
language which is difficult to understand even
for some Japanese people. They speak in a
monotonous voice and are accompanied by
traditional Japanese instruments.

38. • In the early years, both, men and women
acted in Kabuki plays. Later during the
Edo period, the Tokugawa shogunate
forbade the acting to women, a restriction
that survives to the present day. Several
male kabuki actors are, therefore,
specialized in playing female roles
(onnagata).

39. Bunraku Puppe ts

40. Bunraku Puppe ts

41. • One of the three major classical theaters of Japan, with
kabuki and noh drama, bunraku is a sophisticated puppet
theater written and performed for adult audiences with
cultivated sensibilities. It reached its peak in the late 17th
and early 18th centuries, and at one time even eclipsed
kabuki in popularity.
• The puppets are one-half to full life-size. Each major
character is jointly manipulated by three puppeteers, who
appear on stage in full view of the audience. The main
puppeteer generally appears bare-faced, while the others
are "invisible" in black hoods.
The main puppeteer manipulates the eyelids, eyeballs,
eyebrows, mouth, and the right arm. A first assistant
operates the left arm only, and a second assistant the legs.
Puppet heads and costumes represent character types
rather than individual characters.

42. • Sitting to the right of the stage on a slightly
elevated platform are a chanter (tayu) who is
the voice of all the puppets - men, women,
and children - and a shamisen player, who
provides musical punctuation for the drama.
The art of bunraku lies in achieving perfect
synchronization of these three elements -
puppets, chanter and shamisen - for intense
dramatic effect. There is much to interest the
audience in a bunraku play - not just the
action on stage, but also the masterful
performances of the chanter and the
shamisen player.

43. Chanoyu : Te a
Ce re mo ny

44. Te a Ce re mo ny
Equipme nt
Green Tea

45. A Japane s e Te a
Mas te r

46. A Japane s e Te a
Ho us e

47. A Te a Ho us e Inte rio r

48. Origami : The Art o f
Japane s e Pape r Fo lding

49. Origami : Mo de rn
Adaptatio ns

50. Callig raphy

51. Callig raphy

52. Haiku : 17-s yllable
po e m
Spring departs.
Birds cry
Fishes' eyes are
filled with tears.
Matsuo Basho, Master of Haiku

53. Ikebana : The Art o f
Japane s e Flo we r
Arrang ing
ˆ Tallest  Heaven
ˆ Middle  Man
ˆ Smallest  Earth

54. Bonzai : A Unique Me tho d
o f Me ditatio n

55. Japane s e Garde n fo r
Me ditatio n

56. Japane s e Ze n Garde n

57. Japane s e S and Garde n

58. Miniature Ro c k/S and
Garde n

59. S hinto in Mo de rn
Furniture
Simplicity!

60. ARIGATO!