Info on Medieval Japanese and Early Shinto beliefs?

I'm trying to start a role play about Medieval Japan. Please post as much info as you can.

That's far too vast a topic to answer in this space. Start with the links on this page - http://historymedren.about.com/od/japan/Medieval_Japan.htm - and go on from there. You should also look for books on Japanese culture and history at your local library. This will give you a more complete understanding -- and a better game -- than some hashed-up answer from someone who's watched a little Aime and thinks they're an expert.

ii don't know a lot about this topic so I've looked it up on Britannica on-line. Here are some paragraphs I thought pertinent, and references to two books I hope address your project in more detail. Good luck.


"At the time of the first Opium War (1839?42) East Asian societies had been Confucianized for centuries. The continuous growth of Mahayana Buddhism throughout Asia and the presence of Taoism in China, shamanism in Korea, and Shintoism in Japan did not undermine the power of Confucianism in government, education, family rituals, and social ethics. In fact, Buddhist monks were often messengers of Confucian values, and the coexistence of Confucianism with Taoism, shamanism, and Shintoism actually characterized the pancreatic East Asian religious life."

HIRATA ATSUTANE

"born Sept. 25, 1776, Akita, Japan
died Oct. 4, 1843, Akita



"Japanese thinker, systematize, and leader of the Restoration Shinto (also known as Fukko Shinto; q.v.) school. His thought, stressing the divine nature of the emperor, exerted a powerful influence on royalists who fought for the restoration of imperial rule during the second half of the 19Th century. "

"At the age of 20, Hirata moved to Edo (modern Tokyo), where most of his activity developed. He originally studied Neo-Confucianism but then turned to Shinto, becoming a disciple of the recently deceased Motoori Norinaga, one of the pioneers of the movement called National Learning (Kokugaku), which sought to find the true expression of the Japanese spirit in Japan's early traditions and culture. But while Motoori sought for the real Japanese spirit through careful philological study, Hirata attempted to develop a Shinto theological system that would provide normative principles for social and political action. In his later years he became increasingly critical of the Tokugawa feudal regime, which ruled Japan through the office of shogun, forcing the emperor to be nothing more than a powerless symbol. As a result of his political activities, Hirata was confined to his birthplace for the rest of his life."

"Hirata vigorously proclaimed a belief in Japan's natural superiority as the land of the gods; he held that the gods transmit the ?True Way? to Japan through the Japanese imperial line. But despite his strong nationalism and xenophobia, he did not hesitate to accept certain features of Western science known to him through Chinese translations. He even appropriated for his Shinto theology some aspects of theological works written by Jesuit missionaries in China."


Additional Reading
Tsunetsugu Muraoka, Studies in Shinto Thought (1964); J.M. Kitagawa, Religion in Japanese History (1966).

For a fascinating look at life in the medieval Japanese court, i suggest you read 'the Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon' a remarkable book written by a lady at the Japanese court in about 1000 AD. Absolutely enthralling.