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"...Shinto ("Way of the Gods")
"...incorporates spiritual practices derived from many local and regional prehistoric traditions
"...combining spiritual traditions of the ascendant clans of early Japan
"...Shinto currently has about 119 million known adherents in Japan
"...It is generally accepted that the vast majority of Japanese people take part in Shinto rituals, while most would also practice [Buddhism]
"...Shinto is the fundamental connection between the power and beauty of nature (the land) and the Japanese people.
It is the manifestation of a path to understanding the institution of divine power.
"...Shinto teaches that everything contains a Jami (spiritual essence)
"...There are natural places considered to have an unusually sacred spirit about them, and are objects of worship. They are frequently mountains, trees, unusual rocks, rivers, waterfalls, and other natural edifices.
In most cases they are on or near a shrine grounds. The shrine is a building built in which to house the Jami
The KatinaNas a home shrine (placed on a wall in the home) that is a 'kami residence' that acts as a substitute for a large shrine on a daily basis.
"..The heart of the shrine is periodic rituals, spiritual events in paritioners lives, and festivals.
All of this is organized by priests who are both spiritual conduits and administrators.
Shrines are private institutions, and are supported financially by the congregation and visitors.
"...Shinto teaches that certain deeds create a kind of ritual impurity that one should want cleansed for one's own peace of mind and good fortune, not because impurity is wrong in and of itself.
"...Killing living beings should be done with reverence for taking a life to continue one's own and should be kept to a minimum.
The worst expression of such an attitude is the taking of another's life for personal advancement or enjoyment.
"...if anyone is injured on the grounds of a shrine, the area affected must be ritually purified.
"...Purification rites are a vital part of Shinto. They are done on a daily, weekly, seasonal, lunar, and annual basis. In many ways these purification rituals are the lifeblood of the practice of Shinto.
"...almost every Japanese factory or international business built outside Japan has had a groundbreaking ceremony performed by a Shinto priest, with occasionally an annual visitation by the priest to re-purify.
"...Unlike many religions, one does not need to publicly profess belief in Shinto to be a believer. Whenever a child is born in Japan, a local Shinto shrine adds the child's name to a list kept at the shrine and declares him or her a 'family child'
"...Those children who die before addition to the list, including miscarried or aborted children, are called 'water children', and are believed to cause troubles and plagues.
"...Any person may visit a shrine and one need not be Shinto to do this.
"...approach, bow, wash hands/feet, ring bell prior to prayers, donate accordin' to your means (if donation box is present), remove shoes before enterin' any buildin', bow, clap twice, pray....
"...The practice of purification by ritual use of water while reciting prayers is typically done daily by regular practitioners
"...When one is performing acts that harm the land or other living things, prayers and rituals are performed to help placate the Kami of the area.
"...Ema are small wooden plaques that wishes or desires are written upon and left at a place in the shrine grounds
"...Ofuda are a talisman issued by a Shinto shrine, made of paper, wood, or metal, inscribed with the name of a kami and used for protection in the home.
The are typically placed in the home at a kamidana. They are also renewed annually
"...Omamori are personal protection amulets, issued by a shrine and sold to individuals with a specific intent in mind.
"...Daruma a round paper doll depicting the Indian monk Bodi-dharma. A wish for success is made and one eye is painted on, when the goal is accomplished, the other eye is added.
"...Kagura is the ancient Shinto ritual dance of shamanic origin.
"...Shinto was made the state religion of the Empire of Japan,
and in 1868 its combination with Buddhism was outlawed, in an attempt to purify Shinto by abolishing many Buddhist and Confucian ideals.
"...In the post-war period...Japanese religiosity [has] decreased.
However, the concept of religion in Japan is a complex one. A survey conducted in the mid 1970s indicated that of those participants who claimed not to believe in religion, one-third had a Buddhist or Shinto altar in their home, and about one quarter carried an omamori (an amulet to gain protection by kami) on their person.
Following the war...shrines tend to focus on helping ordinary people gain better fortunes for themselves through maintaining good relations with their ancestors and other kami."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto
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