What are 15 facts about Shinto?

Answer 1

Discussion of Shintoism brings a lot of emotional prejudice with it because of its role in World War II. Shintoism was misrepresented by the Emperor of Japan at that time in order to control the Japanese followers of Shinto. This parallels the misuse of religions in general as a propaganda tool for political purposes, and should not be considered representative of the religion as a whole, or the followers of that religion. Christianity has been misrepresented and used for political purposes as well, and yet Christianity should not be held responsible for its misuse by propagandists or political opportunists.

1. Shintoism is a nature based religion similar in some manners to Native American religions.
2. The Shinto concept of God is not the same as that of Christianity. The word they use that has been translated as "God" is more appropriately rendered "spirit".
3. Shinto followers believed that the sun created life on Earth. As such, the sun is considered to be an animating "spirit".
4. Shinto is often mixed with other beliefs, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Spiritism and Taoism.
5. The most common form of Shinto practices include the use of shrines and prayer.
6. "Plant spirit" Shintoism involves the use of ethnobotanicals for healing, spirit contact and shamanic "divination".
7. Shinto followers believe that all of mankind are descendants of the sun in the sense of all life coming from the sun and being dependent on the sun for life. Mankind has "divine" responsibilities. As the dominant species we are responsible for our actions, and responsible for maintaining environmental harmony in the lands we dominate. Mankind is at the top of nature's kingdom, and holds a special responsibility for ruling everything around them in order to keep the environment balanced and in harmony.
8. The Shinto religion honors the leader of the land as their religious leader, much as the Anglican Church honors the King or Queen of England as head of the Anglican church. When the Shōwa Emperor Hirohito became Emperor, he assumed the leadership of the Shinto religion.
9. During World War II, Japanese propaganda emphasized the role of the Emperor of Japan as being the leader of the people, and therefore having a divine right to rule. The Shōwa Emperor had a Christian based education, and was familiar with Christian concepts. He combined "Divine right to rule" concepts similar to those of British Imperialism with "superior race" concepts similar to those taken from the book of Isaiah. His propaganda team convinced Shinto followers that he was a descendant of the sun in a unique manner, rather than in the manner of all life being dependent on the sun for life. The Emperor convinced his followers that they were unique among all of mankind, and were the rightful rulers of all other people, echoing a "manifest destiny" rhetoric.
10. "Kamikaze" suicide bombers are not a Shinto based practice, but are derived from Samurai and Bushido code. Honoring the Emperor and being willing to die for "God and Country" did not automatically imply suicide missions. "Kamikaze" or "Divine wind" actually refers to a fast, surprise attack, similar to a Blitzkrieg, but the word has been associated so strongly with suicide attacks that the meaning has changed.
11. Although not a part of Shinto belief, the Emperor's authority as a Shinto leader was used to ensure civilians that it was better to commit suicide than be "captured" at the end of the war. He guaranteed them a position in the afterlife equal to those soldiers who died in combat. In general, this goes against Shintoism, in that Shintoism is life-affirming.