Question

What is the Kami in Shintoism? Describe the relationship between Shintoism and the Bushido Code. What is the role of shrines and ancestor worship within the Shinto tradition?

Answer 1

• "Shinto gods" are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami.
• Kami are close to human beings and respond to human prayers. They can influence the course of natural forces, and human events.Shinto tradition says that there are eight million million kami in Japan.
• Kami as a property is the sacred or mystical element in almost anything. It is in everything and is found everywhere, and is what makes an object itself rather than something else. The word means that which is hidden.
• The idea that kami are the same as God stems in part from the use of the word kami to translate the word 'God' in some 19th century translations of the Bible into Japanese.
• Kami are often described as divine beings, as spirits or gods. But kami are not much like the gods of other faiths:
• Kami are not divine like the transcendent and omnipotent deities found in many religions.
• Kami are not omnipotent.
• Kami are not perfect - they sometimes make mistakes and behave badly.
• Kami are not inherently different in kind from human beings or nature - they are just a higher manifestation of the life energy... an extraordinary or awesome version.
• Kami don't exist in a supernatural universe - they live in the same world as human beings and the world of nature
• Three types of kami are particularly important:
• Ujigami, the ancestors of the clans: in tribal times, each group believed that a particular kami was both their ancestor and their protector, and dedicated their worship to that spirit
• Kami of natural objects and creatures, and of the forces of nature
• The souls of dead human beings of outstanding achievement
• In principle human beings, birds, animals, trees, plants, mountains, oceans - all may be kami. According to ancient usage, whatever seemed strikingly impressive, possessed the quality of excellence, or inspired a feeling of awe was called kami.
• Bushido, literally translated "Way of the Warrior," developed in Japan between the Heian and Tokugawa Ages (9th-12th century). It was a code and way of life for Samurai, a class of warriors similar to the medieval knights of Europe.
• Bushido is not unlike the chivalry and codes of the European knights. "It puts emphasis on loyalty, self sacrifice, justice, sense of shame, refined manners, purity, modesty, frugality, martial spirit, honor and affection".
• Bushido comes out of Buddhism, Zen, Confucianism, and Shintoism. The combination of these schools of thought and religions has formed the code of warrior values known as Bushido.
• Shintoism, one of the Japanese doctrine, gives Bushido its loyalty and patriotism. Shintoism includes ancestor-worship which makes the Imperial family the fountain-head of the whole nation. It awards the emperor a god-like reverence.
• He is the embodiment of Heaven on earth. With such loyalty, the samurai pledge themselves to the emperor and their daimyo or feudal landlords, higher ranking samurai. Shintoism also provides the backbone for patriotism to their country, Japan.
• They believe the land is not merely there for their needs, "it is the sacred abode to the gods, the spirits of their forefathers . . ." (Nitobe, 14). The land is cared for, protected and nurtured through an intense patriotism.
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