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Shrine Shinto
The loss of World War II placed Japan in the precarious position of a
country occupied by the Allied but primarily American forces, which shaped its
post-war reforms. The Emperor was permitted to remain on the throne, but was
ordered to renounce his claims to divinity, which had been a pillar of the State
Shinto system. Today, the shrines in Japan operate independently from the
state, to ensure the separation of religion and state.
Kami
In the Shinto religion kami is an all-embracing term, which signifies gods,
spirits, deified mortals, ancestors, natural phenomena, and supernatural
powers. All of these kami can influence people’s everyday lives and so they are
worshipped, given offerings, solicited for aid and, in some cases, appealed to
for their skills in divination. Kami are attracted by purity - both physical and
spiritual – and repelled by the lack of it, including disharmony. Kami are
particularly associated with nature and may be present at sites, such as
mountains, waterfalls, trees, and unusually shaped rocks. For this reason, there
are said to be 8 million kami, a number referred to as yaoyorozu-no-kamigami.
Many kami are known nationally, but a great many more belong only to small
rural communities, and each family has its own ancestral kami.
The reverence for spirits thought to reside in places of great natural
beauty, meteorological phenomena, and certain animals goes back to at least
the 1st millennium BCE in ancient Japan.
Add to these the group of Shinto gods, heroes, and family ancestors, as
well as bodhisattvas assimilated from Buddhism, and one has an almost
limitless number of kami.
Common to all kami are their four mitama (spirits or natures) one of which
may predominate depending on circumstances:
Aramitama (wild or rough)
Nigimitama (gentle, life-supporting)
Kushimatama (wondrous)
Sakimitama (nurturing)
This division emphasizes that kami can be capable of both good and bad.
Despite their great number, kami can be classified into various categories.
There are different approaches to categorization, some scholars use the
function of the kami, others their nature (water, fire, field, etc.).
Kami are appealed to, nourished, and appeased in order to ensure their
influence is, and remains, positive. Offerings of rice wine, food, flowers and
prayers can all help achieve this goal. Festivals, rituals, dancing and music do
likewise. Shrines from simple affairs to huge sacred complexes are built in their
honor. Annually, the image or object (goshintai) thought to be the physical
manifestation of the kami on earth is transported around the local community to