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Introduction to Practicing Shinto outside of Japan
11 years ago
General
(by kitsune-rin):
Hello all! Rin here again!
In this journal I am going to provide an instruction on how Shinto is highly adaptable for practicing outside of Japan!
A lot of the 'you can't be Shinto if you're not Japanese' mindsets almost certainly are due Kokka (State) Shinto. This was the Official religion of Japan from 1868 through to WWII. It focused on ceremonies of the Imperial household and public Shinto shrines. Kokka Shinto was used as a type of propaganda to exclude foreigners.
There are many types of Shinto! There is folk Shinto; which is probably the most known form - especially if you read or watch Japanese media such as manga and anime. There are also many sects including Konkokyo - which is gaining popularity in North America right now. I will not write about the other sects as I am not entirely familiar with them yet and so I do not want to get any information wrong!
How Can I be Shintoist? Do I have to Convert?
With Shinto, like many other nature-based religions and faiths, there is no need for a formal convert. Shinto is simply the worship/reverement of nature and the kami that exist within the Universe. You do not need to attend or have a shrine, or perform any rituals to be Shinto. If you already recognize the energies within nature and have a sense for kami and spirits then you are already considered Shinto!
Also, you can be Shinto as well as any other religion! I am also Pagan and I find that Shinto and Neo-Paganism/Druidry fit together very well. In fact, many Japanese are Shinto-Buddhist by tradition (as Shinto does not focus heavily on the afterlife, Buddhism steps in here for funeral rites and afterlife beliefs.) There are also many Japanese (and other people) who identify as Christian and Shinto.
Shinto is incredibly versatile and there is a reason it has existed for over a millennium!
How Can I Incorporate Shinto into my Daily Life?
'Being' a Shintoist is simple - you just need to appreciate nature! However, if you want to feel more part of the faith, there are some things you can do:
- Have a kamidana: This can be as simple as a kami's name written on a piece of paper and a candle, or a full-fledged wooden kamidana complete with offering dishes and other items. Whatever you create, this will become a sacred place for your kami of choice (or all kami, depending on your personal beliefs) in your home. Make sure that if you make offerings, you change them daily - or as often as you can. Include the kami in your daily life and you will soon notice the blessings you're receiving!
- Personal hygiene: Cleanliness is important in Shinto as it is believed that a dirty body means a dirty soul. Washing yourself often is believed to rid yourself of negative energies that may accumulate around you and helps promote purity of the mind, body and soul. In Shinto, the mind, body and soul are believed to be separate and so you must keep them in balance. You could drink more water and green tea in order to help detox your body too!
- Respect your Elders and Family: Tradition is also very important in Shinto. A respect for one's family and national heritage is considered essential. Whether you visit family graves often, your living relatives or just have photos in your home; your family - both living and deceased - should be revered with the same amount of respect as a kami.
- Research! - Japanese mythology influences Shinto heavily and so in order to understand one, you really need to understand the other too. Shinto is not just shrines and spirit foxes - there is a huge, HUGE amount of kami and stories to be discovered. If you are already 'attracted' to one kami, read more about them - as much as you can find! New materials are being translated all the time!
Are There Any Shinto Shrines outside of Japan?
YES!
As well as small home shrines, large public temples have been built in countries including the USA, Canada and the Netherlands.
- Tsubaki Jinja, in Granite Falls, Washington
- Ki-no-Mori Jinja, in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada
- Shrine to Amaterasu-Omikami on Shambhala mountain center in remote Northern Colorado
- Small Inari shrine in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York (the National Shinto association is in New York as well)
- Shi-yaku-jin no hokora, Twin Cities, Minnesota
New shrines are being build all the time - this year a hokora for Inari-sama has been added to the Tsubaki Gran Shrine grounds! There are also plans to build more shrines around the World - possibly including the UK!
I hope that this has enlightened you to how Shinto is truly an International faith and can be practiced by anyone!
Good luck with everything you do!
- Rin
Hello all! Rin here again!
In this journal I am going to provide an instruction on how Shinto is highly adaptable for practicing outside of Japan!
A lot of the 'you can't be Shinto if you're not Japanese' mindsets almost certainly are due Kokka (State) Shinto. This was the Official religion of Japan from 1868 through to WWII. It focused on ceremonies of the Imperial household and public Shinto shrines. Kokka Shinto was used as a type of propaganda to exclude foreigners.
There are many types of Shinto! There is folk Shinto; which is probably the most known form - especially if you read or watch Japanese media such as manga and anime. There are also many sects including Konkokyo - which is gaining popularity in North America right now. I will not write about the other sects as I am not entirely familiar with them yet and so I do not want to get any information wrong!
How Can I be Shintoist? Do I have to Convert?
With Shinto, like many other nature-based religions and faiths, there is no need for a formal convert. Shinto is simply the worship/reverement of nature and the kami that exist within the Universe. You do not need to attend or have a shrine, or perform any rituals to be Shinto. If you already recognize the energies within nature and have a sense for kami and spirits then you are already considered Shinto!
Also, you can be Shinto as well as any other religion! I am also Pagan and I find that Shinto and Neo-Paganism/Druidry fit together very well. In fact, many Japanese are Shinto-Buddhist by tradition (as Shinto does not focus heavily on the afterlife, Buddhism steps in here for funeral rites and afterlife beliefs.) There are also many Japanese (and other people) who identify as Christian and Shinto.
Shinto is incredibly versatile and there is a reason it has existed for over a millennium!
How Can I Incorporate Shinto into my Daily Life?
'Being' a Shintoist is simple - you just need to appreciate nature! However, if you want to feel more part of the faith, there are some things you can do:
- Have a kamidana: This can be as simple as a kami's name written on a piece of paper and a candle, or a full-fledged wooden kamidana complete with offering dishes and other items. Whatever you create, this will become a sacred place for your kami of choice (or all kami, depending on your personal beliefs) in your home. Make sure that if you make offerings, you change them daily - or as often as you can. Include the kami in your daily life and you will soon notice the blessings you're receiving!
- Personal hygiene: Cleanliness is important in Shinto as it is believed that a dirty body means a dirty soul. Washing yourself often is believed to rid yourself of negative energies that may accumulate around you and helps promote purity of the mind, body and soul. In Shinto, the mind, body and soul are believed to be separate and so you must keep them in balance. You could drink more water and green tea in order to help detox your body too!
- Respect your Elders and Family: Tradition is also very important in Shinto. A respect for one's family and national heritage is considered essential. Whether you visit family graves often, your living relatives or just have photos in your home; your family - both living and deceased - should be revered with the same amount of respect as a kami.
- Research! - Japanese mythology influences Shinto heavily and so in order to understand one, you really need to understand the other too. Shinto is not just shrines and spirit foxes - there is a huge, HUGE amount of kami and stories to be discovered. If you are already 'attracted' to one kami, read more about them - as much as you can find! New materials are being translated all the time!
Are There Any Shinto Shrines outside of Japan?
YES!
As well as small home shrines, large public temples have been built in countries including the USA, Canada and the Netherlands.
- Tsubaki Jinja, in Granite Falls, Washington
- Ki-no-Mori Jinja, in Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada
- Shrine to Amaterasu-Omikami on Shambhala mountain center in remote Northern Colorado
- Small Inari shrine in Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York (the National Shinto association is in New York as well)
- Shi-yaku-jin no hokora, Twin Cities, Minnesota
New shrines are being build all the time - this year a hokora for Inari-sama has been added to the Tsubaki Gran Shrine grounds! There are also plans to build more shrines around the World - possibly including the UK!
I hope that this has enlightened you to how Shinto is truly an International faith and can be practiced by anyone!
Good luck with everything you do!
- Rin
- Rin
Thank you for posting this. ^w^
Also, some of our traditions are rather different than those of mainstream Shinto.
Regarding filial piety, the Kitsune Society's traditions on family values have nothing to do with the immediate family, considering the Nakama, the family bound by spirit rather than blood, to be the only kind. Family is not at all who you are related to - it's who you can relate to. There's a big difference. The Society is my family, my tribe, and anything bad that happens to one of my members is seldom unfelt.
As for hygiene? How would we NOT be all about hygiene? Cleanliness is next to godliness, after all. No Kindra of mine should prance about smelling like a neglected horse!
Research? We're totally about research, baby. We are highly observant of the value of intellectualism and literacy, looking down with scorn at those who get their information from Fox News or "reality" television.
And thank gods we're based in Minneapolis! We aim to have the number of shrines in America blossom one-hundred-fold!
Also Tsubaki Shrine in America enshrines America Kokudo Kunitama-no-Kami (protector of North American Continent). If you are perhaps thinking about starting a sect of Shinto, rev. Barrish would be a great person to speak to as he is very open about everything!
- Rin