Shinto Religion Essay

Words: 453
Pages: 2

Shinto is an ancient Japanese religion that still remains as one of the main religions in Japan alongside Buddhism. It is an immanent religion but their morals and ethics are directly related to their deities, the Kami. Today I’m going to be talking about Kami, the supernatural powers and deities in Shinto.

There is no one superior being that is worshiped in Shintoism but instead there are many spiritual beings called Kami that the believers of Shinto worship. Kami are spirits that intervene with the lives of humans bringing good fortune such as wealth, health and success to those that treat them properly. This is because the Kami enjoy the human interest in them and to acknowledge this they bring happiness to the lives of humans. They do not live in a separate dimension from humans but on the same dimension as them. They can also influence the course of nature and events in a humans’
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They are the ancestors of humans therefore protect the lives of humans. They were also the creators of this universe.

Shinto’s origin stories of the universe consist of the first Kami Izanagi who was the first man and Izanami who was the first woman as stated in the Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters). They created the universe by throwing a jeweled spear into the ocean creating the first land mass in the universe to what we know now as Japan.

Nature is sacred in Shintoism as Kami take on the elements of nature. Through this reason many aspects of Shinto encourage the nurture of nature to please the Kami, which in turn has influenced the modern Japanese society to be more aware of the natural