Shintoism is the term for the local religious beliefs and practices of Japan Essay

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Shintoism is the term for the local religious beliefs and practices of Japan. The Shinto religion has no founder, no official sacred writing, and no fixed creeds, but its sealed its main beliefs and rituals throughout the ages. The word Shinto, which comes from the Chinese shin tao, meaning "the way of kami", came into use to tell apart native Japanese beliefs from Buddhism, which had been introduced into Japan in the 6th century. Shintoism centers upon the relationship between artistic people and a large amount of supernatural entities called kami who are apart all aspects of life. Western texts on Shinto commonly translate kami as spirit or god. Neither term works well for the entirety of kami, which spans a wide range of supernatural beings, from unique and human like entities to ancestors to uninfluenced forces of nature. In shintoism there are several faiths and rituals to ensure the goodness of kami and to forever become part of the hearty experience, in this essay i will be explaining how Purification, Festivals/Celebrations, and Prayer come into affect as the largest and most pleasing spiritual faiths to perform in the eyes in a Japanese Shintoism culture and society. The most common type of ritual involves purification - symbolically purifying oneself or an object before interacting with the kami . Purification is done with water by rinsing, washing, bathing or with the priest's hand. This is done to cleanse and revitalize the person in preparation of the contact with the sacred Kami. Usually Purification will take place before entering a shrine, attending a festival or on regular basis. The Shintos would wash away sins by indulging their self in the ocean or bath, they feel cleansed as they enter the water. Participants of the purification create torches and write the most meaningful thing to them on it as if it were a lucky charm of some sort. I think that the main purpose of purification is to become unified with the fellow

community and have faith in kami to protect their well beings and themselves the main purpose in fact is to be with your community while performing this ritual. The second ritual being explained that seems to express peace and the good side of kami is Festivals and Celebrations. Shintoism does not usually follow any strict ritual ceremonies that members must take on. Instead, they have many festivals and celebrations. The main purpose of all rituals is to push away bad spirits and open themselves up to the good will of the Kami. There are many festivals that acknowledge the seasons, such as Harumatsun for Spring, and Aki Matsuri for harvest. These celebrations occur usually at a shrine, where many people come along and say
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