The national religion of Japan until the end of the 2nd World War,Shintoism is an ancient Japanese folk religion that even in this post-modern era still has a powerful influence on Japan's spiritual, culturaland political worlds.

ShintoismShintoism

Shintoism is a nearly three-thousand-year old traditional Japanese religion acknowledging morethan 8 million "gods" or "spirits" known as kami which includes the Sun Goddess, ancestor spirits,natural phenomena such as mountains and rivers and even thunderstorms or earthquakes. Italso embraces the moral values of loyalty and duty to the family, clan or nation, while placingan emphasis on physical and mental purity and cleanliness.

The name Shinto is derived from the Chinese characters for Shen - 'divine being' and Tao -'way', and can be translated as "the way of the gods" or "way of the spirits". As with othertraditional religions, Shinto has no specific founder, no fixed teachings and no official sacredscriptures. However, its general beliefs, values and rituals had survived more or less intact for manyages.

ABOVE: The Wikipedi Shinto Shrine in Japan.

General beliefsGeneral beliefs

The Universe

Because Shinto developed from a myriad of ancient Japanese tribal religions and beliefs, twovariations of how they viewed the universe were present in Ancient Shinto. According to thethree-dimensional view, the universe consisted of three distinct worlds, arranged vertically. Right atthe top is the High Heaven where the kami's (deities or spirits) live. Below that is the Middle Land

where humans now live and right at the bottom is Yomi, the land of the dead. This view is alsofound in the traditional North Siberian and Mongolian cultures and although it is often describedin Japanese myths, it is not generally accepted in Shinto.

More generally accepted was a two-dimensional view of the universe in which this current,visible world and the "Perpetual Country" (Tokoyo - a utopian place far beyond the sea) existed inhorizontal order.

However, as Shinto developed into a more uniform religion, it made no distinction between anatural or physical world and a supernatural or transcendental "spirit" world. The entire universe ispart of creation which includes everything that exists – both visible and invisible. Unlike mostother religions, Shinto also makes no distinction between body and spirit. A human being (and allother living creatures, for that mater) is a single living entity or unit which co-exists in the sameworld as spirits and gods.

However, Shintoism does make a distinction between the visible world ("kenkai") and theinvisible world ("yukai"). Shintoists believe that these two worlds are part of one another with theinvisible world extending from the visible world. Because of this "fusion", events in both worldshave a direct consequence in the other.

Shinto therefore aims to promote harmony between the different worlds by, for instancerespecting the "sacredness" in every element of the physical world. For this reason Shinto hasoften been perceived as a religion of nature-worship. Shinto shrines are designed to symbolize the"oneness" of the visible and invisible worlds in one single, all-inclusive universe. Shinto also placehigh value on the moral values of loyalty and duty to the family, clan or nation. This includesloyalty to the kami related to the family, clan or nation.

Kami – beings, objects or "properties"

Shintoism is based on the belief in and devotion to kami – spiritual beings and powers sometimestranslated as "spirits" or "gods". However, kami – meaning "that which is hidden" - is actually verydifficult to define and even Shintoists hold that humans are in fact incapable of understanding thenature of kami.

ABOVE: Mount Fiji in Japan – one of Shinto's most sacred places.

Defining kami

Although gods and spirits are kami, natural objects and phenomena such as mountains, rivers,thunderstorms and earthquakes or the powers these objects and phenomena possess, are alsokami. Kami can therefore refer to living beings and natural objects or to qualities and propertieswhich beings or things are believed to possess.

As a property, kami is the sacred and mystical element in almost everything that exists.Everything is therefore believed to have kami, but only beings and things that show their kami-qualities in an exceptional way, are referred to as kami.

Shintoists believe that kami have life-giving, harmonizing power ("musubi") as well as a truthfulwill ("makoto"). Makoto is sometimes translated as sincerity or purity of intention, but this does notmean that kami are all good - some kami are actually believed to be very evil.

Basically, it is possible to distinguish between the following groups or types of kami:

• Kami who are the Shinto gods or deities – mythical beings such as the Sun Goddess("Amaterasu ") and others described in the ancient Japanese texts (see paragraph: "Sacredtexts of Shintoism").

• Kami who are believed to be the ancestors of the ancient Japanese clans. In tribal times,each tribe dedicated their worship to a specific kami believed to be their ancestor andtheir protector.

• Similar to the previous type of kami are the souls of dead human beings of outstandingachievement who became kami after death.

• Kami of natural objects and phenomena (eg mountains, rivers, etc).

• Kami of the powers possessed by natural objects and phenomena (eg the power of awaterfall) and of the forces of nature (eg thunderstorm or earthquake).

• Kami of living creatures (anything from flowers and butterflies to horses and tigers).

Some important kami

ABOVE: A Religious painting of the "Sun Goddess" – Amaterasu.

With at least 8 million kami believed to live in Japan alone, it is impossible for even the mostdedicated Shintoist to worship or even know them all. Also, different regions, towns, villages andsometimes families all have specific or local kami which they regard as important and which theyworship. In general, however, the following kami are prominent and regarded as important bymost Shintoists:

• Amaterasu (Amaterasu o-mikami) – the most prominent and "upper" deity of Shintoism,known as the "Sun Goddess". She is the kami of the Ise shrine, and believed to be theancestor of the Japanese Imperial family.

• Susanoo – brother of Amaterasu and kami of the wind, or the storm-god, who bothcauses and protects from disasters.

• Izanagi / Izanami - the brother and sister kami who gave birth to Japan and other gods(including Amaterasu and Susanoo) according to Shinto scriptures.

• Hachiman – venerated in ancient Japan as the god of archery and war.• Benten/Benzaiten - a female kami associated with the arts and music (originally a Hindu

goddess).• Tenjin – the kami of education who can help to achieve success in exams. Tenjin was a

human - the Japanese scholar Sugawara no Michizane (845-903 CE) – who became akami after his death.

• Ebisu - a kami who is believed to give prosperity. Originally the abandoned leech-child ofIzanami and Izanagi.

• Konpira (Kompira) – protector of fishermen and sailors (originally a Buddhist deity).

Kami is not God

Although the word "God" was translated as kami in some early Japanese translations of the Bible,kami is not God. This becomes particularly clear if one look at some of the attributes ascribed tokami:

• Shintoists believe there are more than 8 million kami in Japan;

• kami are not divine but simply a superior manifestation of the same life energy as humans;

• kami are not immortal - they can be injured and they can die;

• when kami die, they rot just like humans and animals;

• kami are not omnipotent (all-powerful) or omniscient (all-knowing);

• kami exist in one place only and are therefore not omnipresent (everywhere at once);

• kami are not perfect - they sometimes make mistakes or do evil deeds; and

• kami live in the same world as human beings.

Although kami include the "gods" that Shintoists believe created the universe, they also includespirits believed to inhabit some living beings or things (such as shrines), some living beingsthemselves, natural objects (rivers, oceans, mountains), natural phenomena or forces of nature(thunderstorms, volcanoes and earthquakes) and even humans who became kami when theydied. (Also see paragraph: "Worshipping Kami".)

"Sin" and Purity

Shintoists see all of humanity as "kami's child" and believe that human life and human nature isessentially good and sacred. Babies are not born in sin, they are born pure and sinless. Accordingto Shinto belief, impurity – rather than inborn sin, disobedience to God or anything else – is theroot and cause of man's problems in life. To be impure is to be in a state of disgrace and thatseparates a person from kami and musubi – the life-giving, harmonizing power all kami possess.

However, later in life a person can become "polluted" and impure through "tsumi" (sin). Tsumican be physical, moral or spiritual misconduct. However, the Shinto concept of sin also includesthings which are not controlled by the individual – bad things that have an influence on theperson's life that are caused by bad kami or evil spirits. In ancient Shinto, tsumi also includeddisease, disaster and error. Even today, anything connected with death, the dead, disease andblood is considered polluting.

Shintoists have a relatively easy solution for sin compared to most other religions. They believea person can usually be cleansed of tsumi and impurity and its consequences simply by followingthe prescribed purifying rituals! If executed correctly, the person once again become pure andcan once again live in harmony with the kami. Thus for Shintoists the old saying "cleanliness isnext to godliness" is taken a step further as they seem to believe "cleanliness is godliness"!

Worshipping kamiWorshipping kami

Shintoists believe that most kami are benign - they sustain and protect and they care abouthuman beings and want humans to lead fulfilled and happy lives. They also believe kamiappreciate and encourage human's interest in them and like to interact with humans. In essence,worship aims to enable human beings to communicate and interact with kami.

ABOVE: A Shinto priest performing rituals in a Tokyo shopping mall as part of the New Yearfestival.

Reasons for worship

Shintoists believe that most kami are not only able to help people, but also very willing to do so.Therefore, the kami are worshipped and venerated to gain specific benefits.

Shintoists revere "musuhi" - the kamis' "creative and harmonizing powers" which help people togrow and develop spiritually. They hold that all the kami deities or gods cooperate with eachother and have the same basic good intentions with regard to humans. If a person livesaccording to the kami's revealed will, he or she is believed to receive the protection, cooperation,spiritual power and approval of all the kami. The kami's will is revealed during worship andinteraction between it and the believer.

A good example is the Shinto aspiration to have "makoto" - a true and sincere heart. Theybelieve that it is the will of the kami for humans to have makoto. In a worshipper's interaction withthe kami, the kami reveals makoto to him or her and guides the person to live accordingly.

Another very practical reason to worship and venerate the kami is that, depending on theirindividual qualities and powers, kami can influence nature and natural forces, as well as humanconduct. If they are treated in the right way, kami will grant good health, protection, success,wealth or victory in war. Kami can even be petitioned to grant good exam results!

Forms of Shinto worship

Such worship is very ritualized and performed according to strict protocol, order and control.Aesthetics – what it looks like – is very important during ceremonies as the ritual is supposed to bepleasing to the senses and minds of the participants as well as the particular kami which isworshipped. A lot of care is therefore taken with props, sound, smell, clothing of the priests orworshipper and using the correct way of speech and language.

Although the patterns for Shinto worship was set when the religion was centralized in the19th century, ceremonies and rituals still differ considerably from one area or even shrine toanother. Worship rituals are diverse and include ritual purification; adoration (e.g. bowing to thealtar); reciting of prayers; ritual dances; burning of incense; offerings of food (excluding animalmeat), drink or flowers; and fasting.

Places of worship

Kami can be worshipped at home, in shrines or even in public places. Most Japanese houses havea special area which is set aside for Shinto worship. It usually contains a "kami dana" ("kami shelf")with a small replica of a shrine's sanctuary. There would also be some amulets – believed to bringgood luck or absorb bad luck – as well as a mirror in the centre of the shelf. Shintoists believe thatthe mirror forms a spiritual "porthole" between the house, shelf and the resident kami.

Offerings of food or flowers are left on the shelf while prayers are also recited in front of it. Ifsomeone had bought a religious object or an object of high value, they may lay it on the shelf,thus linking the home to shrine and pertaining the kami's blessing over it.

ABOVE: Old photograph of Japanese Shinto woman in her home.

Public worship ceremonies could be performed virtually anywhere and at any important event.For instance, before a new building is constructed, a Shinto ceremony would be performed onthe site. During festivals such as New Year, public ceremonies would be performed in all kinds ofplaces, including modern shopping malls and at sacred sites.

Worship performed at local shrines include public and shared rituals (eg during festivals or ritesof passage ceremonies) as well as individual acts of worship. For instance, an individual may visit ashrine to petition the particular kami for a specific need, or to thank the kami for having receivedsomething good. (See paragraph: "Shinto Shrines".)

Local kami popular

In theory, it is important for Shintoists to consider all types of kami in worship. In practice, however,local kami – especially the ancestors of the Japanese clans (called "ujigami") and the kami ofnatural objects in a specific area are popular in worship.

In ancient tribal times, each tribe dedicated their worship to a specific kami believed to be theirancestor and their protector. In later years, shrines were erected in towns and villages for the

worship of these kami. Local believers often see "their" particular kami – which is usually believedto have a distinctive personality and abilities - as the source of life and existence for everyone inthat community.

Shinto ShrinesShinto Shrines

It is estimated that there are about 80 000 Shinto shrines all over Japan. They vary in size frommassive constructions on large peaces of open land to small edifices on top of high-tech Japaneseskyscrapers.

Designed for worship

Where possible, Shinto shrines are built with great consideration to nature and are often foundamidst beautiful natural surroundings. Shrines are dedicated to specific kami and are constructedin a way that aids the worshipper to progress from the outside world to the special holy place ofpurity and sanctity. In fact this journey – from the gate ("torii") to the ablution basin where ritualhand washing and mouth rinsing takes place to the outer sanctuary or oratory ("haiden"), is partof the individual's worship ceremony.

ABOVE: Shinto priest performing ceremonies in the Fukuoka shrine in Japan.

The most sacred part of the shrine is the inner sanctuary ("honden"), where a sacred symbolcalled a "shintai" ("kami body") or "mitamo-shiro" ("divine spirit's symbol") is kept. This symbol is oftena mirror, traditional Japanese sword or wooden image and it is regarded as the "embodiment" ofthe kami. The kami dwells in the shintai. However, only the shrine's head priest is allowed to enterthe inner sanctuary and thus ever see the symbol. Some shrines have a connecting hall orpassage between the honden and heiden where prayers are recited

Reasons for attending

Shintoists may visit a shrine on any day of the week and as often as they wish. The individualworshipper would be likely to visit shrines for festivals, for personal spiritual reasons, or to make aspecial request to the local kami. Family and friends would also visit the shrine together to attendrituals performed by priests for the various Shinto life passages. These rites of passage include"introducing" a newborn baby to the local kami, a commemoration for reaching the age of 20years, weddings and funerals.

When visiting the shrine for personal reasons, the worshipper would normally just make anoffering at the haiden and then recite some prayers to the kami.

Most of the public ceremonies at the shrines are performed by priests and include ritualcleansing (performed in nearby rivers or lakes in ancient times), prayers and offerings. Anotherform of public worship are "kagura" ritual dances accompanied by traditional musical instruments.These dances are performed either by young virgins, a group of men, or just one man. allintended to praise, please or petition the resident kami.

ABOVE: Kagura dancers. Some large shrines have a special hall where these dances areperformed.

Local shrines also play an important role during festivals such as spring planting, harvest, andspecial days related to the history of a shrine or of a local patron spirit. Other festivals includeShogatsu (New Year - celebrated from 1-3 January); Hinamatsuri (Girl's Day - celebrated on March3) and Tango no Sekku (Boy's Day - - celebrated on March 5). Some shrines also celebrateNational Founding Day on February 11 to commemorate the founding of Japan.

Rituals and practicesRituals and practices

Ritual forms a central and essential part of Shinto life and worship. In a sense, it is not importantwhat a person believes and what knowledge he or she has of doctrines and teachings. Instead,performing the right rituals in the correct way, is all-important and determines if the person wouldsucceed spiritually or not.

Although the patterns for rituals were determined and prescribed in the late 19th century, thereis still a lot of variation in practice. For the purpose of this article, we will just look at some of thevery basic and most important rituals and practices of modern-day Shintoism.

Purification – Harai

The Shinto concept of sin is simply to become "polluted" through "tsumi" (physical, moral orspiritual misconduct or influences). To be restored to a condition of purity, one can just follow theprescribed Shinto purification rituals ("misogi") and personal practices to cleanse both body andmind. Water and salt (by sprinkling) are commonly used as purifying agents, while priests can alsouse a hiraigushi wand (a stick with streamers of white paper on the one end) to purify a person orobject.

Purifying rituals is part of all Shinto religious ceremonies and are always performed at the startof the ceremonies. Even when visiting a shrine, the individual performs the temizu ritual – a simplewashing of hands and rinsing of the mouth – at the ablution basin upon entry of the shrine. Inthis way, the worshipper is purified to enable him or her to approach the kami.

The Oharae purification ritual is used to "remove sin or pollution" from a large group of people– even from the entire population. It can be performed for companies and is often performedafter disasters such as earthquakes or mudslides. In Japan, this ritual is performed every six months(in June and December) to purify the Imperial Family as well as the entire nation.

The origin of Shinto purification rituals can be traced to the ancient myth of Izanagi andIzanami. After escaping from Yomi – the land of the dead - Izanagi was contaminated by hiscontact with death and bathed himself thoroughly in the ocean to wash away the pollution ofdeath.

Rites of passage

Shintoists observe several rites of passage, most of which involve special rituals and ceremoniesperformed at the local shrine and attended by family and friends.

A baby is "introduced" to the local kami as a new Shinto adherent between 30 and 100 days afterbirth. On 15 November, five year old boys and girls of three and seven years old take part in theShichi-go-san ("Seven-Five-Three") ceremonies to thank the kami for its protection and health. 15

January used to be a sort of male coming of age festival called Adult's Day. However, theceremonies nowadays include all Japanese who have reached the age of 20 years.

Japanese weddings are often performed in Shinto tradition with the bride and groompronouncing their vows to the kami. Funerals are the final rite of passage in Shinto, althoughtoday most Japanese prefer to have funerals in the Buddhist style.

Four Affirmations

Shinto has four affirmations or declarations of faith which distinguishes adherents from otherpeople:

• Tradition and the family: The family is the main vehicle by which traditions are preserved.The main family-celebrations relate to birth and marriage.

• Love of nature: Nature is sacred; to be in contact with nature is to be close to the kami.Kami of natural objects or forces are worshipped and venerated.

• Physical cleanliness: Physical and spiritual purity is interlinked and essential. Takingregular baths, washing of hands, and mouth rinsing is part of the daily purificationroutine.

• Matsuri: The worship and veneration of kami.

Festivals

Local shrines play an important role during festivals such as the Spring Festival (Haru Matsuri),Harvest Festival (Niiname-sai), Autumn Festival (Aki Matsuri), New Year (Shogatsu - celebratedfrom 1-3 January); Girl's Day (Hinamatsuri - celebrated on March 3) and Boy's Day (Tango noSekku - celebrated on March 5) and the Annual Festival (Rei-sai). Some shrines also celebrateNational Founding Day on February 11 to commemorate the founding Japan while mostshrines also commemorate special days related to the history of a shrine or of a local patron spirit.

ABOVE: The Divine Procession during the Annual Festival.

During the Annual Festival, an important ceremony called the Divine Procession takes place.Believers follow the priests who carry miniature shrines on their shoulders in a procession throughthe grounds of the shrine. After various rituals, which among others include water purification(misogi), bowing to the altar, food offerings and sacred dancing, the festival ends withparticipants having "communion" with the kami by drinking sake (rice-wine). Activities such assumo wrestling, horseback riding (kurabe-uma) and archery (matoi) are also part of some festivals.

Sacred texts of ShintoismSacred texts of Shintoism

Unlike most other religions, Shintoism does not have any official sacred scriptures. In a sensethough, the Kojiki ("Records of Ancient Matters") and the Nihongi, (or Nihon shoki - "Chronicles ofJapan"), are regarded as the foundational texts or sacred texts of Shinto. Both these works arecollections of oral traditions of ancient Shinto and were written early in the 8th century AD.

In essence, these texts contain the traditional and largely mythical story of the creation of Japanand its people. They do also give valuable information on the real history of Japan as well asShinto doctrines and religious practice.

The Shinto creation stories revolve around the lives and deeds of the first kami. It claims that theuniverse was created from pre-existing chaos and that from this chaos, several kami ("gods" ordeities) appeared spontaneously. Relationships between them produced a pair of kami – abrother and sister – called Izanagi ("he who invites") and Izanami ("she who invites"). The centralisland of Japan was formed when Izanagi and Izanami thrust a jeweled spear into the ocean.They later married and their offspring somehow include the rest of the Japanese island as well asmore kami who became the ancestors of the various Japanese clans.

ABOVE: Image of Amaterasu – the Japanese Sun Goddess.

The central figure in the Shinto texts is Amaterasu (the Sun Goddess) – daughter of Izanagiand Izanami and the highest deity in Shinto mythology. Amaterasu sent her grandson, Ninigi, tounite the warring Japanese clans and his grandson, Jimmu, became the first Japanese emperor.Apparently Jimmu (or his grandfather Ninigi) received the "Three Sacred Treasures" (a mirror,sword and jewels) – still the most revered symbols of the Japanese imperial household – fromAmaterasu. The ruling Japanese Imperial Family claim a direct lineage from Amaterasu, and she istherefore seen as the first ancestor of the Imperial Family.

Amaterasu's brother, Susanoo (the storm-god or ruler of the nether regions) also came downfrom heaven and, among other famous deeds, killed a great evil serpent.

Branches of ShintoismBranches of Shintoism

21st Century Shinto can be ordered into three major branches or groups namely Shrine Shinto,Sect Shinto, and Folk Shinto. Unlike different branches of most other religions, the three Shintogroups are still closely interrelated and adherents may freely interact and worship together.

Shrine Shinto (Jinja)

Shrine Shinto is perhaps the oldest and "purest" form of Shinto and also has the largest number offollowers. Its roots are found in ancient Japan when Shinto first emerged as a recognizablereligion. The now defunct State Shinto (Kokka Shinto) – which became a tool for Japanesenationalism from the late 19th century until the end of World War II, was closely related to ShrineShinto. State Shinto was an attempt to unify principles of ancient Shinto and the imperialgovernment of Japan, and saw the Japanese emperor worshipped as a living kami deity.

Sect Shinto (Kyoha)

Sect Shinto is a relatively new development and consist of sects based on Shintoism butcontaining strong influences from other religions or the teachings and interpretations ofindividual sect founders. Thirteen of these sects emerged during the 19th century while othersonly became prominent after World War II. Sect Shinto can be classified into five groups namely:Revival Shinto sects (Izumo-oyashiro-kyo, Shinto-taikyo and Shinri-kyo); Confucian sects (ShintoShusei-ha and Shinto Taisei-kyo); Purification sects (Shinshu-kyo and Misogi-kyo); MountainWorship sects (Jikko-kyo, Fuso-kyo and On take-kyo); and Healing sects (Kurozumi-kyo, Konko-kyo,and Tenri-kyo).

Folk Shinto (Minzoku)

Folk Shinto is an aspect of Japanese folk or traditional religion and not a separate Shinto sect. Ithas no central organizational structure or creed. It is based on the veneration of small roadsideimages and the practice of age-old agricultural rituals and the rituals of individual rural clans andfamilies.

Is Shinto a religion?Is Shinto a religion?

Some writers argue that Shinto is a Japanese worldview and traditional way of life rather than areligion. Others believe that in its basic sense, Shinto is a religious form of Japanese patriotism andnationalism.

Ritual before theology

One of the reasons for this reasoning is that Shinto places most of its emphasis on conduct andritual and generally have very little regard for doctrine and theology. In fact, Shinto has no officialset of theological beliefs or moral codes. Many Shinto beliefs are therefore fairly vague and notclearly defined.

A prominent Shinto scholar as writer, Motoori (1730-1801), explained the lack of ethics inShintoism by stating: "It is because the Japanese were truly moral in their practice that theyrequire no theory of morals." Most practitioners of Shinto are not interested in its beliefs or in usingthe religion as a way of explaining the world. Instead, they see in Shinto a way of living inharmony with the entire universe – both the visible ("kenkai") and invisible("yukai") worlds.

Co-existence with Buddhism

Another reason why Shinto is often regarded as a part of Japanese culture rather than a religion,is because it so easily co-exists with other religions, particularly with Buddhism. Statistics show thatin 1999 about 76% of Japan's population described themselves as followers of Buddhism while83% followed Shinto! This explains why in so many Japanese homes one would find a Shinto"god-shelf" ("kamidana") right next to a Buddhist altar.

In 1936 the Vatican in Rome issued a proclamation which allowed Japanese Roman Catholicsto take part in Shinto ceremonies because these ceremonies were merely civil rites of "filialreverence toward the Imperial Family and to the heroes of the country".

Japanese following both Shinto and Buddhism or Roman Catholicism do not see themselves asadherents to two different religions. Instead, they distinguish between the two and seems to findit quite easy to reconcile the two beliefs in daily practice. This is simply because for manyJapanese, Shinto is a part of their cultural heritage and tradition, rather than their religion.

However, as Shintoism conforms to all the basic criteria for a religion, it will be regarded assuch for the purpose of this article.

GlossaryGlossary

Amaterasu: The most prominent and "upper" deity of Shintoism, known as the "Sun Goddess".

Bushido Code: A Japanese war code emphasizing honor, courage, justice, loyalty, truthfulness,self-discipline, respect and reserve. Adhered to by Samurai warriors.

Harai: The act of ritual purification or the state of ritual purity central to Shinto. Harai removes bothinner and outer pollution or impurity.

Hiraigushi wand: A stick with streamers of white paper on the one end used by Shinto priests topurify a person or object.

Kami: Spiritual beings and powers of Shintoism sometimes translated as "spirits" or "gods".

Makoto: A true heart, absolute sincerity or purity of intention.

Misogi: Shinto purification rituals to cleanse a person from sin or pollution. Also used to specificallyrefer to the ritual washing of bodies in a river near the shrine.

Monism: A believe that “all is one” – an impersonal God that is part of everything and everythingis part of God.

Occult: A study and alleged 'science' of the hidden, secret, esoteric, demonic, paranormal andsupernatural - not related to the true God of the Bible.

Polytheistic: The belief in many gods or supreme/higher beings.

Shintai: An object that "embodies" a kami. Often a mirror, traditional Japanese sword or woodenimage kept in the inner sanctuary of a Shinto shrine.

Tsumi: Sin or pollution brought on by physical, moral or spiritual misconduct. It also includesthings which are not controlled by the individual – bad things that has an influence on theperson's life that are caused by bad kami or evil spirits.

Ujigami: A Japanese clan's particular ruling or guardian deity. The clans' ujigami were not alwaysits ancestral kami – some clans regarded kami of nature as its ujigami.

Article by Manie Bosman (E-Mail maniebosman@mweb.co.za)