Social Sciences
Japanese Prime Minister ABE Shinzo's Christmas Day (U.S. time) visit to the Yasukuni Shrine spotlights the Shinto faith. For the Prime Minister, Shinto is a religious and ritualistic form of Japanese patriotism.
For the average Japanese, it is as much Japan's religion as it is a cultural tradition that honors and apotheosizes nature and the dead.
John Dougill, a professor of British Culture at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, maintains an excellent blog, Green Shinto, dedicated to "the promotion of an open, international and environmental Shinto." He provides insights into both the history and practice of Shinto.
- Japan Urged To Take Pride In Admitting To Troubled Past
On January 12th, Kyodo News interviewed APP member Columbia University Professor Gerald Curtis. He described Japan's ties with China and South Korea as "worrisome," with the "history issue" as an underlying factor. His advice was for Japan to...
- Yasukuni Is No Arlington
Judge Pal at Yasukuni ShrineJapan?s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe headed a carnival of reporters and sycophants to the Yasukuni Shrine on December 26th. In a well-planned visit, the Prime Minister paid homage to both the known defenders of Imperial Japan...
- Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is keen on visiting soon the Yasukuni Shrine. He believes, as noted in the translation below, that his recent visits to foreign war cemeteries are equivalent to paying homage to Imperial Japan's war dead. And he laments that...
- Prime Minister Of Japan's Schedule March 12-18
March 12, 2012 (MON) AM 07:01 Mr. Nagahama, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Tezuka, Special Advisor to PM 08:23 Both leave 08:43 Parliament 08:55 The Upper House Budget Committee PM 12:00 Office of PM 12:48 Parliament 01:00 The Upper House Budget...
- Prime Minister Of Japan's Schedule December 8
AM 08:11 The office of PM 08:14 Mr. Tezuka, Special Advisor to PM 08:48 Mr. Tezuka leaves 09:51 Parliament 08:21 Ministerial meeting 10:00 The Upper House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense 11:06 Mr. Nagashima, Special Advisor to PM 11:46 Mr. Teruhiko...
Social Sciences
Shinto in the Spotlight
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| Blessing of the Thames |
For the average Japanese, it is as much Japan's religion as it is a cultural tradition that honors and apotheosizes nature and the dead.
John Dougill, a professor of British Culture at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, maintains an excellent blog, Green Shinto, dedicated to "the promotion of an open, international and environmental Shinto." He provides insights into both the history and practice of Shinto.
He has collected the many definitions of Shinto, among them:
"Shinto?, indeed, is a term that should be used with great caution, since it can be applied to an animistic cult, to a theocratic myth, to a simple folklore that expresses indigenous Japanese sentiments about life and society, and to an organized system of ritual with a certain political content.? ? George Sansom, The Western World And Japan A Study In The Interaction Of European And Asiatic Cultures
?Shinto is the Japanese conception of the universe. It is a combination of the worship of nature and of their own ancestors.? Percival Lowell, Occult Japan: Or, the Way of the Gods; An Esoteric Study of Japanese Personality and Possession
?The term Shinto covers a many-hued array of Japanese religious traditions.? - Mark Teeuwen and John Breen in Shinto ? Shinto: A Short History
But Shinto's veneration of nature and the past is not foreign to Westerners. On Sunday, January 12, London's Southwark Cathedral holds its Annual Ceremony of the Blessing of the River Thames and Those Who Use It. The ceremony involves throwing a cross into the water as a symbol of Christ's baptism, and praying for the people working on the river.
Southwark is the oldest cathedral church building in London (AD 606). Significantly, Southwark stands at the oldest crossing point of the tidal Thames at what was the only entrance to the City of London across the river for many centuries.
Southwark is the oldest cathedral church building in London (AD 606). Significantly, Southwark stands at the oldest crossing point of the tidal Thames at what was the only entrance to the City of London across the river for many centuries.
- Japan Urged To Take Pride In Admitting To Troubled Past
On January 12th, Kyodo News interviewed APP member Columbia University Professor Gerald Curtis. He described Japan's ties with China and South Korea as "worrisome," with the "history issue" as an underlying factor. His advice was for Japan to...
- Yasukuni Is No Arlington
Judge Pal at Yasukuni ShrineJapan?s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe headed a carnival of reporters and sycophants to the Yasukuni Shrine on December 26th. In a well-planned visit, the Prime Minister paid homage to both the known defenders of Imperial Japan...
- Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is keen on visiting soon the Yasukuni Shrine. He believes, as noted in the translation below, that his recent visits to foreign war cemeteries are equivalent to paying homage to Imperial Japan's war dead. And he laments that...
- Prime Minister Of Japan's Schedule March 12-18
March 12, 2012 (MON) AM 07:01 Mr. Nagahama, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary; Mr. Tezuka, Special Advisor to PM 08:23 Both leave 08:43 Parliament 08:55 The Upper House Budget Committee PM 12:00 Office of PM 12:48 Parliament 01:00 The Upper House Budget...
- Prime Minister Of Japan's Schedule December 8
AM 08:11 The office of PM 08:14 Mr. Tezuka, Special Advisor to PM 08:48 Mr. Tezuka leaves 09:51 Parliament 08:21 Ministerial meeting 10:00 The Upper House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense 11:06 Mr. Nagashima, Special Advisor to PM 11:46 Mr. Teruhiko...