Shinto honours spirits of place, and ancestors (kami), using ritual and creativity. It provided me with some very interesting surprises, and I have come to the tentative conclusion that Shinto makes a very interesting comparison with Druidry. In many ways it’s a dry and academic little book, but it is packed with information. This book was purchased on spec, and is the first thing I’ve read on the subject. My only prior sense of Shinto came from watching Miyazaki films, realising this is a creator who is drawing on a tradition, and that I want to know more about the tradition. Ono's text introduce the reader to two millennia of indigenous Japanese belief in the kami and in communal life. Further examination of Shinto's lively festivals, worship, music, and sacred regalia illustrates Shinto's influence on all levels of Japanese life.įifteen photographs, numerous drawings and Dr. This introduction unveils Shinto's spiritual characteristics and discusses the architecture and function of Shinto shrines. Shinto is both a personal faith in the kami-objects of worship in Shinto and an honorific for noble, sacred spirits-and a communal way of life according to the mind of the kami. It is an amalgam of attitudes, ideas, and ways of doing things that through two millennia and more have become an integral part of the way of the Japanese people. In its general aspects Shinto is more than a religious faith. Relatively unknown among the religions of the world, Shinto: The Kami Way provides an enlightening window into this Japanese faith. Shinto, the indigenous faith of the Japanese people, continues to fascinate and mystify both the casual visitor to Japan and the long-time resident. "An excellently rounded introduction by an eminent Shinto scholar."- Library Journal
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