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Shinto | Wikipedia audio article

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Shinto


00:03:20 1 Types
00:06:14 2 Theology and cosmology
00:06:24 2.1 iKami/i
00:08:49 2.2 iKannagara/i
00:09:29 2.3 iAmenominakanushi/i
00:11:12 2.4 Creation of Japan
00:13:11 2.5 Impurity
00:14:02 2.6 Purification
00:14:50 3 Afterlife
00:16:34 3.1 Shinto funeral
00:17:17 4 Shrines
00:19:22 4.1 Notable shrines
00:21:23 5 Practices
00:21:32 5.1 iOmairi/i
00:23:12 5.2 iHarae/i
00:23:48 5.3 iMisogi/i
00:24:52 5.4 iImi/i
00:25:28 5.5 Amulets and talismans
00:27:26 5.6 iKagura/i
00:33:02 6 History
00:33:10 6.1 Historical records
00:34:15 6.2 Origins
00:37:21 6.3 Jōmon Period
00:38:22 6.4 Yayoi Period
00:39:56 6.5 Kofun Period
00:41:42 6.6 Asuka Period
00:43:20 6.7 Hakuho Period
00:45:09 6.8 Nara Period
00:47:05 6.9 Syncretism with Buddhism
00:48:13 6.10 iKokugaku/i
00:49:31 6.11 State Shinto
00:52:35 6.12 Post-war
00:54:45 6.13 Sect Shinto
00:55:15 7 See also



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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates



SUMMARY
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Shinto (神道, Shintō) or kami-no-michi (among other names) is the traditional religion of Japan that focuses on ritual practices to be carried out diligently to establish a connection between present-day Japan and its ancient past.Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written historical records of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki in the 8th century. Still, these earliest Japanese writings do not refer to a unified religion, but rather to a collection of native beliefs and mythology. Shinto today is the religion of public shrines devoted to the worship of a multitude of spirits, essences (kami), suited to various purposes such as war memorials and harvest festivals, and applies as well to various sectarian organizations. Practitioners express their diverse beliefs through a standard language and practice, adopting a similar style in dress and ritual, dating from around the time of the Nara and Heian periods (8th–12th century).The word Shinto (Way of the Gods) was adopted, originally as Jindō or Shindō, from the written Chinese Shendao (神道, pinyin: shéndào), combining two kanji: shin (神), meaning spirit or kami; and michi (道), path, meaning a philosophical path or study (from the Chinese word dào). The oldest recorded usage of the word Shindo is from the second half of the 6th century. Kami is rendered in English as spirits, essences, or gods, and refers to the energy generating the phenomena. Since the Japanese language does not distinguish between singular and plural, kami also refers to the singular divinity, or sacred essence, that manifests in multiple forms: rocks, trees, rivers, animals, places, and even people can be said to possess the nature of kami. Kami and people are not separate; they exist within the same world and share its interrelated complexity.As much as nearly 80% of the population in Japan participates in Shinto practices or rituals, but only a small percentage of these identify themselves as Shintoists in surveys. This is because Shinto has different meanings in Japan. Most of the Japanese attend Shinto shrines and beseech kami without belonging to an institutional Shinto religion. There are no formal rituals to become a practitioner of folk Shinto. Thus, Shinto membership is often estimated counting only those who do join organised Shinto sects. Shinto has about 81,000 shrines and about 85,000 priests in the country. According to surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008, less than 40% of the population of Japan identifies with an organised religion: around 35% are Buddhists, 3% to 4% are members of Shinto sects and derived religions. In 2008, 26% of the participants reported often visiting Shinto shrines, while only 16.2% expressed belief in the existence of a god or gods (神) in general.According to Inoue (2003): In modern scholarship, the term is often used with reference to kami worship and related theologies, rituals and practices. In these contexts, 'Shinto' takes on the meaning of 'Japan's traditional religion', as opposed to foreign religions ...