SHINTO

The Religion of Nature Worship, Emperor Worship, and Purity

Shinto (the way of the gods), traditionally dating back to 660 B. C., is a loosely organized religion of the Japanese people embracing a wide variety of beliefs and practices. In its most basic sense Shinto is a religious form of Japanese patriotism. The mythology of Shintoism teaches that Japan and the Japanese people were brought into being by special divine creation and that their emperors were literally descendants of the Sun Goddess. In Japan a person may in good conscience be a Buddhist, a Confucian, and a member of a Shinto sect at the same time. Today (1982) Shintoism reports 57,154,200 members.

http://www.ubfellowship.org/archive/readers/601_shinto.htm

http://quasisemi.com/myth/

The Kami of Shinto

http://www.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/bts/

Basic Terms of Shinto

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCJAPAN/SHINTO.HTM

Early Shinto

http://hkuhist2.hku.hk/nakasendo/shinto.htm

http://www.spiritsongs.org/Shinto.htm

http://religion-cults.com/Eastern/Shintoism/shinto.htm

SHINTOISM

http://environment.harvard.edu/religion/religion/shinto/

Introduction to Shinto

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2059.html

http://www.religioustolerance.org/shinto.htm

http://www.jinja.or.jp/english/

Shinto Online Network Association

 

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/ANCJAPAN/CREAT.HTM

Shinto Creation Stories

http://www.sacred-texts.com/shi/

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8871/

THE "Interi" SHINTO HOMEPAGE

http://www.thespiritualsanctuary.org/Shinto/Shinto.html

 

 Shinto has no central founder, no sacred scriptures, no clearly defined moral code, and no ruling body. It is considered to be the earliest religion in Japan, and yet still continues to be the most common religion among the Japanese today.

Around 500 AD, Shinto went through a period of rapid growth and popularization. Before that, it had existed as an ambiguous philosophy combining animism, hero worship, fertility rites and nature worship. One thing that still perseveres today in Shinto is a joyful acceptance and closeness to nature.

http://allsands.com/History/People/shintoreligion_wxv_gn.htm

Shinto religion

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2056.html

http://ias.berkeley.edu/orias/visuals/japan_visuals/shinto.HTM

http://www.compsoc.net/~gemini/simons/historyweb/shinto.html

http://www2.gol.com/users/coynerhm/shinto.html

What is Shinto?