Database: Shintoism

The Way of the kami, that is to say, the Way of the deities. The term Way, tō in Japanese, comes from the Chinese word tao, the origin of what we in the West call Taoism. It is often noted that Shinto is the indigenous religion of Japan, preceding Buddhism and Confucianism, which are borrowed from China.

In fact, we know very little about the religions that developed on the archipelago before the introduction of writing. Indigenous beliefs during the establishment of the State of Codes at the beginning of the 8th century were governed by a ministry of divine affairs, the Jingikan, which came first in the hierarchy of ministries even though Buddhism had been recognized as the state religion. Remarkable places in the landscape such as large trees, waterfalls, certain rocks, etc., were considered places where deities descended and were therefore the object of worship, while rituals were performed in sanctuaries. Festivals (matsuri) were venerations of the deity by village communities or city neighborhoods. In sanctuary rituals, there are numerous aspects borrowed from Chinese Taoism, including in the recitations of magical formulas (norito). This was so common that it has been argued that Shinto was a particular adaptation of Taoism in Japan.

Interestingly, instead of rejecting local or family beliefs in the existence of protective deities, Buddhism sought to absorb them, developing what was later called "Shinto-Buddhist syncretism" in which these gods are assimilated to avatars of the Buddha. From the 14th century onward, faced with the syncretic tendencies of Buddhism the leaders of the great sanctuaries, such as those of Ise or Yoshida, reacted by seeking to create a true theology and it is from this time that the word Shinto really dates. After the Meiji Revolution, governments sought to establish a state Shinto, placed above all other religions, including Christianity, consubstantial with the Japanese and valid for all. This state Shinto, tinged with nationalism and influenced by Confucianism, was the official ideology of the country until 1945 and was officially dissolved under the new post-war constitution.