Japanese Patterns of Design
Shinto shrine gate in Nikko, Japan
Shinto

Shintoism Essential Value: Impurity and Purification Rituals

Shinto shrine gate in Nikko, Japan Shinto does not accept that human beings are born bad or impure; in fact, it states that humans are born pure and share in the divine soul. Badness, impurity, or sin come...

Hiroko Matsuyama
November 29, 2022
Dosojin Festival at Nozawa Onsen. Burning of one of the lanterns
JapanologyShinto

Shinto Rituals: Practices and Celebrations

Shinto rituals have survived in close connection with the lives of the Japanese people. They are strongly reflected in modern Japanese people’s lives and daily activities. Japanese people have passed...

Hiroko Matsuyama
September 1, 2022
Shinto shrine history_shrine gate on water in Hiroshima
JapanologyShinto

Shinto Shrine History with Inseparable Partner, Buddhism

Although Japan has more than 8,000 Shinto shrines, the original shrine buildings did not exist as we know them today. So, then, when and why were they built? And how did they develop? This article explains the...

Hiroko Matsuyama
August 29, 2022

Category - Shinto

Privacy Policy