As in the case of Asian religions deeply rooted in history, a long legacy of myths and traditions accumulates to form "Shintoism", Japan's national religion and the maker of its distinctive identity, which is still present in the corridors of politics, war monuments, marriage ceremonies, and even anime films.
Despite the adoption of the secular Japanese as a lifestyle, not just a political approach, the Shinto heritage is still present in many details, and moving away and approaching it may be an indicator of the criteria for success in various fields, especially with the Liberal Democratic Party leading the political scene for years, and it is the one who is keen To find a synthesis between Western liberalism and the revival of the country's Shinto identity.
The reader may be surprised to learn about the intertwining of religions in Japan. Statistics indicate that the number of followers of Shintoism is 160 million, and the number of those who consider themselves Buddhists is 96 million, even though the total population is 215 million.
The reason for an increase in the number of adherents to these two religions over the total population is the participation of Shintoism and Buddhism among many Japanese, and some of them do not see any problem in merging their beliefs with Christianity as well.
It is common in Japan to celebrate the holidays of Shinto, Buddhism and Christianity together, and weddings may take place in a temple or churches, and many prefer to hold burial rites in the Buddhist way.
Shinto priests perform their New Year rituals in front of Emperor Meiji's tomb (Reuters)
prehistoric origins
Although all of the esoteric Asian religions (Gnosticism) are mysteriously mysterious, Shintoism may be the most mysterious of them in its origins, as its first source is not yet known. It took root during the "Yaoi period" during the first century BC with the advent of rice cultivation in Japan and the beginning of the formation of civilization.
The wizards (Shamans) remained leaders of the religious priesthood in that period through their contact with spirits, and rather demons, and they had great authority in agricultural societies, then their roles decreased with the start of the unification of the country to form the nucleus of the new state in the "Kofun period", under the authority of the "Yamato" dynasty of emperors Its rule began in the fourth century AD and continues to this day.
The origin of the name Kofun period is due to the large mounds of earth that were taken as shrines for great leaders, some of which were more than 200 meters long, in the form of breech holes, and were surrounded by dishes for offering offerings to the gods.
In the fifth century AD, with the formation of the state and its full maturity, the priests instituted complex and long rituals for all stages of human life, from birth to adulthood, marriage and death.
In this same period, Buddhism began to enter through contact with the Korean civilization, and it merged with Shinto in a series of influence rings between the two parties.
The first stages of codification in Japan date back to the seventh century AD, that is, after the entry of Buddhism and the formation of many aspects of civilization and religion, which means that it is difficult to guess what happened in the previous beginnings before that.
The Kojiki Records are the oldest Japanese writings, and are a little preceding the Nihon Shoki blogs, from which we learn about the legend of the origin of Japan and the lineage of the imperial family.
The purpose of codifying these and other early writings was to record the primacy of Shinto beliefs and their compatibility with exotic Buddhism.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida walks behind a Shinto priest during a regular New Year's Day visit to a shrine (Reuters)
Mysterious Gods and Sacred History
According to the Shinto myth, the universe was in a mysterious state of non-formation and stillness, then the elementary particles formed spontaneously, so light sat on top of the universe, and particles of dark matter condensed beneath it.
And in an incomprehensible way, the first forms of deities began to appear, and they did not have a specific gender, and they hid at their birth, until 5 pairs of deities appeared, each consisting of a male god and a female goddess.
The god "Izanagi" and the goddess "Izanami" were the last of the couples, and they were entrusted with the task of giving birth to the world and creating the Japanese archipelago, so they stood on the floating bridge of heaven, and threw a spear studded with jewels into the ocean, then raised it to the sky, and drops from it dripping from it became the "holy" islands of Japan.
Through their natural intercourse, the Japanese race was smoothed, and the sun goddess "Amaterasu Omi Kami" emerged from the left eye of the god "Izanagi", which resulted in the sacred lineage of Japan's emperors.
The legend also believes in the existence of the mystical origin, the "kami".
It is a vague concept that is difficult to translate into other languages, and it includes everything related to the immaterial world of spirits.
Shinto priests refuse to define it as a god or deities, as it is in their belief more comprehensive, as it is called all the formations of the gods and the souls of the great leaders - and at their head the emperors - as represented by all the forces of nature from inanimate objects, trees and animals. It gives a spiritual meaning to many aspects of existence.
Shinto links between every phenomenon and specific deities, the number of kami cannot be counted, and each village, clan or family can determine the kami that it wants to worship, offering them offerings and expecting them to be generous with sustenance and protection.
In the modern era of individuality, a person can assume the existence of his own deities depending on his lifestyle.
Since emperors are at the top of the pyramid, the kami of their dynasty are expected to be considered the most sacred and famous.
Shintoism played a central role in shaping the culture of discipline in Japanese society, beginning with the sanctification of the country itself, and then on its leaders affiliated with the sun goddess.
A Shinto priest leads a group of Japanese lawmakers as they visit the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo last year to commemorate the war dead (Reuters)
The legend in the service of politics
The records of "Nihon Shoki" say that Emperor Jimmu founded Japan in 660 BC, but many modern historians do not acknowledge his true existence, and they see that Emperor Anko of the fifth century AD, who ranks twentieth in the dynasty, is the first historical ruler of Japan, with They are also not sure of the accuracy of its history.
Although the divine origin of kings was a common myth around the world to legitimize the rule, but Japan is the only country that has preserved that legend, even after its rapid entry into the world of modernity and the industrial revolution that was synonymous with secularism in the West.
Perhaps the retreat of many emperors from the actual adherence to the reins of power played a role in their preservation of their sanctity. Since the late twelfth century AD, the shogun (military ruler of Japan) was the holder of the supreme authority, with the protection of samurai warriors, and this custom prevailed until the end of the Edo period in 1868, that is, With the start of the modern history of the country corresponding to the beginning of the Meiji period, which witnessed the so-called political, economic and administrative reforms borrowed from Europe, and the subsequent quotation of the reasons for the scientific and industrial renaissance.
In 1924, Crown Prince Hirohito ascended to the imperial throne, beginning the longest reign in the country's history, and perhaps also the most dangerous. During his reign, the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937, and a few years later, Japan entered World War II, and only emerged from it with the fall of the two bombs. The only two nuclear weapons in history are on two of its largest cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On August 15, 1945, the radio broadcast a proclamation in the voice of Emperor Hirohito announcing the end of the war, in which he said, “The enemy began to use a new and more ferocious bomb, with incalculable capacity to harm, and causing the loss of many innocent lives. If we continue the struggle, it will not lead to collapse. Not only will the Japanese nation be obliterated and eventually obliterated, but it will also lead to the complete extinction of human civilization.”
Then he said, "In that case, how do we save millions of our fellow citizens, or atone for the holy spirits of our imperial ancestors? That is why we accept the provisions of the Joint Declaration of the Alliance Countries."
To avoid confusion, the radio confirmed that Japan had accepted "surrender," a word that the emperor did not utter in order to preserve prestige.
The United States was keen to preserve what was left of the emperor's prestige, in the hope of achieving peace after the war, and the Western media did not hold him responsible for the demonization of his allies, the leaders of Germany and Italy, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, but rather the emperor was considered a "figure president" before the cabinet and the military oligarchy. .
However, the last leaf of holiness that his ancestors had kept for centuries fell from the emperor, and his people finally realized that he was only a human being like them, especially after publishing his picture next to American General Douglas MacArthur in the month following the surrender, where the emperor appeared with his short stature devoid of all appearances divinity.
Emperor Hirohito next to US General Douglas MacArthur at the US Embassy in Tokyo after the surrender (Reuters)
The struggle of myth and modernity
The defeat was a shock to the Japanese by all standards, and it came after their first shock that their peaceful country entered an era of wars and greed in the surrounding countries, and they only got rid of its burden while shaking off the nuclear dust from the ruins.
While the devastated Europe was striving for reconstruction, and the United States reaping the fruits of its victory by being at the forefront of the world, Japan managed to burn the stages and quickly regain its glories, and achieved in the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century an economic miracle that almost overcame the United States itself.
Some scholars argue that it is the new constitution, adopted in 1947 in the aftermath of the war, that finally enabled Japan to rid itself of the burden of the mythical theocracy (religious rule) that had burdened it. The previous constitution used to preserve the divine right to legislate for the emperors.
Paragraph 20 of the current constitution states that "freedom of religion is guaranteed to all. No religious organization should receive any financial support from the government, or engage in any political activity," but subsequent governments have tried to strike some balance, reviving the country's religious heritage from The door of preserving identity, and it may not be without arousing some controversy.
In the spring of 2019, Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony was held, after his father Akihito abdicated for health reasons, according to the usual Shinto ritual.
Several months after the ceremony began, the Daijōsai ritual was held, which involved the emperor wearing white clothes, then entering a dark wooden hall to spend the night accompanied by the sun-goddess "Amaterasu Omikami", of whom, according to the legend, the descendant of the emperor.
Soon, atheist and Christian activists filed lawsuits with the Japanese judiciary, seeing that these ceremonies violate the secular constitution, and cost the government about $25 million to implement.
Emperor Akihito, 85, performs his abdication ceremony for his son Naruhito in 2019 (Anatolia)
In an investigation conducted by the International Gallup Institute in 2015, Japan ranked second - after China - in the list of moving away from faith, as 31% of the Japanese said that they are atheists, while 57% of them considered that they are without religious affiliation, and this does not contradict the statistics we reported in At the beginning of the report, the Japanese does not find anything wrong with considering himself a convert to Shinto or Buddhism, and then declares that he is an atheist who does not believe in a god.
Perhaps coexisting with this contradiction is the only solution that the Japanese have reached. Their conversion to Shintoism or Buddhism does not exceed performing some optional rituals, seeking blessings and psychological calm, and to fill some spiritual void arising from the materialistic lifestyle. As for the existential questions, they try to evade them with more work and professional achievement. .
Shintoism does not offer a viable solution to anxiety about death, as it does not talk about resurrection and salvation, so the Japanese prefer to adopt Buddhist rituals in their funerals, although they do not find in the modified version of it - which is "Zen Buddhism" - what satiates man's craving for the search for immortality, as Its promises do not go beyond the liberation of the soul from the captivity of reincarnation to merge with the whole soul of the universe.
Since Shintoism no longer achieves many achievements, whether in terms of providing individual answers, or controlling the social contract, it is understandable that Japan's temples - which number about 80,000 - are free of worshipers, and the roles of its priests are limited to providing blessings, performing traditional ceremonies and receiving tourists.
Employees and businessmen start the first day of work on New Year's Day with the blessing of a Shinto priest in Tokyo (Reuters)