Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
those not familiar with Shinto, the complex has all the traditional elements and is a good in-
troduction to this classic and complex part of traditional Japanese life.
Let's begin at the beginning. Shinto (
神道
; Shin-tō) is a uniquely Japanese form of spir-
ituality that is, unfortunately, particularly difficult to characterize. The word Shinto literally
translates as “way of the gods,” but its meaning is more complex than that. The word is a com-
bination of the Kanji character
shin
(
神
), meaning
kami
, and
tō
(
道
), meaning a philosophical
path or way of study (originally from the Chinese word
tào
or
dào
, as in Tàoism or Dàoism,
which means the way or the path).
Kami
is a very complicated word, usually translated as
god, but more accurately rendered as deity, essence or spirit. Even these translations don't
properly convey the right meaning. It's perhaps more useful to think of
kami
as an abstract
concept that ascribes natural forces in the universe to all things. Thus,
kami
exists in human
beings and animals. It exists in mountains, rocks and caves, in rivers, seas and ocean waves,
in trees, wind and lightning—essentially, in virtually all things, and in this sense it is animist-
ic.
The unpainted torii gate and entrance to Futenma Shinto Shrine.
It can be argued, therefore, that Shinto is not really a “religion” at all, at least in the
Western sense that one worships a commonly agreed upon god or even a pantheon of deities.
Shinto may better be characterized as a way of life, a set of practices and beliefs and a gener-
al philosophy that brings together certain unifying principles. Although Shinto teaches that
everything contains a
kami
and a
kami
resides in all things, certain places are found to be
more conducive for the spirituality of people and the world around them. Thus, a certain
stone, an ancient living tree or a body of water may be designated or found to be a particu-
larly attractive meeting place between the common everyday world and the sacred. Shrines
are usually built in such places. On Okinawa, the most holy of these places is Seifa Utaki on
the Chinen Peninsula.
