Shinto Flashcards
What is Shinto?
The way of Kami or God, the native religion of Japan
What is the center belief of Shinto?
its belief in kami, a polytheistic host that, on the one hand, animistically inhabits nature and, on the other hand, is intimately associated with people and their most basic units of social organization, such as the family and the farming village
What is Kessai?
The physical or external purification ritual. It’s done upon visit a shrine by washing the mouth and hands
What is Haraq?
The internal or exocerism purification ritual. It’s done only by priest
What is a Matsuri?
A festival for Kami’s in which one it’s symbols is transported in a portable shrine, usually on the shoulders of a team of young men, in a journey through a village or about a locale.
What does Shinto say about the ruling clan?
According to the mythology, the ruling dynasty of Japan is descended from the Sun Goddess (Amaterasu), the supreme deity or karni of the Shinto pantheon, and only a duly selected sovereign from this dynasty is qualified to perform the rites of communion with her (Himiko) that are essential to governing the country.
