Understanding Shinto

In Japan, children grow up hearing ghost stories and attending festivals to honor a world of thousands of kami (spirits), which interact freely with our own natural world. This mindset is part of everyday culture. So it’s not unusual for sophisticated and materialistic Japanese adults to say they have no religion, and yet at the same time buy omamori (good luck idols) for their car to prevent accidents, or have their land blessed by a Shinto priest before building to avoid upsetting the spirits by their use of the land. How can we, as cross-cultural missionaries, reach into this modern, but heavily Shinto-influenced worldview, with the Gospel?

With origins dating to 500 A.D. and earlier, matsuri (festival worship) and other Shinto practices began as ritual worship of the ujigami, or local clan deity in each area and village. They sprang from a type of shamanism unique to these medieval agricultural communities. Over the centuries ancient Shinto was influenced by and syncretized with Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and other elements from continental East Asia.¹

Even now in Japan, aspects of syncretized Shinto worship practices are as ubiquitous as the stone idols found on corners across Japan. Surprisingly, most Japanese people do not associate these things with religion at all. Engage a typical Japanese city dweller in conversation about their participation in ceremonies, and worship of idols in Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples, or the family kamidana (household godshelf) and it will soon become clear that these are seen as essential cultural duties. Shinto worship practices are widely seen as traditions that must be followed to honor family and country.²

Even “churched” Japanese are not free from the strong cultural influence of Shinto. Earlier this year a Japanese man came to my office asking for donations for a local matsuri. After a brief conversation I discovered that he attends a Protestant church. I asked him why he was raising funds for the mikoshi (portable shrine for carrying a local idol) when the Bible explicitly forbids worshiping idols. His answer was that it was Japanese culture to do so. I continued to press him, explaining my hope that Japanese culture might be transformed so that festivals would someday be held to honor the true Creator God rather than idols, but he didn’t seem to grasp it at all. He left disappointed that I would not give an offering, but undaunted in his efforts to raise money for the local matsuri.

Although Shinto has never been codified in the way that Christianity has, there are four affirmations that seem to be generally agreed upon³ and it’s good to consider how the Bible helps us to respond to each.

Family and tradition

Tradition and family are supremely important in Shinto practice. This is often expressed through ancestor worship and even “tradition-worship.” Of course family is important to God. The Bible teaches us to honor our parents and to give importance to the family, but in Luke 14:26 Jesus clearly set honoring the Lord above all other relationships, even familial ones. I have found that the best way to approach Japanese culture regarding familial relationships is to stress that obeying God is the way to bless to one’s family, even if it means going against Shinto traditions from time to time.

Festivals

Another affirmation of Shinto is matsuri to honor local deities or ancestral spirits. Almost every shrine in Japan has its own matsuri, originally held to influence things like the harvest or the local fishing. Christians believe all humans were created to worship and enjoy their creator and all of the beauty of dance, art, music, ceremony and ritual should be purposed to honor and thank the true God. As missionaries we need to identify and affirm the beauty and harmony in Japanese traditions that can serve to honor God, and at the same time clearly explain why animistic and pantheistic practices are contrary to God’s will.

Love of nature

Shrine festival worship ties in with the third affirmation of Shinto, the love of nature. Scriptures tell us that all of creation bears witness to the sovereign power of the Creator. But the Shinto affirmation of nature elevates nature so each unusual rock or tree is given the status of a minor deity. Hence the Japanese saying, there are over eight million gods (yaoyorozu no kami).

Because this spiritual error is deeply ingrained in the Japanese worldview, gospel teachers must clearly preach the words of Christ, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV). Without a clear understanding of this Japanese people may believe that Jesus Christ is another one of many gods, but miss that he is the one and only Creator God. Jesus came to affirm the true intended order of the creation by revealing Himself at the pinnacle. I believe that this will resound with the strong desire in the Japanese heart for harmony and proper order. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17 NASB).

Physical cleanliness

The final affirmation of Shinto is physical cleanliness. Taking baths, washing the hands, and rinsing out the mouth are all encouraged because of Shinto’s emphasis on ritual purity. In the past, believers practiced misogi, ritual bathing in a river near the shrine. In recent years it is more common to merely to wash hands and rinse out the mouth in a washbasin provided within the shrine grounds. Because Jesus came to make us truly clean, there are many ways we can use this affirmation as a “redemptive analogy” for the Gospel. Imagine the impact of a sermon that contrasted ritual Shinto washing in water with Ephesians 5:26 (“washing with water through the word” NASB), or 1 Corinthians 6:11b (“you were washed… in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” NASB).

I have found that water baptism is a big step in a new Japanese believer’s life. Although in some ways it appears similar to Shinto ritual purification rites, the Bible is clear that it represents more than just “washing” but rather a symbolic death and resurrection. Of course baptism also means a public confession of identity as a Christian and to many new believers this is a weighty decision. Because rituals are important in Japanese culture, water baptism strongly brings home the reality of a believer’s commitment to follow Jesus.

Taking the time to understand and prayerfully consider some of the influences of Shinto on Japanese culture has been beneficial to me. I have more confidence when applying scripture in my local church context in Japan. If you are interested in learning more about Shinto you can read online a paper I wrote called The Theology of Shinto at http://www.raymercer.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/Theology-of-Shinto.pdf. 

1 Dr. David K. Clark, Shinto, A religion profile from International Students, Inc., (Colorado Springs, CO: ISI, 2004). Book also online, accessed November 2013, http://tinyurl.com/shinto2004.
2 For example notice the following paragraph in the “About” section of The International Shinto Foundation official website: “Those involved in establishing the Foundation shared the belief that without study that takes account of Shinto a true understanding of the Japanese people and Japanese culture will remain inaccessible”, accessed November, 2013, http://www.internationalshinto.org/,
3 The definitions of the “Four Affirmations” are a generalization but can generally be observed in Shinto practices and literature. See The Japan Reference, online, accessed November 2013, http://www.jref.com/glossary/shinto_traditions.shtml.