pictures are of Miyajima in Hiroshima
prefecture. Many traditions come from Shinto
belief. The gate is a classic Shinto symbol. It seperates the normal world and the sacred world.
Even the Kanji for gate looks like these Shinto Gates.
Shinto religion has affect on several things in Japan. Sometimes it is the New Years and sometimes it is actually going to a shrine and praying. Holiday foods are another thing affected by the religion.
Unfortunately Shinto has been manipulated for nationalist reasons. During World War 2 Shinto was used
as a way to gather support for the war in Japan. Eventually
when the war ended the Emperor had to admit that he really was not a Shitno Diety like he had claimed.
People today aren't as concerned about the true meaning
of Shinto religion. Younger people now still practice it but
don't understand or think about it. It is more tradition
than religion now.
Kami or Gods are a big part of Shinto also. They are believed to have control over weather, crops, nature in general, and also daily life.
1 comment:
I think you are being too general in your description of Shinto. Where do you get your information? Did you do research (give citations)? Did you get stuff from the internet (provide links)? Did you interview people at Miyajima?
You might want to check out Ian Reader's "Religion in Contemporary Japan" (1991) to get more of a grounding. Actually we will be reading some of that and viewing a film on Shinto in class in a couple of weeks.
Your layout could use some work. For example, the text about the gate should be by the corresponding picture, don't you think? How are your images supporting your text?
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