ARTH 215 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Kitano Tenmangū, Kfc, Kami
16 Aug 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
EAST 215
Week 4 — Jan 25
Buddism and Shinto: Religions and Arts
Ohaguro — tooth blackening custom
-Throughout east Asia people would practise playing their teeth black
How Buddhism and Shinto existed with each other, and the visual depictions of these gods in art
Religions in Japan today: Buddhism, Shinto and Christianity
-79.2% are Shinto
-66.8% are Buddhist
-1.5 % are Christianity
-Christmas holiday: Japanese people have a tradition to eat chicken on Christmas day —
typically go to Kentucky Fried Chicken
-Christmas Day = Valentines Day in Western World — Christmas is known as a couples/
romantic day.
People practise Shintoism and Buddhism alongside each other
Shinto and the Concept of “Kami”
-Kami: the Gods of the Shinto religion — has been relevant since the ancient times
-Shinto was instituted as a state religion with an emperor as its symbolic head (1872)
-Before 1872 Shino was NOT a state religion, it was a diffuse system with multiple gods called
Kami
-Japanese would pray for an abundant harvest
-Religious rights allowed people to gather together and pray for various villages
-There are no worship idols — mirrors are used to reflect the symbol of nature, but nature is
what is worshipped
-Shinto later mixed with Buddhism to make Japanese values — the mixing of Shinto and
Buddhist elements are seen as Shintofied Buddhist training
-Can find a Shinto shrine next to a Buddhist hall of worship
-Shinto — goal is to find the respect and pay it to nature, and to purify oneself with the beauty
of nature
-Shinto: animism — there is no complete neiche/ worship idols
-This allowed Buddhism to become popular among Japanese people
Various form of Kami — in Shintoism
-Sacred tree (bigger is better): has a rope (belt) signifying the tree as sacred
-Fox: seen as the messenger of God
-Snake: seen as a divine symbol of god
-Human genitalia: a symbol of divinity in Japan — “kanamara festival”
-Only few shrines that symbolize human genitalia, not very common
Shrines in Japanese Society — Shinto Shrine: Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (Kyoto)
-God of this shrine is the God of wisdom — students, professors and others go to this shrine
and rub the cow to gain wisdom
-Known as one of the most popular shrine in Japan
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Throughout east asia people would practise playing their teeth black. How buddhism and shinto existed with each other, and the visual depictions of these gods in art. Religions in japan today: buddhism, shinto and christianity. Christmas holiday: japanese people have a tradition to eat chicken on christmas day typically go to kentucky fried chicken. Christmas day = valentines day in western world christmas is known as a couples/ romantic day. People practise shintoism and buddhism alongside each other. Kami: the gods of the shinto religion has been relevant since the ancient times. Shinto was instituted as a state religion with an emperor as its symbolic head (1872) Before 1872 shino was not a state religion, it was a diffuse system with multiple gods called. Japanese would pray for an abundant harvest. Religious rights allowed people to gather together and pray for various villages.
