One of the difficulties for non-Japanese is knowing what exactly Shinto entails. How does one learn more, or what should one do if one follows ‘the way of the kami’? In this respect Louis Erickson of the Shinto mailing list had some valuable suggestions drawn from his own experience….
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I started with books – Shinto: The Kami Way. I hit the library and the bookstore. I read several books, and have a couple more queued up. There’s some stuff on the Web, even some good stuff.
If I recall, the “Welcome to this list!” on the Shinto mailing list message had some books listed – they’re a good start!
Rev Barrish at Tsubaki USA near Seattle
First, I’ll recommend the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America’s website. Tsubaki America is a branch of a Japanese shrine. It’s run by Rev. Koichi Barrish, a certified Shinto priest. Their web site has a lot of basic information. They have several books for sale, too, which I was happy to buy from them instead of Amazon so they could have the profits. They also have a copy of Kami no Michi to read on the Web, which was interesting both for the life history of a remarkable man – accountant, prisoner of war, teacher, Shinto priest, educator – and his thoughts on Shinto itself. Rev. Barrish also has an active Facebook page – the link is on the Tsubaki America site – which has an archive of longer articles.
Green Shinto has a reading list at https://www.greenshinto.com/recommended-reading/ which is pretty complete, too. The posts and book reviews are always interesting.
I will also suggest A Year In The Life of a Shinto Shrine by John K. Nelson. It covers the cycle of a year as observed at a large Shinto shrine, and gives some view into what the different festivals mean and how the traditions fit into modern day Japan. It give s more of a feel of how the festivals and seasons fit together.
If you’re looking for the norito, the Shinto chants, the best one is Shinto Norito by Rev. Ann Llewelyn Evans. Tsubaki America has an audio CD that goes along with it. Hearing the norito changes how you will read them.
'The Fox and the Jewel' takes one deep into the world of Kyoto's Fushimi Inari
I thought The Fox and the Jewel by Karen A. Smyers was interesting. If you’re interested in Inari, this is a great book. Even if you’re not, it’s an interesting book that gives some visibility into some aspects of Japanese spirituality that aren’t often discussed.
I mentioned Tsubaki America. If you find yourself in the Seattle area I think a visit is worth the trip. It’s just over an hour north of Seattle. The shrine is on the banks of the Pilchuck river, just outside the town of Granite Falls. It is a beautiful place. I have family in Seattle and am up that way once or twice a year, and try to make it to the shrine at least one of those trips. I’m looking forward to volunteering there over the New Year’s holiday this year.
If you’re looking for concrete directions on how Shinto is done, I haven’t found much that’s very clear. The best description of the daily offerings at the kamidana is the one that Tsubaki America includes with any kamidana or supplies. David Chart’s website has a good description of the kamidana and lots of comments about it at http://www.davidchart.com/2011/01/01/kamidana/ although I noted several little things he and I do differently.
One of the things I find very appealing about Shinto, in fact, is there does seem to be a certain amount of flexibility inherent in it. While the big shrines clearly will have perfect rituals and do everything as tradition demands, people’s lives are all different, and as long as you’re sincere and treating the kami and the world with respect, they seem not to mind. There’s a refreshing flexibility about a spirituality that will purify cars and cell phones, and has found ways to help keep people involved by mail.
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Books mentioned above can be found under Book Reviews in the Categories column to the right…
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