It’s not uncommon for Westerners to have a rosy-eyed view of shamanic and post-shamanic cultures (amongst which Shinto can be classified). The Ainu cult of the bear is an example, since in an animist-based culture one might presume the animal
Category: Animism (Page 6 of 19)
An article by Joi Ito on wired.com brings up the topic of why Japanese appear to be more disposed to seeing robots in a positive manner than Westerners. It’s a subject Green Shinto has covered before, notably when Christal Whelan … Read the rest
It’s known that Shinto has strong connections with some of the martial arts. Aikido of course, which its founder Morihei Ueshiba openly stated was based on Shinto principles. He drew on traditional thinking in martial arts, for Shinto had played … Read the rest
Green Shinto has posted quotes before about bridging the divide that apparently exists between science and religion. Thinkers like Richard Dawkins have been particularly harsh about the absurdities and transgressions of organised religion.
If one replaces religion with spirituality however, … Read the rest
Thanks to Green Shinto reader, Daniel Oshima, for bringing to our attention the religion of the Akha people who originated from the western part of China (probably Yunnan) but have migrated to Thailand and Burma in recent times. According to … Read the rest
Travel around modern Japan, and the shaping of the country’s spirituality is still very much evident in the villages that nestle in the valley basins. Fertile land is at a premium, so houses tend to be packed together. A system
World Heritage Shinto shrines
In 2012 for a Tuttle book, published two years later as Japan’s World Heritage Sites, I travelled the length of Japan visiting all of the Unesco sites. Along the way I was intrigued by the number … Read the rest