Shinto as we know it today is an imperial construct pieced together after 1868 by a ruling clique of Restorationists who promoted a state ideology based around the divinity of the emperor. As such it was conceived as a counterpart … Read the rest
Category: Shamanic connections (Page 8 of 8)
Around 500-300 BC a wave of continental incomers arrived into Japan who were genetically and culturally different from the Jomon natives. They may have entered from Korea, or from China via Korea, or even directly from China. Most likely a … Read the rest
The Catalpa Bow is the standard account of early shamanism in Japan, but I always felt there was something missing, something to do with the nature of modern-day Shinto as fossilised shamanism. Now I’ve found what I was looking for … Read the rest
In the third century a Chinese envoy wrote of a visit to the land of Wa (as Japan was known). At the time the country was divided into many small states, and he described how one of them called Yamatai … Read the rest
In Shinto animals are seen as spirit messengers, and I take this to be derived from shamanism where they aid the shaman in taking flight to the spirit world. Particular animals are associated with certain kami. The fox with Inari, … Read the rest
My favourite Shinto motif is yatagarasu, the three-legged crow, and not just because it’s been adopted as the mascot of the Japanese soccer team. It’s an inspiring bird of fancy that carries with it all kinds of association. It … Read the rest