Category Archives: International

Historic foreigner priest

Posted on May 3, 2013 by John D.

There was a feature on the television two days ago about foreigners who are more Japanese than the Japanese, and one of the items focussed on a non-Japanese priest appointed by Jinja Honcho (Association of Shinto Shrines). This ground-breaking development … Continue reading →

Posted in International | 4 Comments

The ecology of theology

Posted on March 17, 2013 by John D.

One of the attractions of Shinto for Westerners – perhaps ‘the’ attraction, indeed – is the sense of a divine creation.  We do not need to yearn for Eden: we’re already living in it!  Shinto is not much interested in … Continue reading →

Posted in Animism, Green issues, International | 3 Comments

Hindu link

Posted on March 17, 2013 by John D.

Green Shinto friend Anuradha Gupta has started an excellent blog introducing Hinduism, from which it is clear how much it shares with Shnto.  Indeed, as A.J. Dickinson pointed out, there may even have been direct links through the early trading … Continue reading →

Posted in Animism, International | 5 Comments

Bamboo links

Posted on March 7, 2013 by John D.

  The interesting Heritage of Japan site has a new article about the bamboo links of Japan and the rest of Asia.  Bamboo is prominent in Shinto trappings and an important part of traditional culture, and as in other areas … Continue reading →

Posted in International | 1 Comment

Ponsonby-Fane

Posted on February 27, 2013 by John D.

An aristocrat with a penchant for cricket who went native, wore Japanese kimono with a scarf, and became the twentieth century’s foremost expert on Shinto.  Richard Ponsonby-Fane (1878-1937) was the archetypal English eccentric, with a hatred of modernity that extended … Continue reading →

Posted in Emperor (imperial family), International | 2 Comments

Hawaii, revisited

Posted on February 18, 2013 by John D.

In 2005 I went on a trip to Hawaii and visited six different Shinto shrines there – Kotohira, Izumo Taisha, Ishizuchi and Daijingu in Honolulu, plus Hilo Shrine on Hawaii island and one on Maui.  At the time information was … Continue reading →

Posted in International | 3 Comments

Twin Cities, USA

Posted on February 14, 2013 by John D.

  Why and how did you come to formulate something called “minzoku NEO-shintô”? When asked to define my spiritually, I usually call myself a poly-affined poly atheist.  Poly-affined means maintaining membership in multiple communities, and poly-atheist means not “believing” in … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Interviews | Leave a comment

Hawaii

Posted on February 11, 2013 by John D.

The extract below is taken from “Hawaii’s Domestication of Shinto’ by Dr. James Whitehurst, who was professor of religion at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.  The article first appeared in the Christian Century November 21, 1984, p. 1100.  The full … Continue reading →

Posted in International | 8 Comments

Horses

Posted on February 9, 2013 by John D.

  Anyone familiar with Shinto will know about the significance of horses. They are thought to be intermediaries between this world and that of the kami. Votive tablets (ema, literally ‘horse pictures’) originated in the practice of offering horses to … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Shrine items | Leave a comment

Torii origins

Posted on February 1, 2013 by John D.

    The origins of the torii are something this blog has explored before, noting the Korean connections and the possibility that tori-i (bird’s roost) may have served as a perch for chickens and roosters at the gateway to villages.  … Continue reading →

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Posted in Insularity, International, Shrine items | Leave a comment