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Category Archives: Purity and pollution
Youtube videos
Youtube has a substantial four-part video programme on Shinto as part of the Religions of the World series. It’s narrated by Ben Kingsley, who gets one or two pronunciations wrong but on the whole does a credible job. One … Continue reading
Posted in General, Kami, Purity and pollution
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Pagan connections 5) Purity
Shinto purification In Shinto there’s no good and evil in a moral sense, but instead there is the idea of purity and pollution. Whereas the kami live in a realm of absolute purity, life in the material world inevitably results … Continue reading
Posted in International, Paganism, Purity and pollution
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Pagan connections 3) Sacred water
Water deities Gratitude for the blessings of water plays a big part in Shinto, and there are many shrines dedicated to water deities. Sujin is a composite deity of water, and Ryujin a water dragon particularly associated with the sea. … Continue reading
Posted in Animism, International, Paganism, Purity and pollution
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Renewal
One of the key points of Shinto is the notion of renewal, in tune with the perennial ability of nature to renew itself. Here Kevin Short, naturalist and cultural anthropologist, writes of his visit to Shinobazu Pond in Tokyo. (Daily … Continue reading
Summer solstice
For the summer solstice celebration last year I went to the Meoto rocks near Ise where I participated in the morning misogi done in the Pacific. It is timed to coincide with sunrise on the year’s longest day, and … Continue reading
Posted in Ise, Misogi, Practical, Purity and pollution, Rites and celebrations
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Water – the stuff of life
People often associate Shinto with reverence of rice. The yearly cycle rotates around the planting and harvesting of the crop, and rice is seen as central to the Japanese identity. In addition, rice wine in the form of saké … Continue reading
Purity and pollution
In a review of a book on waste management in Japan, Michael Hoffman writes of how traditional notions of purity and pollution affect modern values. It’s a theme close to my heart, though I’m not sure that I follow the … Continue reading
Posted in Purity and pollution, Social values
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