Followers of Green Shinto will know of our interest in the works of Lafcadio Hearn, particularly with regard to his interest in and elucidation of Shinto. So far we’ve carried seventeen different postings on the subject. Now comes the wonderful … Read the rest
Category: Kami (Page 3 of 9)
New Year beginnings
The way Shinto and Buddhism complement each other is never more clearly seen than on the night of Dec. 31. Buddhism is other-worldly, concerned with individual salvation. Shinto is this-worldly, concerned with rites of passage and social … Read the rest
Readers living in Tokyo may well be interested in this talk by a leading figure in the world of Shinto Studies….
“Of Matter, Spirits, and Places: Japanese Discourses on The Bodies of the Shinto Divinities (Kami)” by Fabio Rambelli, … Read the rest
Sugawara no Michizane was a courtier who fell from grace and in so doing became Japan’s second most popular deity, known as Tenjin. How come? Writing in today’s Japan Times, Michael Hoffman relates the story in graphic fashion in his … Read the rest
My attention was caught recently by an article in the conservative leaning Daily Yomiuri by a Japanese professor at Waseda University. It asked the question about when the Japanese became Japanese. The answer he gave, interestingly, is constructed by myth.… Read the rest
There are so many festivities around the New Year period, and Kyoto is an unceasing round of events in the early part of January. One of the biggest events is Toka Ebisu, on which Green Shinto has reported before. … Read the rest
Jizo is the most widespread deity in Japan, to be seen across the country at crossroads, waysides, cemeteries and elsewhere. A guardian of the dead, he is portrayed in monk’s attire and seen as a guardian of the otherworld who … Read the rest