Ujigami belief is the most popular form of Shintō in Japan. Originally referring to the kami of an ancient clan, after the 13th century ujigami was used in the sense of the tutelary kami of a local community, and all the members in the community were that kami’s adherents (ujiko). Even today a ujiko group consists of the majority of the residents in a given community. A Shintōist, however, can believe at the same time in shrines other than his own local shrine. It was only after World War II that some large shrines also started to organize believers’ groups (sūkeisha). The Believers’ Association of the Meiji Shrine, for instance, has about 240,000 members living in and around Tokyo.
Kokugakuin University in Tokyo and Kōgakkan University at Ise are the primary training centres for Shintō priests. Though any Shintōists who go through certain training processes may be a priest (or a priestess), many priests are, in fact, from the families of hereditary Shintō priests. Shintō religious arts
The Japanese from ancient times have valued emotional and aesthetic intuitions in expressing and appreciating their religious experiences. They found symbols of kami in natural beauty and the forces of nature, and they developed explicitly religious poetry, architecture, and visual arts. Shrine precincts are covered with green trees and are places of a serene and solemn atmosphere, which is effective in calming worshipers’ minds. In the larger shrines, surrounded by expansive woods with mountains as their background, a harmony of nature and architecture may be achieved. Ise-jingū and Izumo-taisha still retain the ancient architectural styles. After the 9th century an intricate form of shrine construction was developed, adopting both Buddhist and Chinese architectural styles and techniques. The curving roof style is one example. Unpainted timbers are most frequently used, but, wherever Buddhistic Shintō was popular, Chinese vermilion-lacquered shrines were also built.
A torii always stands in front of a shrine. Various kinds of torii can be seen in Japan, but their function is always the same: to divide the sacred precincts from the secular area. A pair of sacred stone animals called komainu (“Korean dogs”) or karajishi (“Chinese lions”) are placed in front of a shrine. Originally they served to protect the sacred buildings from evil and defilements. After the 9th century they were used for ornamental purposes on ceremonial occasions at the Imperial Court and later came to be used at various shrines generally. Some of the stone lanterns (ishidōrō) used at the shrines are works of art. The dedicator’s name and the year are inscribed on the lanterns to inform viewers of the long tradition of faith and to urge them to maintain it.
Torii (gateway) at the entrance to a Shintō shrine on Mount Hakone, east-central Honshu, Japan.R. Manley/Shostal Associates
Compared with Buddhist statuary, visual representations of kami are not outstanding either in their quality or quantity. Images of kami were, in fact, not used in ancient Shintō until after the introduction of Buddhism into Japan. These are placed in the innermost part of the honden and are not the objects of direct worship by the people. Kami icons are not worshiped at shrines.
The history of the shrine, its construction arrangements, and ritual processions are recorded in picture scrolls (emakimono), and at the older shrines there are many votive pictures (ema)—small wooden picture plaques—that have been dedicated over the years by worshipers. Other articles, such as specimens of calligraphy, sculpture, swords, and arms, dedicated by the Imperial families, nobles, or feudal lords, are also kept at shrines. Several hundred such items and shrine constructions have been designated by the Japanese government as national treasures and important cultural properties.
The traditional religious music and dance of shrines were performed for the purpose of entertaining and appeasing kami, rather than to praise them. Gagaku (literally, “elegant music”) involves both vocal and instrumental music, specifically for wind, percussion, and stringed instruments. Gagaku with dance is called bugaku. Gagaku was patronized by the Imperial Household as court music and was much appreciated by the upper classes from the 9th to the 11th century. Later some of the more solemn and graceful pieces were used as ritualistic music by shrines and temples. Today gagaku is widely performed at larger shrines. The authentic tradition of gagaku has been transmitted by the Bureau of Music (Gagaku-ryō, now called Gakubu) of the Imperial Household (established in 701).
Apart from gagaku there are also kagura (a form of indigenous religious music and dance based on blessing and purification), ta-asobi (a New Year’s dance-pantomime of the cycle of rice cultivation), and shishi mai, which developed originally from magico-religious dances and are now danced for purification and as prayers. Matsuri-bayashi is a gay, lively music with flutes and drums to accompany divine processions. Some organizations of both Shrine and Sect Shintō have recently begun to compose solemn religious songs to praise kami, making use of Western musical forms. (See also East Asian Arts: Japanese visual arts and Shintō music.) Political and social roles
Until the end of World War II, Shintō was closely related to the state. Offerings to kami were made every year by the government and the Imperial Household, and prayers were offered for the safety of the state and people. The matsuri-goto (the affairs of worship) offered by the emperor from olden days included not only ceremonies for kami but also for ordinary matters of state. “Shintō ceremonies and political affairs are one and the same” was the motto of officials. Administrators were required to have a religious conscience and develop political activities with magokoro.
This tradition was maintained as an undercurrent throughout Japanese history. Villagers prayed to the tutelary kami of the community for their peace and welfare and promoted unity among themselves with village festivals. After the Meiji Restoration, the government treated Shintō like a state religion and revived the system of national shrines, which dated from the 9th century or earlier. In order to propagate Revival Shintō as the foundation of the national structure, they initiated the “great promulgation movement” (1869–84) in which the emperor was respected like kami. Although the Japanese constitution enacted in 1889 guaranteed freedom of faith under certain conditions, priority was, in fact, given to Shintō. In elementary schools Shintō was taught to children, and most of the national holidays were related to Shintō festivals. Shintō of this nature was called State Shintō and came under the control of the Bureau of Shrines in the Ministry of Home Affairs.
State Shintō was regarded as a state cult and a national ethic and not as “a religion.” The free interpretation of its teachings by individual Shintō priests was discouraged. Priests of the national shrines were prohibited from preaching and presiding over Shintō funerals. By 1945 there were 218 national and approximately 110,000 local shrines. The number of Sect Shintō groups was limited to 13 after the organization of Tenri-kyō. Legally these 13 sects were treated as general religious bodies, similar to Buddhism and Christianity, and came under the supervision of the Ministry of Education.