By Wieland Wagner
In the beginning was the rainbow. According to the Shinto creation story, the divine couple - Izanagi and Izanami - sat atop it stirring the ocean below with their pearl-studded spear. When they withdrew their spear from the primal brew, drops of water fell to earth and created the islands of Japan.
The couple bore children, among them the sun goddess Amaterasu. As legend has it, the lineage of the Japanese imperial family can be traced all the way back to her, making Japan's current emperor, Akihito, a direct descendant. His father, Hirohito (1901-1989), was revered as the emperor god until the end of World War II.
The mythical genesis of the Japanese people has been passed down through the generations in ancient narratives, having been preserved on paper by Japan's rulers in the eighth century when the Chinese writing system was introduced. Nonetheless, Shinto - literally, "the way of the gods" - has no sacred scriptures or formalized teachings. There are no concepts of original sin or salvation; Shinto focuses on life on earth and the uniqueness of the Japanese people.
Japan has some 80,000 Shinto shrines, including the Hiraoka Hachimangu shrine in the old imperial city of Kyoto. Each fall followers celebrate a festival, or matsuri, to honor the gods. The name testifies to the official character of the very first such festivals - the term matsurigoto also denotes government affairs in Japanese. In the past, the Japanese Shinto cult and political class were closely intertwined, with the clan's elder frequently doubling as head priest for its deity.
The priest Shunsuke Sasaki (50) has slipped off alone into the deepest recesses of the sanctuary. From the wooden structure with its peaked gable, the faithful listen to the monotone chanting in ancient Japanese, which hardly anyone understands today. The intonations vary from shrine to shrine. But with the prayers passed down from generation to generation, the priest speaks exactly as his ancestors did.
Understanding his words is not crucial. In Japan, priests don't preach fire and brimstone or demand that the congregations repent their sinning ways. Priests are simply a medium to beseech the benevolence of the gods. Among the gods - each shrine pays homage to its own - priest Sasaki naturally counts the tenno, or emperor. But he also invokes natural elements, such as the camellia plant, which brings good luck. Like primitive nature religions, Shinto venerates trees, animals, rocks and mountains - including Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak. The "way of the gods" leads the Japanese not to an afterlife but instead guides them throughout their lives on earth. The goal is to live in harmony with nature and to cleanse the soul with nature's help. For this reason, the ritual at the Hiraoka Hachimangu shrine recalls a party. The sacred rice wine flows and peals of laughter resound. And no one minds if the priest lights up between ceremonies.
The main festival begins after the priest has quit the sanctuary. If the weather is fine, a gold-ornamented litter, home of the divinity, is carried from the shrine. In symbolic terms, the deity is mingling with the people. This year, it rained. But that itself was no tragedy, just what nature had in mind all along. The drummers simply pummeled their taiko drums with even more enthusiasm, extending a rowdy invitation to the spirits of good.
Next come the sumo matches, perennial crowd-pleasers. Sumo wrestling's Shinto origins are still visible in Tokyo, where the main arena has a shrine-like roof. At the Hiraoka Hachimangu shrine in Kyoto, half-naked young men grapple in the ring: a consecrated circle of sand. But these matchups aren't truly competitive; the wrestlers are performing a dance for the gods.
Festivals like the one at Hiraoka Hachimangu occur throughout Japan. The Japanese have matsuri for every season and occasion. The festivals shape their routines and mindset. At these celebrations, the heavily urbanized, hi-tech country rediscovers its ancient roots. The world's second industrial nation suddenly reverts into a sprawling collection of village communities anchored in the Shinto shrines.
Shinto is unique in other ways as well. Asked about their religious affiliations, few Japanese will venture that they are exclusively Shinto. For most of them, the "way of the gods" is a tradition, not a faith. They uphold this tradition passionately, but feel no need to turn it into a religion. Japanese parents bring their children to a shrine and pray for their good health: sons at the age of five and daughters at three and seven.
And the same Japanese who maintain Shinto traditions so fervently think nothing of being married in a Christian ceremony or burying their dead according to Buddhist rites. Because the Japanese follow many religions at the same time, the faithful outnumber the total population in statistical terms.
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