Philosophy～Religion, philosophy and literature that influenced the Japanese mind～｜ Japanese Culture and Spirit "Japanology"

日本学神社

In Japan, there are many “Jinja (shrine)”.
The total count of these Jinja are unclear, but there are around 90 thousand all over Japan.
The base point of view about Jinja is established from Shintoism.
The peculiarity of Shintoism is based on four items.

No founder
No dogma
No religious precepts
No idol

Shintoism is not a religion, so we use the word “way=tō or dō”.
The kanji of “way (michi)”, another reading way is “tō” or “dō”.

What is meant by the “way” of “Shintoism”?

“Chanoyu” is called “Sa-do; tea ceremony (way of the tea)”, “Tachibana” is called “Ka-do; flower arrangement (way of the flower)”, and “calligraphy” is called “Syo-do; Japanese calligraphy (way of writing).”
Also, “sword art” is called “Kendo”, and “Jujutsu” is called “Judo”.
All containing the kanji “dō” or “way”.

You should not be careless until the end, keep normal and modesty…It grows your character for touching everything by “Rei-Setsu”.
“Dō”, the word expresses what it is not only your skill up, but also looking grow up as a human.

Because we aim to grow as a person, there is no “perfect form”.
“Dō” is the meaning of “the process growth with which we continue to pursue”.

Japan is one of the most naturally wealthy countries in the world.

This country encircled by the sea, long from north to south, and there are many over 3000m mountains in the middle of the archipelago.
Around 70 percent of the land is forest.

Our ancestors have lived their lives harmoniously in relation to nature.
Nature gives us a great wealth, on the other hand, there is also large violence.
People who lived in the era felt mystic power from the natural phenomenon.

We felt the noble power of life in the circulation around great nature.
They felt mysterious power which birth on vitality where we cannot see to appear in the world anything.
We live in a sense of value in which we should not control nature but makes harmony in nature, humans must not change nature at our convenience.
In order to make a better environment for the next generation, we protect harmony with nature.

Humans live with nature… It means to keep prosperity together through sagacity or sense of value, or we can say “facing to great nature by Rei-Setsu”.

This page tells you about the Japanese studies on religion, philosophy and literature that have influenced the Japanese mind.