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183-633: In Shinto , ame ( heaven ) is a lofty, sacred world, the home of the Kotoamatsukami . Some scholars have attempted to explain the myth of descent of the gods from the Takamagahara as an allegory of the migration of peoples. However, it is likely to have referred from the beginning to a higher world in a religious sense. A Shinto myth explains that at the time of creation , light, pure elements branched off to become heaven ( ame ). Heavy, turbid elements branched off to become earth ( tsuchi ). Ame became

366-481: A shaku . This regalia is generally more ornate than the sombre garments worn by Japanese Buddhist monks. The chief priest at a shrine is the gūji . Larger shrines may also have an assistant head priest, the gon-gūji . As with teachers, instructors, and Buddhist clergy, Shinto priests are often referred to as sensei by lay practitioners. Historically, there were female priests although they were largely pushed out of their positions in 1868. During

549-410: A temizuya . Another form of purification at the start of a Shinto rite entails waving a white paper streamer or wand known as the haraigushi . When not in use, the haraigushi is usually kept in a stand. The priest waves the haraigushi horizontally over a person or object being purified in a movement known as sa-yu-sa ("left-right-left"). Sometimes, instead of a haraigushi ,

732-399: A kami can be enshrined. In some periods, fees were charged for the right to enshrine a particular kami in a new place. Shrines are not necessarily always designed as permanent structures. Many kami have messengers, known as kami no tsukai or tsuka washime , that generally take animal forms. Inari's messenger, for example, is a fox ( kitsune ), while Hachiman's is

915-412: A kami who already has one is called bunrei ("dividing the spirit"). As part of this, the kami is invited to enter a new place, with the instalment ceremony known as a kanjo . The new, subsidiary shrine is known as a bunsha . Individual kami are not believed to have their power diminished by their residence in multiple locations, and there is no limit on the number of places

1098-494: A low unemployment rate of around 2.6%. Its poverty rate is the second highest among the G7 countries, and exceeds 15.7% of the population. Japan has the highest ratio of public debt to GDP among advanced economies, with a national debt estimated at 248% relative to GDP as of 2022 . The Japanese yen is the world's third-largest reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. Japan

1281-699: A nature religion . Scholars sometimes call its practitioners Shintoists , although adherents rarely use that term themselves. There is no central authority in control of Shinto, with much diversity of belief and practice evident among practitioners. A polytheistic and animistic religion, Shinto revolves around supernatural entities called the kami (神). The kami are believed to inhabit all things, including forces of nature and prominent landscape locations. The kami are worshipped at kamidana household shrines, family shrines, and jinja public shrines . The latter are staffed by priests, known as kannushi , who oversee offerings of food and drink to

1464-676: A security alliance . The United States is a major market for Japanese exports and a major source of Japanese imports, and is committed to defending the country, with military bases in Japan. In 2016, Japan announced the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, which frames its regional policies. Japan is also a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue ("the Quad"), a multilateral security dialogue reformed in 2017 aiming to limit Chinese influence in

1647-509: A world religion , while the historian H. Byron Earhart called it a "major religion". Shinto is also often described as an indigenous religion , although this generates debates over the different definitions of "indigenous" in the Japanese context. The notion of Shinto as Japan's "indigenous religion" stemmed from the growth of modern nationalism between the Edo and Meiji periods; this view promoted

1830-452: A U.S. Navy vessel docked at the port city to their festival celebrations given the sensitivities surrounding the 1945 U.S. use of the atomic bomb on the city . In other cases, priests have opposed construction projects on shrine-owned land; at Kaminoseki in the early 2000s, a priest was pressured to resign after opposing the sale of shrine lands to build a nuclear power plant . In the 21st century, Shinto has increasingly been portrayed as

2013-433: A boulder. Izanagi bathed in the sea to rid himself from the pollution brought about by witnessing Izanami's putrefaction. Through this act, further kami emerged from his body: Amaterasu (the sun kami ) was born from his left eye, Tsukuyomi (the moon kami ) from his right eye, and Susanoo (the storm kami ) from his nose. Susanoo behaved in a destructive manner, to escape him Amaterasu hid herself within

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2196-586: A brother and sister, Izanagi and Izanami . The kami instructed Izanagi and Izanami to create land on earth. To this end, the siblings stirred the briny sea with a jewelled spear, from which Onogoro Island was formed. Izanagi and Izanami then descended to Earth, where the latter gave birth to further kami . One of these was a fire kami , whose birth killed Izanami. Izanagi descended to yomi to retrieve his sister, but there he saw her body putrefying. Embarrassed to be seen in this state, she chased him out of yomi , and he closed its entrance with

2379-478: A cave, plunging the earth into darkness. The other kami eventually succeeded in coaxing her out. Susanoo was then banished to earth, where he married and had children. According to the Kojiki , Amaterasu then sent her grandson, Ninigi , to rule Japan, giving him curved beads, a mirror, and a sword: the symbols of Japanese imperial authority. Amaterasu remains probably Japan's most venerated kami . In Shinto,

2562-652: A country's commitment to environmental sustainability. Japan is the world's fifth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide . As the host and signatory of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol , Japan is under treaty obligation to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and to take other steps to curb climate change. In 2020, the government of Japan announced a target of carbon-neutrality by 2050. Environmental issues include urban air pollution ( NOx , suspended particulate matter , and toxics ), waste management , water eutrophication , nature conservation , climate change , chemical management and international co-operation for conservation. Japan

2745-503: A distinct religious tradition nor to anything uniquely Japanese; the 11th century Konjaku monogatarishui for instance refers to a woman in China practicing Shinto , and also to people in India worshipping kami , indicating these terms were being used to describe religions outside Japan itself. In medieval Japan, kami -worship was generally seen as being part of Japanese Buddhism , with

2928-424: A dove. Shinto cosmology also includes spirits who cause malevolent acts, bakemono , a category including oni , tengu , kappa , mononoke , and yamanba . Japanese folklore also incorporates belief in the goryō or onryō , unquiet or vengeful spirits, particularly of those who died violently and without appropriate funerary rites. These are believed to inflict suffering on

3111-462: A festival or ritual. Various words, termed imi-kotoba , are also regarded as taboo, and people avoid speaking them when at a shrine; these include shi (death), byō (illness), and shishi (meat). A purification ceremony known as misogi involves the use of fresh water, salt water, or salt to remove kegare . Full immersion in the sea is often regarded as the most ancient and efficacious form of purification. This act links with

3294-414: A few minutes. Usually, a worshipper will approach the honden, placing a monetary offering in a box and then ringing a bell to call the kami 's attention. Then, they bow, clap, and stand while silently offering a prayer. The clapping is known as kashiwade or hakushu ; the prayers or supplications as kigan . This individual worship is known as hairei . More broadly, ritual prayers to

3477-438: A human spirit or soul, the mitama or tamashii , which contains four aspects. While indigenous ideas about an afterlife were probably well-developed prior to Buddhism's arrival, contemporary Japanese people often adopt Buddhist afterlife beliefs. Mythological stories like the Kojiki describe yomi or yomi-no-kuni as a realm of the dead, although this plays no role in modern Shinto. Modern Shinto ideas about

3660-539: A kingdom in central Japan in 660 BC, beginning a continuous imperial line . Japan first appears in written history in the Chinese Book of Han , completed in 111 AD. Buddhism was introduced to Japan from Baekje (a Korean kingdom) in 552, but the development of Japanese Buddhism was primarily influenced by China. Despite early resistance, Buddhism was promoted by the ruling class, including figures like Prince Shōtoku , and gained widespread acceptance beginning in

3843-479: A large cooperative sector, with three of the world's ten largest cooperatives, including the largest consumer cooperative and the largest agricultural cooperative as of 2018 . It ranks highly for competitiveness and economic freedom . Japan ranked sixth in the Global Competitiveness Report in 2019. It attracted 31.9 million international tourists in 2019, and was ranked eleventh in

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4026-479: A major catalyst for further administrative reforms. These reforms culminated with the promulgation of the Taihō Code , which consolidated existing statutes and established the structure of the central and subordinate local governments. These legal reforms created the ritsuryō state, a system of Chinese-style centralized government that remained in place for half a millennium. The Nara period (710–784) marked

4209-454: A marriage partner. They generally do not live at the shrines. Sometimes they fill other roles, such as being secretaries in the shrine offices or clerks at the information desks, or as waitresses at the naorai feasts. They also assist kannushi in ceremonial rites. Visits to the shrine are termed sankei , or jinja mairi . Some individuals visit the shrines daily, often on their morning route to work; they typically take only

4392-647: A nature-centred spirituality with environmentalist credentials; several shrines have collaborated with local environmentalist campaigns, while an international interfaith conference on environmental sustainability was held at the Ise shrine in 2014. Critical commentators have characterised the presentation of Shinto as an environmentalist movement as a rhetorical ploy rather than a concerted effort by Shinto institutions to become environmentally sustainable. Shinto focuses on ritual behavior rather than doctrine . The philosophers James W. Boyd and Ron G. Williams stated that Shinto

4575-543: A new constitution emphasizing liberal democratic practices. The Allied occupation ended with the Treaty of San Francisco in 1952, and Japan was granted membership in the United Nations in 1956. A period of record growth propelled Japan to become the second-largest economy in the world; this ended in the mid-1990s after the popping of an asset price bubble , beginning the " Lost Decade ". In 2011, Japan suffered one of

4758-462: A new system of taxation. The true aim of the reforms was to bring about greater centralization and to enhance the power of the imperial court, which was also based on the governmental structure of China. Envoys and students were dispatched to China to learn about Chinese writing, politics, art, and religion. The Jinshin War of 672, a bloody conflict between Prince Ōama and his nephew Prince Ōtomo , became

4941-673: A new theory called Goryeong County theory. He believes that the name of Mount Sori from Takamagahara mythology came from the capital city of South Korea, Seoul , and therefore Goryeong County is its correct location. In 1999, a stone monument of Takamagahara (고천원고지비) was raised in Kaya University . Shinto Shinto ( Japanese : 神道 , romanized :  Shintō ) is a religion originating in Japan . Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion , its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as

5124-529: A pair, one with its mouth open, the other with its mouth closed. Shrines are often set within gardens or wooded groves called chinju no mori ("forest of the tutelary" kami ), which vary in size from just a few trees to sizeable areas of woodland. Large lanterns, known as tōrō , are often found within these precincts. Shrines often have an office, known as a shamusho , a saikan where priests undergo forms of abstinence and purification prior to conducting rituals, and other buildings such as

5307-482: A particular community is referred to it as their ujigami , while that of a particular house is the yashikigami . Kami are not deemed metaphysically different from humanity, with it being possible for humans to become kami . Dead humans are sometimes venerated as kami , being regarded as protector or ancestral figures. One of the most prominent examples is that of the Emperor Ōjin , who on his death

5490-456: A period of abstinence from sexual relations. Some of those involved in festivals also abstain from a range of other things, such as consuming tea, coffee, or alcohol, immediately prior to the events. The priests are assisted by jinja miko , sometimes referred to as "shrine-maidens" in English. These miko are typically unmarried, although not necessarily virgins. In many cases they are

5673-484: A place for weaving, giving an impression that life was close to the human world. It is stated that the Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni (葦原の中つ国, the world between Heaven and Hell) was subjugated by the gods from Takamagahara, and the grandson of Amaterasu, Ninigi-no-Mikoto (瓊瓊杵尊), descended from Takamagahara to rule the area. From then on, the emperor, a descendant of Ninigi-no-Mikoto owned Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. In

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5856-614: A population of nearly 124 million as of 2024, and is the eleventh-most populous country . Its capital and largest city is Tokyo ; the Greater Tokyo Area is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with more than 38 million inhabitants as of 2016. Japan is divided into 47 administrative prefectures and eight traditional regions . About three-quarters of the country's terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating its agriculture and highly urbanized population along its eastern coastal plains . The country sits on

6039-407: A priest, usually colored black, red, or light blue, is the hō , or the ikan . A white silk version of the ikan , used for formal occasions, is known as the saifuku . Another priestly robe is the kariginu , which is modelled on Heian-style hunting garments. Also part of standard priestly attire is a hiōgi fan, while during rituals, priests carry a flat piece of wood known as

6222-455: A priests' quarters and a storehouse. Various kiosks often sell amulets to visitors. Since the late 1940s, shrines have had to be financially self-sufficient, relying on the donations of worshippers and visitors. These funds are used to pay the wages of the priests, to finance the upkeep of the buildings, to cover the shrine's membership fees of various regional and national Shinto groups, and to contribute to disaster relief funds. In Shinto, it

6405-528: A process known as jinja gappei , while the act of transferring the kami from one building to another is called sengu . Shrines may have legends about their foundation, which are known as en-gi . These sometimes also record miracles associated with the shrine. From the Heian period on, the en-gi were often retold on picture scrolls known as emakimono . Shrines may be cared for by priests, by local communities, or by families on whose property

6588-598: A scholar of Confucianism from the late Edo period, argues that the Jindai period (神代, Age of the Gods) in the Kojiki was a fiction created by later generations. A historian in 20th century, Sokichi Tsuda 's view of history, which has become mainstream after the World War II, is based on his idea. Many scholars today also believe that the mythology of Takamagahara in Kojiki was created by

6771-788: A series of shrines and other sacred sites that are part of an established circuit, is known as a junpai . An individual leading these pilgrims, is sometimes termed a sendatsu . For many centuries, people have also visited the shrines for primarily cultural and recreational reasons, as opposed to spiritual ones. Many of the shrines are recognised as sites of historical importance and some are classified as UNESCO World Heritage Sites . Shrines such as Shimogamo Jinja and Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, Meiji Jingū in Tokyo, and Atsuta Jingū in Nagoya are among Japan's most popular tourist sites. Many shrines have

6954-460: A significant shift to urbanization. The early 20th century saw a period of Taishō democracy (1912–1926) overshadowed by increasing expansionism and militarization . World War I allowed Japan, which joined the side of the victorious Allies , to capture German possessions in the Pacific and China in 1920 . The 1920s saw a political shift towards statism , a period of lawlessness following

7137-484: A single entity. This approach can be helpful but begs the question of what is meant by 'Shintō' in each case, particularly since each category incorporates or has incorporated Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, folk religious and other elements. — Scholar of religion Brian Bocking Scholars of religion have debated how to classify Shinto. Inoue considered it part of "the family of East-Asian religions". The philosopher Stuart D. B. Picken suggested that Shinto be classed as

7320-489: A small pile of salt outside before business commences each day. Fire, also, is perceived as a source of purification. The yaku-barai is a form of harae designed to prevent misfortune, while the oharae , or "ceremony of great purification", is often used for end-of-year purification rites, and is conducted twice a year at many shrines. Before the Meiji period, rites of purification were generally performed by onmyōji ,

7503-424: A source of frequent criticism, especially from those arguing that the religion can readily become a pawn for those wishing to use it to legitimise their authority and power. In Shinto, kannagara ("way of the kami ") is the law of the natural order , with wa ("benign harmony") being inherent in all things. Disrupting wa is deemed bad, contributing to it is thought good; as such, subordination of

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7686-456: A specific building. Jinja is usually translated as "shrine" in English, although in earlier literature was sometimes translated as "temple", a term now more commonly reserved for Japan's Buddhist structures. There are around 100,000 public shrines in Japan; about 80,000 are affiliated with the Association of Shinto Shrines, with another 20,000 being unaffiliated. They are found all over

7869-470: A specific place, often a prominent landscape feature such as a waterfall, mountain, large rock, or distinctive tree. Physical objects or places in which the kami are believed to have a presence are termed shintai ; objects inhabited by the kami that are placed in the shrine are known as go-shintai . Objects commonly chosen for this purpose include mirrors, swords, stones, beads, and inscribed tablets. These go-shintai are concealed from

8052-485: A type of diviner whose practices derived from the Chinese yin and yang philosophy. Shinto incorporates morality tales and myths but no codified ethical doctrine, and thus no "unified, systematized code of behaviour". An ethical system nevertheless arises from its practice, with emphasis placed on sincerity ( makoto ), honesty ( tadashii ), hard work ( tsui-shin ), and thanksgiving ( kansha ) directed towards

8235-400: A unique rubber-stamp seal which visitors can get printed into their stamp book, demonstrating the different shrines they have visited. Shinto rituals begin with a process of purification, or harae . Using fresh water or salt water, this is known as misogi . At shrines, this entails sprinkling this water onto the face and hands, a procedure known as temizu , using a font known as

8418-523: Is reclaimed land ( umetatechi ). Lake Biwa is an ancient lake and the country's largest freshwater lake. Japan is substantially prone to earthquakes , tsunami and volcanic eruptions because of its location along the Pacific Ring of Fire. It has the 17th highest natural disaster risk as measured in the 2016 World Risk Index. Japan has 111 active volcanoes. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunami, occur several times each century;

8601-490: Is "first and foremost a ritual tradition", while Picken observed that "Shinto is interested not in credenda but in agenda , not in things that should be believed but in things that should be done." The scholar of religion Clark B. Offner stated that Shinto's focus was on "maintaining communal, ceremonial traditions for the purpose of human (communal) well-being". It is often difficult to distinguish Shinto practices from Japanese customs more broadly, with Picken observing that

8784-430: Is 377,975.24 km (145,937.06 sq mi). Japan has the sixth-longest coastline in the world at 29,751 km (18,486 mi). Because of its far-flung outlying islands, Japan's exclusive economic zone is the eighth-largest in the world, covering 4,470,000 km (1,730,000 sq mi). The Japanese archipelago is 67% forests and 14% agricultural . The primarily rugged and mountainous terrain

8967-591: Is a unitary state and constitutional monarchy in which the power of the Emperor is limited to a ceremonial role . Executive power is instead wielded by the Prime Minister of Japan and his Cabinet , whose sovereignty is vested in the Japanese people. Naruhito is the Emperor of Japan, having succeeded his father Akihito upon his accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019. Japan's legislative organ

9150-450: Is a scene in which Kuniumi (国生み), the god of islands, lowers his spear to form an island. Also, when the goddess of the sun, Amaterasu (天照大御神) was born, she was commanded to rule Takamagahara by Izanagi (伊弉諾), the creator deity of creation and life. In the part related to Susanoo (スサノヲ, the brother of Amaterasu), Takamagahara is described as the place where many gods live with Ama-no-yasukawa (天の安河), Ama-no-iwato (天岩戸), paddy fields, and

9333-407: Is an abbreviation of Takamagahara ( 高天原 ) and the area was the capital of Japan during ancient times. The chronicle also states that it is the reason why there are other local areas with similar names such as Miyakojima ( 都島 ) and Takajo ( 高城 ) . As a proof of this record, Amano-Sakahoko ( 天逆鉾 ) , the spear of gods, can be found at the top of the mountain. It is presumed that

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9516-423: Is called a hongū . In some shrines, there is a separate building in which to conduct additional ceremonies, such as weddings, known as a gishikiden , or a specific building in which the kagura dance is performed, known as the kagura-den . Collectively, the central buildings of a shrine are known as the shaden , while its precincts are known as the keidaichi or shin'en . This precinct

9699-474: Is defined as referring to " kami or matters pertaining to kami ." The term Shinto became common in the 15th century. During the late Edo period, the kokugaku scholars began using the term Shinto to describe what they believed was an ancient, enduring and indigenous Japanese tradition that predated Buddhism; they argued that Shinto should be used to distinguish kami worship from traditions like Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. This use of

9882-507: Is divided into 47 prefectures, each overseen by an elected governor and legislature. In the following table, the prefectures are grouped by region : 7.  Fukushima 14.  Kanagawa 23.  Aichi 30.  Wakayama 35.  Yamaguchi 39.  Kōchi 47.  Okinawa A member state of the United Nations since 1956, Japan is one of the G4 countries seeking reform of

10065-687: Is governed by the Ministry of Defense , and primarily consists of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force , the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force . The deployment of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan marked the first overseas use of Japan's military since World War II. The Government of Japan has been making changes to its security policy which include the establishment of

10248-455: Is illustrated as a spiritual world of pure light in the radiant universe. There have been many theories about the location of Takamagahara. Theories differ greatly depending on how the mythology in the Kojiki is interpreted. According to the celestial theory, the gods must be in the heavens or the universe above the heavens since high heavens are the dwelling place of the gods. This conceptual view

10431-469: Is made here between singular and plural, and hence the term kami refers both to individual kami and the collective group of kami . Although lacking a direct English translation, the term kami has sometimes been rendered as "god" or "spirit". The historian of religion Joseph Kitagawa deemed these English translations "quite unsatisfactory and misleading", and various scholars urge against translating kami into English. In Japanese, it

10614-532: Is not heavy, but the islands usually develop deep snowbanks in the winter. In the Sea of Japan region on Honshu's west coast, northwest winter winds bring heavy snowfall during winter. In the summer, the region sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the Foehn . The Central Highland has a typical inland humid continental climate, with large temperature differences between summer and winter. The mountains of

10797-424: Is often said that there are eight million kami , a term which connotes an infinite number, and Shinto practitioners believe that they are present everywhere. They are not regarded as omnipotent , omniscient , or necessarily immortal . The term kami is "conceptually fluid", being "vague and imprecise". In Japanese it is often applied to the power of phenomena that inspire a sense of wonder and awe in

10980-505: Is often viewed as a form of purification. More broadly, torii are internationally recognised symbols of Japan. Their architectural form is distinctly Japanese, although the decision to paint most of them in vermillion reflects a Chinese influence dating from the Nara period . Also set at the entrances to many shrines are komainu , statues of lion or dog like animals perceived to scare off malevolent spirits; typically these will come as

11163-467: Is placed on specific moral codes or particular afterlife beliefs, although the dead are deemed capable of becoming kami . The religion has no single creator or specific doctrine, and instead exists in a diverse range of local and regional forms. Although historians debate at what point it is suitable to refer to Shinto as a distinct religion, kami veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BC to 300 AD). Buddhism entered Japan at

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11346-673: Is present in many facets of Japanese culture, such as the focus it places on bathing. Purification is for instance regarded as important in preparation for the planting season, while performers of noh theatre undergo a purification rite before they carry out their performances. Among the things regarded as particular pollutants in Shinto are death, disease, witchcraft, the flaying alive of an animal, incest, bestiality, excrement, and blood associated with either menstruation or childbirth. To avoid kegare , priests and other practitioners may engage in abstinence and avoid various activities prior to

11529-544: Is rated as the highest in the Engishiki ( 延喜式 , Procedures of the Engi Era ), and its shintai ( 神体 , body of the kami ) is a mountain located behind the shrine. Kagero Nikki ( 蜻蛉日記 ) , a classical waka , indicates that Amano-iwato was at Mount Katsuragi . Since this poem was written around 974, it shows that this understanding dates back to at least the Heian period (794–1185). Similarly, Sanryu-syo ( 三流抄 ) ,

11712-414: Is represented by Norinaga Motoori 's theory; he believed it was disrespectful to gods and emperors to consider other theories. This idea was the mainstream view before World War II because of its strong connection with the emperor-centered historiography . The terrestrial theory suggests that mythology always contains some historical fact, and thus Takamagahara must also reflect what existed. This theory

11895-439: Is restricted for habitation. Thus the habitable zones, mainly in the coastal areas, have very high population densities: Japan is the 40th most densely populated country even without considering that local concentration. Honshu has the highest population density at 450 persons/km (1200/sq mi) as of 2010 , while Hokkaido has the lowest density of 64.5 persons/km as of 2016 . As of 2014 , approximately 0.5% of Japan's total area

12078-554: Is seen as important that the places in which kami are venerated be kept clean and not neglected. Through to the Edo period, it was common for kami shrines to be demolished and rebuilt at a nearby location in order to remove any pollutants and ensure purity. This has continued into recent times at certain sites, such as the Ise Grand Shrine, which is moved to an adjacent site every two decades. Separate shrines can also be merged in

12261-414: Is surrounded by the tamagaki fence, with entry via a shinmon gate, which can be closed at night. Shrine entrances are marked by a two-post gateway with either one or two crossbeams atop it, known as torii . The exact details of these torii varies and there are at least twenty different styles. These are regarded as demarcating the area where the kami resides; passing under them

12444-594: Is that any of the candidate sites for the Yamatai-koku such as Yamamoto Country, Mii Country, Yamato Country, and Yasu Country in the Chikugo River basin. Some people specifically believe that Mii Country is the Takamagahara and Nakoku is the Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. The artificiality theory proposes that wondering about location of Takamagahara is meaningless since myths are made up. Banto Yamagata ,

12627-475: Is the National Diet , a bicameral parliament . It consists of a lower House of Representatives with 465 seats, elected by popular vote every four years or when dissolved, and an upper House of Councillors with 245 seats, whose popularly-elected members serve six-year terms. There is universal suffrage for adults over 18 years of age, with a secret ballot for all elected offices. The prime minister as

12810-428: Is the avoidance of kegare ("pollution" or "impurity"), while ensuring harae ("purity"). In Japanese thought, humans are seen as fundamentally pure. Kegare is therefore seen as being a temporary condition that can be corrected through achieving harae . Rites of purification are conducted so as to restore an individual to "spiritual" health and render them useful to society. This notion of purity

12993-576: Is the oldest unamended constitution in the world. Statutory law originates in the legislature, and the constitution requires that the emperor promulgate legislation passed by the Diet without giving him the power to oppose legislation. The main body of Japanese statutory law is called the Six Codes . Japan's court system is divided into four basic tiers: the Supreme Court and three levels of lower courts. Japan

13176-752: Is therefore highly pluralistic . Shinto is often cited alongside Buddhism as one of Japan's two main religions, and the two often differ in focus, with Buddhism emphasising the idea of the cessation of suffering, while Shinto focuses on adapting to life's pragmatic requirements. Shinto has integrated elements from religions imported from mainland Asia, such as Buddhism, Confucianism , Taoism , and Chinese divination practices, and shares features like its polytheism with other East Asian religions . Some scholars suggest we talk about types of Shintō such as popular Shintō, folk Shintō, domestic Shintō, sectarian Shintō, imperial house Shintō, shrine Shintō, state Shintō, new Shintō religions, etc. rather than regard Shintō as

13359-515: Is typically used in everyday speech and reflects shifts in Japanese phonology during the Edo period . The characters 日本 mean "sun origin", which is the source of the popular Western epithet "Land of the Rising Sun". The name "Japan" is based on Min or Wu Chinese pronunciations of 日本 and was introduced to European languages through early trade. In the 13th century, Marco Polo recorded

13542-557: Is very heavy, especially during the rainy season. The main rainy season begins in early May in Okinawa, and the rain front gradually moves north. In late summer and early autumn, typhoons often bring heavy rain. According to the Environment Ministry, heavy rainfall and increasing temperatures have caused problems in the agricultural industry and elsewhere. The highest temperature ever measured in Japan, 41.1 °C (106.0 °F),

13725-431: Is written using the kanji 日本 and is pronounced Nihon or Nippon . Before 日本 was adopted in the early 8th century, the country was known in China as Wa ( 倭 , changed in Japan around 757 to 和 ) and in Japan by the endonym Yamato . Nippon , the original Sino-Japanese reading of the characters, is favored for official uses, including on Japanese banknotes and postage stamps. Nihon

13908-715: The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki portray multiple realms in Shinto cosmology. These present a universe divided into three parts: the Plane of High Heaven ( Takama-no-hara ), where the kami live; the Phenomenal or Manifested World ( Utsushi-yo ), where humans dwell; and the Nether World ( Yomotsu-kuni ), where unclean spirits reside. The mythological texts nevertheless do not draw firm demarcations between these realms. Modern Shinto places greater emphasis on this life than on any afterlife, although it does espouse belief in

14091-440: The honden can sometimes be found a subsidiary shrine, the bekkū , to another kami ; the kami inhabiting this shrine is not necessarily perceived as being inferior to that in the honden . At some places, halls of worship have been erected, termed haiden . On a lower level can be found the hall of offerings, known as a heiden . Together, the building housing the honden , haiden , and heiden

14274-486: The kami are called norito , while the coins offered are saisen . At the shrine, individuals offering prayers are not necessarily praying to a specific kami . A worshipper may not know the name of a kami residing at the shrine nor how many kami are believed to dwell there. Unlike in certain other religions, Shinto shrines do not have weekly services that practitioners are expected to attend. Some Shinto practitioners do not offer their prayers to

14457-417: The kami directly, but rather request that a priest offer them on their behalf; these prayers are known as kitō . Many individuals approach the kami asking for pragmatic requests. Requests for rain, known as amagoi ("rain-soliciting") have been found across Japan, with Inari a popular choice for such requests. Other prayers reflect more contemporary concerns. For instance, people may ask that

14640-477: The kami religion of Japan, which lived symbiotically with organized Buddhism, and only later was institutionalized as Shinto." While several institutions and practices now associated with Shinto existed in Japan by the 8th century, various scholars have argued that Shinto as a distinct religion was essentially "invented" during the 19th century, in Japan's Meiji era . The scholar of religion Brian Bocking stressed that, especially when dealing with periods before

14823-469: The kami themselves often interpreted as Buddhas . At this point, the term Shinto increasingly referred to "the authority, power, or activity of a kami , being a kami , or, in short, the state or attributes of a kami ." It appears in this form in texts such as Nakatomi no harai kunge and Shintōshū tales. In the Japanese Portuguese Dictionary of 1603, Shinto

15006-421: The kami to gain their blessings and to dissuade them from destructive actions. Shinto seeks to cultivate and ensure a harmonious relationship between humans and the kami and thus with the natural world. More localised kami may be subject to feelings of intimacy and familiarity from members of the local community that are not directed towards more widespread kami like Amaterasu. The kami of

15189-474: The kami to offset any ill-fortune associated with being this age. Certain directions can also be seen as being inauspicious for certain people at certain times and thus people can approach the kami asking them to offset this problem if they have to travel in one of these unlucky directions. Pilgrimage has long been important in Japanese religion, with pilgrimages to Shinto shrines called junrei . A round of pilgrimages, whereby individuals visit

15372-523: The kami while priests generally offer them food, drink, and sprigs of the sacred sakaki tree. Animal sacrifices are not considered appropriate offerings, as the shedding of blood is seen as a polluting act that necessitates purification. The offerings presented are sometimes simple and sometimes more elaborate; at the Grand Shrine of Ise, for instance, 100 styles of food are laid out as offerings. The choice of offerings will often be tailored to

15555-521: The kami "), kannagara no michi ( 神ながらの道 , also written 随神の道 or 惟神の道 , "the way of the kami from time immemorial"), Kodō ( 古道 , "the ancient way"), Daidō ( 大道 , "the great way"), and Teidō ( 帝道 , "the imperial way"). The term Shinto derives from the combination of two Chinese characters: shin ( 神 ), which means "spirit" or "god", and tō ( 道 ), which means "way", "road" or "path". "Shintō" ( 神道 , "the Way of

15738-441: The kami . Shojiki is regarded as a virtue, encompassing honesty, uprightness, veracity, and frankness. Shinto sometimes includes reference to four virtues known as the akaki kiyoki kokoro or sei-mei-shin , meaning "purity and cheerfulness of heart", which are linked to the state of harae . Attitudes to sex and fertility tend to be forthright in Shinto. Shinto's flexibility regarding morality and ethics has been

15921-469: The kami . This is followed by an appearance by the miko , who commence in a slow circular motion before the main altar. Offerings are then presented to the kami by being placed on a table. This act is known as hōbei ; the offerings themselves as saimotsu or sonae-mono . Historically, the offerings given the kami included food, cloth, swords, and horses. In the contemporary period, lay worshippers usually give gifts of money to

16104-850: The shōgun led to the Boshin War and the establishment of a centralized state nominally unified under the emperor (the Meiji Restoration ). Adopting Western political, judicial, and military institutions, the Cabinet organized the Privy Council , introduced the Meiji Constitution (November 29, 1890), and assembled the Imperial Diet . During the Meiji period (1868–1912), the Empire of Japan emerged as

16287-533: The Nihon Shoki (日本書紀, The Chronicles of Japan ), there is almost no mention of Takamagahara in the text. It appears only in the fourth book of the first stage of Jindaiki ( 神代記 ) and part of the posthumous name which was given to Empress Jito in the fourth year of Yoro era (720). In contrast, in the Fudoki (風土記, ancient reports on provincial culture and oral tradition ) written in Nara period (710–794),

16470-416: The 1923 Tokyo earthquake killed over 140,000 people. More recent major quakes are the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, which triggered a large tsunami. The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate but varies greatly from north to south. The northernmost region, Hokkaido, has a humid continental climate with long, cold winters and very warm to cool summers. Precipitation

16653-459: The Asuka period (592–710). In 645, the government led by Prince Naka no Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari devised and implemented the far-reaching Taika Reforms . The Reform began with land reform, based on Confucian ideas and philosophies from China . It nationalized all land in Japan, to be distributed equally among cultivators, and ordered the compilation of a household registry as the basis for

16836-530: The Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. He was appointed shōgun by Emperor Go-Yōzei in 1603 and established the Tokugawa shogunate at Edo (modern Tokyo). The shogunate enacted measures including buke shohatto , as a code of conduct to control the autonomous daimyō , and in 1639 the isolationist sakoku ("closed country") policy that spanned the two and a half centuries of tenuous political unity known as

17019-512: The Chūgoku and Shikoku regions shelter the Seto Inland Sea from seasonal winds, bringing mild weather year-round. The Pacific coast features a humid subtropical climate that experiences milder winters with occasional snowfall and hot, humid summers because of the southeast seasonal wind. The Ryukyu and Nanpō Islands have a subtropical climate , with warm winters and hot summers. Precipitation

17202-529: The Early Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of the characters 日本國 as Cipangu . The old Malay name for Japan, Japang or Japun , was borrowed from a southern coastal Chinese dialect and encountered by Portuguese traders in Southeast Asia , who brought the word to Europe in the early 16th century. The first version of the name in English appears in a book published in 1577, which spelled

17385-575: The Edo period (1603–1868). Modern Japan's economic growth began in this period, resulting in roads and water transportation routes, as well as financial instruments such as futures contracts , banking and insurance of the Osaka rice brokers . The study of Western sciences ( rangaku ) continued through contact with the Dutch enclave in Nagasaki . The Edo period gave rise to kokugaku ("national studies"),

17568-720: The Indo-Pacific region, along with the United States, Australia, and India. Japan is engaged in several territorial disputes with its neighbors. Japan contests Russia's control of the Southern Kuril Islands , which were occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945. South Korea's control of the Liancourt Rocks is acknowledged but not accepted as they are claimed by Japan. Japan has strained relations with China and Taiwan over

17751-511: The Japanese Empire in the early 20th century, Shinto was exported to other areas of East Asia. Following Japan's defeat in World War II , Shinto was formally separated from the state . Shinto is primarily found in Japan, where there are around 100,000 public shrines, although practitioners are also found abroad. Numerically, it is Japan's largest religion, the second being Buddhism. Most of

17934-662: The Kurils . The Allies (led by the United States) repatriated millions of Japanese settlers from their former colonies and military camps throughout Asia, largely eliminating the Japanese Empire and its influence over the territories it conquered. The Allies convened the International Military Tribunal for the Far East to prosecute Japanese leaders except the Emperor for Japanese war crimes . In 1947, Japan adopted

18117-634: The National Security Council , the adoption of the National Security Strategy, and the development of the National Defense Program Guidelines. In May 2014, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Japan wanted to shed the passiveness it has maintained since the end of World War II and take more responsibility for regional security. In December 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida further confirmed this trend, instructing

18300-550: The Pacific War and two atomic bombings , Japan surrendered in 1945 and came under Allied occupation . After the war, the country underwent rapid economic growth , although its economy has stagnated since 1990 . Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, the National Diet . A great power and the only Asian member of the G7 , Japan has constitutionally renounced its right to declare war , but maintains one of

18483-462: The Sea of Okhotsk to the East China Sea . The country's five main islands, from north to south, are Hokkaido , Honshu , Shikoku , Kyushu and Okinawa . The Ryukyu Islands , which include Okinawa, are a chain to the south of Kyushu. The Nanpō Islands are south and east of the main islands of Japan. Together they are often known as the Japanese archipelago . As of 2019 , Japan's territory

18666-534: The Security Council . Japan is a member of the G7 , APEC , and " ASEAN Plus Three ", and is a participant in the East Asia Summit . It is the world's fifth-largest donor of official development assistance , donating US$ 9.2 billion in 2014. In 2024, Japan had the fourth-largest diplomatic network in the world. Japan has close economic and military relations with the United States, with which it maintains

18849-693: The Senkaku Islands and the status of Okinotorishima . Japan is the third highest-ranked Asian country in the 2024 Global Peace Index . It spent 1.1% of its total GDP on its defence budget in 2022, and maintained the tenth-largest military budget in the world in 2022. The country's military (the Japan Self-Defense Forces) is restricted by Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution , which renounces Japan's right to declare war or use military force in international disputes. The military

19032-517: The Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, devoted to Japan's war dead. In 1979 it enshrined 14 men who had been declared Class-A defendants at the 1946 Tokyo War Crimes Trials , generating domestic and international condemnation, particularly from China and Korea. Shinto priests face ethical conundrums. In the 1980s, for instance, priests at the Suwa Shrine in Nagasaki debated whether to invite the crew of

19215-401: The end of the shogunate and the restoration of imperial power in 1868. In the Meiji period , the Empire of Japan pursued rapid industrialization and modernization , as well as militarism and overseas colonization . In 1937, Japan invaded China , and in 1941 attacked the United States and European colonial powers, entering World War II as an Axis power . After suffering defeat in

19398-411: The head of government has the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers of State , and is appointed by the emperor after being designated from among the members of the Diet. Shigeru Ishiba is Japan's prime minister; he took office after winning the 2024 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election . The broadly conservative Liberal Democratic Party has been the dominant party in the country since

19581-494: The ruling class to make people believe that the class was precious because they originated in the heavenly realm. The town of Takaharu , with Takachiho Mountain rising behind it, has long been recognized as the place of Ninigi-no-Mikoto 's descent. In the Sangoku Meisho Zue ( 三国名勝図会 ) , a chronicle written by Satsuma Domain at the end of the Edo period, it is written that the name of this area, Takaharu ( 高原 ) ,

19764-734: The samurai . In 1185, following the defeat of the Taira clan by the Minamoto clan in the Genpei War , samurai Minamoto no Yoritomo established a military government at Kamakura . After Yoritomo's death, the Hōjō clan came to power as regents for the shōgun . The Zen school of Buddhism was introduced from China in the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and became popular among the samurai class. The Kamakura shogunate repelled Mongol invasions in 1274 and 1281 but

19947-421: The "worldview of Shinto" provided the "principal source of self-understanding within the Japanese way of life". Nelson stated that "Shinto-based orientations and values [...] lie at the core of Japanese culture, society, and character". Public spaces in which the kami are worshipped are often known under the generic term jinja (" kami -place"); this term applies to the location rather than to

20130-509: The 1923 Great Tokyo Earthquake , the passing of laws against political dissent , and a series of attempted coups . This process accelerated during the 1930s, spawning several radical nationalist groups that shared a hostility to liberal democracy and a dedication to expansion in Asia. In 1931, Japan invaded China and occupied Manchuria , which led to the establishment of puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932; following international condemnation of

20313-603: The 1950s, often called the 1955 System . Historically influenced by Chinese law , the Japanese legal system developed independently during the Edo period through texts such as Kujikata Osadamegaki . Since the late 19th century, the judicial system has been largely based on the civil law of Europe, notably Germany. In 1896, Japan established a civil code based on the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch , which remains in effect with post–World War II modifications. The Constitution of Japan , adopted in 1947,

20496-578: The Gods") was a term already used in the Book of Changes referring to the divine order of nature. Around the time of the spread of Buddhism in the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), it was used to distinguish indigenous Chinese religions from the imported religion. Ge Hong used it in his Baopuzi as a synonym for Taoism . The Chinese term 神道 ( MC zyin daw ) was originally adopted into Japanese as Jindō ; this

20679-764: The Japanese language, and the original meaning of the kanji does not match the meaning of the words they are describing. Therefore, the words expressed from them only explained pronunciation not the actual meanings. In Koshitsu ( 古史通 ) , Hakuseki interpreted Takamagahara in hiragana instead of kanji and compared it to Taga Country in Hitachi Province. Also, he suggests that places called "Takaama-no-Ura” and "Takaama-no-Hara" in Hitachi Province originated from Takamagahara. The names of places such as "Amagahara (天ヶ原)" and "Takanohara (高野原)" still remain, and they are considered as "Heavenly Territory (天国領域)" according to

20862-584: The Kyushu-Yamatai-Koku theory. The Korean Peninsula theory was sometimes advocated mainly by amateur Korean researchers after World War II. Initially, Chuncheon City at Gangwon-do was considered to be the location of Takamagahara in South Korea because of certain lyrics from Komagaku , a type of traditional Japanese court music. However, in the 1990s, the chancellor of the Kaya University proposed

21045-435: The Meiji era, the term Shinto should "be approached with caution". Inoue Nobutaka stated that "Shinto cannot be considered as a single religious system that existed from the ancient to the modern period", while the historian Kuroda Toshio noted that "before modern times Shinto did not exist as an independent religion". Many scholars describe Shinto as a religion , a term first translated into Japanese as shūkyō around

21228-738: The National Police Agency is administered by the National Public Safety Commission . The Special Assault Team comprises national-level counter-terrorism tactical units that cooperate with territorial-level Anti-Firearms Squads and Counter-NBC Terrorism Squads . The Japan Coast Guard guards territorial waters surrounding Japan and uses surveillance and control countermeasures against smuggling, marine environmental crime , poaching, piracy, spy ships, unauthorized foreign fishing vessels, and illegal immigration. The Firearm and Sword Possession Control Law strictly regulates

21411-525: The Pacific Ring of Fire , making its islands prone to destructive earthquakes and tsunamis . The first known habitation of the archipelago dates to the Upper Paleolithic , with the beginning Japanese Paleolithic dating to c.  36,000 BC . Between the fourth and sixth centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in Nara , and later Heian-kyō . From the 12th century, actual power

21594-615: The Pacific . Throughout areas occupied by Japan during the war, numerous abuses were committed against local inhabitants, with many forced into sexual slavery . After Allied victories during the next four years, which culminated in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender . The war cost Japan millions of lives and its colonies , including de jure parts of Japan such as Korea , Taiwan , Karafuto , and

21777-551: The Second World War, women were again allowed to become priests to fill the void caused by large numbers of men being enlisted in the military. By the late 1990s, around 90% of priests were male, 10% female, contributing to accusations that Shinto discriminates against women. Priests are free to marry and have children. At smaller shrines, priests often have other full-time jobs, and serve only as priests during special occasions. Before certain major festivals, priests may undergo

21960-469: The State Shinto system of the Meiji era, the emperor of Japan was declared to be a kami , while several Shinto sects have also viewed their leaders as living kami . Although some kami are venerated only in a single location, others have shrines across many areas. Hachiman for instance has around 25,000 shrines dedicated to him, while Inari has 40,000. The act of establishing a new shrine to

22143-417: The United States (9.9 percent), and Australia (9.8 percent). Japan's main imports are machinery and equipment, fossil fuels, foodstuffs, chemicals, and raw materials for its industries. The Japanese variant of capitalism has many distinct features: keiretsu enterprises are influential, and lifetime employment and seniority-based career advancement are common in the Japanese work environment . Japan has

22326-471: The afterlife largely revolve around the idea that the spirit survives bodily death and continues to assist the living. After 33 years, it then becomes part of the family kami . These ancestral spirits are sometimes thought to reside in the mountains, from where they descend to take part in agricultural events. Shinto's afterlife beliefs also include the obake , restless spirits who died in bad circumstances and often seek revenge. A key theme in Shinto

22509-465: The architectural styles of shrines having largely developed by the Heian period . The inner sanctuary in which the kami lives is the honden . Inside the honden may be stored material belonging to the kami ; known as shinpo , this can include artworks, clothing, weapons, musical instruments, bells, and mirrors. Typically, worshippers carry out their acts outside of the honden . Near

22692-451: The area of Hiruzen. The place was traditionally known as a small cave, but it was discovered to be much longer and deeper in 1929. The cave was named after what was believed to be the dwelling place of the Yamainu. Some places inside have been named as Takamagahara and Ama-no-Yasugawara. According to the theory proposed by Hakusei Arai, kanji in ancient times were representing pronunciation of

22875-540: The beholder. Kitagawa referred to this as "the kami nature", stating that he thought it "somewhat analogous" to the Western ideas of the numinous and the sacred . Kami are seen to inhabit both the living and the dead, organic and inorganic matter, and natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, and plagues; their presence is seen in natural forces such as the wind, rain, fire, and sunshine. Accordingly, Nelson commented that Shinto regards "the actual phenomena of

23058-404: The birthplace of the Takamagahara mythology, is at Soyo, Kumamoto . Shintai, the sacred body of the kami, is a stone slab carved with two types of Jindai characters, and the characters "Asohi-no-okami (アソヒノオオミカミ)" and "Hifumi (日文)" are engraved on the front and back of the slab. The shrine's name "Heitate" means Himorogi, a sacred place or an altar, and it is said that this is the sacred place where

23241-425: The capital, settling on Heian-kyō (modern-day Kyoto ) in 794. This marked the beginning of the Heian period (794–1185), during which a distinctly indigenous Japanese culture emerged. Murasaki Shikibu 's The Tale of Genji and the lyrics of Japan's national anthem " Kimigayo " were written during this time. Japan's feudal era was characterized by the emergence and dominance of a ruling class of warriors,

23424-509: The chronicle, Emperor Jimmu lived here until his expedition to the east . The town of Takachiho is located at the Northern part of Miyazaki prefecture . Ama-no-Iwato, Mount Amanokagu, and Shiioji Peaks can be found in this area. Takachiho Shrine is known for its specific type of Shinto ritual ceremonial dance called Yoru-Kagura, which is said to have originated from a dance performed by Ame-no-Uzume. Hinomiya-Heitate shrine, which calls itself

23607-538: The civilian ownership of guns, swords, and other weaponry. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime , among the member states of the UN that report statistics as of 2018 , the incidence rates of violent crimes such as murder, abduction, sexual violence, and robbery are very low in Japan. Japanese society traditionally places a strong emphasis on collective harmony and conformity , which has led to

23790-411: The classical waka poem written in Kamakura period (1185–1333), describes the location of Takamagahara as Mount Katsuragi. Until the new Hitachi Province theory was proposed by Hakuseki Arai in the Edo period, this area was considered to be the location of Takamagahara. The stone monument of Takamagahara is in the parking lot of a temple in this area. Kayabe Shrine, Amano-Iwato, and Amano-Ukihashi are in

23973-429: The construction company to employ a Shinto priest to come to the land being developed and perform the jichinsai , or earth sanctification ritual. This purifies the site and asks the kami to bless it. People often ask the kami to help offset inauspicious events that may affect them. For instance, in Japanese culture, the age 33 is seen as being unlucky for women and the age 42 for men, and thus people can ask

24156-419: The country's population takes part in both Shinto and Buddhist activities, especially festivals, reflecting a common view in Japanese culture that the beliefs and practices of different religions need not be exclusive. Aspects of Shinto have been incorporated into various Japanese new religious movements . There is no universally agreed definition of Shinto. According to Joseph Cali and John Dougill, if there

24339-445: The country, from isolated rural areas to dense metropolitan ones. More specific terms are sometimes used for certain shrines depending on their function; some of the grand shrines with imperial associations are termed jingū , those devoted to the war dead are termed shokonsha , and those linked to mountains deemed to be inhabited by kami are yama-miya . Jinja typically consist of complexes of multiple buildings, with

24522-421: The creative principle permeating all life is known as musubi , and is associated with its own kami . Within traditional Japanese thought, there is no concept of an overarching duality between good and evil. The concept of aki encompasses misfortune, unhappiness, and disaster, although it does not correspond precisely with the Western concept of evil. There is no eschatology in Shinto. Texts such as

24705-414: The daughters of a priest or a practitioner. They are subordinate to the priests in the shrine hierarchy. Their most important role is in the kagura dance, known as otome-mai . Miko receive only a small salary but gain respect from members of the local community and learn skills such as cooking, calligraphy, painting, and etiquette which can benefit them when later searching for employment or

24888-407: The early 20th century the government proclaimed that their accounts were factual. The Kojiki recounts that the universe started with ame-tsuchi , the separation of light and pure elements ( ame , "heaven") from heavy elements ( tsuchi , "earth"). Three kami then appeared: Amenominakanushi , Takamimusuhi no Mikoto , and Kamimusuhi no Mikoto . Other kami followed, including

25071-617: The emergence of a Japanese state centered on the Imperial Court in Heijō-kyō (modern Nara ). The period is characterized by the appearance of a nascent literary culture with the completion of the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720), as well as the development of Buddhist-inspired artwork and architecture . A smallpox epidemic in 735–737 is believed to have killed as much as one-third of Japan's population. In 784, Emperor Kanmu moved

25254-527: The end of the Kofun period (300 to 538 AD) and spread rapidly. Religious syncretization made kami worship and Buddhism functionally inseparable, a process called shinbutsu-shūgō . The kami came to be viewed as part of Buddhist cosmology and were increasingly depicted anthropomorphically . The earliest written tradition regarding kami worship was recorded in the 8th-century Kojiki and Nihon Shoki . In ensuing centuries, shinbutsu-shūgō

25437-757: The first time, initiating direct commercial and cultural exchange between Japan and the West. Oda Nobunaga used European technology and firearms to conquer many other daimyō ; his consolidation of power began what was known as the Azuchi–Momoyama period . After the death of Nobunaga in 1582, his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi , unified the nation in the early 1590s and launched two unsuccessful invasions of Korea in 1592 and 1597 . Tokugawa Ieyasu served as regent for Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori and used his position to gain political and military support. When open war broke out, Ieyasu defeated rival clans in

25620-471: The gods descended in ancient times. Takama is located on a plateau at the foot of Mount Kongo in Gose-shi , Nara Prefecture . The region's old name is Katsuragi ( 葛城 ), and Mount Kongo was called Mount Takamagahara in ancient times. The Takamahiko Shrine is located at east side of Mount Kongo, and the area around the shrine is a traditional place where the gods of the heavens lived (Matsumura, 2014). The shrine

25803-415: The government and industrial corporations; as a result, environmental pollution was widespread in the 1950s and 1960s. Responding to rising concerns, the government introduced environmental protection laws in 1970. The oil crisis in 1973 also encouraged the efficient use of energy because of Japan's lack of natural resources. Japan ranks 20th in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index , which measures

25986-607: The government to increase spending by 65% until 2027. Recent tensions, particularly with North Korea and China, have reignited the debate over the status of the JSDF and its relation to Japanese society. Domestic security in Japan is provided mainly by the prefectural police departments , under the oversight of the National Police Agency . As the central coordinating body for the Prefectural Police Departments,

26169-453: The home of the amatsukami or gods of heaven, while tsuchi became the home of kunitsukami or gods of the land. The amatsukami are said to have descended from heaven to pacify and perfect this world. In the beginning of the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters), Takamagahara is mentioned as the birthplace of the gods. It is assumed that Takamagahara existed in clouds above sea because there

26352-554: The idea that Shinto's origins were prehistoric and that it represented something like the "underlying will of Japanese culture". The prominent Shinto theologian Sokyo Ono, for instance, said kami worship was "an expression" of the Japanese "native racial faith which arose in the mystic days of remote antiquity" and that it was "as indigenous as the people that brought the Japanese nation into existence". Many scholars regard this classification as inaccurate. Earhart noted that Shinto, in having absorbed much Chinese and Buddhist influence,

26535-491: The individual to the larger social unit has long been a characteristic of the religion. Throughout Japanese history, the notion of saisei-itchi , or the union of religious authority and political authority, has long been prominent. In the modern world, Shinto has tended toward conservatism, as well as nationalism, an association that results in various Japanese civil liberties groups and neighboring countries regarding Shinto suspiciously. Particularly controversial has been

26718-566: The largest earthquakes in its recorded history - the Tōhoku earthquake - triggering the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster . On May 1, 2019, after the historic abdication of Emperor Akihito , his son Naruhito became Emperor, beginning the Reiwa era. Japan comprises 14,125 islands extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. It stretches over 3000 km (1900 mi) northeast–southwest from

26901-612: The living, meaning that they must be pacified, usually through Buddhist rites but sometimes through enshrining them as a kami . Other Japanese supernatural figures include the tanuki , animal-like creatures who can take human form. Although the narratives differ in detail, the origin of the kami and of Japan itself are recounted in two 8th-century texts, Kojiki and Nihon Shoki . Drawing heavily on Chinese influence, these texts were commissioned by ruling elites to legitimize and consolidate their rule. Although never of great importance to Japanese religious life, in

27084-603: The most developed state in Asia and as an industrialized world power that pursued military conflict to expand its sphere of influence. After victories in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905), Japan gained control of Taiwan, Korea and the southern half of Sakhalin , and annexed Korea in 1910. The Japanese population doubled from 35 million in 1873 to 70 million by 1935, with

27267-416: The mythological tale in which Izanagi immersed himself in the sea to purify himself after discovering his deceased wife; it was from this act that other kami sprang from his body. An alternative is immersion beneath a waterfall. Salt is often regarded as a purifying substance; some Shinto practitioners will for instance sprinkle salt on themselves after a funeral, while those running restaurants may put

27450-428: The name as Giapan in a translation of a 1565 Portuguese letter. Modern humans arrived in Japan around 38,000 years ago (~36,000 BC), marking the beginning of the Japanese Paleolithic . This was followed from around 14,500 BC (the start of the Jōmon period ) by a Mesolithic to Neolithic semi-sedentary hunter-gatherer culture characterized by pit dwelling and rudimentary agriculture. Clay vessels from

27633-485: The northern islands. Japan has over 90,000 species of wildlife as of 2019 , including the brown bear , the Japanese macaque , the Japanese raccoon dog , the small Japanese field mouse , and the Japanese giant salamander . There are 53 Ramsar wetland sites in Japan. Five sites have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their outstanding natural value. In the period of rapid economic growth after World War II, environmental policies were downplayed by

27816-629: The occupation , it resigned from the League of Nations in 1933. In 1936, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Nazi Germany ; the 1940 Tripartite Pact made it one of the Axis powers . The Empire of Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). In 1940, the Empire invaded French Indochina , after which the United States placed an oil embargo on Japan. On December 7–8, 1941, Japanese forces carried out surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor , as well as on British forces in Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong , among others, beginning World War II in

27999-583: The past, there was also a " State Shinto ", in which Shinto beliefs and practices were closely interlinked with the Japanese state. In representing "a portmanteau term" for many varied traditions across Japan, the term "Shinto" is similar to the term " Hinduism ", used to describe varied traditions across South Asia. The term Shinto is often translated into English as "the way of the kami ", although its meaning has varied throughout Japanese history. Other terms are sometimes used synonymously with "Shinto"; these include kami no michi ( 神の道 , "the way of

28182-410: The period are among the oldest surviving examples of pottery. The Japonic -speaking Yayoi people entered the archipelago from the Korean Peninsula, intermingling with the Jōmon ; the Yayoi period saw the introduction of practices including wet-rice farming , a new style of pottery , and metallurgy from China and Korea. According to legend, Emperor Jimmu (descendant of Amaterasu ) founded

28365-406: The priest approaches the kami so as to purify their car in the hope that this will prevent it from being involved in an accident; the kotsu anzen harai ("purification for road safety"). Similarly, transport companies often request purification rites for new buses or airplanes which are about to go into service. Before a building is constructed, it is common for either private individuals or

28548-452: The purification is carried out with an o-nusa , a branch of evergreen to which strips of paper have been attached. The waving of the haraigushi is often followed by an additional act of purification, the shubatsu , in which the priest sprinkles water, salt, or brine over those assembled from a wooden box called the 'en-to-oke or magemono . The acts of purification accomplished, petitions known as norito are spoken to

28731-522: The ranks over the course of their careers. The number of priests at a particular shrine can vary; some shrines can have dozens, and others have none, instead being administered by local lay volunteers. Some priests administer to multiple small shrines, sometimes over ten. Priestly regalia is largely based on the clothes worn at the imperial court during the Heian period. It includes a tall, rounded hat known as an eboshi , and black lacquered wooden clogs known as asagutsu . The outer garment worn by

28914-491: The shrine is found. Shinto priests are known in Japanese as kannushi , meaning "proprietor of kami ", or alternatively as shinshoku or shinkan . Many kannushi take on the role in a line of hereditary succession traced down specific families. In contemporary Japan, there are two main training universities for those wishing to become kannushi , at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo and at Kogakkan University in Mie Prefecture . Priests can rise through

29097-446: The spear was placed around the Edo period, but the details are still unknown. The town of Takaharu is also known as the birthplace of Emperor Jimmu. The main evidence is that Emperor Jimmu's infant name, "Sano-no-Mikoto", in the Nihon Shoki refers to the Sano area of the town. However, there is no detailed explanation about it, and the current description of Emperor Jimmu is largely based on Sangoku Meisho Zue ( 三国名勝図絵 ) . According to

29280-542: The specific kami and occasion. Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia . It is located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asian mainland , and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea in the south. The Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands— Hokkaido , Honshu , Shikoku , and Kyushu —and thousands of smaller islands , covering 377,975 square kilometres (145,937 sq mi). Japan has

29463-540: The specific kami enshrined at that location. This is done to cultivate harmony between humans and kami and to solicit the latter's blessing. Other common rituals include the kagura dances, rites of passage , and kami festivals. Public shrines facilitate forms of divination and supply religious objects, such as amulets , to the religion's adherents. Shinto places a major conceptual focus on ensuring purity, largely by cleaning practices such as ritual washing and bathing, especially before worship. Little emphasis

29646-402: The study of Japan by the Japanese. The United States Navy sent Commodore Matthew C. Perry to force the opening of Japan to the outside world. Arriving at Uraga with four " Black Ships " in July 1853, the Perry Expedition resulted in the March 1854 Convention of Kanagawa . Subsequent similar treaties with other Western countries brought economic and political crises. The resignation of

29829-578: The suppression of individual rights . Japan's constitution prohibits racial and religious discrimination, and the country is a signatory to numerous international human rights treaties. However, it lacks any laws against discrimination based on race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity and does not have a national human rights institution. Japan has faced criticism for its gender inequality , not allowing same-sex marriages , use of racial profiling by police, and allowing capital punishment . Other human rights issues include

30012-404: The term Shinto became increasingly popular from the 18th century. The term Shinto has been commonly used only since the early 20th century, when it superseded the term taikyō ('great religion') as the name for the Japanese state religion. Shinto is polytheistic , involving the veneration of many deities known as kami , or sometimes as jingi (神祇). In Japanese, no distinction

30195-738: The time of the Meiji Restoration . Some practitioners instead view Shinto as a "way", thus characterising it more as custom or tradition , partly as an attempt to circumvent the modern separation of religion and state and restore Shinto's historical links with the Japanese state. Moreover, many of the categories of religion and religiosity defined in Western culture "do not readily apply" to Shinto. Unlike religions familiar in Western countries, such as Christianity and Islam , Shinto has no single founder, nor any single canonical text. Western religions tend to stress exclusivity, but in Japan, it has long been considered acceptable to practice different religious traditions simultaneously. Japanese religion

30378-403: The treatment of marginalized groups, such as ethnic minorities , refugees and asylum seekers . Japan has the world's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP , after that of the United States, China and Germany; and the fifth-largest economy by PPP-adjusted GDP . As of 2021 , Japan's labor force is the world's eighth-largest , consisting of over 68.6 million workers. As of 2022 , Japan has

30561-484: The view of visitors, and may be hidden inside boxes so that even the priests do not know what they look like. Kami are deemed capable of both benevolent and destructive deeds; if warnings about good conduct are ignored, the kami can mete out punishment, often illness or sudden death, called shinbatsu . Some kami , referred to as the magatsuhi-no-kami or araburu kami , are regarded as malevolent and destructive. Offerings and prayers are given to

30744-462: The word Takamagahara appears only at the beginning of Hitachi-no-Kuni-Fudoki (常陸の国風土記). Similarly, in the main text of Kogo Shui (古語拾遺), a historical record written in the early Heian period (794–1185), Takamagahara is mentioned only in the section of Ninigi-no-Mikoto. In modern times, Takamagahara was described as the "supreme celestial sphere" (至美天球) in Tales of the Spirit World ( 霊界物語 ) by Onisaburo Deguchi . The "supreme celestial sphere"

30927-416: The world in 2019 for inbound tourism . The 2021 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Japan first in the world out of 117 countries. Its international tourism receipts in 2019 amounted to $ 46.1 billion. The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for about 1.2% of the country's total GDP as of 2018 . Only 11.5% of Japan's land is suitable for cultivation. Because of this lack of arable land,

31110-410: The world itself" as being "divine". This perspective has been characterised as being animistic . In Japan, kami have been venerated since prehistory. During the Yayoi period they were regarded as being formless and invisible, later coming to be depicted anthropomorphically under Buddhist influence. Now, statues of the kami are known as shinzo . Kami are usually associated with

31293-569: The world's strongest militaries . A developed country with one of the world's largest economies by nominal GDP , Japan is a global leader in science and technology and the automotive , robotics , and electronics industries . It has one of the world's highest life expectancies , though it is undergoing a population decline . Japan's culture is well known around the world, including its art , cuisine , film , music , and popular culture , which includes prominent comics , animation , and video game industries. The name for Japan in Japanese

31476-447: Was "not a unified, monolithic entity that has a single center and system all its own". Different types of Shinto have been identified. "Shrine Shinto" refers to the practices centred around shrines, and "Domestic Shinto" to the ways in which kami are venerated in the home. Some scholars have used the term "Folk Shinto" to designate localised Shinto practices, or practices outside of an institutionalised setting. In various eras of

31659-445: Was "often used" in "reference to kami worship and related theologies, rituals and practices". Various scholars have referred to practitioners of Shinto as Shintoists , although this term has no direct translation in the Japanese language . Scholars have debated at what point in history it is legitimate to start talking about Shinto as a specific phenomenon. The scholar of religion Ninian Smart suggested that one could "speak of

31842-408: Was "one single, broad definition of Shinto" that could be put forward, it would be that "Shinto is a belief in kami ", the supernatural entities at the centre of the religion. The Japanologist Helen Hardacre wrote that "Shinto encompasses doctrines, institutions, ritual, and communal life based on kami worship", while the scholar of religion Inoue Nobutaka observed that the term "Shinto"

32025-400: Was "too complex to be labelled simply [as an] indigenous religion". In the early 21st century it became increasingly common for practitioners to call Shinto a nature religion , which critics saw as a strategy to disassociate the tradition from controversial issues surrounding militarism and imperialism. Shinto displays substantial local variation; the anthropologist John K. Nelson noted it

32208-410: Was adopted by Japan's Imperial household. During the Meiji era (1868 to 1912), Japan's nationalist leadership expelled Buddhist influence from kami worship and formed State Shinto , which some historians regard as the origin of Shinto as a distinct religion. Shrines came under growing government influence, and citizens were encouraged to worship the emperor as a kami . With the formation of

32391-412: Was enshrined as the kami Hachiman , believed to be a protector of Japan and a kami of war. In Japanese culture, ancestors can be viewed as a form of kami . In Western Japan, the term jigami is used to describe the enshrined kami of a village founder. In some cases, living human beings were also viewed as kami ; these were called akitsumi kami or arahito-gami . In

32574-425: Was eventually overthrown by Emperor Go-Daigo . Go-Daigo was defeated by Ashikaga Takauji in 1336, beginning the Muromachi period (1336–1573). The succeeding Ashikaga shogunate failed to control the feudal warlords ( daimyō ) and a civil war began in 1467 , opening the century-long Sengoku period ("Warring States"). During the 16th century, Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries reached Japan for

32757-451: Was first represented by Hakuseki Arai , a confucianist during middle of the Edo period . Specifically, he stated that Takamagahara was located in Taga County, Hitachi Province ( 常陸国 ). Also, some people believe Takamagahara existed, but outside of Japan ; one of the most popular such theories locates it at Gangwon , South Korea . A chief proponent was the World War II war criminal, General Kanji Ishiwara . The Kyushu-Yamatai-koku theory

32940-413: Was held by military dictators ( shōgun ) and feudal lords ( daimyō ), and enforced by warrior nobility ( samurai ). After rule by the Kamakura and Ashikaga shogunates and a century of warring states , Japan was unified in 1600 by the Tokugawa shogunate , which implemented an isolationist foreign policy . In 1853, a United States fleet forced Japan to open trade to the West , which led to

33123-418: Was possibly first used as a Buddhist term to refer to non-Buddhist deities. Among the earliest known appearances of the term Shinto in Japan is in the 8th-century text, Nihon Shoki . Here, it may be a generic term for popular belief, or alternatively reference Taoism, as many Taoist practices had recently been imported from mainland Asia. In these early Japanese uses, the word Shinto did not apply to

33306-405: Was recorded on July 23, 2018, and repeated on August 17, 2020. Japan has nine forest ecoregions which reflect the climate and geography of the islands. They range from subtropical moist broadleaf forests in the Ryūkyū and Bonin Islands , to temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in the mild climate regions of the main islands, to temperate coniferous forests in the cold, winter portions of

33489-431: Was the world's fifth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer in 2022. Its exports amounted to 18.2% of its total GDP in 2021. As of 2022 , Japan's main export markets were China (23.9 percent, including Hong Kong) and the United States (18.5 percent). Its main exports are motor vehicles, iron and steel products, semiconductors, and auto parts. Japan's main import markets as of 2022 were China (21.1 percent),

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