Kami Worship and Folk Religion - Essay Example

Religion provides spiritual guidance and emotional relief to humans. Being one of the most developed and cultivated countries of the contemporary world, the examination and exploration of ancient Japanese cultural traits and spiritual thought have always been a subject of great interest for archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists. However, researchers find no solid records of the Japanese cult and culture in the Paleolithic era; thus, either the indigenous Japanese of the Old Stone Age had perished away, or they had been invaded and killed by outsiders during the early Neolithic era.

“Because no full skeletons have yet been found, it has been difficult for the archaeologists to make a judgment about the racial character of the Old Stone Age Japanese.” (Varley 2000, 1) Since the Japanese maintained a strong faith in Shinto belief during the first six centuries A.D., they used to seek spiritual inspiration from Kami, the main object of worship according to the Shinto faith. Kami worship had been in vogue among the Japanese even under the Jomon and Yayoi dynasties, a few centuries before the advent of both Christianity and Buddhism.

Kami was not confined to one single object only; rather, it contained several natural phenomena including the Sun, which had always been a source of great inspiration and motivation for them. Thus, the earlier Japanese built shrines and temples of the Sun Goddess and used to seek her support for their worldly matters on the one hand, and for their spiritual uplift on the other. “The principal monument to the Sun Goddess is the Ise Shrine, which houses her image in the form of a mirror the most precious object of the imperial regalia.

” (Varley 2000, 17) The political establishment of the Japanese culture had also been laid on the foundation of their religious belief. Consequently, they considered their emperor a Deity, and there were no two opinions on this sensitive-most issue. Thus, the Japanese emperor was also one of the Kami objects according to Shinto belief. It is, therefore, the imperial Uji clan of Japan that enjoyed divine respect and status among the rest of the Uji tribes. Consequently, the imperial Uji could select non-imperial Ujis as ministers even during the sixth century A.

D, and these appointed ministers were looked at with reverence provided they had been selected by the Kami. The ancient Japanese led a very simple and barbarous life and maintained the least familiarity with the tools; as a result, the invaders from the neighboring Asian regions overcame them and left an indelible impact of their cult and culture on the Japanese. Hence, the Japanese sought religious inspiration from the neighboring far Eastern and south East Asian cultures. The Chinese civilization had been the most dominating one in this regard and captured the spiritual structure of ancient Japan.

The findings reveal that the ancient Japanese were followers of the Shinto faith, which still prevails in the country. During pre-history to the first quarter of the sixth century A.D., Shinto had been the central belief followed by the Japanese, though basic customs and conventions of this period are unknown. The Shinto religion is now divided into different sects.