Hey Nao. I was wondering, what is shinto about? And is it open to everyone? I've always struggled to find a religion and a community that fit my beliefs (mostly animistic), and now I've found Shinto, which is apparently an animistic religion? And I have this feeling of "!!! Finally!" But I worry it's too foreign or distant to connect? We're both argentine so I guessed you'd know better than anyone else. Guess i'm asking for advice? I'm sorry if this isnt very clear 😂 but thank you for your time
Yes, shinto is pretty animistic in some ways, and open to everyone! Although it is open, it’s well known to have “rules” or guidelines on how to properly set up an altar to kami or “kamidana” and how to worship at it, what to include, how to worship and pray at shinto shrines too. Besides that disclaimer, don’t be afraid to learn of it! It’s a truly beautiful path and it isn’t hard to follow the guidelines at all.
10/10 highly recommend to check on your local kami.
Shinto is a japanese religion, or even spirituality (of sorts), and what or how specifically you work is different for different groups or inner sects, but for the most part, I think most of us define it as the Kami no Michi, the Way of Kami. This can mean a lot of things. Kami no Michi is literally what the kanji (characters?) in japanese say 神道, Shinto, since “shinto” is moreso the japanese pronunciation of how the chinese used to call Japan’s native religion. This name arised from the need to give it a name separated from the now growing buddhism and hinduism that had arrived to the country.
So going back to “kami no michi” or the Way of the Kami. The first character, kami, 神, is pretty hard to translate. I often like to call it “spirit” or “life force” of sorts. You’ll find many people think of kami as gods, but not all kami are. Kami are anything and everything that inspires awe, reverence, both in a good and bad sense. Can be powerful, and beautiful, and even scary, not all kami are gods, and some have pretty harsh or dark backstories.
I like to say there’s kami in everything and everyone. There’s spirit in everything. There’s a bit of God, and Kami, on everything. This comes, obviously, from a strong bias as an indigenous person but bear with me for a moment.
Since we’re both argentinean, I’ll give you one of my favorite examples of why shinto doesn’t need to feel foreign at all: I grew up in the conurbano, mostly, literally in the La Matanza basin. Which, besides being the most contaminated of the country, it’s part of the Río de La Plata basin. This river, as a whole, has a spirit, a conscious life force, and in kichwa we call it Apu, and their name in specific is Apu Qollqe Mayu, but they can also be considered a kami. It’s not much of a stretch and the definitions are pretty much literally the same: Spirit, conscious life force, inspires awe, worshipped as a force of nature, can be an ancestor or a deity, who can take specific objects and places as vessel to reside in. That’s a definition of apu, and surprisingly enough, of kami too.
In Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America (a shinto shrine in Washington) there’s enshrined a kami by the name of America Kokudo Kunitama-no-Kami, who’s the protector of the north american continet, a.k.a. kami can reside and exist outside of japan (because conscious life energy is a universal thing? I hope I’m making sense here) so yes, don’t worry, kami aren’t specifically on japan-only. Kami are all around us, kami are in nature, and part of nature.
So if you ask me, apus are kinda kami, and the Apu Qollqe Mayu is a kami too. Does that mean you can worship them at a kamidana or even should? well, hell no, because we already have ways of worship for them, but that doesn’t mean you can’t recognize things by different names and find interesting enough that two completely separate cultures arrived to the same conclusions, just with different names. Don’t even get me started on the origin of kagura suzu and the use of branches for spiritual dances and cleansings in andean traditions ‘cause oh boy, I have a lot to say about the similarities between shinto and our indigenous traditions, and the more I learn the more I find LOL
So first, shinto doesn’t feel foreign to me now that I’m into it hasta las rodillas, because I learnt to recognize kami on all nature around me, not just in Japan, and of how freaking similar the origins of shinto and andean traditions are. I think it is because shinto has given me specific names for many universal concepts, like kegare, impurity, kami, or spirit, etc. Obviously, I associated it to my andean beliefs because that’s what I had around me? but different people have historically associated it with other traditions, giving us an arrange of complex, yet incredibly beautiful syncretisms, like in east asia.
The second part of the name, the character 道, “to”, tao or dao, means “way”. The Way. the one Path. If we’re talking strictly of shinto, it means the Way of Kami, following the kami’s ways, learning from them, being guided by them, living shinto means feeling it. There’s a translation from a poem by Emperor Meiji, that says “To feel no trace of shame, before the unseen kami, such is the measure, of true-heartedness”. I think that describes following Kami no Michi pretty well. If there’s anything you would feel ashamed to admit in front of the kami, anything you feel like doing could harm you or tarnish your true heart, your true path, then kami will be there to say “don’t take that road” and help you find your way. Shinto is strongly based on whole-heartedness, on trusting kami and their guidance and actually caring.
Now, while shinto can be practiced “by itself” following striclty japanese kami like Amaterasu Omikami sama, Sun Kami, or Tsukuyomi no mikoto, lunar Kami, it also has an interesting side that is syncretism.
With the passing time, buddhism and taoism got closer to hinduism, then buddhism, now carrying hindu and taoist notes, got into japan, where it again, got extremely close to shinto, to the point of boddhisattvas like Avalokiteshvara, or Kwan Yin, being worshipped as Kami, as Kannon sama, and buddhist temples sharing ground with shinto shrines. Japanese people having both a kamidana, shinto home shrine, and a butsudan, buddhist home altar, in their houses.
And you have even crazier things: Benzaiten sama is a kami, but originally, she comes from hinduism. Benzaiten sama, 弁 才 天, also written as 弁 財 天, for short, is given ties to the hindu devi or goddesses. The last part of her name, the character 天 means “heavenly” and is used to mean “deva or devi”, signifying her hindu origins. Her first name, 弁 才 天 , “ben-zai-ten” uses the character 才, zai, meaning “sound”, so yes, tied to the devi Saraswati, but the second way to write it has another character for “zai”, 財, also pronounced “cai”, meaning wealth or commerce, and tied to yet another devi, Lakshmi. Now, to that mix of hindu goddesses, add buddhism, and then send that hindu-buddhist goddess to japan, to get mixed with Ugajin, a japanese kami, to create Uga-Benzaiten, add more syncretisms with other local water kami, and wealth kami, and well, you got yourself a Benzaiten sama.
So, the point is? Besides the fact that I love to talk about my matron kami, lol, Shinto is well known to easily get along other religions and practices, to be able to be practiced side by side and peacefully co-exist with other religions. It has historically lived side by side with taoism, like in the case of Marici (taoist goddess) who in shinto is worshipped as Marishiten sama. Like I mentioned before, it has also been practiced side by side with shinto and hinduism. This opens the door to practitioners of craft who, while don’t have a specifically “shinto witchcraft” branch, do have magic systems that shinto practitioners historically held side by side. Shinto and Buddhism or taoism, for example, includes esoteric buddhism and esoteric taoism, which per se are pretty strongly tied together, and this has given origin to many magic systems in japan, like one called Onmyodo, 陰陽道, “the way of yin and yang”.
So, to wrap up my rambling mess: shinto is open, has very few but clear guidelines to follow that are pretty easy everyday things to do, it is indeed pretty animistic, with a deep respect and worship of nature spirits of all sorts, and it can be anywhere in the spectrum of “spiritual to religious” as you want it to, you can go for a completely japanese, strict shinto approach, often more animistic and shrine-oriented, similar to going to church if you ask me, but nature oriented, or it can be easily practiced side by side with other religions, although many times, practiced separately (buddhist and shinto altars have different ways of set up and worship, and obviously one shouldn’t mix indigenous spirits and shinto kami in an altar). It can get more spiritual, if you approach it also practicing buddhist or taoist traditions, worshipping syncretic kami, and thus adding esotericisms to fill in the “witchcraft” gaps, like onmyodo, feng shui, traditional chinese medicine, taoist esoteric practices like crafting fu talismans, and a long, long etc.
My best advice if shinto calls your eye is to not feel overwhelmed. Go slow, start with the basics, trust your gut and you’ll slowly be able to add more into it. Find a kami who you feel closest to, syncretic or not, and let them guide you. Build a relationship with them, set up a simple kamidana, keep your altar clean and change the water offering everyday, and simply talk to them like you would talk to a friendly mom or grandpa. Tell them about your day, share your worries, laugh at your mistakes, ask for guidance, ask for patience, whatever is in your heart, pour it to them, they’ll listen and I can assure you 100% they’ll help you the best they can. Benzaiten sama has saved my ass countless times, Marishiten sama also protects me fiercely. Not two kami will have the same relatioship with you either, but that is what makes the experience rich. Learn as much as you can about your chosen kami, their ties and teachings, their stories, learn as much as you can about japanese history, and traditions.
And if you ask my psychic ass, check out Inari okami sama. Kami of harvest, I associate them with autumn, feasts and laughter. They appear femenine or masculine, depends on who you ask, and they’re sweet and motherly in my experience. Their messengers are foxes, red foxes, white foxes, any kind of vulpine. They have their own interesting syncretism but many worship and work with them inside Inari sects, meaning only shinto approach. Others do study their conections to buddhism and chinese shamanism even. Feel free to follow either rute. You’ll adore them.
And obviously, nonnie, feel free to message me here or in my shinto sideblog @shintowitchling whenever, I’d love to have someone to talk to about shinto and I’d love to help!! If you ever need anything clarified or any guidance, I’m here for you.
For shinto resources I will always recommend @livingwithkami‘s blog, and for buddhist, taoist practices, obviously Benebell Wen (I mean, you might’ve noticed I kind of adore her YouTube channel already)
Sorry for the late answer btw, life was messy and this deserved a long, thoughtful response xD Hope this helps, dear!💙
