SHINTO

Shinto is mainly based in Japan

There are almost 2,700,000 people in shinto

One of the main ways to be in shinto is to be born into it

There is no real founder of shinto, but it started around 500 BCE

Key religious figures:

Izanagi-no-mikoto

• Creator of the earth
• God of the sun
• Lord of the sun

IZANAMI-NO-MIKOTO

• Goddess of creation and death
• Former lover of izanagi-no-mikoto
• Translates to lord of the sun

AMATERASU

• Goddess of the universe
• Amaterasu ōmikami- the great august kami who shines in the heavens

BENZAITEN

• Japanese buddhist goddess
• Originated from the buddhist goddess saraswati
• Translates to sutra of golden light
• Holds a biwa which is a traditional japanese lute

HACIMEN

• God of archery and war
• Divine protector of Japan and its people
• Translates to god of eight banners
• Symbolic animal is the dove

KEY HOLIDAYS

• National founding day- february 11th
• Shogatsu-jan 13- (new year)
• Hinamat suri- march 3- (girls festival)
• Tango no sekku-may 5-(boys festival)

KEY PLACES AND BUILDINGS

• Ise
• Jinja
• Izamo

MAIN PRINCIPLES OF SHINTO

• Tradition and family
• Love of nature
• Physical cleanliness
• Matsuri
• The desire for peace

Shinto is not a way of explaining the world. What matters are rituals that enable human beings to communicate with kami

CITING

• BBC News. BBC. Web. 27 Aug. 2014. .
• "Shinto, an Ancient Japanese Religion." SHINTO. Web. 24 Aug. 2014. .
• "Shintoism." Shintoism. Web. 27 Aug. 2014. .