Shintoism
About
Shintoism is an ancient religion of Japan with no known founder or single sacred scripture. It is often regarded as Japan's indigenous religion and is still practiced today by around five million people, with a core belief that everything possesses a spiritual essence or energy called kami.
Shinto means the way of the gods. There are many different Shinto gods and spirits with dedicated shrines for people to offer food, money, and prayers. Shintoists believe that spiritual powers exist in the natural world, respecting nature, purity, and harmony.
End of Life
When it comes to death and the afterlife, the Shinto belief can be viewed as quite morbid, with depictions of a dark, underground realm akin to Greek mythology and Hades, with a river separating the living from the dead. There is a sense that death and dying in unpure and related to contamination.
Because of the negative connotations with the dying process and terminal illness, conversations about death and dying can be a challenge in Shinto families. To ease this, it is generally accepted that Buddhist principles are adopted towards end of life.
The Buddhist influences on the Shinto faith also teach that reflecting on death is important. Mourning is seen as a natural reaction to death, and grief can be expressed intensely on specific days while maintaining a controlled, stoic demeaner the rest of the time in order to honour the deceased.
After Death
Preparation of the body is commonly left to professionals rather than loved ones. Because of the negative connotations in Shintoism about the impurities of death, formal gatherings are limited, so most Japanese people have Buddhist funerals instead.
A Buddhist funeral service is simple, quiet, and respectful, with the aim of creating a positive atmosphere to encourage the deceased’s spirit to leave this world and move on to the next. A distinctively Shinto funeral service however was devised with many practices that contrast with Buddhist traditions. For instance, a Shinto priest will wear white at the service, while a Buddhist priest wears black.
There is a strong emphasis on ritual at a Shinto funeral with distinct steps that need completing. A Shinto priest performs many of the rituals and the main purpose is to provide a connection with the kami and to purify any contaminations. Loved ones will commonly visit the mausoleum or crematorium weekly, often bringing flowers and incense, and sometimes create a home shrine to serve as a memorial with pictures and maybe some of the deceased’s ashes.