Shintoism is an animist religion. The major concept of Shintoism is the sanctity of nature. The resulting deep respect defines the place of man in the universe: to be an element of the great All. Thus, a watercourse, a star, a charismatic character, a simple stone or even abstract notions such as fertility can be considered as divinities (kami).
Issued from the cosmic Unity, the flows founding life are embodied in a multitude of kami. The polytheism that emanates from it is infinite, in the sense that each particle of life is sacred. Shinto mythology says that there are 8 million kami (happyakuman) because the kanji are also read yaoyorozu, meaning a myriad, that is to say an indefiniteness, an unquantifiable number. By descending to Earth to breathe life into it, the kami created the Japanese archipelago.
The origin of Man in this cosmogonic context is not clearly established. But the imperial family bases its charismatic legitimacy (in the sense of Max Weber) on its origin declared as divine (the first emperor, Jinmu, would be the grandson of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, whom the goddess Amaterasu sent to Earth by the kami to found the Japanese nation).
Respect for ancestors and feelings of communion with the forces of the universe and past generations are the spiritual bases of Shinto.
Defilement
Countless, the kami are everywhere, hiding in the most diverse forms, in the most unexpected places. It is therefore advisable to be extremely careful with them, especially since the smallest are sometimes the most susceptible. Their character is ambiguous, like nature itself. All of them, including the best of them and the greatest, possess a “spirit of violence”, arami-tama, which must be reconciled or neutralized by appropriate rites. Some are even dangerous in their principle, such as the "gods of epidemics" or the "gods of insects", predators of rice.
All can hit you with a Tatari. We wanted to give this notion, no doubt as archaic as the very concept of kami, a moral value by making it a punishment, a curse (bilingual dictionaries generally give these translations), inflicted by the god on the author of a fault (tsumi). This is a modern conception inspired by Buddhism, which translated by tsumi the idea of "evil action", which obscures the understanding of man and hinders enlightenment, therefore salvation. The older synonym for tsumi is actually kegare ("defilement"). And the old definitions that are given of it have a more physical than moral character: this is how contact with death, blood, excrement provokes ritual defilement; but life in society will lead to a broadening of this notion of tsumi, and certain social offenses will be qualified as such (destruction of a dyke of rice fields).
In principle, however, the tsumi, like the tatari which is its almost automatic consequence, seems to have to be defined in a way that is both vaguer and more general. Numerous examples, even recent ones, indeed show that one can be struck by a Tatar as long as one has encroached, even unconsciously, on the domain of a kami; the tsumi is in short the transgression of certain limits, not always formally prohibited or specified, but charged with a formidable magical potential due to the mere presence of the kami.
One could also cite many examples of popular tales relating to kami living near bridges and pursuing those who did not pay homage to them. The imprudent may then suffer the wrath of the offended kami. A proverb still used underlines this relationship between kami and human - in the sense, it is true, of: "You must not meddle in what does not concern you" - preserves the trace of this belief: "Sawaranu kami ni tatari nashi” (“There is no tatari because a kami is not touched”).
Purification
Purification rituals are of singular importance in Shinto belief. To escape the consequences of an imprudently incurred tatari, it is necessary to “purify” those around you (harau) or yourself (kiyomu). These two terms are used to define the usual actions of cleaning "sweeping, cleaning, washing", and other more symbolic with ritual ablutions.
In some cases, and especially when the defilement is due to contact with death, certain abstinences (imi) should be observed during more or less prolonged retreats. Purifications and abstinences are also recommended as a preventive measure when an inevitable contact with a kami is foreseen; the preparation of a party often imposes rites of this kind on the participants. These rites somehow immunize against the evil power of the kami. Others are intended, on the other hand, to confer on those who use them a binding power over the kami. This is perhaps the explanation of the term which designates, even today, the priest of Shinto (kan-nushi), the "master", the "possessor of a kami", in other words : the one who knows the rites which give hold on the supernatural forces.
Great Torii (Otorii) of Fushimi Inari Shrine. |
Main shrine (Kotai Jingu) of Ise Grand Shrine. |
See also
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Futami Okitama Shrine
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Ise Grand Shrine
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Fushimi Inari Shrine
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Shingon Buddhism
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Zen Buddhism
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Shugendo Religion
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