Japan grants full religious freedom to its citizens
Shinto Kami's = 8 million kami's or "gods" being naturally occurring "beings".
“The word kami (god) refers, in the most general sense, to all divine beings of heaven and earth that
appear in the classics. More particularly, the kami are the spirits that abide in and were worshipped at
the shrines." Norinaga Motoori (1730-1801 C.E.)
4 Types of Shinto:
- Shrine Shinto = oldest and first
- Sect Shinto = 13 groups
- Folk Shinto = numerous but fragmented
- State Shinto = now defunct, set up by emperor
Shinto belief = Unity between man and environment, environment never hostile towards man.
Shintō belief =when death occurs, the place is considered to be impure, so that emperors shifted their residences to new locations.
Prince Shōtoku (574-622 C.E.) was a regent and a politician of the Imperial Court in Japan. He is known
as the Prince of Holy Virtue.
Commissioned the Shitennō-ji Temple
17 Article Constitution
Founder of Buddhism in Japan