Religion and Society in the Shinto Perspective
Keywords:
Religion, Society, ShintoAbstract
Throughout the ages men have looked to the gods for protection from the elements like this seventh century sailor in Japan. Human needs—material and spiritual comfort—are universal. What differs is how man perceives the divine. These different perceptions of the divine—as jealous godhead, universal force or benevolent and angry spirits—has deeply moulded the thoughts and actions of the believers. As religions spread from country to country they were both coloured by the civilizations they encountered and deeply influenced the Weltanschauung of their converts.
References
Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkôkai ed., The Manyôshó (New York: Columbia University Press, 1969), p. 287.
Jean Herbert, Shintô at the Fountain-Head of Japan (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1967), pp. 53-4.
Iwanami Shoten, ed., Nihon shoki (Vol. 67 in Nihon koten bungaku taikei), Tokyo, 1968. I, 78-80, For part translation see R. Tsunoda et al. comp., Sources of Japanese Tradition (Columbia University Press, 1968), I, 25-6.
Mot6ri Norinaga Zenshfi, Tokyo, I, 150-2. See also Carmen Blacker, The Catalpa Bow (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1975), p. 34.
