The Washington Times reports that after years of shrinking popularity post-WWII, the Shinto religion in Japan is making a comeback, in part thanks to the Internet.

“With an assist from the Internet, the ancient religion of Japan, Shinto, is experiencing a comeback among the Japanese. “We see more people coming here,” said a priest at the Meiji Shrine in the middle of Tokyo. “We see more weddings, more people bringing their babies for blessings, more requests for prayers to be rid of a curse or to prosper in business, more people taking part in festivals such as shichi-go-san,” in which children of ages 7, 5 or 3 are feted.”

Shinto is the native religion of Japan, and deals mainly with the worship of Kami spirits. In addition to the spirits of nature, ancestors and important personages (like the Imperial family) are also honored. Some worry that this upturn in Shinto observances is tied to a renewed interest in Japanese militarism, but it looks like the majority are trying to keep their Shinto practice apolitical.

“Another, perhaps less noble, reason for the Meiji Shrine’s appeal is its freedom from political contention like that surrounding the Yasukuni Shrine, where the spirits of Japan’s war dead, including several convicted war criminals, are enshrined. Japanese leftists, as well as legions of Koreans and Chinese, have criticized Japanese politicians for visiting Yasukuni, saying it glorifies past Japanese conquests in Asia … In contrast, Japanese officials regularly take foreign leaders to the Meiji Shrine without raising eyebrows; President Bush visited the shrine when he was in Tokyo in 2002.”

This revival hasn’t happened overnight, and there have been several cultural forces urging a renewed interest in Japan’s ancestral faith. This includes the efforts by acclaimed Japanese artist and animator Hayao Miyazaki who has incorporated Shinto perspectives and myths into several of his widely popular films.

“Being true to the Shinto insight that all phenomena often become polluted and are in need of cleansing and purification in order to manifest their vitality, Miyazaki has this strange array of creatures come to the bathhouse to be restored to their original freshness. This is made especially vivid when a “stink spirit” [in the film "Spirited Away"] actually the kami (or nushi) of a badly polluted and smelly river, is cleansed of all sorts of trash including an old bicycle. Once refreshed, the river’s mask-like visage says to Sen “It feels good” (English version: “Well done;” cf. below). Sen sees the true nature of this river kami through the purifying waters — at that moment her kokoro is clean and bright and she witnesses the forceful dragon-like river kami sail away white and pure.”

Also benefiting a Shinto revival is the fact that like all polytheistic faiths, Shinto has no problem incorporating outside religious traditions. As a result many followers of Shinto also practice Buddhism.

“Moreover, Shinto and Buddhism coexisted after Buddhism was imported from China. Japanese, unlike Westerners who belong to only one denomination, see no conflict in following the tenets of both faiths.”

With increased public support and practice of Shinto, it should be interesting to see how this affects Japanese culture (and Japan’s cultural exports). It seems that polytheism is once more on the rise in the land of the rising sun.

Tags: Japan, Kami, Polytheism, Shinto