The Emperor and the Shinto Religion

[Furienna]

That's what I thought too.

[caster51]

YouTube - Japanese are Jews ?!

YouTube - Japanese are Jews ?

Israelites Came To Ancient Japan
Israelites Came To Ancient Japan

[caster51]

Originally Posted by caster51

Israelites Came To Ancient Japan
Israelites Came To Ancient Japan

http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~magi9/isracam3.htm
http://www5.ocn.ne.jp/~magi9/isracam4.htm

I feel something a connection...

fugu plan

YouTube - The Fugu Plan

manchukuo at that time 1938

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16IVk...e=channel_page

The Newborn Empire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x9znZlHXrI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E3vXXyGMls

[Dina]

It's also interesting to note the Quaker influence post-war.

The Emperor's Tutor

[mariaantoniapia]

Originally Posted by Furienna

The Japanese follow Confucius too? I thought only the Chinese (and maybe the Koreans) were Confucians.

I think you are correct.

[mariaantoniapia]

According to Asahi Shinbun (April 27 2012), Akihito and Michiko want to be cremated.

[Jacknch]

Originally Posted by mariaantoniapia

According to Asahi Shinbun (April 27 2012), Akihito and Michiko want to be cremated.

There is an on-line article in the Daily Telegraph which says that the Emperor and Empress have informed the IHA that they would like to be cremated as part of simple services to mark their deaths "to minimise the impact on the lives of the citizens".
The article continues that the head of the IHA said the request was unusual but that TIM have "repeatedly expressed their opinions on the subject".

I hope the following link will work (the headline is rather more suited to a tabloid than a broadsheet newspaper).

Japan Emperor and the Empress want cut-price funerals - Telegraph

[DukeOfAster]

As a child I loved the stuff we did every year like clockwork. I always expected to do those same things as a adult that I did as a child. At 16 I got a job and I did this new thing no one else did just me. Now at 40 I understand those are traditions and eventhough I look back fondly on those days at 16 I started in my on way a new tradition. It did not tear down the walls at my family home home it added a new wall to my home. So I say if the Imperial Majesties want to start some new like being cremated I am sure the Palace wall will be fine. With them doing it the next time it happens it will not cause a shock like it does today.

[mariaantoniapia]

Originally Posted by DukeOfAster

As a child I loved the stuff we did every year like clockwork. I always expected to do those same things as a adult that I did as a child. At 16 I got a job and I did this new thing no one else did just me. Now at 40 I understand those are traditions and eventhough I look back fondly on those days at 16 I started in my on way a new tradition. It did not tear down the walls at my family home home it added a new wall to my home. So I say if the Imperial Majesties want to start some new like being cremated I am sure the Palace wall will be fine. With them doing it the next time it happens it will not cause a shock like it does today.

talking about imperial cremation, it is not new to the Imperial House. Since the Sovereign Empress Jitou, durring the Middle Ages, most emperors were cremated because they were basically Buddhists as well as Shintoists. So, their funerals were conducted according to the Buddhist rite until the death of the Emperor Koumei who was the father of the Emperor Meiji. It became law only in the Meiji Era that the strict observation of Shintoism was forced upon the Imperial House and the Emperor's funeral must be conducted in the rite of the Shintoism.

So, Akihito is trying to reintroducing the older tradition of the cremation of the diceased emperor. I am also hoping that the Imperial Family will be able to practice their old Buddhist tradition because many of the previous emperors are buried in Buddhist temples in Kyoto.

[ChiaraC]

It is very interesting what you say. In this thread (starting with post 707) we have already discussed the emperor´s wish to be cremated, and nobody thought that it had a religious background, but rather practical reasons. The issue was also presented in this way by the press articles that were published (which means nothing, of course).

A blogger whose comments I always find very enlightening commented:

Yesterday the Imperial Household Agency made an announcement that will set the Machimura faction's District 24 candidate and every other rightists' head spinning: the ever-surprising and refreshing Heisei Emperor and the Empress [that means: Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko] have asked to be cremated. [...]

The announcement will likely further enhance the reputations of the present emperor and the imperial family. Both are riding high in public opinion in their selfless devotion to the comforting of the people of the Tohoku in the aftermath of 3/11. The imperial couple's request to have the same sort of funeral the law requires of everyone else (again, with the exception of Muslims) and be together forever will likely result in a renewed outburst of public praise and admiration for the trendsetting couple.

The announcement will also drive a further wedge in between the members of the Imperial House and the rightists who claim to be the imperial family's supporters and protectors. The rightists are already up in arms over the proposal to have imperial princesses retain their nobility after marriage. This latest announcement will give the rightists fits.

Of course, the Heisei emperor has always had a penchant for thumbing his nose at the hyper-patriots and their historical blindness. His 2001 acknowledgement of his debts to his Korean ancestors, even in the minimalist way he did it, drove the preposterous celebrators of the pure imperial line nuts. His classic dry put-down of the Tokyo Metropolitan District official who boasted that all the employees of the TMD now sang the national anthem -- "Yes, and wouldn't it have been nice if they had not been coerced to do so?" -- left that official and the right speechless.

The current emperor and empress are opening up space for the succession of the crown prince, a subject that has gained increased urgency with the emperor's recent bypass surgery. If there is a rift between the current imperial couple and the rightists, there will be a chasm between the two when Naruhito and Masako mount the throne.

The Real Emperor Makes Real News

So you think that the request of the imperial couple demonstrates their desire to return to the former peaceful coexistence of Shintoism and Buddhism that had been marred by the Meiji Restoration?

[ChiaraC]

Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture, one of Japan's most famous Shinto shrines, may change its name to Ise Temple if proponents of the change have their way.
The idea to change the English-language name of Ise Jingu (Ise Grand Shrine) has been floated as a way to help foreigners better understand its centuries-old institution, spokesman Tatsumi Yoshikawa told an audience of some 130 people at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) on May 24.
Yoshikawa related in-house debate on the potential name change during a lecture on the history of ancient Japan and the role Ise Shrine has played in Japanese society over the years. His remarks surprised some members of the audience as well as officials from the city of Ise and the city's tourism and industry groups. [...]

Yoshikawa gave the lecture as part of a series of events to promote tourism in the city of Ise, ahead of a traditional ceremony next year. Ise Shrine is gearing up for the Jingu Shikinen Sengu, a ceremony to transfer sacred treasures and other symbolic objects to new buildings, in 2013. The ceremony has been held every 20 years for 1,300 years.

The Mainichi

[mariaantoniapia]

Originally Posted by ChiaraC

It is very interesting what you say. In this thread (starting with post 707) we have already discussed the emperor´s wish to be cremated, and nobody thought that it had a religious background, but rather practical reasons. The issue was also presented in this way by the press articles that were published (which means nothing, of course).

A blogger whose comments I always find very enlightening commented:
The Real Emperor Makes Real News

So you think that the request of the imperial couple demonstrates their desire to return to the former peaceful coexistence of Shintoism and Buddhism that had been marred by the Meiji Restoration?

I think that the emperor wants a simple funeral because it costs us but I think it will be good if they can pracrice Buddhism if they wish because there is an old temple called Sennyuji or Mitera in Kyoto where many emperors are buried. If they can openly practice their Buddhist ceremonies within the imperial rituals, then, they can organise houe for their ancestors more easily. At the moment, they do not seem to visit the Mitera so easily like they could before the Meiji era started.

With the Shintoism only policy started in the Meiji Era, Japanese imperial family became more masculine and militant like samurais. Before then, they were more femimin and were the patrons of arts and ancient rituals. They also gave their patronage to certain Buddhist temples.

[DukeOfAster]

Originally Posted by mariaantoniapia

talking about imperial cremation, it is not new to the Imperial House. Since the Sovereign Empress Jitou, durring the Middle Ages, most emperors were cremated because they were basically Buddhists as well as Shintoists. So, their funerals were conducted according to the Buddhist rite until the death of the Emperor Koumei who was the father of the Emperor Meiji. It became law only in the Meiji Era that the strict observation of Shintoism was forced upon the Imperial House and the Emperor's funeral must be conducted in the rite of the Shintoism.

So, Akihito is trying to reintroducing the older tradition of the cremation of the diceased emperor. I am also hoping that the Imperial Family will be able to practice their old Buddhist tradition because many of the previous emperors are buried in Buddhist temples in Kyoto.

Interesting ,I did not know that thank you for clarifiying that. This site and the wonderful people who post here have taught me so much.

[mariaantoniapia]

Originally Posted by ChiaraC

The Mainichi

A temple sounds like a Buddhist building and a shrine is more suited to a Shinto edifice of worship to me. It will be interesting for people from abroad to visit the Sennyuuji (a Buddhist temple) in Kyoto which has kept previous emperors' o-ihais (spirit tablets). There are many emperors buried there, too.

[ChiaraC]

Here is a very interesting article about Shinto and the "double meaning" its rituals and traditions carry in present-day Japan:

Re-engineering Shinto
by David Mcneill, Nov 23, 2013

Japan’s ancient, indigenous religion, premodern Shinto, was considered one of the world’s least dogmatic, laidback belief systems. Many of its earthy, animist rituals were tied to a love of nature and tradition, anchored around festivals and ceremonies honoring kami (gods) found in all aspects of life.

After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Shinto was retooled for the modern, bureaucratic state. The first reformists purged Buddhism, made Shinto a state religion and elevated the Emperor to head of state, making him the divine link in an unbroken chain going all the way back to the sun goddess. As such, the religion became inextricably bound up with the rise of Japanese nationalism and its central tenets. The Emperor had a divine right to rule Japan, which was superior to other nations. Millions of Japanese children were taught these supremacist beliefs, fueling the clash with foreign imperialisms. [...]

The two faces of Shinto today are present in the organization’s headquarters. The affable spokesman for the religion’s International Section, Katsuji Iwahashi, stresses Shinto’s essentially peaceful roots and its overwhelmingly benign role in the lives of millions of Japanese as well as its modern, internationalist outlook. [...]

Where does the Emperor stand on female succession? We don’t know, but Shinto conservatives oppose it because allowing an Empress would dilute the “purity of the imperial line,” says Yuzawa. “What if a woman succeeds and marries a foreigner? Non-Japanese blood will be mixed.”

[Mariel]

I speak as a person with very little knowledge of these matters, although I am learning a lot from reading this thread. I expect that the Judeo-Christian tradition is at least a glimmer in the minds of the present royal family, partly because of the education of the empress at a Catholic school--I read that Michiko--or was it Masako--went to the school run by the Ladies of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Even though upper class girls who were not Christian might have gone there and not become Christian, the teachings of the nuns cannot have occurred in a religious vacuum. The women who belong to this order of nuns are highly educated, with many of them having Ph.D's from Western institutions. This is not a small scale education.
What the imperial family actually believes may be a secret, and it's probably pretty syncretic or ecumenical. I hope they have the freedom to discuss these ideas in their households, without being spied on. Oh to be a little bird in a corner listening! We might be surprised at the brain power exhibited. This makes me laugh at my own surmise.

[Furienna]

Only 1 % or so of the Japanese population is Christian, while the majority would be Shintoists and/or Buddhists. But still, Christianity has been around in Japan for four hundred years, and it seems like the Japanese have even started celebrating Christmas! Most people in Japan see it as a non-religious holiday, of course, but I still find it interesting...

[Spheno]

Originally Posted by Mariel

What the imperial family actually believes may be a secret, and it's probably pretty syncretic or ecumenical. I hope they have the freedom to discuss these ideas in their households, without being spied on. Oh to be a little bird in a corner listening! We might be surprised at the brain power exhibited. This makes me laugh at my own surmise.

It's not secret. They are Shintoists and Shinto ceremonies are very important part of their duties. Some rituals are performed only by an Emperor. Sayako Kuroda (formerly Princess Nori) is a chief priestess of one of Shinto Shrines now.

[Mermaid1962]

So according to this quote--"Shinto was stripped of its public status in a bid to separate church and state along U.S. constitutional lines"--I gather that Shinto isn't the official religion of Japan. Does this mean that the
Emperor could convert to another religion and remain the Emperor?

Originally Posted by ChiaraC

Here is a very interesting article about Shinto and the "double meaning" its rituals and traditions carry in present-day Japan:

Re-engineering Shinto
by David Mcneill, Nov 23, 2013

[Furienna]

Not really, since the emperor has many duties, which are linked to the Shinto religion.