Honors Program Theses

Award/Availability

Open Access Honors Program Thesis

First Advisor

Reinier Hesselink

Keywords

Shinto--Japan; Meiji Jingū (Tokyo, Japan);

Abstract

This project is a personal exploration regarding the cultural impact of Shinto in Japan, specifically exploring the Meiji Shrine. Shinto is a commonly practiced “religion” or tradition that is a part of the identity of the Japanese people. Like many Americans, I have had exposure to pieces of Japan through popular media like anime and manga. I have also visited Japan on three occasions. These avenues have given me some understanding of Japan but often lead to misconceptions and gaps in understanding of the culture as a whole. Shinto is intertwined with Japanese tradition in a way that many Westerners, like myself, cannot comprehend. The purpose of this thesis is to discover what Shinto is and how it has impacted the culture of Japan. This is important because Shinto cannot be separated from the Japanese identity. I am specifically interested in this topic because I hope to live in Japan after graduation. This project will increase my knowledge of an integral part of Japan and help me to prepare me to live in that environment.

Shinto is a polytheistic tradition that originated in and is almost exclusively practiced in Japan. It is often believed that the ideas behind Shinto can be traced to the formation of Japan, though in reality, the records we have can only be tracked back to the 8th century (Pye, 2003). According to the Meiji Shrine website, while the direct translation means “the way of the gods,” it is often called “The Japanese way of life” (About Meiji Jingu). Shimazono Susumu would describe it as “the belief in gods that are tied to the land of Japan” (2008, p.100). Many would consider this to be a religion, though it is more an identity of the Japanese than a matter of faith. There is an intense pressure to fit in and be similar to those around an individual in Japanese culture. The common saying “the nail that stands up gets hammered down” emphasizes the group rather than the individual. For this reason, many Japanese nationals feel that they must participate in the ritualistic traditions of Shinto out of duty as a Japanese national rather than from a belief in the power of the gods.

The purpose of Shinto is to be in harmony with the world around you and connect to the natural world (About Meiji Jingu). This idea of harmony ties into the honor shame culture of Japan, desiring for all to have similar ideas and values and remove conflict, thus bringing honor to the nation. There is not a written doctrine or known founder of Shinto, though some ideas and values have been established. One example of this is that the Japanese people are thought to be blessed above all others (Merriman, 2009, p. 81). This thought aligns with a faction of Shinto called the Okuni, whose main desire regarding Shinto boils down to the Japanese emperor being the “Global Super-Emperor.” This idea places Japan as the center of the world and the “founding nation of the earth” (Breen, 1990, p. 584). While nationalism is a prominent idea within Japanese culture, the Okuni sect of Shinto emphasized this value more heavily than many other Japanese nationals.

Year of Submission

2025

Department

Department of History

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Date Original

2025

Object Description

1 PDF file (21 pages)

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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