shintoists

[shininobi]

If so, does anyone know what shintoist veiws on metaphysics are?

[shininobi]

thanks

[Gandalf]

There are also the traditional Shinto gods, who are basically the ancient gods of Japan. Can anyone tell me their names and functions?

I know they are not too unlike the Norse or Greco-Roman pantheon,
eg they have a fire/smith god who is not too unlike the Greek Hephaeston or Roman Vulcan. He is invoked during the ritual forging of the Samurai sword.

I am intersted as the Japanese pantheon is perhaps one of the few remaining traditional pantheons still reveared today. To say the Shinto faith has been 'replaced' by Buddhism is completely wrong. In fact they compliment each other, and you find different balances of the intertwined faiths depending on where you go in the country. In fact, Pure Shinto is (or was) the official religion of the Imperial family I believe, as it should be as the Emperor's job should be to uphold and respect the traditional gods of Japan.

Doug

[fuji257]

Anyone who tells you of a Shinto Pantheon is full of crap, most likely.

Shinto was very much a tribal/family religion and deity varied from one tribe to the next.   In later (much later) years, a general pantheon may have been established, but it is generally not recognized by scholars as tru Shinto.  Very little about original Shinto is lost to time, and like many ancient religions, modern authors and wanna-be's offer vast amounts of speculation in the form of websites and books that present wishful fancies as fact.  Be mindful of what books you spend money on.

While modern Shinto and Japanese Buddhism have combined many rituals, neither religion truly reflects the other.  It's more a traditional thing than religious.

Shinto "gods" were originally very much like ORIGINAL Celtic or Norse dieties or elves, and were again - very local.