Can you practice Shinto If you are not Japanese?

Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Shinto is the traditional religious practice of Japan, but that does not mean that non-Japanese cannot practise it.

How do you become a member of Shinto?

To become a kannushi, a novice must study at a university approved by the Association of Shinto Shrines (神社本庁, Jinja Honchō), typically Tokyo’s Kokugakuin University or Ise’s Kogakkan University, or pass an exam that will certify his qualification.

Can foreigners become shrine maidens?

Izumi Shrine will offer to dress foreigners as a Shinto shrine maiden to discover the attraction of Japanese culture and Shinto shrines.

Can a miko marry?

A Miko (巫女) is a shrine maiden at a Shinto shrine. Miko also dance special ceremonial dances, known as miko-mai (巫女舞い), and offer fortune telling or omikuji (お神籤). They must be unmarried virgins; however, if they wish, they can marry and become priestesses themselves.

Who can practices Shintoism?

Shinto (“the way of the gods”) is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan itself. It remains Japan’s major religion alongside Buddhism.

Can anyone become a Shinto priest?

To qualify as a shinshoku, a novice must attend a school approved by the Jinja Honchō (Association of Shintō Shrines), usually the Kokugakuin University in Tokyo, or pass a qualifying examination. At one time the office of high priest was inherited.

Can miko marry?

Do miko have to be virgins?

Miko also dance special ceremonial dances, known as miko-mai (巫女舞い), and offer fortune telling or omikuji (お神籤). They must be unmarried virgins; however, if they wish, they can marry and become priestesses themselves. Miko are often younger relatives of Shinto priests, such as daughters or granddaughters.

Can a non-Japanese practice Shinto in Japan?

Oh for sure in Japan Shinto is largely a cultural practice. That’s what I’m kind of talking about. The idea that a non Japanese person, not raised with the customs, practices and society that comes with Shinto, as a great majority of Japanese people are, cannot or should not practice Shinto.

Can you convert to Shintoism?

The answer starts by saying that Shinto doesn’t really do conversions. There are no ceremonies for it, and because it’s made up of traditional ceremonies and customs, there is nothing like Christianity or Buddhism where you are attached to a particular variety of Shinto.

Is Shinto going to go away?

It’s not going to go away; indeed, it’s likely to be an evolution of traditional practices for a new age. Nothing in nature is static, and neither should culture be. In spreading to the West, Shinto will inevitably change its character.

What are the rituals of folk Shintoism in Japan?

Most of the Japanese attend Shinto shrines and beseech kami without belonging to an institutional Shinto religion. There are no formal rituals to become a practitioner of “folk Shinto”.