THE LAND OF THE GODS. 425 



Chinese and Western peoples which renders necessary the appearance 

 of sages and reformers. In this system of nature-worship the most 

 prominent objects of worship, for example, heaven and earth, sun, 

 moon (not stars), fire, &;c., are intimately associated with the history 

 of the creation of the primeval ancestors with which they are to some 

 degree identified. We shall see examples of this later on. 



The most remarkable feature of Siiintoism, or the Kami doctrine 

 of Japan, is the divine honours paid to Kami or the spirits of famous 

 princes, heroes, and scholars, and legions of subordinate gods. As 

 just remarked, the lack of the essential marks of a religion, a definite 

 creed and a code of morals, hardly entitles Shintoism. to be termed a 

 *■ religion." Indeed, Kami worship can be teniied a religion only by 

 virtue of its expression in temples, prayers, and sacrifices. But it does 

 possess an appreciable feature in its elaborate ritual. Kami is a 

 worship in the form of sacrifice and a kind of liturgy in the shape of 

 ai) address and a prayer directed to the spirit and called " Norito." 

 The ethics of this particular "religion" (if I may use the term) are 

 derived from the philosophy of Confucius and other Chinese sages. 

 The introduction of pilgrimage is an innovation following the practices 

 of followers of Buddha. 



Shinto (First Period). 

 Three periods niay be observed in the existence of Shinto. The 

 first extends to about the middle of the sixth century. During this 

 time religion was in its most primitive state; indeed, the Japanese 

 had no notion of religion as a separate institution. Homage was 

 paid to the gods and to the departed ancestors of the Imperial family; 

 prayers were offered to the gods of the winds, to the god of fire, to 

 the god of pestilence, to the goddess of food, &c. Amongst the 

 ■ceremonies connected with the religion of the day were purifications 

 fo]- wrong-doing and for bodily defilement, as, for example, for the 

 coming in contact with a dead body. Birth and death were considered 

 specially polluting, so much so, indeed, that anciently there were 

 special huts (ubuya) built for the mother about to give birth to a 

 child ; or " moya" for the man wlio was dying or sure to die of 

 disease or wounds, e.g. — Miyajima. Water was the element of 

 purification, e.g. — ^^washing hands at temples, and rinsing the mouth 

 with salt and water. 



But, still, popular ideas concei'ning the unseen were of the 

 vaguest ; no code of morals yet was formulated. The idea of Heaven 

 and hell did not yet exist, although certainly some gods were con- 

 sidered good, some bad. There was no feeling of the supernatural as 

 we think of it. At this stage the line between men and gods was 

 not clearly drawn. A rude priesthood was at this time in existence, 

 and to each priest was entrusted the sei-vice of some particular god, 

 "but preaching to the people was not yet. Shintoism at this period was 

 ■a set of ceremonies, political rather than religious. 



Ryobu Shinto (Second Period). 

 The second period, marked by the arrest of the growth of 

 Shintoism in the direction of a religion, was brought about by the 

 introduction of Buddhism about the middle of the sixth centuiy of 



