Studies on Shinto and Japanese Religion

This is a collection of three major works by Stuart D.B. Picken on the subject of Shinto and Japanese Religion:

1. Essentials of Shinto: An Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings
2. Sourcebook in Shinto: Selected Documents
3. Historical Dictionary of Shinto

DESCRIPTIONS:

1. Essentials of Shinto: Shinto is finally receiving the attention it deserves as a fundamental component of Japanese culture. Nevertheless, it remains a remarkably complex and elusive phenomenon to which Western categories of religion do not readily apply. A knowledge of Shinto can only proceed from a basic understanding of Japanese shrines and civilization, for it is closely intermingled with the Japanese way of life and continues to be a vital natural religion. This book is a convenient guide to Shinto thought.

As a reference work, the volume does not offer a detailed critical study of all aspects of Shinto. Instead, it overviews the essential teachings of Shinto and provides the necessary cultural and historical context for understanding Shinto as a dynamic force in Japanese civilization. The book begins with an historical overview of Shinto, followed by a discussion of Japanese myths. The volume then discusses the role of shrines, which are central to Shinto rituals. Other portions of the book discuss the various Shinto sects and the evolution of Shinto from the Heian period to the present. Because Japanese terms are central to Shinto, the work includes a glossary.

2. Sourcebook in Shinto: Shinto is a remarkably complex and elusive phenomenon to which Western categories of religion do not readily apply. A knowledge of Shinto can only proceed from a basic understanding of Japanese shrines and civilization, for it is closely intermingled with the Japanese way of life and continues to be a vital natural religion. This companion to Picken's first volume, Essentials of Shinto: An Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings, provides a selection of important and pivotal documents in the history of the Shinto tradition.

This volume contains a collection of texts and materials related to the Shinto tradition from the classical age of Japan to modern times. Selections from the Japanese classics are followed by liturgical texts and relevant historical documents from the Nara and Heian periods. Next, documents relating to the period of State Shinto are followed by laws regulating Imperial Household Shinto both pre- and post- World War II. This is followed by a brief selection of writings related to Shinto and the New Religions. The remainder of the book is occupied by selections of texts firstly on Shinto Thought from the 13th century to the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The four closing chapters document early and recent western views of Shinto, and a selection of Japanese writings covering the same period. Finally, the appendixes include the official list of Emperors and the nation's oldest shrines.

3. Historical Dictionary of Shinto: One of Japan's major religions, Shinto has no doctrines and there are no sacred texts from which religious authority can be derived. It does not have an identifiable historical founder, and it has survived the vicissitudes of history through rituals and symbols rather than through continuity of doctrine. Shinto is primarily a religion of nature, centered on the cultivation of rice, the basis of a culture with which the western world is not familiar in terms of either its annual cycle or the kind of lifestyle it generates. The roots of the Shinto tradition probably precede this and reflect an awareness of the natural order. The oldest shrines came to be located in places that inspired awe and wonder in their observers, such as the great Fall of Nachi in Kumano, or in mountains that conveyed a sense of power. The expanded second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Shinto relates the history of Shinto through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 800 cross-referenced dictionary entries on Shinto concepts, significant figures, places, activities, and periods. Scholars and students will find the overviews and sources for further research provided by this book to be enormously helpful.