Getting Started With Shinto Resources

[jprussell]

Reason for edit: While adjusting the tags, I hit "enter", which posted before I had written most of the body of the post!
Second Edit: tagged sources for quotes when they have a dreamwidth account.

A few weeks ago, I asked about resources for getting started learning about Shinto on a Magic Monday post. I thought it might be helpful to gather the responses together into an easier-to-find post similar to what causticus did with the information on Roman Polytheism. I asked a similar question about Hinduism on the same MM, and I'll likely put together a post gathering that soon.

It strikes me that it might be worthwhile to have a "getting started" page for as many varieties of polytheism as we can gather credible resources for. If we gather enough, we might even have a pinned or otherwise prominently linked entry that gathers links to all of these round ups of starter resources.

For now, though, here's what the Magic Monday community was able to share on resources for learning more about Shinto, lightly edited by me to make this post more easily read and used as a reference. You can find the original comment thread here.

Resources for Learning More About Shinto

Core Religious Texts

The two core Shinto texts are fairly similar in terms of "what they are" (a purportedly historical chronicle from the earliest of times to when they were written that includes mythic material), and in terms of what myths and stories are conveyed, there is overlap, but they are not identical and both have played a role in shaping current practice.

• The Nihongi: A chronicle of early Japanese myth and ancient history.


• The Kojiki: A chronicle of early Japanese myth and ancient history.

tunesmyth shares some thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of various translations of the two core Shinto texts:

As far as Shinto source texts go, the two primary texts are the Kojiki and the Nihongi (aka the Nihon Shoki), which were recorded at very nearly the same time-- the general consensus is that the Kojiki came first, though there are some who disagree. Right now, due to historical reasons that were in part responsible for the split between Buddhism and Shinto in the 19th century, the Kojiki has come to predominate as far as fame with the the general public goes. Through most of Japan's history, though, it seems that the Nihongi was more considered the first place to go for the mythology, often offering multiple versions of the same mythological stories for comparison within the text itself (but missing some crucial stories that appear in the Kojiki, including one of my favorites, The Hare of Inaba).
If one is just dipping their toes into Shinto, I strongly recommend the Heldt translation of the Kojiki, which keeps its language simple but pleasant, and is of a length that isn't too daunting. One quibble though, it has a major weakness in that all the kami and place names are translated as their literal meanings in English, rather than by the names that anybody who actually prays to these great spirits actually uses to address them with (though there is a glossary in the back). If you need to go for a free version of the Kojiki, the original Basil Hall Chamberlain version is readily available, though it suffers for many of the same problems as JMG has lamented with Waite's translation of Levi.
The only currently extant English translation of the Nihongi, by W.G. Aston, is also a Victorian translation, but I find it quite a bit more readable than Chamberlain's Kojiki.

Histories, Commentaries, and Explanations

• Kami no Michi by Guji Yukitaka Yamamoto: The reflections of the former high priest of the only Shinto Grand Shrine in North America, he explains how his experiences have shaped his view of Shinto and its place in the world today. The full text is available on the Tsubaki Grand Shrine's website here.


• Dancing With Spirits: the Festivals and Folklore of Japan by Denny Sargent: Recommended by Justin Patrick Moore, he had this to say: "Denny Sargent, aka Aion 131 is a founding member of Horus-Maat Lodge with a long background in Western magic, and he his wife lived in Japan for awhile if I recall correctly. This book, I believe, came out of that time spent there."
  And here's the blurb from the back of the book:
  

  
  Nowhere are religious traditions more uniquely tied to the historical, cultural and spiritual identity of a people then in Japan. Almost all Japanese follow one intertwined religious mixture of Shinto, Matsuri and Buddhism. This forms the basis of much of their culture. To know this is to know Japan. Dancing with Spirits is an intellectual but accessible 'travel guide' through the history and fun reality of the most important Shinto, Matsuri and Buddhist festivals of Japan. It features entertaining first-hand accounts of wild revels like Tanabata and Setsubun, but it also offers something more; the history of the these festivals and explanations of the symbolism and meaning behind them, things that even many of the Japanese revelers themselves often don't know. Other aspects of Buddhism, Matsuri and Shinto are covered within these pages as well, from a succinct history of the origins of these great traditions in Japan to chapters about specific deities and Amulets. Come and leap into the amazing world of Shinto, Matsuri and Buddhism and the 'floating world' of Japanese rituals and folklore as it is being celebrated today! Dozo!
  



• The Essence of Shinto by Motoshisa Yamakage: This was recommended by jruss, with this comment by tunesmyth: "It is an excellent introduction to Shinto as a form of religious practice for the lay reader. It eloquently describes a coherent worldview of interaction with the world via a Shinto lens and I found it extremely inspirational when I was first exploring Shinto."
  Politics Warning: the author of this book has been accused of anti-semitism, and tunesmyth, despite the positive quote above about the book itself, had this to say about the author: "All that said, the antisemitic stuff is for real and pretty much poisons one's ability to read it in a mood of "This stuff is so good!" like I had when I first read it-- let alone recommend it to others. Nothing antisemitic shows up in "The Essence Of Shinto" itself; rather it's that he wrote a whole series of apparently strongly antisemitic screeds. To be fair I haven't gone so far as to read any; but with titles such as "Final World War: How to Counter Jewish Money" and "The Jewish Strategy for World Dominance" (volumes 1, 2, and 3) I don't really have any desire to either." Make your own decision about whether the author's views about other matters can be separated from what he wrote about Shinto.


• Myth and Diety in Japan by Kamata Toji: recommended by jruss, but apparently pretty expensive.


• Japaneseness by Yoji Yamakuse: also recommended by jruss, who says "it's more about the core concepts of being Japanese by going over values anyone can adopt but as Shinto is rooted in Japanese culture this can help explain things."


• The Catalpa Bow by Carmen Blacker: recommended by tunesmyth, he says of this and the next entry: "They're both erudite, readable, and manage to convey a sense of the spiritual power that resides in Shinto."


• The Fox and the Jewel by Karen Smyers: recommended by tunesmyth, he says of this and the entry above: "They're both erudite, readable, and manage to convey a sense of the spiritual power that resides in Shinto."

Books Focused on Practice

• Shinto Norito by Anne Llewellyn Evans: According to JMG, it "gives you the actual text of traditional Shinto prayers, and a robust appendix full of practical instructions."

Websites

• The Tsubaki Grand Shrine of North America


• Green Shinto: Recommended by tunesmyth, this blog is now mostly inactive, but has an extensive archive, including a few series that do an in-depth comparison of other polytheistic religions and Shinto, as well as a series on ancestor worship in Shinto.


• Living With Kami Reading List: An extensive reading list compiled by a practicing Shinto Priestess


• Shinto, Paganism, and Witchcraft Syncretism: a private Facebook group described by jruss like this: "lots of good discussion but the other English speaking Shinto groups have nothing to do with it as they see Shinto as a vehicle for their politics."


• Buddhism & Shintoism in Japan: Also recommended by jruss and tunesmyth, this website has an especial focus on sculpture and art in Japan, and is slightly more focused on Buddhism, but given how interwoven they are in Japan, it contains a lot of useful information.

Comments

[sdi]

You may wish to invite tunesmyth to the community: he is a Shinto priest, unless my memory is mistaken!

[jprussell]

Now that I've updated the post with "the actual content", you'll see that I've quoted his contributions to the discussion extensively. I wasn't sure what we as a community wanted to do about the etiquette around inviting folks, but I'd be happy to extend an invitation, or at least modify the entry to actually tag him and the other contributors with dreamdwidth accounts so they know they're being mentioned (again, being pretty new to dreamwidth, I'm not sure how much tagging folks is considered a polite acknowledgement of their contributions versus an annoying ping they might not want to bother with).

[sdi]

Oops! By "you," I mean causticus—I believe only administrators can invite. (Sorry, I misread who was posting—it's been a challenging work week! :) )

Regarding etiquette, I would personally want to know if somebody was quoting me extensively somewhere, so it seems polite to me to do similarly to others!

[causticus]

Thanks for pointing this out. I went ahead and sent him an invite.

As an aside, I'm open to anyone else here who wants to volunteer as an admin.

[jprussell]

I can help out there, if you'd like.

[causticus]

Done!

[tamanous2020]

Thanks for the reading list JP!

[lp9]

Thanks for sharing; I think this series of posts will be a very helpful resource. Any interest in doing something similar with Taoism? I've done a little bit of reading on the topic, and am meditating through the Tao Te Ching, but it all seems a bit amorphous to me, especially with regard to contemporary practice.

[lp9]

OR, I can ask on MM and gather resources too. I'm not trying to assign you work. ;)

[jprussell]

Hah, thanks! That's closer to what I was hoping for - that folks who are interested in different traditions could share what they've found (whether from MM or elsewhere). I'd certainly be interested to see a Taoism post, though it's currently a bit lower on my personal "to explore" list than some others (too much good stuff, too little time!)

[lp9]

Cool, I'll ask next MM and also see what I can dig up on my own. I hear you on the too much good stuff, too little time!

[sdi]

I've done some digging into Taoism, myself!

For primary texts, in addition to the Tao Te Ching (I liked Mitchell's translation for getting started, and Henricks' various translations for deeper study), you'll want a copy of the Zhuangzi/Chuang Tsu (I liked Burton Watson's translation). I also found value in the Huainanzi, but that's getting into the weeds a bit. The I Ching is, I'm told, essential—but, embarrassingly, I haven't studied it yet.

To help contextualize those, Alan Watts' Tao: The Watercourse Way and Okakura's The Book of Tea are the best Western introductions to Taoist philosophy and aesthetics I've seen (though both are strongly influenced by Zen). If you're interested in contemporary practice, you should read Schipper and Duval's The Taoist Body.

I strongly recommend avoiding popular works like Hoff's The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet.

[jprussell]

I can second the recommendation for Watson's Zhuangzi - I was lucky enough to be able to read it while floating down the Yangtze on a river cruise. I haven't really looked into other translations, but there were a few passages that really "clicked" in a way that Laozi doesn't always.

I've also barely touched my Bollingen copy of the I Ching, which I picked up due to its association with Jung. I suspect it would greatly benefit from being paired with daily divination using the system, which, again, is greatly intriguing, but which is very much on the "so much cool stuff, so little time!" list.

[causticus]

Good idea. There's bound to be someone in the MM community who is knowledgeable about Taoism who might want to contribute a resource guide here. Same with Hinduism.

[causticus]

Very thorough and extensive! Thanks for this!