Research Paper On The Shinto Religion

Research Paper On The Shinto Religion On every continent of the world, there are groups of people who over centuries have passed on traditions that have been in their families, communities and cultures that define their way of life. The most influential tradition of them all is the religious belief that the group take to heart. One such religion is known as Shinto. The religion is thought to have been introduced between 500 to 2000 BCE on the continent of Asia, and is closely tied to nature, and recognizes the existence of various Kami, nature deities. So we will be looking at the foundations of this religion, how it was formed, and how it is viewed by those who follow its teachings, what is the structure of the religion compared to other religions, and what types of visions the followers seek from the religion. Shinto, as a religion, does not have a defined founder, as the major religions of the world, such as Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. These religions have documented books written specifically for the followers, so that they can read and absorb the message, so that they can fell apart of the religious belief. So where did this religion come from. Historians have studied the origins of Shinto and have come to the conclusion that Shinto, evolved many years ago as an native religion from Japan, and is still being practiced by many Japanese communities today, and it is unique in its attachment to nature, and as such, constitutes the basis of Japanese culture. (John Breen, 2000) Until the relatively recent publication of a series of seminal articles by the historian Kuroda Toshio, the Shinto establishments construction of the Shinto past went unchallenged by specialists writing in Japanese, English and other Western languages. To this day, that construction remains largely unquestioned in non-specialist literature. There is some value, therefore, in a brief rehearsal of both the establishment position and Kurodas incisive critique of it. (John Breen, 2000). According to scholars, Shento is thought to be a religion that has been around for many years. The religion is different from others, because it is not a system of beliefs. In the book Mans Religion by John Noss, he states that It is basically a reverent loyalty to familiar ways of life and familiar placesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it is true to say that for the masses in Japan love of country, as in other lands, is a matter of the heart first, and of the doctrinal substance second. (Noss, 1969). The religion is said to not be weighted down with canons of sacred literature, and no explicit code of ethical requirements. The meanings of many of its elaborate rituals are unknown by many who practice them. Historically, individual clans apparently worshiped a particula r deity as their own ancestors. Which included invisible spirits and natural powers, but such worship was localized until the eighth century CE, when the term Shinto came into use to distinguish indigenous Japanese ways from Buddhism and other imported religions. Shinto is different in, its connection to the natural belief, and, is the bases of the Japanese culture. The religions label Shinto was formed from the words shin (divine being, which can be read as kami) and do (way). (Fisher, 2008) Clark B. Offner defines Shinto as the traditional religious practices which originated in Japan and developed mainly among the Japanese people along with the underlying life attitudes and ideology which support such practices. (Offner, 1976) one of the differences of this religion is that it has a free style of belief, and is not so drawn to predispositions as other religions are, they believe the spiritual, kamis are present and take various forms. In Shintakus book; The Way of the Kami, he believes that the belief is in the spiritual world and knowledge that the earth is inhabited by both humans and kami alike. (Shintaku, 2011) In the religion, sin is considered original, but a condition of personal moral development and a connection with the Kamis . According to historians, the oldest recorded usage of Shin-do is in the Nihon-shoki dating to the Emperor Yomei between 552-587, who is said to have believed in the law of Buddhism and revered the way of the kami. The word kami is often translated to god with a small g. This is usually taken as grounds for claiming that the religious culture of the Japanese is polytheistic. The above may be confusing to those who know the Japanese language, because the language has no distinction between singular and plural and although there may be many kami, they all share the same character. Kami thus refers to the essence of many phenomena that the Japanese believed were endowed with an aura of divinity. (Picken, 1994) Shintoism is filled with an inestimable quantity of kami inherited spirits of the people of Japan. Some worshipers have the belief that the deceased become kamis after passing. Shintaku notes in the way of the Kami they live on in the afterlife as special kami. Respect for family has high priority of the people of Japanese culture with roots deep within Shintoism. (Shintaku, 2011) One often told story, is about the sun goddess Amaterasu-o-mi-kami ( glorious goddess who shines in the heavens). The story taken from Shintakus book talks about how the goddess was lured out of hiding by festive sounds, music and dancing. She was hiding because of her disapproval of her siblings actions, and out of the store came symbols that are special to Shinto believers. 1. A mirror (to reflect your true nature and the symbol of Amaterasu -o-mi-Kami). 2. A sword (symbol of power and Susano-o-no-Mikoto) 3. A jewel to represent ones influence over others. (Shintaku, 2011) The place for those who worship the religion of Shinto occurs at any of the many shrines that cover Japan. Even though many people have constructed personal alters around their homes, the main place to worship is at a local shrine. Because Shinto has numerous deities, it is hard to worship all of them. Because of this, many are not worshipped consistently other than the sun goddess. Outside of Tokyo, there is a grand imperial shrine that is dedicated only to Amaterasu. This location is the most sacred in all of Japan for worshipers of Shinto. It is said that this place of worship pre dates Christ. Shinto followers make a pilgrimage to the sacred worship site and pray in the outer court of the facility, one rule when coming to this site to worship, is that non priests and public servants must pray in the outer area because the internal facility is available only to the priests and public servants for worship. The following Shinto prayer faithfully recited during their visit that shows the intertwined spirit and nature that the religion encompasses as presented in Stewarts book the Handbook of Todays Religions; I declare in the great presence of the From-Heaven-shinning-great-deity who sits in Ise. Because the Sovereign great goddess bestows on him the countries of the four quarters over which her glance extends, As far as the limit where Heaven stands up like a wall, As far as the limit where the blue clouds lie away fallen- The blue sea plain as far as the limit whither come the prows of the ships without drying poles or paddles, The ships which continuously crowd on the great sea plain, And the roads which men travel by land, as far as the limit whither come the horses hoofs, with the baggage-cords tied tightly, treading the uneven rocks and tree-roots and standing up continuously in a long path without a break- Making the narrow countries wide and the hilly countries plain, And as it were drawing together the distant countries by throwing many tens of ropes over them, He will pile up the first-fruits like a range of hills in the great presence of the Sovereign great goddess, and will pe acefully enjoy the remainder. (Stewart, 1983) As shown in the prayer, nature and spirit has a very close relationship to the mindset of those who are worshippers. And because the livelihood of the people comes from the natural essence of their surroundings and everything natural, their economy, is an extension of their belief, so it too has a place in the religion as well. As it is said, that the religion is concerned not only with the sacred but also with the secular, all activities necessary for the production of nourishment, clothing and shelter, and the development of culture and giving happiness to the world, has a direct connection with the kami. (Ono, 1962) In order to ask for blessings and enlightenment, worshippers engage in festivals, rites, ceremonies. Some celebrations such as the New Year, a childs birth, puberty, farming, marriages, and ceremonies for new construction are some of the main ones. At the local shrines, regular festivals are held to acknowledge special dates that relates to the worship site and its deities, along with a plethora of blessings ranging from a good harvest, fertility, health, and success of a business. Many shrines use the planetary calendar for traditional ceremonies. Some events on are, the new moon, the first half-moon of the year, the full moon, and the half-moon of the last three months of the year are said to be a sacred period that are known as Hare-no-hi. ke-no-hi are said to refer to the remaining days of a month. Stewarts breaks out the Festivals into three main parts. 1. Kami Mukae, Welcoming the kami. A special welcoming ceremony to invite deities to earth. 2. Shinko The main event, typical ly with the local community parading in the streets or shrines with palanquin, in which the kami are enshrined. 3. Kami Okuni, meaning sending the kami back to their heavenly abodes. Not ending with this ritual, is thought to invite disaster. (Stewart, 1983) Even though the religion of Shinto does not have a formal document to follow, it does have traditions, rituals, temples, and deity(s) as the more known religions. Peace harmony to all life form and nature are the takeaways from this information. The peaceful admiration of nature and all natural things is thought to bring a spiritual feeling of purpose to all, and to give thanks for being apart of what was created by the gods should be worshiped and protected.

Database analysis of ‘my schools swimming club Essay

Background to the company For my GCSE project I have based on my school’s swimming club. The problems that we are facing in my club are the numbers of people are increasing by each year. It is located Wolverhampton, and about 80 members are in it. Cost 10 pounds a months. We have our regular training twice a week, from 4pm to 5pm. Most of our club members are woman and their age range are from 15 to 40. Competitions are held during the Christmas. For every victory in the competitions, disco party will be held, which will be free for club members. Details of the current system At the moment all information is kept on paper, and many files have been used store those data. Most of it was written by hand and the spaces in one sheet are limited. Information like name, date of birth and the address, gender, cost for each month, etc. Whenever someone new joins, leaves and change in address, we will re- update the data of our computer system again. The data will be all stored in a CD and also keep it outside of the club’s compound in case there is a fire. Problems with the current system Most of the data were been stored by paper and any thing might happen to it. Problems that you will face : can’t read handwriting, hard to find persons record, lost, mislaid, damaged, stolen, messy to edit, time consuming to write new card, what does she do with old records?, only one index, letters have to be written individually. Analysis What data needs to be entered by the user? We held our current data in paper, which held date like name, age, sex etc. What processing is required? The data will be required to store in the hard drive of the computer. Searches, quires, mail merge and also and pieces of data in order. What are the output requirements? Monitor and printers will be required The data will be updated when a new member enters or there is a change in the old member’s address. They will hold about 100 or 200 records. The main people who will go on this data will mostly be the receptionist or the club manager. We are going to use the stand alone system due to the amount of members we have got in our club. The data should be access straight away when there is someone waiting. What are the advantages or disadvantages of improving the current system, or introducing new paper base system? The advantages will be the new system will make our life much more better and quicker access to data. This allows us to save the amount of spaces and time. And the disadvantages will be when you forgot to save some data, when there is a power cut then all the data will be gone and will need to be retyped. What are the advantages or disadvantages of introducing a computer based system? I have decided to introduce a computer based system because†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Specification Things that will be achieve: * The customer wouldn’t have to wait for long, about 5 seconds. * Making our life easier. * Update data quicker and easily. * Enable people to look up for information only if they have password. * More free space when you insert all your data onto the computer. If I can achieve all of the above my project will be a success. Flowchart First the application forms are printed out. The club’s members are asked to fill them up. The information is then transferred to the pc by typing in. After typing in the information, check if it is reasonable. If no, an error message will appear and you have to type in the information again into the pc. If yes, check it against the data with the form. If mistakes appear again then you have to type it up again. Type till there are no mistakes and save the data. Go to mail merge and print off letters to the members. Software and hardware In this section I’m going to recommend the hardware and software to my end user in a swimming club. Examples: Hard drive, Ram, Monitor, Processor, Printer, etc. Components Justification Processor-Mid Allows the computer to operate lots of files without a long delay or loading Hard drive- Small Data base and spreadsheet won’t take out much space, so I will not need lots of memory in my hard drive. Ram- 256mb Only a small amount is needed because most work will not take up a lot of spaces. Monitor- Mid flat screen So that is looks professional and easier to work from. CD- RW So that I can store more data and back ups for emergency, i.e. Fire, lost, wet. Components Reason for choosing them Intel Pentium M processor 740 (1.73GHz, 2Mb L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB) Data can be operates quicker. Hitachi 60GB- Hard drive So data can be stored without any worries for spaces. Ram- 512MB DDR SDRAM Bigger memory for storing data. Monitor- 17.0 Ultra Sharp Wide Screen XGA (1440* 900) TFT Sharp It will not strain your eyes easily.

Federalists Essay - 1011 Words

The early years of the Constitution of the United States were full of political strife. The two prominent political ideals were complete opposites. The Jeffersonian Republicans were focused on giving power to the people and maintaining a pastoral economy, while the Federalists supported the control of the government by the elite class, and maintaining â€Å"positive† democracy. Both parties feared the influence and effect the other party would have on the public. In Linda K. Kerbers article, â€Å"The Fears of the Federalists†, the major concerns Federalists held in the early 19th century are described. Ever since the war with and separation from England, the citizens of America were seen to be continually drive to â€Å"patriotic rebellion† as a way to†¦show more content†¦Despite the vast amount of land available for agriculture, industry was created regardless, in order to become more independent from Europe. Machinery was developed that would elimina te the need for actually laborers, but at the same time this machinery needed laborers to work it6. Thus the Proletariat formed. This class was negatively viewed by the Federalists as they believed that any one who was dependent upon others was not virtuous and thus not a proper citizen. The condition of the proletariat class was also poor, and the Federalists believed that the poor were more prone to indecent behavior and unpredictability7. Kerber quotes Federalist Philip Barton Key, who stated that men and boys in workshops were not expected to have the same stable constitution as those who were in charge of their own salaries and independent in their lives8. What is meant is that those who are rich and assured of their social and economic standing are not going to rebel. They have influence in what matters to them politically, unlike those who are poor, who would have more reason to start an uprising. Federalists also feared that the Republicans would â€Å"...break down the ba rrier of habitual morality...both as it respects our civil religious institutions...†9. Of course, this referred to the cultivation of the public desire rather than the elite rich and educated. AsShow MoreRelatedThe Federalist And Anti Federalist1263 Words   |  6 Pages The Anti-Federalist put up a long and hard fight, however, they were not as organized as the Federalists. While the Anti- Federalist had great concerns about the Constitution and National government, the Federalist had good responses to combat these concerns. The Federalist were and for the Constitution and feel the Article of Confederation were not worth ratifying, these should be scrapped altogether. They felt that the Articles limited the power of congress, because congress had to request cooperationRead MoreFederalists vs. Anti-Federalists1723 Words   |  7 Pagesthe subject of numerous debates. 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Kate Chopin s An Hour - 899 Words

The author has to choose the gender of their main character, and by Kate Chopin choosing a woman it set a completely different mood to the story rather than it being a man. The time this story was written were women were suppose to be submissive and loyal to their husbands, caring and nurturing for their children, and well-bred, catering hostesses. If a woman were to overstep such boundaries, she would be considered unladylike, scandalous, or even immoral. Society looks differently upon a person depending on their gender. Sexism develops and stereotypes are labeled. Different situations receive different judgment depending on gender. â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is a passive aggressive call out against society. â€Å"What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion...† The most impactful word throughout the story is â€Å"she† and it changes the personal depiction of the reader. Subconsciously a person can associate cha racteristics of people by using one word. The content and impact of individual words used throughout the story plays a tremendous role in how the story is interpreted. The specification of gender ties into the word â€Å"she† which is the most important word throughout the story. For this reason, the analysis of the specific and nitpicked vocabulary for this story was vital to the social influence and comprehension of the reality for gender differences. Suppressing the voice of the feminist; women had limited rights and wereShow MoreRelatedKate Chopin s An Hour1812 Words   |  8 PagesAuthor Kate Chopin is famous for some of the most influential feminist stories and novels in the Western canon. â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is one such text. In this story, Chopin tackles many of the concerns that are essential to feminism, including the willpower and expression of a woman’s distinctive identity separate from the identity of her husband and the right of a woman to identify and experience her own interests. While there is an aspect of this story that is provocative, namely, that Mrs. MallardRead MoreKate Chopin s An Hour857 Words   |  4 Pagesunderstanding of how various emotions can effect an individual; this is a consequence of being human. The broad variety of different emotions that Kate Chopin fit into â€Å"The Story of an Hour† presents the story with a perspective that is very intelligible. While some r eaders may not understand what it is like to live a sheltered life due to marital convention, Chopin laid out the emotional path that the protagonist takes and simplified it into individual, coherent feelings that a woman in the late nineteenth-centuryRead MoreKate Chopin s The Hour1361 Words   |  6 PagesStory of the Hour† has been whether or not Mrs. Mallard was oppressed in her marriage or if she was depressed due to the lack of time she and her husband spent together. Time plays a crucial role in the story, from the time they have spent together, to the period of the story, and to the short time in which the story takes place. â€Å"The Story of the Hour,† is a story written by feminist author, Kate Chopin in 1894 that deals with marital instability from a woman’s perspective. Chopin, whose husbandRead MoreKate Chopin s An Hour1273 Words   |  6 Pagesthe probation to ban the consumptions of alcohol, because alcohol attributed to their husbands’ a busive behaviors. Three stories serve as great examples for how women were treated/viewed in overtime. One of those stories is the story of â€Å"An Hour†, by Kate Chopin, which shows us how shows us how women were in oppressive marriages and desired freedom. Another story called â€Å"Proof†, which was written by David Auburn, demonstrates the negative treatment of women in a male dominated work force. Finally,Read MoreKate Chopin s The Story Of An Hour1579 Words   |  7 PagesKate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour written in 1984 is a story of a woman who, through the erroneously reported death of her husband, experienced true freedom. Both tragic and ironic, the story deals with the boundaries imposed on women by society in the nineteenth century. The author Kate Chopin, like the character in her story, had first-hand experience with the male-dominated society of that time and had experienced the death of her husband at a young age. The similarity between Kate Chopin andRead MoreKate Chopin s The Story Of An Hour1336 Words   |  6 Pagesstatus in society as married women. In the story of an hour, the author, Kate Chopin describes the emotions of a woman who is married and tied down to this oath for the rest of her life. The author uses the ways of the society during that time to construct a story that accurately reflects the feelings of majority of women of that time. The goal of the story is to examine how women were indirectly oppressed during those times. The story of an hour is an interesting short story that begin with tellingRead MoreKate Chopin s Story Of The Hour Essay982 Words   |  4 PagesKate Chopin was an American author who wrote two novels that got published and at least a hundred short stories. In Kate’s short story The Story of the Hour she uses some of her traumatic event that happened in her lifespan in the short story even though it the story is fictional. A lot of her fictions were set in Louisiana and her best-known works focused on the lives of sensitive intelligent women. One-third of Mrs. Chopin’s stories are children’s stories. A lot of Mrs. Chopin’s novels were forgottenRead MoreKate Chopin s The Hour928 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Story of The Hour† fully answers its title. It is a story about a woman living her last hour. Not so many things happen during that hour, but in contrast, many thoughts fly through main character’s head and a reader can form an accurat e portrait of a woman’s life from these thoughts. Somebody tells her that her husband is dead. After that she dives into the whirl of thoughts regarding the impact of husband’s death on her future. Some facts or beliefs make this woman think that her husband’sRead MoreKate Chopin s Story Of An Hour993 Words   |  4 Pageswriter’s base their stories of real life experiences and feelings. Kate Chopin largely based her stories off of her own life. Kate Chopin spent her childhood years in an alternative and matriarchal Louisiana town with a family that was unconventional. She challenged her nineteenth century sexist society and used her own life to put strength and feminism into her stories like â€Å"The Storm†, â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† and of course â€Å"The Story of an Hour†. She lived with her mother, grandmother and great grandmotherRead MoreKate Chopin s The Story Of An Hour1921 Words   |  8 Pagesapproaches. For Kate Cho pin, the famous author of â€Å"The Awakening† and â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, her most successful approach was to provide audiences with short stories that proposed meaningful and strong messages. However, Kate Chopin’s powerful feminist images that were present throughout her writing has mostly flaunted Chopin as only a â€Å"pioneering feminist writer,† which has led to other messages Chopin incorporated in her writing into being overlooked. In Kate Chopin’s, â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, the short