Shinto Moments links the ancient Native Japanese beliefs to modern day life by attaching western thought to Shinto natural principles.
Shinto Moments is a collaboration between Kannushi (Priest), Taishi Kato MA; Kyudo Renshi, Edwin Symmes and Sabastian Velilla MPA.
http://hattoritenjingu.or.jp
www.Kashimondojo.com
www.bitokukyudo.org
Shinto Moments Book- On Amazon!
Shinto Moments back story
We have published a book in English on Shinto called "Shinto Moments". This book was made possible thanks to a combination of experiences and opportunities around the world. I'd like to tell you the story of how the book was realized.
Studying in London
After qualifying to become a Shinto priest, I found discoveries and fascination in looking at Shinto from a foreign perspective So I decided to study at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
For my master's degree at the university, I majored in Japanese religious studies to study Shinto. I studied Shinto and other religions with about 20 international students from the United States, England, Italy, China, and South Korea. I learned about the Japanese religions that are part of the Shinto.
After my last class in graduate school, a friend told me, "I still don’t understand Shinto. I was told, the number of classes was limited, no books were explaining the basics of Shinto, and Shinto is linguistic. It was difficult for foreigners to understand the religion due to its nature of valuing sensitivity over-explanation.”
Although about 20 students were interested in Japanese religion and had the opportunity to come into contact with Shinto, I failed to take advantage of these opportunities.
Rather than conveying a formal conceptualization of Shinto to help people understand it in their minds, we need to find a way to convey a Shinto simply.
I want to tell the world in English about Shinto as it is felt in our daily lives, not in an academic book! With this in mind, I returned to Japan.
Meeting a Kyudo Artist in Florida
A few months after I returned to Japan, I received a call from a martial arts expert living in Florida.
He said, "I'm very interested in Shinto, which is a spiritual pillar of Japanese culture, and I'd love for you to come to Florida and give a talk.”
He was an American with a passion for Japanese culture who designed and built the Kashimon Dojo, a traditional dojo where you can practice Kyudo, Karate and Iaido.
I was studying in England and wanted to learn more about how Americans felt about Shinto, so I went to Florida.
He wanted me to take this opportunity to share my thoughts on Shinto with many Americans, so he organized a lecture in English at the Morikami Museum in Florida.
At the lecture, I met his friend, a 79-year-old American who is a Kyudo practitioner. This meeting led to the publication of this book.
The Kyudo practitioner asked me the following question: "How do you think we can get people around the world to understand Shinto?”
Then he took out a book with pictures of nature scenes he had taken.
You stare at the horizon and breathe deep into the fresh ocean breeze, keeping you alive. Have you ever been thankful for that?
This feeling is what Shinto Moments is all about.
Let's make these Shinto Moments into a book with the three of us! This is what I was talking about.
I connected with my experience in London and that way I could help bring Shinto to the world in a basic everyday sense. I was convinced that it could be done.
Shinto Moments in book form.
We started contacting publishing companies to turn it into a book as soon as possible. I contacted several publishing companies, from those that dealt with Shinto books to those that dealt with Japanese culture and nature, but as a result, was NO.
The main reason why they refuse to publish a book on Shinto is that the market is too small to sell it and it would be too expensive due to the photographic nature of the book.
In other words, there are not many people in the world who are interested in Shinto, so even if you publish a book on Shinto in English, it won't sell well. This was the publishing company's idea.
Still, we couldn't give up and decided to turn it into a book from Amazon independently.
We want to tell the world in English about Shinto, not as an academic book, but as we feel it in our daily lives! After three years, I finally realized a wish that I had been praying for in the back of my mind since I returned from England.
Shinto is often described as the customs and culture of the Japanese people, and as such, it is something that we Japanese feel is part of our daily lives. However, as a Shinto thing, it has not been made conscious. The purpose of this book is to capture a simple moment in time when we can enjoy that Shinto feeling and convey it in English.
In Shinto, there is no concept of man as the center of religion. In the Kojiki, Japan's oldest historical book, human beings are described as “Aohitogusa".
The word "Aohitogusa" means "people who thrive and live like green grass". This phrase reminds us that humans are part of nature and that humans and nature have lived together in harmony. Human beings have indeed been kept alive by the grace of nature and we should be grateful.
I believe that this is a universal feeling not only among the Japanese, but also among all human beings, and it transcends national borders.
To convey a universal feeling. This is not limited by the place and space of a shrine, but we believe that it is important to share the sensibility that can be felt without being in Japan and to convey a sense of universality. To expand the possibilities of Shinto by having them, and to foster greater connections. That's what I can do to give back as a priest that I had the privilege of learning in London and experiencing in the United States.
Expectations for Shinto Moments
My role is to help people in Japan and around the world to feel Shinto, the essence of traditional Japanese culture. In other words, to fulfill our duties as a priest to be a bridge between Shinto and Japan and all of you around the world.
By fulfilling this duty, the Japanese and foreigners who visit the shrines will be able to learn more about Shinto and the attractions of Shinto and shrines. I would be very happy if they could feel the appeal of what was missed in my graduate school.
And then, by sharing the fascination they feel with the people of the world, they will be able to apply the fascination of graduate school to their research I believe that there are other means of conveying the message besides institutions.
Just as there are eight million different ways of feeling from one person to another, so there are eight million ways beyond the Shinto that person can feel.
I would like to be a bridge to convey the appeal of Shinto to the world so that Shinto can spread to Japan and the rest of the world. I hope that there are countless paths beyond the widened Shinto.
With this hope, I would like to continue walking the path as a priest in the future.
Shinto Moments
Copyright © 2018
All rights reserved
Shinto Moments is a collaboration between Kannushi (Priest), Taishi Kato MA; Kyudo Renshi, Edwin Symmes and Sabastian Velilla MPA.
http://hattoritenjingu.or.jp
www.Kashimondojo.com
www.bitokukyudo.org
Shinto Moments Book- On Amazon!
Shinto Moments back story
We have published a book in English on Shinto called "Shinto Moments". This book was made possible thanks to a combination of experiences and opportunities around the world. I'd like to tell you the story of how the book was realized.
Studying in London
After qualifying to become a Shinto priest, I found discoveries and fascination in looking at Shinto from a foreign perspective So I decided to study at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
For my master's degree at the university, I majored in Japanese religious studies to study Shinto. I studied Shinto and other religions with about 20 international students from the United States, England, Italy, China, and South Korea. I learned about the Japanese religions that are part of the Shinto.
After my last class in graduate school, a friend told me, "I still don’t understand Shinto. I was told, the number of classes was limited, no books were explaining the basics of Shinto, and Shinto is linguistic. It was difficult for foreigners to understand the religion due to its nature of valuing sensitivity over-explanation.”
Although about 20 students were interested in Japanese religion and had the opportunity to come into contact with Shinto, I failed to take advantage of these opportunities.
Rather than conveying a formal conceptualization of Shinto to help people understand it in their minds, we need to find a way to convey a Shinto simply.
I want to tell the world in English about Shinto as it is felt in our daily lives, not in an academic book! With this in mind, I returned to Japan.
Meeting a Kyudo Artist in Florida
A few months after I returned to Japan, I received a call from a martial arts expert living in Florida.
He said, "I'm very interested in Shinto, which is a spiritual pillar of Japanese culture, and I'd love for you to come to Florida and give a talk.”
He was an American with a passion for Japanese culture who designed and built the Kashimon Dojo, a traditional dojo where you can practice Kyudo, Karate and Iaido.
I was studying in England and wanted to learn more about how Americans felt about Shinto, so I went to Florida.
He wanted me to take this opportunity to share my thoughts on Shinto with many Americans, so he organized a lecture in English at the Morikami Museum in Florida.
At the lecture, I met his friend, a 79-year-old American who is a Kyudo practitioner. This meeting led to the publication of this book.
The Kyudo practitioner asked me the following question: "How do you think we can get people around the world to understand Shinto?”
Then he took out a book with pictures of nature scenes he had taken.
You stare at the horizon and breathe deep into the fresh ocean breeze, keeping you alive. Have you ever been thankful for that?
This feeling is what Shinto Moments is all about.
Let's make these Shinto Moments into a book with the three of us! This is what I was talking about.
I connected with my experience in London and that way I could help bring Shinto to the world in a basic everyday sense. I was convinced that it could be done.
Shinto Moments in book form.
We started contacting publishing companies to turn it into a book as soon as possible. I contacted several publishing companies, from those that dealt with Shinto books to those that dealt with Japanese culture and nature, but as a result, was NO.
The main reason why they refuse to publish a book on Shinto is that the market is too small to sell it and it would be too expensive due to the photographic nature of the book.
In other words, there are not many people in the world who are interested in Shinto, so even if you publish a book on Shinto in English, it won't sell well. This was the publishing company's idea.
Still, we couldn't give up and decided to turn it into a book from Amazon independently.
We want to tell the world in English about Shinto, not as an academic book, but as we feel it in our daily lives! After three years, I finally realized a wish that I had been praying for in the back of my mind since I returned from England.
Shinto is often described as the customs and culture of the Japanese people, and as such, it is something that we Japanese feel is part of our daily lives. However, as a Shinto thing, it has not been made conscious. The purpose of this book is to capture a simple moment in time when we can enjoy that Shinto feeling and convey it in English.
In Shinto, there is no concept of man as the center of religion. In the Kojiki, Japan's oldest historical book, human beings are described as “Aohitogusa".
The word "Aohitogusa" means "people who thrive and live like green grass". This phrase reminds us that humans are part of nature and that humans and nature have lived together in harmony. Human beings have indeed been kept alive by the grace of nature and we should be grateful.
I believe that this is a universal feeling not only among the Japanese, but also among all human beings, and it transcends national borders.
To convey a universal feeling. This is not limited by the place and space of a shrine, but we believe that it is important to share the sensibility that can be felt without being in Japan and to convey a sense of universality. To expand the possibilities of Shinto by having them, and to foster greater connections. That's what I can do to give back as a priest that I had the privilege of learning in London and experiencing in the United States.
Expectations for Shinto Moments
My role is to help people in Japan and around the world to feel Shinto, the essence of traditional Japanese culture. In other words, to fulfill our duties as a priest to be a bridge between Shinto and Japan and all of you around the world.
By fulfilling this duty, the Japanese and foreigners who visit the shrines will be able to learn more about Shinto and the attractions of Shinto and shrines. I would be very happy if they could feel the appeal of what was missed in my graduate school.
And then, by sharing the fascination they feel with the people of the world, they will be able to apply the fascination of graduate school to their research I believe that there are other means of conveying the message besides institutions.
Just as there are eight million different ways of feeling from one person to another, so there are eight million ways beyond the Shinto that person can feel.
I would like to be a bridge to convey the appeal of Shinto to the world so that Shinto can spread to Japan and the rest of the world. I hope that there are countless paths beyond the widened Shinto.
With this hope, I would like to continue walking the path as a priest in the future.
Shinto Moments
Copyright © 2018
All rights reserved
