Who founded Shintoism?

trans991

No known founder With the establishment of Buddhism in Japan during the Nara and Heian periods (710 - 1185 AD), Shinto quickly came under its influence as well as that of Confucianism and Chinese culture as a whole. On the one hand, it became more highly structured, following the Buddhist lead. On the other hand, certain kami came to be thought of as manifestations of particular Buddhas or bodhisattvas. (Amaterasu, for example, was identified with the cosmic Buddha Vairocana.) Thus the two religions both mixed and coexisted at the same time. http://mb-soft.com/believe/txo/shintois.htm Indigenous religion of Japan, based on the worship of spirits known as kami. Founded in 660 BC, at the time of Buddhism, it was Japan's state religion until 1945. "Shinto" means "way of the gods" ("kami no michi"), and it is a "cosmic religion", that finds in the beauty and symmetry of nature manifestations of the gods. http://religion-cults.com/Eastern/Shintoism/shinto.htm Aug 11 09, 6:59 PM

zbeckabee

Shinto does not have a founder nor does it have sacred scriptures like the sutras or the bible. Propaganda and preaching are not common either, because Shinto is deeply rooted in the Japanese people and traditions. "Shinto gods" are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility. Humans become kami after they die and are revered by their families as ancestral kami. The kami of extraordinary people are even enshrined at some shrines. The Sun Goddess Amaterasu is considered Shinto's most important kami. http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2056.html http://www.religioustolerance.org/shinto.htm Aug 13 09, 7:45 AM