Redefining the Gods: Politics and Survival in the Creation of Modern Kami
Interpretations of the gods change with each succeeding political transformation as ritualists redefine the objects of their worship in order to survive. In early seventeenth-century Japan, priests at sites of sacred power enshrined their deities as combinatory gods supportive of the Tokugawa regime...
| Published in: | Japanese journal of religious studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Nanzan Institute
[2002]
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| In: |
Japanese journal of religious studies
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| Further subjects: | B
Emperors
B Shrine Shinto B Buddhism B Deities B Religious Studies B Priests B Purification rituals B Nativism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Interpretations of the gods change with each succeeding political transformation as ritualists redefine the objects of their worship in order to survive. In early seventeenth-century Japan, priests at sites of sacred power enshrined their deities as combinatory gods supportive of the Tokugawa regime. In the face of the threats and opportunities of late 1867 to 1874, ritualists asserted and supported the exclusive legitimacy of the emperor by redefining the combinatory gods as imperial kami and stripping them of other associations. After the Meiji regime became securely established, however, many added back earlier associations to the gods to appeal to worshippers and ensure the continued survival of their institutions. Thus, priests of the Shinto shrines of Meiji-officiating at the hitherto combinatory worship sites of the Tokugawa era-reintroduced selected elements of that combinatory tradition under the auspices of the purportedly "pure, " exclusive Shinto of the imperial regime. |
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| Contains: | Enthalten in: Japanese journal of religious studies
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