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December 2020

New Back Issue

I have made another back issue available on Gumroad: Experimental Theology. This is rather different from the normal essays, because it is about my experimental studies of Shinto. The essay explains why I am doing the experiments, how I am doing them, and why I am doing them in that way. It also has the first set of results, but those results are not terribly interesting. The experiments are ongoing, and the results are reported to my patrons on Patreon as each experiment concludes. I expect to write another essay… Read More »New Back Issue

Distributing Jingū Taima

Every year, the Shinto world distributes Jingū Taima, the ofuda associated with Jingū, and more specifically with the Naiku, which enshrines Amaterasu Ōmikami. People are expected to place this ofuda on their kamidana, and venerate it for one year, before replacing it at the end of the following year. Thus, in theory, jinja would distribute one Jingū Taima per household per year. In some areas (although not the area where I live), the priests and adherents of the local jinja go to visit every household and business, taking Jingū Taima… Read More »Distributing Jingū Taima

Shinto and Christmas

Since my standard cycle for these posts has one falling on Christmas Day, and since I write and schedule them in advance (the secret is out!), I though I would write about the connection between Shinto and Christmas. There isn’t one. Merry Christmas! …OK. A bit more detail, because this is more interesting than that might suggest. Japanese culture as a whole is very into Christmas. It isn’t a day off work or school, of course, but there are decorations in the shops, and anywhere that sells cakes sells Christmas… Read More »Shinto and Christmas

Back Issue Available

My essay on Mirrors, Swords, and Jewels is now available again for purchase through Gumroad. These items are the sacred treasures of the Tennō, but they are also important in other ways in Shinto. This essay discusses that significance, both historically and in contemporary practice. Buy Essay

Adopting Tennō

This post is the third in a short series about the Imperial succession crisis and the Shinto establishment’s attitude. You might want to read the posts about the nature of the crisis, and why the Shinto establishment is opposed to female, and female-line, Tennō, first. The Shinto establishment’s proposed solution to the crisis is to restore (some of) the male-line male descendants of the former miyakë to the Imperial family, possibly by adoption, so that they can succeed as Tennō. Historically, the Japanese establishment was aware of this potential problem… Read More »Adopting Tennō

Why Only Men?

As I discussed in my last post, the fact that six of the seven members of the Imperial family under the age of forty are women might be taken as a reason to allow women to become Tennō. However, the Shinto establishment is firmly opposed to this. Why? Your immediate hypothesis might well be “Because they are a bunch of sexist fossils”. I have to admit that the evidence suggests that this may well be true of some of them. However, there are, in fact, better reasons for this position.… Read More »Why Only Men?