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Shinto

• 
  Zao Gongen, Heian period (794–1185), 11th–?12th century
  Japan
  Gilt bronze

  H. 13 5/8 in. (34.6 cm)
  The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975 (1975.268.155)

• 
  Illustrated Legends of the Kitano Shrine (Kitano Tenjin Engi), Kamakura period (1185–1333), 13th century
  Unidentified artist
  Japan
  Handscroll; ink and color on paper

  11 3/4 in. x 28 ft. 3 3/4 in. (29.8 x 863 cm)
  Fletcher Fund, 1925 (25.224a–e)

• 
  Wakamiya of the Kasuga Shrine, Kamakura period (1185–1333), 13th century
  Unidentified artist
  Japan
  Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold leaf on silk

  29 3/4 x 15 in. (75.6 x 38.1 cm)
  Promised Gift of The Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation Inc., and Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 1997 (1997.113)

• 
  Kumano shrine mandala, Nanbokucho period (1336–92)
  Japan
  Hanging scroll: ink, color, and gold on silk

  52 x 22 7/8 in. (131.9 x 57.9 cm)
  Purchase, Gift of Dr. Mortimore D. Sackler, Theresa Sackler and Family, 2006 (2006.521)

• 
  Suzu, 17th century
  Miwa, Nara Prefecture, Japan
  Wood, metal

  L. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm), Diam. 4 in. (19 cm)
  The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1889 (89.4.94)

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Shinto emerged gradually in ancient times and is distinctive in that it has no founder, no sacred books, no teachers, no saints, and no well-defined pantheon.

Related

Timelines (7)

• Japan, 8000–2000 B.C.
• Japan, 2000–1000 B.C.
• Japan, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D
• Japan, 1–500 A.D.
• Japan, 500–1000 A.D.
• Japan, 1000–1400 A.D.
• Japan, 1400–1600 A.D.

Primary Thematic Essays (2)

• Seasonal Imagery in Japanese Art
• Zen Buddhism

Other Thematic Essays (15)

• Asuka and Nara Periods (538–794)
• Heian Period (794–1185)
• Japanese Illustrated Handscrolls
• Japanese Incense
• Japanese Weddings in the Edo Period (1615–1868)
• Jomon Culture (ca. 10,500–ca. 300 b.c.)
• Kamakura and Nanbokucho Periods (1185–1392)
• Kofun Period (ca. 3rd century–538)
• List of Rulers of Japan
• Momoyama Period (1573–1615)
• Muromachi Period (1392–1573)
• Painting Formats in East Asian Art
• Samurai
• Shoguns and Art
• Yayoi Culture (ca. 4th century b.c.–3rd century a.d.)

Maps (1)

• World, 1000–1400 a.d.

Index Terms (4)

Art Movement/Style

• Shinto Art in Japan

Geography/Place

• Japan

Material and Technique

• Gold Leaf

Subject Matter/Theme

• Shinto

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The ancient Japanese found divinity manifested within nature itself. Flowering peaks, flowing rivers, and venerable trees, for example, were thought to be sanctified by the deities, or kami, that inhabited them. This indigenous "Way of the Gods," or Shinto, can be understood as a multifaceted assembly of practices, attitudes, and institutions that express the Japanese people's relationship with their land and the lifecycles of the earth and humans. Shinto emerged gradually in ancient times and is distinctive in that it has no founder, no sacred books, no teachers, no saints, and no well-defined pantheon. It never developed a moral order or a hierarchical priesthood and did not offer salvation after death. The oldest type of Shinto ceremonies that could be called religious were dedicated to agriculture and always emphasized ritual purity. Worship took place outdoors at sites proclaimed to be sacred. In time, however, the ancient Japanese built permanent structures to honor their gods. Shrines were usually built on mountains or in rural areas, often on unlevel ground, without any symmetrical plan.

In Japan, anthropomorphic representations of gods were unknown before the spread of Buddhism, although deities were symbolically associated with sacred objects, such as mirrors, swords, and jewels that became imperial insignia. Following the advent of the new religion, Shintoists began to make images. The form of worship, however, did not change, as representations of gods were hidden away in the inner sanctuary of the Shinto shrine, adherents demonstrating their faith—at the entrance—simply by clapping their hands.

Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Department of Asian Art. "Shinto". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/shin/hd_shin.htm (October 2002) Further Reading Mason, Penelope. History of Japanese Art. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2004. Varley, H. Paul. Japanese Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2000.

These related Museum Bulletin or Journal articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship. Ford, Barbara Brennan. "The Arts of Japan." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 45, no. 1 (Summer, 1987). JSTOR | PDF