Robert Bogle #2 Gary Snyder and Shrines…

Gary Snyder -POTW
“Modern Japan is another sort of example: a successful industrialized country with remnants of sacred landscape conciousness still intact. There are Shinto shrines throughout the Japanese islands. Shinto is “the way of the spirits.” Kami are a formless “power” present in everything to a certain degree…” (94)
The Shinto religion is one of a few religions that actually roots its practices in spaces of nature that are sacred for being rare and outstanding like oddly large or twisted boulders, extremely old trees, and cascading waterfalls. The essence of being sacred relies on a person who observes something extraordinary in nature not something a human creates. Shinto believes that there are spirits in everything, and nature must be appreciated for providing so much for humans. Today in Japan there is a great difference in what goes on than in previous time when Shintoism was the main religion. People of Japan still regard nature as sacred, but do so in less natural and rural scenes.
It is good to hear that some of the Japanese are at least attempting to understand the world around them. Shrines are a sacred place for the Japanese, but shouldn’t be their only form of contact with sacred places. It is hard to believe the a developed industrial still hold on to facets religion tied to nature that are long gone from almost every other country in the world.