Editorial: Jomon World Heritage listing to highlight ancient Japan's deep ties to nature
July 30, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
UNESCO has decided to register a group of Jomon period prehistoric sites in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido and the northern Tohoku region on the World Cultural Heritage list. The listing recognizes the universal value of a culture there where society lived in harmony with nature over long periods -- a rare specimen in the annals of world history.
The archaeological sites consist of 17 historic remains in four prefectures, including the Sannai Maruyama Site in Aomori Prefecture, known as one of the largest Jomon period settlement ruins, and the Oyu Stone Circles in Akita Prefecture.
The Jomon period is said to have spanned more than 10,000 years, from around 15,000 years ago up until around 2,400 years ago. People in those days lived in fixed dwellings, hunted, fished and gathered while adapting themselves to the natural environment to form a highly sustainable society.
People then led a different way of life from that of their counterparts across the Eurasian continent, where agriculture and livestock farming came in tandem with a settled lifestyle.
Another feature of the Jomon period is its highly spiritual culture, as seen in the stone circles believed to have been used in ancient rituals and "dogu" clay figures in which people apparently entrusted their prayers.
More:
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210730/p2a/00m/0op/039000c
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I just got back to look for an answer in Wikipedia, etc.:
Ko-Shintō
Ko-Shintō (古神道 ) refers to the original animism of Jōmon period Japan which is the alleged basis of modern Shinto. The search for traces of Koshintō began with Restoration Shinto in the Edo period. Some movements which claim to have discovered this primeval way of thought are Oomoto, Izumo-taishakyo.
Worldview
The following is deduced from studying the language of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki which does not appear in any Chinese philosophy:
In Koshintō, the present world or utsushiyo is put in contrast to the eternal world or tokoyo. All individuals possess a tamashii, meaning a mind, heart, or soul. A tamashii without a body is called a mitama. Those whose tamashii has the nature of kami are called mikoto.
In the Age of the Kami, or Kamiyo, the Earth was ruled by kami, whose forms were akin to humans, but had pure hearts and spoke in the language of kotodama.
History of Koshintō research
There are no records of "pure" Koshintō in early Japanese literature. By the time Japan was producing literature, its native religion had already intermixed with Taoism and Buddhism. Medieval development meant that Shinto was integrated into Buddhist symbology.[1]
Koshintō research began at the same time as examinations into Early Buddhism. In this era, Japan's shrine rituals were being "purified" of their religious nature and turned into national forms, a process called State Shinto today. Religionists began looking for the origin of these forms in a primitive "nature religion".[2] Early folklorists such as Kunio Yanagita were also seeking a purely Japanese tradition.
Onisaburo Deguchi, the founder of Oomoto, was an extremely influential Koshinto researcher in the Imperial period. He influenced nearly all modern Koshinto lines except for that of Takuma Hisa. Such research continues today and is often connected with aikido and other martial arts.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko-Shint%C5%8D
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13:40, 20-May-2019
Shinto Religion & Nature: Native belief system influences everyday Japanese life
Updated 13:40, 23-May-2019
. . .
There is no simple explanation for the Shinto religion. Some experts say it originates from Japan's Jomon period when basic belief forms and nature worship were said to have started.
TERRENCE TERASHIMA TOKYO "Shinto did not originate as a unified religion but rather as a collection of ancient beliefs and mythology closely related to agriculture and nature. The Japanese say there are eight million spirits or gods that exist in the forms of rocks, trees, places, and people."
Early Shinto chronicles date back to the eighth century. They describe myths, legends, and origins of the Japanese archipelago which is said to have been created by Amaterasu-Omikami, the goddess of the sun.
SHIGERU TORII PRIEST, KANDA-JINJYA "There are no doctrines or scriptures in Shinto. It originated from nature worship. Since rice was the most important food crop for the Japanese people, it came from expressing gratitude to nature and people. It is a religion that evolved from animism. However, it only became a known religion after the war. Before that, it was a way for people to worship 'gods' in their ways of life."
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https://news.cgtn.com/news/3259444f34494464776c6d636a4e6e62684a4856/index.html
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Shinto: How To Reconnect With Nature
Shinto could help us build a sustainable culture.
Edward McDougall | Philosophy Tutor at Durham University, UK
Shinto shrine gates (torii) are ubiquitous in western representations of natural Japan. Have we ever wondered why we are fascinated by these images – because of the beauty of this ancient architecture? The natural scenery where they are located? Or are we indeed fascinated by a sense of mystery, the harmony that forms between these human constructions with nature?
Western philosophy has broadly taken up a Hegelian view, which conceives religion as progression away from nature worship and polytheism towards monotheism and ultimately secularism as a society develops. Central to this is an assumption that nature worship and modernisation are in opposite positions and the former must be abandoned to achieve the latter. Modern technological society indeed seems to have distanced us from nature with its apparent control over natural forces. Nature, according to Martin Heidegger in “The Question Concerning Technology”, is taken as resources and evaluated in terms of human utility. However, environmental issues in recent years have made us realise that nature is not backward or merely to be utilised – it is crucial to the sustainable development of a modern society. This calls for us to review the way we live, how we should see nature and our responsibility to it.
More:
https://iai.tv/articles/shinto-how-to-reconnect-with-nature-auid-1158
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Magical video shared with me by my friend and cousin: