On Teido, Part Two: Beliefs and Practices
A 3,000 year old sacred tree (shintai) in Odoshi Shrine, Fukusaki BeliefsKami Teido is a polytheistic religion, involving the veneration of many deities known as
kami, or sometimes as
jingi. In Fusanese, no distinction is made here between singular and plural, and hence the term
kami refers both to individual
kami and the collective group of
kami. Although lacking a direct English translation, the term has sometimes been rendered as "god" or "spirit". The historian of religion Sadazane Kadokawa deemed these English translations "quite unsatisfactory and misleading", and various scholars urge against translating
kami into English. In Fusanese, it is often said that there are eight million
kami, a term which connotes an infinite number, and Teido practitioners generally believe that they are present everywhere. They are not considered omnipresent nor omnipotent, nor are they, beyond a few notable cases, considered necessarily immortal.
The term
kami is one that is "conceptually fluid", being "vague and imprecise". In Fusanese, it is often applied to the power of phenomena that inspire a sense of wonder and awe in the beholder. Kadokawa referred to this as "the
kami nature", stating that he thought it "somewhat analogous" to the Occidental ideas of the numinous and the sacred.
Kami are seen to inhabit both the living and the dead, organic and inorganic matter, and natural disasters like earthquakes, droughts, and plagues; their presence is seen in natural forces such as the wind, rain, fire, and sunlight. Accordingly, many researchers have commented over the years that Teido regards the actual phenomena of the world as being divine. This perspective has thus been characterized as being animistic.
In Fusan,
kami have been venerated since prehistory. During the Choshi period, they were likely regarded as formless and invisible, only later coming to be depicted anthropomorphically under Buddhist influence. Now, statues of the
kami are known as
shinzo.
Kami are typically associated with a specific place, often a prominent landscape feature such as a waterfall, mountain, large rock, or distinctive tree. Physical objects or places in which the
kami are believed to have a presence are termed
shintai; objects inhabited by the
kami that are placed in the shrine are known as
go-shintai. Objects commonly chosen for this purpose include mirrors, swords, stones, beads, and inscribed tablets. These
go-shintai are concealed from the view of visitors, and may be hidden inside boxes so that even the priests do not know what they look like.
While one may be quick to assume that the
kami are, by their very nature, good, they are deemed within Fusan as being capable of both benevolent and destructive deeds; if warnings about good conduct are ignored, the
kami can mete out punishment, often illness or sudden death, called
shinbatsu. Some
kami, referred to as the
magatsuhi-no-kami or
araburu kami, are regarded as malevolent and destructive. Offerings and prayers are given to the
kami to gain their blessings and to dissuade them from destructive actions. Teido seeks to cultivate and ensure a harmonious relationship between humans and the
kami and thus with the natural world. More localized kami may be subject to feelings of intimacy and familiarity from members of the local community that are not directed towards more widespread
kami like Amaterasu. The
kami of a particular community is referred to it as their
ujigami, while that of a particular house is the
yashikigami.
Kami are not deemed metaphysically different from humanity, with it being possible for humans to become
kami. Dead humans are sometimes venerated as
kami, being regarded as protector or ancestral figures, most often in the cases of
yashikigami. One of the most prominent examples is that of the Emperor Ōjin, who on his death was enshrined as the
kami Hachiman, believed to be a protector of Fusan and a
kami of war. In Fusanese culture, ancestors can be viewed as a form of
kami. In southern Fusan, the term
jigami is used to describe the enshrined
kami of a village founder. In some cases, living human beings were also viewed as
kami; these were called
akitsumi kami or
arahito-gami. Notable cases of this includes the Emperor of Fusan during the Keiō era and the early Kunan era, as well as the leaders of some smaller sects of the faith. Although some
kami are venerated only in a single location, others have shrines across many areas. Hachiman, for instance, is estimated to have around 28,000 shrines dedicated to him, while Inari has 56,000. The act of establishing a new shrine to a
kami who already has one is called
bunrei ("dividing the spirit"). As part of this, the
kami is invited to enter a new place, with the instalment ceremony known as a
kanjo. The new, subsidiary shrine is known as a
bunsha. Individual
kami are not believed to have their power diminished by their residence in multiple locations, and there is no limit on the number of places a kami can be enshrined.
While the term
kami cannot be accurately translated into English, there is a certain form of
kami which can more accurately be described as gods in the Occidental sense of the term. These are the
Ōgami (lit. "Great Kami"), whose worship is practiced across the nation and whom form the core beliefs of the faith. These
ōgami, numbering nineteen in total, are generally said to hold significant sway over the universe as a whole or aspects of mankind, such as the sun and moon in the former case and warfare and intellect in the later. They are joined by the five
Kotoamatsukami, the progenitor gods who came into existence at the dawn of time and whom created—or were created in, in older versions of the story—Takamagahara, the Plane of High Heaven, and the
kamiyo-nanayo, the "Seven Generations of the Age of Gods", whom emerged after the formation of heaven and earth.
Cosmogony Although the narratives differ in detail, the origin of the
kami and of Fusan itself are recounted in two Kofun period texts, the
Kojiki and
Fusō Shoki. Drawing heavily on foreign influences, these texts were likely commissioned by ruling elites to legitimize and consolidate their rule. Although never of great importance to Fusanese religious life, up until the early 20th century and during the Yokusan period, the government deemed these texts factual. The
Kojiki recounts that the universe started with
ame-tsuchi, the separation of light and pure elements (
ame, "heaven") from heavy elements (
tsuchi, "earth"). Three
kami then appeared: Amenominakanushi, Takamimusuhi no Mikoto, and Kamimusuhi no Mikoto. Other
kami then followed, including a brother and sister, Izanagi and Izanami. The
kami instructed Izanagi and Izanami to create land on earth. To this end, the siblings stirred the briny sea with a jeweled spear, from which Onogoro Island was formed. Izanagi and Izanami then descended into the world, where the latter gave birth to further
kami. One of these was a fire
kami, whose birth killed Izanami. Izanagi thus descended into
yomi to retrieve his sister, but there he saw her body putrefying. Embarrassed to be seen in this state, she chased him out of
yomi, and he closed its entrance with a boulder.
It is thus said that Izanagi bathed himself in the sea so as to rid himself from the pollution brought about by witnessing Izanami's putrefaction. Through this act, further
kami emerged from his body: Amaterasu, the sun goddess, was born from his left eye, Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon, from his right eye, and Susanoo, the storm god, from his nose. Susanoo behaved in a destructive manner, and so, in order to escape him Amaterasu hid herself within a cave, plunging the earth into darkness. The other
kami eventually succeeded in coaxing her out. For his actions, Susanoo was then banished to Mundus, where he married and had children. According to the
Kojiki, Amaterasu then sent her grandson, Ninigi, to rule Fusan, giving him curved beads, a mirror, and a sword: the symbols of Fusanese Imperial authority. To this day, Amaterasu remains Fusan's most venerated deity, with the primary sect, to which the Imperial House belongs, primarily worshipping her while acknowledging the existence of and permitting the veneration of the other
ōgami, leading to its being deemed as henotheistic.
Cosmology and the Afterlife In Teido, the creative principle permeating all life is known as
musubi, and is associated with its own
kami. Within traditional Fusanese thought, there is no concept of an overarching duality between good and evil. The concept of
aki encompasses misfortune, unhappiness, and disaster, although it does not correspond precisely with the Occidental concept of evil. There is generally no eschatology—that is, no end of the world—within the faith. Texts such as the
Kojiki and the
Fusō Shoki portray multiple realms in Teido cosmology. These present a universe divided into three parts: the Plane of High Heaven (Takama-no-hara), where the
kami—including humans venerated as such—live; the Phenomenal or Manifested World (
Utsushi-yo), where humans dwell; the Nether World (
Yomi), where the souls of those not venerated as
Kami dwell.
Takamagahara — The Plane of High Heaven Takamagahara, or the "Plane of High Heaven" as it is directly translated in English, is the abode of the
amatsukami and is, per an account in the
Kojiki, the birthplace of the gods. While there are numerous theories as to its location owing to certain pieces of evidence, the orthodox position within the Teido faith maintains that the "Celestial Theory", whereby the gods must be in the heavens or the universe above the heavens since high heavens are the dwelling place of the gods, is the correct interpretation of the numerous sacred texts of the religion. This plane is said to be connected to the world by way of the
Ame-no-ukihashi (Floating Bridge of Heaven). Under mainstream Teido, Takamagahara is seen as a paradise for those who follow the faith, while Yomi, the land of the dead, is where those who do not practice it shall dwell in a similar fashion as they did in life.
Ashihara no Nakatsukuni — The Land of the Living Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, or the "Middle Country of Reed Beds", is, in Teido, the world between Takamagahara and Yomi. While it can be used to refer to Fusan specifically, most modern interpretations of the term use it to refer to the mortal plane, with the name coming from Fusan's land being damp and covered with reeds in ancient times, while the word "middle" comes from the understanding of the Onishi that the lands they resided within were at the center of the world. Today, it instead refers to the Mortal plane's metaphorical position between the lands of the dead and of the
kami.
Yomi — The Land of the Dead Located "beneath" the other two planes, Yomi, or Yomi-no-Kuni, is the land of the dead in the Teido faith. While returning from it has been claimed possible by some scholars, allowing for a limited form of reincarnation, the general understanding is that once one has eaten at the hearth of Yomi, it is impossible to return to the land of the living. A notable story relating to the realm comes from the faith's early days, when Izanagi, the creator god, followed his wife, Izanami, to the realm following her death, subsequently returning and creating Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi as he cleansed himself of its impurity. Yet while Yomi as a whole cannot be described as a paradise, it likewise cannot in its entirety be defined as a world of punishment. Rather, the dead who come to dwell in Yomi—those whom are not venerated as
kami (something which isn't rare due to the practice of ancestor worship across the faith)—carry on a gloomy and shadowy existence in perpetuity, regardless of their behavior in life. There are some acts in life, however, that if not purified of prior to death, will result in the suffering of the deceased, though what form this takes is not described.
Purity, Morality, and EthicsPurity and ImpurityA Teido practitioner participates in a purification ritual under a waterfall A key theme of Teido is the avoidance of
kegare ("pollution" or "impurity"), while ensuring
harae ("purity"). In Fusanese thought, humans are seen as fundamentally pure.
Kegare is therefore seen as being a temporary condition that can be corrected through achieving
harae. Rites of purification are conducted so as to restore an individual to "spiritual" health and render them useful to society. This notion of purity is present in many facets of Fusanese culture, such as the focus it places on bathing. Purification is, for instance, regarded as important in preparation for the planting season, while performers of
noh theatre undergo a purification rite before they carry out their performances. Among the things regarded as particular pollutants in Teido are death, disease, witchcraft, the flaying alive of an animal, incest, and bestiality, among others. To avoid
kegare, priests and other practitioners often partake in abstinence and avoid various activities prior to a festival or ritual. Various words, termed
imi-kotoba, are also regarded as taboo, and people avoid speaking them when at a shrine; these include
shi (death),
byō (illness), and
shishi (meat).
A purification ceremony known as
misogi involves the use of fresh water, salt water, or salt to remove
kegare. Full immersion in the sea is often regarded as the most ancient and efficacious form of purification. This act links with the mythological tale in which Izanagi immersed himself in the sea to purify himself after discovering his deceased wife; it was from this act that other
kami sprang from his body. An alternative is immersion beneath a waterfall, while salt is often regarded as a purifying substance, as is fire.
Kannagara, morality, and ethics While Teido lacks a codified ethical doctrine, an ethical system has nevertheless arisen from its practice. This system of ethics places emphasis on sincerity (
makoto), honesty (
tadashii), hard work (
tsui-shin), and thanksgiving (
kansha) directed towards the
kami.
Shojiki is regarded as a virtue, encompassing honesty, uprightness, veracity, and frankness. Teido sometimes includes reference to four virtues known as the
akaki kiyoki kokoro or
sei-mei-shin, meaning "purity and cheerfulness of heart", which are linked to the state of
harae. Attitudes to sex and fertility tend to be forthright in Teido. Teido's flexibility regarding morality and ethics has been a source of frequent criticism, especially from those arguing that the religion can readily become a pawn for those wishing to use it to legitimise their authority and power. In Teido,
kannagara ("way of the
kami") is the law of the natural order, with
wa ("benign harmony") being inherent in all things. Disrupting
wa is deemed bad, contributing to it is thought good; and as a result, subordination of the individual to the larger social unit has long been a characteristic of the religion. Throughout Fusanese history, the notion of
saisei-itchi, or the union of religious authority and political authority, has long been prominent. In the modern world, Teido has tended toward conservatism and nationalism, certainly not helped by its politicization under the Yokusankai from 1939 until the 1960s. However, since the 1980s, there has been an undercurrent within the faith which seeks to counteract these more conservative elements within the faith.