I have taught an introductory English-language course to religions in Japan for several years making use of available online resources . The course provides both home and exchange students with a cursory overview of religions in Japan, their history, and their present status, and presents some wider issues related to the study of religions in Japan. Because I was immersed in them, I assumed that the online resources I used are widely known. It had never crossed my mind to write about them for The Digital Orientalist. However, I was forced to question this assumption when exploring the Resource Guide for Japanese Studies and Humanities in Japan and discovered numerous projects and resources across Japanese studies that I was not previously aware of. In this article, I offer a simple description of some of the online resources that I use in my classes on Shinto with notes on how I employ them. I do not mean to claim that these are the best online resources for teaching about Shinto (after all, the best tools is a definition relative to one’s aims). I have found each to be highly effective when used in English-language courses for those with little to no knowledge of the religion.
Shinto Portal
Shinto Portal is a website run by Kokugakuin University that compiles different resources on Shinto. It is a must visit for anyone teaching about Shinto in an English-medium classroom. I usually include the whole portal as a recommended resource for my students, though I use only a small fraction of it in my own classes.
The website is divided into several sections, including the Encyclopedia of Shinto, Glossary, Books and Papers, Pictures, Movies, Articles, Chronological Tables, and Links. Those taking a historical focus may find the “A Brief Chronological Table of Shinto History” useful. I like to highlight the key events that we cover in class such as the presentation of the Kōjiki and Nihon shoki, the 16- and 22-shrine system, the completion of the Engishiki, and so on, encouraging students to look at the wider context of these events within the greater timeline. Something I find particularly valuable is the inclusion of information (albeit limited) on other traditions (Buddhism, Christianity etc.) and their interaction with Shinto. This helps to emphasize Japan’s history of interreligious dialogue, and drive home the fact that religions do not exist in vacuums.
Since my class is aimed at those with little knowledge of Shinto or religious studies, I also use like to use “Images of Shinto: A Beginner’s Pictorial Guide.” I often use the images in the guide alongside my own photographs (or those from other online resources). Whilst it is possible to copy-paste the images into a PowerPoint and explain them, the real perks is that the images are interactive when viewed through the webpage. Hovering over words at the bottom of the image highlights different parts of the image, and clicking on one of the words provides a simple definition in English and Japanese. This can help students to quickly learn Shinto terminology in an interactive way. I also use it for teaching students about the parts of a shrine in preparation for a shrine visit that we undertake as part of the course. The images relating to annual events and life rituals help to provide a general overview of Shinto practices especially when one has only a limited amount of time to focus on the religion.
The Encyclopedia of Shinto, which features at the top of Shinto Portal, is an essential resource for anyone teaching on Japanese religions in English. I use it as one of my sources when planning classes—it contains a breadth of useful information, is fairly easy to navigate, and divides Shinto into some key themes which can also be employed within the classroom. During my course, I also ask students to conduct some independent research on an element of Shinto that interests them. I encourage them to use the encyclopedia as their starting point to find a ritual, belief, practice, text, or kami to begin researching and to gather some background information before turning to other sources. The primary downside of the encyclopedia is its size. This would be a strength in courses that can devote more time to Shinto, but it presents difficulties in an introductory course. Another potential issue for students is that the encyclopedia lists results alphabetically. There are 166 kami listed in the sub-section on Kami in Classic Texts and 37 rituals listed in Rituals in Daily Life, but students can only scroll through these in alphabetical order and there is no way for them to identify which may be more important, more widely practiced etc. This issue can be mitigated to some extent through extra guidance from the teacher. For example, I usually provide students with lists of interesting or relevant topics for their independent research tasks which can help to place some limits on what otherwise might become unwieldy.
Shinto Portal contains a much larger array of resources than those listed above and can be employed in the classroom in many different ways. I recommend exploring the portal yourself to see what it has to offer and how the resources may fit into your own courses and teaching style.
Internet Sacred Text Archive
The Internet Sacred Text Archive (ISTA) is an archive of mostly public domain religious texts which includes older English translations of the Kōjiki, the Shoku Nihongi, and the Engishiki on its page dedicated to Shinto and numerous Buddhist texts amongst other Japanese sources. The website itself is dated and many of these translations can be found elsewhere including on WikiSource or as audio books on YouTube. More recent translations can also be found online for some of these texts (with a little digging). Although more recent translations are oftentimes favourable given the dated nature of the translations found on ISTA, the fact that all these texts can be accessed in one place makes it a highly useful resource for students and the classroom—course handbooks need include only a single link rather than several.
My introductory course tends not to focus too heavily on religious texts, so I usually confine myself to reading a few relevant passages whilst simultaneously offering commentary. Such commentary can be essential in making some of these passages more accessible to speakers of English as a second language. With them, one can understand idiosyncrasies of the translators—Chamberlain chose in his translation of the Kojiki, for example, to translate all the names of the kami, which serves to make it more difficult to read and understand. The activity of reading a few passages also serves to highlight the existence of the resource which students can then turn to for later class projects, essays etc.
Another potential benefit of ISTA is that it makes these texts accessible to students or institutions that don’t have the ability to procure physical copies. If religious texts are not the central focus of your course, ISTA can be a potentially useful resource to being incorporating English translations at little to no cost.
Video Materials
YouTube contains a huge range of video material related to Shinto and any user is likely spoiled for choice. I like to use Ise Jingu’s official channel, which includes numerous videos of different Shinto rituals that can help to elucidate topics being discussed in class. I often show the video on mikagura, but there are many more to choose from depending on your desired focus including short compilations that feature a range of Shinto practices. Kokugakuin University Museum’s channel also includes some useful videos with English subtitles including on different Shinto practices. In particular, I recommend the channel’s playlist “Online Museum in English.” Another useful video that I use is “Shinto in Everyday Japanese Life” from the channel Life Where I’m From. I usually pair this video with a short reflective writing task, where I ask students to critically engage with the video’s contents and consider to what extent Shinto influences daily life. Whilst some channels Religion for Breakfast feature more academically robust and well-researched videos, which are likely good for classes made-up of native English speakers, that they can be inaccessible for some students in classes of mixed English abilities. I have found that video materials that focus on practice are more suitable for classes with mixed English abilities especially when coupled with teacher commentary.
Articles and Blogs
A final type of online resources that I use in my classes on Shinto are blogs and other articles, which I use alongside academic readings. Although there have been no new articles (at the time of writing) in over a year, John Dougill’s Green Shinto is a great resource for students and teachers. The blog features articles on a huge range of topics. I have used individual pieces to create simple worksheets (to test knowledge and reading comprehension) and written reflections. It also includes other resources such as a timeline, dictionary, and sections on festivals and kami though I have never employed these in the classroom. I have also used single articles from other websites such as “A Shinto Shrine’s Storytelling Strategy” by Taishi Kato published in Practical Theology Hub which I use as an example of how a shrine might choose to engage with contemporary contexts. There are a lot of articles on Shinto from travel websites and some quite spurious looking blogs, so I like to take the time to point students to these resources which although written for a popular audience are more scholarly robust.
Concluding Remarks
My introductory course on religions in Japan provides is just that – an introduction to Shinto—students are taught about its history, Shinto beliefs and practice, Shinto within the local area, and conduct a shrine visit. Additionally, the course is taught in English to a mixture of Japanese and exchange students, many of whom are not native English speakers. The student body shapes the type of online resources I use, and the ways in which I employ them. This article has sought to highlight some of those resources providing examples of how they are used in my classes and noting potential limitations. If I were to choose one of the resources mentioned above, it would be Shinto Portal, because of its potential to be used in both introductory or more advanced courses on Shinto.
Cover Image: Taken by the author Honzan Kōzan Shrine (Nikkō, Tochigi Prefecture).
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