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Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition

Shinto ethics

by Glenn L. Swygart

Definition: Moral values central to the dominant religious system of Japan

Type of ethics: Religious ethics

Significance: Shinto ethics played a major role in the development of the national state of Japan and of Japanese nationalist ideology. It emphasizes that there is no timeless and universal formula guiding moral action. Rather, the context of each action must be thoroughly considered before a decision is made.

Shinto, the “Way of the Gods,” is the indigenous religion of Japan. After several centuries of development of traditions, rituals, and observances, it evolved into an organized religion between the third and sixth centuries. Shinto is best described as a religion of daily life. Love and respect for spirits and ancestors are far more important than is appeasement of deities or immortality.

History

From the beginning, Shinto was influenced by or through China. Confucianism infiltrated Japan from northern China in the third century and was followed in the sixth century by Buddhism. Buddhism, when united with Shinto, gave Japanese religion renewed vitality, universal ideals, and transcendental speculation.

Confucianism, which is basically an ethical system, provided the ethical foundation for the social and political development of Japan.

In spite of the infusion of Confucianism, Western scholars have had difficulty in discovering concrete ethical principles in Shinto. Although earlier Shinto reveals very little ethical thought, Confucian contributions brought a major increase in ethical thinking.

This growing ethical consciousness experienced great change and adaptation in later centuries. One of the most serious changes was the Meiji (“enlightened government”) Restoration in 1868. This event officially established Shinto as the state religion of Japan and set the nation on a path of imperialism and conquest. The ethical consequences of this path are abundant.

Shinto ethics, as used by the state, helped to formulate the conduct and blind obedience of Japanese military personnel during World War II. Negative examples of such behavior include the brutal treatment of prisoners by the Japanese on the Bataan Death March and the work of the Kamikaze suicide pilots near the end of the war. State Shinto was disestablished after the national humiliation of military defeat in 1945, but it was not eliminated as a national faith.

Ethical Principles

A careful study of Shinto ethics reveals at least eight principles that are dominant influences on the daily lives of the Japanese people. The foundational principle of Shinto ethics is embodied in the Three Sacred Treasures of Shinto. These treasures, to which are attached moral and ethical values, are displayed in all significant Shinto shrines. The mirror stands for wisdom, integrity, purity, and righteousness. The sword reflects valor and justice. The last treasure, the stone necklace, symbolizes benevolence, affection, and obedience.

The second principle is tribal ethics, or the authority of the community. In this ethic, the individual melts into unreasoning submission to communal authority. At key points in Japanese history, this has been the power that solidified the people, but it also has been used to justify aggressive national conduct. Tribal ethics fosters a tendency to refer ethical decisions to government offices. It emphasizes a contextual approach and glorifies the ethics of intention.

A strong social ethic is built on the position of the emperor as a direct descendant of the sun goddess and also as the head of a giant family. The roof over the family has often been extended to include the entire world. This ethic has established an almost unbreakable relationship between the emperor and the people, with very few attempts at revolutionary change.

Consistent with the situational nature of Shinto ethics is the concept of makoto, or “truth.” Truth is relative, thus in Shinto there is no ultimate truth. Makoto involves an inner heart-searching while confronting any ethical issue. Related to makoto is the principle that all evil is external. When a person is untrue to himself or herself or to others, it is only a result of a lack of awareness caused by external influences.

The Shinto ethic of guilt is better understood as shame. A person who fails to fulfill his or her proper role, as determined by the communal authority, is often consumed by an overwhelming shame, even to the point of suicide.

A unique principle of Shinto ethics is naka-ima, or the “middle present.” Naka-ima, which first appeared in the imperial edicts of the eighth century, means that the present moment is the most important moment of all times. Shintoists are thus exhorted to make each moment as true and as worthy as possible.

The last ethic of Shinto is a strong concept of racial superiority. This concept became extremely important after the inauguration of State Shinto in the nineteenth century. It produced a jealous contempt for all non-Japanese culture and a major attempt to keep such influences out of Japanese life. Officially, this principle was abolished by imperial decree on January 1, 1946.

Conclusion

Japan’s military defeat in 1945 unleashed long-suppressed forces of change. The embodiment of moral and ethical truth in the community headed by the emperor was forever broken. Replacing that sentiment was a feeling of individual cooperation by morally responsible citizens of the community. Although many traditional Japanese values have been retained, there is now more freedom to accept the ethical principles of other cultures.

Problems related to State Shinto did not all disappear in 1945. The ethics involved in shrine worship—particularly the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors as deities more than two million war dead—remained as a continual dilemma for many Japanese people.

The basic ethical nature of State Shinto has, however, been replaced by the ethic of world peace and an attempt to contribute to the well-being and advancement of all world cultures.

Further Reading

1 

Anesaki, Masaharu. History of Japanese Religion. Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle, 1963.

2 

Bocking, Brian. The Oracles of the Three Shrines: Window on Japanese Religion. Richmond, England: Curzon, 2001.

3 

Holtom, D. C. Modern Japan and Shintf Nationalism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1943.

4 

Kisala, Robert. Prophets of Peace: Pacifism and Cultural Identity in Japan’s New Religions. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1999.

5 

Mason, J. W. T. The Meaning of Shinto: The Primæval Foundation of Creative Spirit in Modern Japan. Port Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1967.

6 

Ono, Sokyo. Shinto: The Kami Way. Rutland, Vt.: Charles E. Tuttle, 1962.

7 

Ross, Floyd Hiatt. Shinto: The Way of Japan. Boston: Beacon Press, 1965.

See also: Buddhist ethics; Christian ethics; Daoist ethics; Religion; Situational ethics.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Swygart, Glenn L. "Shinto Ethics." Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition, edited by George Lucas & John K. Roth, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Ethics_0853.
APA 7th
Swygart, G. L. (2019). Shinto ethics. In G. Lucas & J. K. Roth (Eds.), Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Swygart, Glenn L. "Shinto Ethics." Edited by George Lucas & John K. Roth. Ethics: Questions & Morality of Human Actions, 3rd Edition. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2019. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.