The Essence of Shinto by Motohisa Yamakage

Author:Motohisa Yamakage
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kodansha USA
Published: 2017-04-04T04:00:00+00:00

What is kegare?

I have thus far discussed harai in detail and explained it as the basis of Shinto. Now I have to stress that underlying the theory of harai is Shinto’s unique approach to humanity.

In both the great purification words (oharai no kotoba) and the misogi purification words (misogi harai no kotoba), which is the abridged version of the great purification words, human error and uncleanness are considered coterminous. It is believed that we can completely remove error and uncleanness by washing them away with misogi or purifying them with harai. They are treated, therefore, as if they were forms of material “dirt” that can be expunged by washing.

It is believed that as long as we completely remove sin, fault, and uncleanness by washing them away through misogi or harai then that will be enough. Certain types of uncleanness are widely viewed in human cultures as having a material extension: they are not mere products of the mind because they have an impact, physical as well as mental, on their surroundings. This is why we treat them as if they were material substance and deal with them accordingly.

It would be a complex and scholarly task to analyze the nature of “sin” as it is found in classical Japanese writing, if indeed the word “sin” is even applicable. I shall abstain from that task for now and merely present the essence of the Shinto approach. In short, it is this: Shinto does not preach the idea of absolute sin. Unlike the teaching of original sin found in other religions, Shinto expresses the concept of no sin, or to put it more positively, the inherent goodness of nature. In Shinto, the essence of spirit-soul within human beings is a gift from Kami, so it is considered flawless and perfect even if humans err. The error is contained in the action itself, and it will not follow the person around forever if purification is obtained. In Shinto, it is said that once we wash away error in a river or ocean through the purification of misogi, it will vanish completely with the dirt of the body that is washed away. In the great purification words, there is a line as reference to the “various kinds of sins which we commit by mistake.” Therefore, in the theory of Shinto, error and fault are mistakes committed by immature souls, not “sins” in the Western sense of the word.

Shinto treats these faults as if they were forms of matter. From the spiritual standpoint, errors committed consciously or faults that are unconscious are both actions that become a form of semi-substance. This exists as invisible memory or as a record either in the innermost level of consciousness or within the physical body. They can be also recorded in space, in the earth, and in the universal memory, or collective unconscious. When a spiritually sensitive person stands in an old battlefield, he or she can sense the carnage there as if it were still real. The same thing could happen in the case of errors and faults.

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