Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/115

* SHIN-SHTT. 89 SHIP. monies are without efficacy, though the believer as an expression of gratitude lives an upright life ami constantly repeats "Ulory to Aniida the BiuUlha." The priest is simply the (illicial of the sect and its teacher, all essential distinction from the laj-nian being done away. The priests marry, eat meat, and jiractice no austerity. The sect is first in popularity with the masses. Its temples are the most magniiieent and the most frequented. At present it is tlic most ]n-ogres- sive sect in the Empire, adopting the methods of Christian missions and sending some of its priests as students to Europe and America. In the fifteenth and si.vteenth centuries it took part in the feudal wars, armed its priests, and turned its monasteries into fortresses. For more than a century it ruled the great Province of Kaga. Shin-Sliu is Buddhist only in name, retaining nothing of the teaching of Gautama and accord- ing him no honor. Consult: Nanjio. >s7ior/ His- tori/ of the Twelve Japanese Buddhist Sects (London, 1887) : Griffis, The Religions of Japan (New York, 1895). SHINTO, or SHINTOISM (Sinico-Jap. shijito, Jap. Eami-no-michi, the way of the Kami (in Chinese shin] or gods). The ancient religion and mythology of the Japanese. The history of the religion falls into three periods: the first terminating in the sixth century A.D., the second in the eighteenth century a.d., and the third continuing until the present time. In the first period the religion had no name and was perhaps undifferentiated from other rites. It had neither dogmas, moral precepts, nor sacred writ- ings. The objects worshiped were called kanii, 'superior.' A late authority declares that the superior representatives of every class are kami, as trees, stones, mountains, birds, animals, men and spirits, and denies that the kami are spirits within the natural objects. In the ancient traditions mention is made of gods of the earth, and of heaven, which was simply a plane a little above the earth. Some gods were good and some were bad, some were mortal, and some were wedded to women. From one of the latter class of gods is descended the emperor. There were deities also of the cauldron, and kettle, and saucepan, gods of the kitchen, and of the gate, as well as gods of pestilence, .storms and heavenly bodies. In fact, there was no dis- tinctive class of gods, but everything was wor- shiped which excited fear or admiration. Noth- ing was related of heaven or hell as places of awards, but there were confused and contradictory accoimts of hades as the place of departed beings. The rites were purifications by water from crimes and defilement : the offerings were anything of value, swords, armor, spears, and especially cloth, Avhich has become the peculiarly cut strips of paper called ffo-liei which hang before the shrines. The prayers were thanksgivings and lists of offerings. The shrines were simply huts and the shrine-keepers sometimes called 'priests,' had neither sacerdotal nor teaching functions. There were no images in the shrines nor orna- mentation of any kind, but in a few of them, a mirror and a 'pillow-' for the god. The second period begins with the sixth cen- tury, when Buddhism and Chinese civilization were introduced. Shin-to soon yielded to its rival, the native gods being regarded as incarna- tions of Buddha. (See KoBo Daishi.) Buddhist priests became the custodians of the shrines, and introduced their own ornaments, images and rilual. The two religions were vinited under the name Uiubii-ShinlO, the "Shinto of two kinds." a mongrel system in which Buddhism was the active partner. The mythology was written down with the ancient prayers. Only in the palace of the emperors, who were themselves Bmhlhists, and at a few of the great shrines were attempts made to preserve something of the ancient usage. The distinctively Shin-to 'priests' became for- tune tellers and magicians. In the eighteenth century a succession of great scholars (Mabuchi. 1G07-17C9, ilotoori. 1730- 1801, and Hirata, 1776-1843 1, animated by a love for antiquity and a hatred of all things foreign, attacked Buddhism and Confucianism and sought the reestablishment of 'Pure Shinto.' They taught that its essence was obedience to nature and to the emperor. They produced marked effects in literature and in politics, but Shinto was too shadowy and ill-defined to gain religious hold of the people. The sentiment aroused was utilized by the revolutionists of 18fi.5-IS0S, when the western clans overthrew the government of the Shogim and restored the emperor to the head of the government. At the restoration Buddhism was disestablished and Shinto put in its place. But Shinto coul^ not maintain itself, and be- came a code of ceremonies for court and officials. .t present it represents the intense patriotism of the people, and furnishes the rites for religious ceremonial at the court, all officials being obliged to observe its forms. The origin of Shinto is imknown. Its legends are evidently from diverse sources, and Chinese influence in the formation of some of them can be detected. It is a confused mixture of nature and ancestor-worship. Its mytholog^' also confuses history with the stories of the gods, putting both into a continuous narrative. It contributed noth- ing to the civilization of the .Japanese, though the scholars mentioned above established in mod- ern times the standard of pure .Tapanese litera- ture, as distinguished from the Sinieo-.Iapanese. Its legends form the best source for the recon- struction of the primitive life of the people. It expresses the Japanese nature, in its patriotic reverence for the Imperial house, and in its ad- miration for all things extraordinary. Consult: Rosny, La relifjion des Japoiiais (Paris, 1881) ; Chamberlain. Translation, of the Kojiki (Yokohama, 1883) : id.. Things Japanese (4th ed.. New York, 1002) ; Qnhh(M^ lieligion in Japan: Buddhism. Shintoism, Christianity (Lon- don, 1804) : firiffis, The Religions of Japan from the Daun of Historg to the Era of Meiji (New Y'ork, 180.5) ; Florenz, Japanesischc Mgthologie (Tokio, 1901). See also the section on Religion under .Japan. SHIP (AS. seip, seyp, Goth, skip, OHG. scif, scef, Ger. Schiff, ship; of unknown etymology). In strictly nautical nomenclature the term ship is applied to a large vessel with three or more masts, of which at least three are square-rigged. The term is very generally applied to vessels of all kinds which are larger than boats. Before the application of steam to marine pro- pulsion the largest sailing ships rarely exceeded 200 feet in length and the proportion of length to beam was usually not far from 4 to 1. The bows were bluff and the stern hardly less so.