Justification for the writing of this book lies in the two-fold fact of the existence of a practically open field and the special importance of a knowledge of Shintō in reaching an adequate understanding of contemporary Japan—politically, socially and religiously. Since the publication in 1905 of W. G. Aston’s notable work, Shintō, The Way of the Gods, no study of this subject, aiming at comprehensiveness of design, has appeared in the English language. Special aspects have been dealt with by different writers but no attempt at a historical survey such as would place the salient facts of the total situation in the hands of the serious Western student of Oriental affairs has been made. Aston’s book is still standard but it is not easy to procure and deals mainly with the Old Shintō of the classical age. It antedates some of the most important modern developments. The present volume is offered in the humble hope that it may assist in the meeting of a genuine need in the sphere of interest of which it treats.
In 1922 the Asiatic Society of Japan published as Volume XLIX, Part II, of their Transactions (Tōkyō) my study of the contemporary Japanese politico-religious situation entitled, The Political Philosophy of Modern Shintō. The great earthquake and fire of 1923 followed shortly afterwards and completely destroyed the stock of this Society. As a result the book went quickly out of print. Since then I have been repeatedly urged by various people interested in the subject to issue a reprint of the 1922 volume and, as a matter of fact, not long after the 1923 earthquake the Council of the Asiatic Society of Japan sanctioned such an undertaking. In view, however, of what appears to be a growing desire in the West to avail itself of the data for a wider understanding of the field, it has seemed advisable to await the arrival of an opportunity for publishing a more general study of modern Shintō.
Meanwhile, both on the side of its immediate affiliations with the Japanese state and on that of relations with the ordinary religious life of the people, Shintō has not stood still. In recognition of this fact it has been deemed the course of better judgment to undertake a new study which would recognize change and progress, make use of the most recent documents available and at the same time permit a survey of the Thirteen Sects, a subject omitted from the 1922 volume and likewise a matter in great need of clarification among Occidental students of the Far East.
My thanks are due the Council of the Asiatic Society of Japan for permission to make use of the material which I have published in the Transactions. In the limited areas where this has been done in the present volume the earlier treatment has been entirely rewritten and redocumented with translations of the most recent original sources in the Japanese language.
It is not possible for me to make adequate statement of my indebtedness to all those who have aided me in the preparation of this book, especially to those who have read the manuscript and offered various suggestions regarding form and contents. I wish, however, to make particular acknowledgment of my indebtedness to Mr. C. P. Garman through whose constant aid and advice the publication of the volume has been made possible. I wish also to express my gratitude to Prof. Eva R. Price and Mrs. M. D. Farnum for their generous assistance in reading the proof. My thanks are due Dr. Genchi Katō of Tōkyō for permission to use from his book, A Study of Shintō, The Religion of the Japanese Nation, the sketches of the Grand Imperial Shrine of Ise shown in the plate facing page six of my book. For other photographs I am especially indebted to Mr. Enami of Yokohama.
Difficulty has often been experienced in discovering a middle road between too great detail, on the one hand, and the unwarranted injection of personal interpretative material, on the other. At all times the primary purpose has been to be objective and historical and while it has been necessary to make the data representative rather than exhaustive, it is hoped that the treatment may be found sufficiently inclusive to provide a fair view of the make-up of the whole.
A word should be added in explanation of the order used in printing Japanese personal and family names. Conforming to ordinary Japanese procedure, the surname is given first with the personal name following, e.g., Kawate (surname) Bunjirō (personal name).
Some might see fit to make an issue of the preference shown for the form Shintō rather than Shintoism. The former is to be accepted, partly, because it conforms to the proper Japanese original, and, partly, because, as Aston has well said, Shintōism is, as a matter of fact, tautological, since tō and ism are practically identical in meaning.
D. C. Holtom
November 1, 1937