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©Yvonne and Brian Crawford, 2018 1

This Kid’s Life in Religion

Shinto

Yvonne Crawford


Table of Contents Introduction 4

What I Think Shinto is Like... 5

A Letter from Souta in Japan 6

Questions about Souta’s Letter 8

Shintoism in Pictures 9

Fun Facts About Shintoism 11

Shinto Symbols 12

Secret Code About Shintoism 13

Shinto Word Search 14

Make a Cherry Blossom Tree 15

Make a Daruma Doll 17

Shinto Prayers Writing Activity 19

Postcard from Japan 20


Questions about Shintoism 22

Shinto Sayings and Verses 23

Shintoism Crossword Puzzle 24

All About Shintoism 25

Similarities and Differences 27

Shinto Life 28

Shinto Coloring 0


This Kid’s Life is a series of booklets that focus on how

children live their daily lives in different religions all over the

world. This particular book explores the life of a boy named

Souta who lives in the country of Japan.

Before introducing this booklet to your class, you can

choose to give your students a pre-test to see what

understandings or misconceptions they have about Shintoism.

Next, you can read a two-page letter from Souta to help your

students learn about the daily life of Shinto children.

Afterward, your students can fill out a comprehension

printable to spark discussions about the information they have

learned.

Introduction


What I Think Shintoism is Like... What is the first thing you think of when you think of the Shinto Religion? Draw a picture of it.

Which of these symbols is the symbol of Shintoism?

In which countries do you think Shinto is the main religion?

Draw a picture of a child who practices Shintoism.

Do you think Halloween is a Shinto holiday?

Yes or No


Hello my name is Souta and I’m from Japan! Me and my family

practice the religion called Shinto. It is a religion that originated in the

villages of Japan and then spread across Japan. You might be

wondering who the founder of Shinto is, well actually there is not one

founder like other religions.

My father is a Shinto priest. It’s interesting I know because in

some religions like Catholicism, priest can’t be

married nor have children. In Shintoism priests

can be married, have children as well as women

can be priests. Shinto priests perform Shinto

rituals and often live in the grounds of a shrine.

We don’t live on the grounds of a shrine, but we

live very close to a popular shrine in Osaka,

Japan.

Did you know that 80% of the Japanese

population attend Shinto shrines and ceremonies

today. Some people in Japan don’t just practice

Shintoism, but they also are Buddhists. The religions

work harmoniously together.

As I mentioned we live near a Shinto shrine. A

shrine is a building of

worship. Shrines are

marked by large portals

sometimes painted red, called torii. These

structures are iconic in Japan.

Before people go to a shrine they must

wash their hands and mouths, so there is

always running waters by shrines.

A Letter from Souta in Japan


Louis

In Shintoism, worship consists of

hand-clapping, silent prayer and offer-

ings made at the shrine. People don’t

have to pray only at public shrines.

People can pray at home. Most Shinto

people have a tiny shrines in their

homes called a kami shelf where they

make offerings of flowers or food and say prayers. It is called a ka-

mi shelf because we call the spiritual powers and gods kami. The

kami bring us benefits like health, business success and even

good exam results like for my English test

last week.

Did you know there are over 100,000

registered shrines in Japan dedicated to

different kami. There are up to 80 million

different kami in Japan! These numbers

are quite impressive.

One day I’d like to visit Mt. Fuji near

Tokyo. Many

people make a

pilgrimage here

to this natural

place of wor-

ship.

I better go, my mother is calling me!

Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,


Questions About Souta’s Letter Where does Souta live?

What is a torii? Draw a picture of it.

What things do people pray for in the Shinto religion?

Write some facts about Shintoism.

What are Kami? Draw what you think they may look like.


Shinto in Pictures Here are some pictures of different things about the Shinto religion. What do you think about these different pictures?

Shinto or Shintoism is a religion mainly practiced in Japan.

Shintoism is a polytheistic culture. This means that they believe in more

than one god.

In Shintoism, nature and god are viewed as one.

In Shintoism, gods are close and familiar beings. They are the

guardians of the people.


Shintoism started off from folk belief and nature worship in small

villages. Because of this, there is not any clear holy text written down.

There is no clear founder of Shintoism.

In Shintoism, rituals called Saishi are a way to connect people and gods.

Saishi are performed at Shinto shrines. A Shinto shrine is called a

Jinja.


• What does your religion’s name mean?

• What is the opposite of a polytheist religion called?

• What religion are you?

• Who is the founder of your religion?

Fun Facts About Shintoism Shinto means “The path of Gods.”

Shinto is a polytheist religion. The number of gods is infinite

and they are called “kami.”

The kami live in the world unseen by humans.

A kami stops existing when no one believes in it anymore. It reappears

when a person starts believing again.

Many Japanese people switch between Shinto and Buddhism during

their life, sometimes believing in both religions.

The Shinto religion has no founder.

There are over 100 million people who practice the Shinto religion,

mostly in Japan.

• Do you believe in anything that you can’t see?

• Have you heard of anything similar to a kami before?

• What religion is most practiced where you live?


Shinto Symbols The torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly

found at the entrance of or near a Shinto shrine. The torii is

the symbol that marks the transition from the mundane to the

sacred.

These are daruma dolls. They are

hollow and round dolls to look like

Bodhidharma, an Indian monk. It is a

traditional custom for the owner to

create a life goal and paint one eye.

When they complete the goal, they pain

the other eye.


A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Secret Code About Indonesia Solve the puzzle to discover what is the name of the gods of the Shinto religion.

Secret code key:


Shinto Word Search

V H W A J D S T Z U

S M T A O L O S R S

Y H P A A S I I Q A

J A I U P V I E Y I

N A T N Q U B H I S

U I K I T N H T S H

R I M A K O J Y X I

G X Y Y Y Q J L Z D

J P D K T C E O D H

T E M P L E S P N A

Words to find:

Kami polytheist

Shinto Japan

path saishi

rituals temples


The cherry blossom tree is especially important in the

Shinto religion, where is symbolizes renewal and the

temporary nature of life.

Materials:

• tissue paper

• crayons/markers/colored pencils

• scissors

• glue or paste

· the cherry blossom tree printaable

Instructions:

Photocopy the following template. Your students should

color the tree and make a background for the tree. Stu-

dents should tear pieces of tissue paper, pink, rose or

white and paste them on the tree.

Create a Cherry Blossom Tree


These are daruma dolls. They are hollow and round

dolls to look like Bodhidharma, an Indian monk. It is a

traditional custom for the owner to create a life goal and

paint one eye. When they complete the goal, they pain

the other eye.

Materials:

• Daruma doll template

• crayons/markers/colored pencils

• scissors

• ribbon (optional)

Instructions:

Have your students make their own Daruma doll. Simply

have them color the paper, cut it out leaving the eyes

uncolored. Then, students can write a goal on the back

of the paper and color in one eye of the doll. When they

complete the goal, they can then color the last eye.

They can hang the Daruma Doll by a ribbon. Usually it is

on wood, but instead of wood, you could put the printa-

ble on thicker cardstock paper.

Make a Daruma Doll


People who practice the Shinto religion ask for support in all

aspects of their lives from the kami (gods). They pray at

home or at a shrine. List some things you might ask for help

in if you were Shinto.

Shinto Prayers


Pretend you are on a trip to Japan and want to mail a

postcard. Write a brief letter on the front side of the postcard and tell

a friend or family member about your trip. Use the information you

have learned during this lesson for the contents of your postcard. On

the back of the postcard, draw a picture of something that reminds

you of Japan and Shintoism. Finally, cut both out both sides and glue

them together, back to back, and deliver your postcard to your friend

or family member.

Front of Postcard

Postcard from Japan

Kon’nichiwa from Japan!


Postcard from Japan Make sure to sign your name at the end of your postcard. Then

draw your own stamp in the box in the top right corner of the postcard.

This will make your postcard look even more realistic.

Back of Postcard


The Shinto religion is a complicated religion like all religions.

What are some other things you would like to learn about

Shintoism? List the questions here.

Things I want to learn about Shintoism

1

2

3

4

5

6

7


Here are some Shinto sayings. Write what you think they mean.

Shinto Saying Meaning

Respect your ancestors

Do not be sluggish in your

work.

Even the wishes of an ant reach

to heaven.

Sincerity is a witness to truth.

Even in one single leaf on a tree, or

in one blade of grass the awesome

Deity presents itself.

Sincerity is the single virtue that

binds divinity and man in one.

Shinto lies at the root of the

whole Japanese culture.

Shinto Sayings


Answer the questions below and write the answers to the

questions where indicated by the numbers in the crossword

puzzle.

Shinto Crossword Puzzle

Across 1. Shinto means ‘The ____ of Gods’

3. A Shinto shine

4. Shintoism was born in Japanese ________

6. Shintoism is sometimes practiced along-

side with ___________

1. A religions with many gods

2. The name of the gods in Shintoism

3. The country where Shintoism is manly

practiced

4. Rituals in Shintoism are called this

Down

Across Down


The things I find most interesting about Shintoism are:

All About Shintoism


When did Shintoism start? What else would you like to learn

about Shintoism?

I learned these facts about Shintoism…

Where is Shintoism practiced?

Shintoism


Think about things you have in common with Christians, and

things you do that are different. Finally, pick three things you

would like to learn more about Christianity.

Three things we have in common Three things that are different

Three things I’d like to learn

Similarities and Differences


Write about the similarities and differences between your way of life and the

Shinto way of life. Use your graphic organizer to help you write your essay.

Shinto Life


Shintoism


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